Parent Visa
The Complete Guide
Reviewed 11 Aug 2026
Which parent visa can you apply for?
Every parent visa for Australia falls into one of four routes:
- Contributory permanent (143 and 864) — about $49,900 in government fees per parent, with a wait of about 15 years. See our 143 visa costs and queue guide.
- Non-contributory permanent (103 and 804) — about $8,665 per parent, with a wait of about 33 years.
- Temporary 870 — three or five years at a time, up to ten years in total, with no path to permanent residence.
- Two-step contributory (173 and 884) — the contributory cost spread over stages.
The right route depends on your budget, your parents’ age, and where they are when the application is lodged. Age and location matter more than most families expect: a parent at age-pension age who is in Australia can apply onshore and stay here for the whole wait.
Parent visa queues run 15 to 33 years and keep growing. Parents old enough for the age pension (67 in Australia) who apply in Australia can stay on a bridging visa while they wait, which makes the aged parent visas (804 and 864) especially valuable.
How do the parent visa options compare?
| Visa | Permanent? | Where to apply | Government fees (main applicant) | Wait for new applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 143 Contributory Parent | Yes | Outside Australia | $49,900 over two instalments | About 15 years |
| 864 Contributory Aged Parent | Yes | In Australia, pension age | $49,900 over two instalments | About 15 years |
| 103 Parent | Yes | Outside Australia | $8,665 over two instalments | About 33 years |
| 804 Aged Parent | Yes | In Australia, pension age | $8,665 over two instalments | About 33 years |
| 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) | No: 3 or 5 years, 10-year cap | After the child is approved as a sponsor | $6,370 for 3 years, $12,440 for 5 | No queue |
Fees are the 2026-27 government charges for one main applicant; partners and dependants added to an application pay their own extra charges. The waits are the Department’s own current estimates for new applications.
Which parent visa suits your family?
The four routes are compared below. In every route the sponsor is the parent’s child in Australia, and every permanent route must also pass the balance-of-family test explained under eligibility.
1. Sponsored Parent Visa (Subclass 870)
The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa costs $6,370 for a three-year stay or $12,440 for five years, per parent, and can be renewed up to a lifetime total of ten years in Australia. It is the only parent visa with no balance-of-family test.
Its limits are firm: no work rights, compulsory health insurance, and no path to permanent residence. The child must first be approved as a parent sponsor and meet a household income test, and the parent then applies within six months of that approval.
2. Non-Contributory Parent Visas (Subclasses 804 and 103)
The Parent (103) and Aged Parent (804) visas are the low-cost permanent route at $8,665 in government fees over two instalments (part-payments) for one applicant. The Department estimates new applications wait about 33 years.
Where the parent is makes all the difference. The 103 is lodged from outside Australia and the parent waits overseas; the 804 is for parents at age-pension age (currently 67) who are in Australia when they apply, and they usually wait here on a bridging visa.
3. Contributory Parent Visas (Subclasses 143 and 864)
The Contributory Parent (143) and Contributory Aged Parent (864) visas cost $49,900 in government fees per parent, most of it a $43,600 second instalment charged shortly before the visa is granted. New applications are estimated to wait about 15 years.
The 143 is usually lodged from outside Australia. The 864 is the onshore version for parents at age-pension age, and like the 804 it lets the parent wait in Australia on a bridging visa. Both give permanent residence with full work rights and Medicare from the day the visa is granted.
4. Contributory Parent Visas (Subclasses 173 and 884)
The two-step route splits the contributory cost into stages: first a temporary visa ($4,245 base fee for the offshore 173, $6,300 for the onshore 884, each with its own second instalment), then a further $19,420 when converting to the permanent 143 or 864. The total ends up about the same as the one-step route.
It suits families who want to spread the payments out rather than reduce them. The conversion step is a separate application with its own rules, so get advice before choosing this route.
Who Is Eligible for Parent Visas?
Eligibility comes down to three tests: who sponsors, the balance-of-family count, and the standard health and character checks. The details differ by subclass.
General Requirements
Every permanent parent visa requires the balance-of-family test; the temporary 870 does not. A parent passes if at least half of their children and stepchildren live permanently in Australia, or if more of them live in Australia than in any other single country.
The Department will not waive this test, even in compassionate cases. Health and character checks apply to every subclass, and for the long-queue visas they usually happen near the end of the wait.
Age and Location Requirements
The aged subclasses (804 and 864) require the parent to be old enough for the Australian age pension, currently 67, while the 103, 143, 173 and 870 have no age requirement.
Location rules are strict: the 103 and 143 are generally lodged from outside Australia, and the 804 and 864 must be lodged in Australia. Where the parent must be when the visa is decided also differs by subclass.
Sponsorship Requirements
The sponsor must be the parent’s child or the child’s partner: an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia, usually meaning about two years of living here. For the 870, the sponsor must also pass a household income test and be approved before the parent applies.
Permanent applications also need an assurance of support, a refundable bond that a supporter lodges with the government. It lasts ten years for contributory visas and four years for the others.
Can parents live in Australia while they wait?
This is where age and location decide everything. A parent old enough for the age pension who is in Australia can lodge an aged application onshore (804 or 864) and usually receives a bridging visa, staying in Australia while the queue runs. Parents in the offshore queues (103 and 143) wait outside Australia and visit on visitor visas.
Because the waits run into decades and keep growing, the right to stay in Australia during the wait is often worth more to a family than anything else about the visa. It is the main reason the aged parent visas hold so much value.
Life on a bridging visa still has clear limits:
- No Medicare — a bridging visa does not give access to Medicare. Unless the parent is from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement with Australia, the family needs private health cover for the whole wait.
- Travel — overseas trips need a bridging visa B (a travel permission for bridging visa holders). Most are currently granted with five years of unlimited travel.
- Not permanent residence — the application itself is still decided decades later, with health and character checked near the end.
A visitor visa with condition 8503 (no further stay) blocks an onshore application until that condition is waived. Check the parent’s visa conditions before they travel to Australia to apply.
What does a parent visa cost?
The $43,600 second instalment is the figure that decides most family budgets. It is charged per parent, shortly before the visa is granted, on top of the first instalment paid at lodgement, so two parents on the contributory route means $99,800 in government fees alone.
- Contributory (143/864) — $6,300 at lodgement, then $43,600 per parent before grant: $49,900 each in total.
- Non-contributory (103/804) — $6,600 at lodgement and a $2,065 second instalment: $8,665 each in total.
- Temporary 870 — $6,370 for three years or $12,440 for five, per parent, with no second instalment.
The assurance of support bond comes on top of every permanent route, and professional fees are separate: see our fixed professional fees.
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★★★★★ 4.9How long are the parent visa queues?
The Department currently estimates that new contributory applications wait about 15 years, and new non-contributory applications about 33 years. Better paperwork cannot shorten this: parent visas are capped, and the wait is set by how many places the Migration Program allocates each year.
The queue is also growing, not shrinking. Far more applications are lodged each year than there are places, and this year’s allocation fell from 8,500 places to 7,060. Today’s estimate describes today’s queue; by the time a place arrives, the wait may well have stretched further.
As at 31 May 2026, the Department’s parent visa processing page showed it was processing:
- contributory applications queued up to November 2018
- non-contributory applications queued up to February 2014
A perfect application joins the same queue as everyone else. What preparation controls is whether the application still succeeds at the end, because health, character and sponsorship are assessed near the end of the wait, sometimes decades after lodgement.
Parent applications moved online in 2026, which changed how supporting documents are lodged. If a parent application has been refused, strict review deadlines apply: see our merits review service and our note on aged-parent refusals.
FAQs about Parent Visas
1. Do parent visa applicants need to meet the Balance of Family Test even if their child is a permanent resident sponsoring them?
Yes. Having an eligible child in Australia does not remove the requirement. The Balance of Family Test applies to all Parent and Contributory Parent visa streams (except Subclass 870). At least half of the applicant’s children must be eligible children, or the majority must live in Australia permanently.
2. If one parent meets the Balance of Family Test but the other does not, can they apply together?
Yes. Only one parent in the couple must satisfy the Balance of Family Test for both parents to lodge a combined application.
3. Can a sponsor lodge a parent visa if they are an Australian permanent resident living overseas temporarily?
Generally no. The sponsor must usually reside in Australia. Short trips abroad are fine, but if the sponsor is living overseas for extended periods, the DHA may refuse the sponsorship application.
4. What happens if my income drops after I lodge the Assurance of Support?
Centrelink reassesses the eligibility at the AoS interview stage. If your income no longer meets the requirement, you may need:
- a joint assurer, or
- to nominate someone else entirely.
The DHA can refuse your application if no eligible assurer is available.
5. If the sponsor becomes unemployed or moves overseas after lodgement, will the DHA refuse the parent visa application?
Not automatically. Once you lodge the application, the sponsor’s circumstances may change. However, if the sponsor is no longer usually resident in Australia or cannot meet the Assurance of Support, the Department may request a new sponsor or new assurer. If no one qualifies, the DHA can refuse the visa.
6. Can an applicant add a spouse to the parent visa application after lodgement?
Sometimes. Spouses / partners can usually be added before the Department begins final processing, but not after health and character checks have been initiated. Accordingly, the timing is crucial.
