Visas & Advice Detail
Validity boost for retirement visa holders
The Australian Government has recently announced that it will look to extend the validity period of 410 Retirement visas to ten years, as well as remove the working restrictions imposed on the holders of these visas.
At present, 410 visas are required to be renewed every four years, while there are restrictions placed on the type of employment and hours of work the visa holder can do.
However, immigration minister Chris Evans seems set to finally change these rules, to give 410 visa holders - a number of whom have been in Australia for a number of years - far more security.
Full access to Medicare does continue to be a sticky point with this visa category, though, as does an ongoing requirement to maintain private health insurance.
Please note, Subclass 410 Retirement visas ceased to be available to new applicants at the end of June 2005, although there are still around 9,000 410 visa holders in Australia at the moment. This visa has since been replaced by the Investor retirement visa which allows those over the age of 55 to invest a substantial amount of money in order to reside in the country on a temporary basis. The visa can then be renewed every four years, pending the continued fulfilling of financial criteria.