Parent Visas

Australia offers both temporary and permanent visa options for parents of Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens. The right pathway depends heavily on budget, how urgently the parent needs to be in Australia, their age, and whether they eventually want permanent residency.

Permanent Visas

The permanent parent visa system operates on two tracks – contributory and non-contributory – which offer the same outcome but at very different costs and timelines.

The Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143 for offshore applicants, 864 for those onshore) is the faster of the two permanent options. Government fees typically exceed AUD $50,000 per applicant across both stages of the application, making it a significant financial commitment. In return, processing times are comparatively shorter. For many families, the cost is manageable when weighed against the certainty of a permanent outcome within a foreseeable timeframe.

The Non-Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 103 offshore, 804 onshore) carries much lower fees (in the range of AUD $4,000 to $6,000) but the waiting period is extraordinarily long, often cited at 30 years or more. These visas are subject to a strict annual cap, and the queue has grown to the point where most immigration professionals consider it impractical for anyone seeking a realistic outcome. It may suit applicants who lodge early, have no urgency, and simply want a permanent visa on the record at minimal upfront cost.

Both permanent tracks require applicants to pass the balance of family test, which means at least half of the applicant’s children must be Australian citizens or permanent residents, or more of their children must live in Australia than in any single other country. This requirement catches some families off guard, particularly where siblings are spread across multiple countries.

Aged Parent 

An Aged Parent option exists within both the contributory (864) and non-contributory (804) streams for applicants aged 67 or over who are already living in Australia. The key advantage is that eligible applicants can remain in Australia on a bridging visa throughout the waiting period, rather than having to wait offshore. This is particularly valuable for elderly parents who are already settled near family and cannot practically relocate back overseas for years at a time.

Assurance of Support (AoS)

These visas also require an Assurance of Support (AoS), which is a legal commitment from an eligible person in Australia (sponsoring child or another approved assurer) to provide financial support to the applicant so they do not rely on government income support. The assurer is required to lodge a financial bond with the Australian Government, which is held for a set period and may be used to recover any social security payments accessed by the visa holder during that time. The AoS is typically required prior to visa grant and applies for up to 10 years depending on the visa subclass.

Temporary visa – Subclass 870

For families who cannot wait years for a permanent visa to be processed, the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 870) offers a faster and more accessible alternative. It allows parents to live in Australia for up to three or five years at a time, and can be renewed up to a maximum cumulative stay of 10 years.

Unlike the permanent tracks, the 870 does not require applicants to pass the balance of family test, and processing takes around eight months on average, a fraction of the time involved in permanent applications. It is capped at 15,000 grants per year, so applications early in the program year are advisable.

However, the 870 comes with meaningful restrictions. Parents on this visa have no work rights and must maintain continuous private health insurance from an Australian provider for the duration of their stay. Medicare access is not available. The visa is temporary by design and does not lead to permanent residency through this pathway alone.

The most important consideration is a strategic one: applying for or holding a Subclass 870 visa can close off access to the permanent parent visa pathways. Families who may eventually want to pursue a permanent outcome for their parent should take professional advice before lodging an 870 application, as the decision can have long-term consequences that are difficult to reverse.

The sponsorship process also requires the child in Australia to be separately approved as a sponsor before the parent can apply. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, have lived in Australia for at least four years, and meet an income threshold demonstrating they can financially support their parent during the stay. Government fees for the 870 are over AUD $6,000 for a three-year visa and over AUD $12,000 for a five-year visa, in addition to the sponsorship application fee.