Expats on retirement visas push for permanent Australian residency
Thousands of expats living in Australia, many of them British with temporary retirement visas, want to become permanent residents but are told they are unable to do so despite funding their own lifestyle.
Some have lived in Australia for over 20 years but the visa they hold was withdrawn to new applications in 2005, leaving them in limbo about their status and they say that a 10-year extension granted in 2009 does not give them peace of mind.
Holders of Retirement Visas (subclass 410) are not eligible to become permanent residents however long they have lived in Australia. It is thought around 3,000 visa holders live in Australia and about 2,000 are fighting for the right to apply for permanent resident visas.
David Humphries, policy adviser for BERIA, a voluntary organisation which represents over 50% of retirement visa holders in Australia, said they have now decided to petition the Australian government to allow retirement visa holders who have lived in Australia for at least 10 years to apply for permanent residency.
He pointed out that in 2008 the then Minister of Immigration Chris Evans made an unequivocal statement in the Senate that ‘people who have sought to settle and remain in Australia ought to have a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship’.
Also in 2008 the Coalition Shadow Minister of Immigration Chris Ellison, introduced a successful Senate motion calling on the Government to enable temporary retirement 410 visa holders to apply for permanent residency.
‘All political parties have indicated their verbal support, and successive governments have made enhancements to some of the visa’s conditions, but we’re no nearer achieving permanent residency than we were eight years ago. Politicians have been willing to give words of support, but unwilling to take action,’ Humphries added.
The retirement visa was introduced as a temporary visa, but the 2,000 or so visa holders now living in Australia and calling for permanent residence are self-funded retirees who have made the country their home, and want to spend the rest of their lives here.
The main argument against permanent residency is the cost of health care but Humphries pointed out that most visa holders are not currently eligible for free healthcare. However, the group claims that the government has never balanced this cost against the additional tax benefits to Australia that permanent residency will bring.
Currently retirement visa holders, like all temporary residents, do not pay Australian income tax on their overseas sourced incomes. As permanent residents they would pay Australian income tax on all their income and thereby increase Australian tax revenue.
Humphries stressed that retirement visa holders see Australia as their home, and contribute hugely to their families and local communities, but are an ageing group. ‘We’re all over 64 years of age, with many now well into their 80s and 90s. People of this age deserve the security and peace of mind of permanent visas, not the worry and uncertainty of temporary visas,’ he said.
‘We believe, and our Australian friends and neighbours overwhelmingly agree, that surely 10 years living in, and committed to, Australia should qualify temporary retirement visa holders for permanent residency,’ he added.
