Assurance of Support - Change of Law
What are the changes to the Assurance of Support period?
An Assurance of Support (“AOS”) is a criterion for the grant of certain subclass for Australian permanent visa. It may be a mandatory or discretionary criterion, depending on which subclass of permanent visa you are applying.
Essentially, people who provide AOS (“Assurer”) will be required to provide direct and sufficient financial support to the visa applicant, and give all necessary provision (including clothing, food, accommodation and transport) to the visa applicant, so that the visa applicants will not claim for Centrelink payments/benefits. If they eventually claim for Centrelink payments, the assurer will then be required to pay the money back to Centrelink.
An AOS period can be requested for period of 12 months, two years or even ten years, depending on the type of visa subclass.
For both mandatory and discretionary AOS, the AOS period is deemed to start from the date the visa applicant/assuree arrives in Australia, or the date the relevant visa is granted, whichever occurs later.
CHANGES TO THE ASSURANCE OF SUPPORT (AOS) PERIOD
The AOS period for certain visas has been increased from two to four years. The changes affect the AOS given on or after 1 January 2019. Assurance of Support lodged before 1 January 2019 will not be affected, even if the decision to accept or reject the AOS has not been decided on 1 January 2019.
These changes apply to visas subclasses requiring AOS, OTHER THAN:
Subclasses 143 (Contributory Parent) or 864 (Contributory Aged Parent) visas: unchanged at 10 (ten) years
AOS for Community Support Programme entrant: unchanged at 12 months
Subclasses 115 (Remaining Relative), 835 (Remaining Relative), 117 (Orphan Relative) or 837 (Orphan Relative) visas: unchanged at 2 (two) years.
HOW CAN AGAPE HENRY CRUX HELP
Not sure if you are affected by the changes to the AOS period?
At Agape Henry Crux, our immigration lawyers are well trained to handle such complex issues so book one of our lawyers to seek professional opinion now by calling (02)-7200 2700 or email our receptionist to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com
We speak fluent English, Korean, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian and Malay. If these aren’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter so we can communicate efficiently.