When individuals reach an age they are considering retirement; there may be a number of Australian Retirement visa options.

These Australia Retirement visa options include the Australian Parent Visa class and the Australian Retirement Investment visa. These Australian Retirement visas are discussed as follows:

Australian Parent Visa and the Australian Contributory Parent Visa:

For both these visa classes applicants must have the majority of their children resident in Australia. These children must be either Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents who have been resident in Australia for some time.

The next requirement is that the Australian based child must be the sponsor of the Parent. This sponsorship includes both guaranteeing accommodation and all financial requirements of their parents.

For the Australia Parent Visa you must meet a age requirement equivalent to the age needed to obtain a pension in Australia.

There are 1000 places per financial year for the Parent Visa and 3500 places for the Australia Contributory parent Visa. Once the number of submitted applications meets these numerical targets, no further applications are processed. Those not processed are processed in the next financial year (Jun - July). Applicants applying for the Parent Visa may have to wait many years before they are granted the visa. The Contributory Parent Visa is processed faster than the standard Australia Parent visa.

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The Contributory Parent Visa can be applied for in two ways. The first is by obtaining a temporary Contributory Parent Visa, paying a large government fee and then, once established in Australia, paying another government fee and making application for the Permanent Resident visa Contributory Parent visa. The second means of obtaining the Contributory Parent Visa is paying double the temporary government fee and if sucessful in all other aspects of the Australian government processing, being granted permanent residency. The Permanent Resident visa Contributory Parent visa is applied for outside Australia.

Australia Investor Retirement Visa:

This visa allows individuals of retirement age who have no Australian citizen family or Australian permanent resident family resident in Australia to live in certain locations. Only the Spouse of the applicant can accompany the applicant. That is - if the couple have children, those children cannot accompany their parents on this visa.

All applicants must have State Government sponsorship approval (from the State they wish to reside in) and meet financial requirements in order to obtain this visa. Once the applicant has the approval of the State government, the application for the Retirement visa is made to the Immigration Department. The financial criteria for the Australia Retirement visa are high and reflect the government's requirements for applicants to be financially independent. If the applicant chooses to live in certain locations outside main cities, the financial requirements for the Australia Retirement visa are less. The Australia Retirement visa is a 4 year temporary visa that can be renewed.

Applicants must meet health and Police clearances criteria for the Australia Parent visa, the Australia Contributory Parent visa and the Retirement Investment visa.

Do you qualify:Check if you are eligible for a visa