I applied for the subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa for my mother in 2019, with my sister as a dependent in the application. As per the information provided on Home Affairs’ website at the time, the visa was supposed to be granted in 3 years. However, at the current rate, my mother would still need to wait for many more years for the visa to be granted. And since dependent applicants need to meet the age criteria, it’s highly likely that my sister won’t be able to accompany my mother even if she is still dependent on my mother. I have been in Australia for almost a decade and the stress of being away from loved ones is taking its toll on my entire family.
I am astounded by the sheer apathy and indifference of the government towards the plight of hundreds of thousands of people who are in the same situation as me. There is an utter lack of transparency regarding the whole process from the Immigration Department. And whatever little information is available, it leads to more confusion rather than clarity. If I had known the number of pending applications in 2019, I could have compared it to the yearly quota of visa grants and would have been able to make an informed decision. The 3-year waiting period that was mentioned on the immigration website proved completely irrelevant (and even misleading) in my case.
Considering the ridiculous waiting period in spite of the staggering visa fees, I am seriously contemplating moving back to India, or to another country like Canada where the government understands the importance of keeping families together.