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Australian Parent Visa Processing Times in 2026: The Honest Guide

Written by isoadmin on . Posted in News.

Most parent visa processing time information online is vague, outdated, or both. This guide gives you the actual current queue dates, explains how the system works, and tells you honestly what to expect if you are planning to apply or are already in the queue.

How long does a parent visa take in 2026?

Processing times vary enormously by visa type. The temporary option is measured in months. The permanent non-contributory options are measured in decades. Here is the current picture:

Visa Type Subclass Current Queue Date (March 2026) Wait for New Applications
Contributory Parent 143 November 2018 Approximately 8 years
Parent (Non-Contributory) 103 July 2013 30+ years
Contributory Aged Parent 864 Approximately in line with 143 Approximately 8 years
Aged Parent (Non-Contributory) 804 July 2013 30+ years
Sponsored Parent (Temporary) 870 No queue system Approximately 7 months

These figures reflect the reality of a program with extremely limited places and massive global demand. Understanding why the waits are this long requires understanding how the queue system works. You can also estimate your own wait with our parent visa wait time calculator, and if you are still weighing up options, see our guide to choosing the right parent visa.

How the parent visa queue system works

Australia’s parent visa program is not first-come-first-served in the way most people expect. It operates on a queue and allocation system that is governed by the number of visa places available each year and the order in which eligible applications were lodged.

What is a queue date?

When you lodge a parent visa application and it is found to be valid, it receives a queue date based on when it was submitted. The Department of Home Affairs works through the queue chronologically, granting visas to applications in order of their queue date as places become available.

The “current queue date” published by the Department tells you how far along the queue the Department is currently working. As at March 2026, the 143 queue is at November 2018. That means the Department is currently processing and granting 143 applications lodged in November 2018. Applications lodged in December 2018, January 2019, and onwards are still waiting.

The queue date advances as places are allocated and visas are granted. The rate of advancement depends on how many places are available and how efficiently the Department is processing applications.

How places are allocated each year

The parent visa program receives approximately 8,500 places per year in the annual migration program. These are split between contributory and non-contributory pathways:

  • Contributory parent visas (143, 864, and related temporary-to-permanent pathways): approximately 7,250 places per year
  • Non-contributory parent visas (103, 804): approximately 1,250 places per year

These allocations are set by the government as part of the annual migration planning process and can change from year to year. When the government increases or decreases the parent visa allocation, the queue advancement rate changes accordingly. In years where allocations are cut, the queue barely moves. In years where allocations increase, the queue advances more quickly.

The program year runs from 1 July to 30 June. Applications that cannot be granted within a program year roll over to the next allocation, which keeps the backlog persistent rather than clearing it.

Contributory Parent Visa 143 processing time

Current queue date and what it means

As at March 2026, the Department is processing 143 applications lodged up to November 2018. This is the current queue date. If you lodged your 143 in November 2018 or earlier, you are likely either being processed now or close to it. If you lodged in 2019, 2020 or later, you are still in the queue.

The queue for the 143 has been advancing at roughly 10 to 14 months per calendar year in recent years, depending on annual place allocations and administrative processing volumes. At that rate, an application lodged today might expect to wait approximately 7 to 9 years before the second instalment invitation arrives.

Realistic timeline if you apply today

An application lodged in mid-2026 on the 143 would receive a queue date of mid-2026. Based on current processing, the Department would not reach that date until approximately 2033 to 2034 at the earliest. That is the realistic horizon, not a worst-case scenario.

This does not mean nothing happens for 8 years. The application is lodged, assessed for completeness, and sits in the queue. Medicals and police checks are typically requested closer to when the application nears the front. The second instalment invitation arrives when the visa is ready to be granted.

If your parent needs to be in Australia during that waiting period, the Subclass 870 is the practical bridging option. Most families pursuing a 143 use the 870 concurrently.

Non-Contributory Visa 103 processing time

Why the wait is 30+ years

The Subclass 103 receives only around 1,250 places per year across all non-contributory parent visa categories. The current queue date is July 2013. That means applications lodged 13 years ago are only now being processed.

The mathematics are straightforward and grim. If the queue is currently at July 2013 and advances roughly one year per calendar year (an optimistic estimate given the low allocation), an application lodged today in June 2026 would not reach the front of the queue until approximately 2039 or later. In practice, the non-contributory queue advances more slowly than that, which is why the accepted estimate for new applications is 30+ years.

For parents in their 60s today, that means the 103 is not a realistic path to permanent residence within their likely lifetime. The 103 is almost never the right primary strategy for parents hoping to live with family in Australia. It may be worth lodging as a secondary application alongside a 143 as a theoretical fallback, but it should not be relied upon as the primary plan.

Aged parent visas 804 and 864 processing times

The Subclass 864 and Subclass 804 follow the same queue logic as the 143 and 103 respectively. The 864 has a similar queue position to the 143, and the 804 mirrors the 103’s 30+ year wait.

One significant difference with aged parent visas is that the 864 (and 804) can be lodged onshore: the parent can be physically in Australia when the application is made. For parents who are already in Australia on a visitor visa or the 870 and who meet the aged parent criteria (pension age in Australia), the 864 offers the option to begin the permanent residence process without the parent needing to return overseas to lodge.

The aged parent category also has its own balance of family test requirements. Eligibility for aged parent visas depends on more than just the applicant’s age, so confirming parent visa eligibility before lodging is important.

Sponsored Parent Visa 870: the fastest option

The Subclass 870 is the only parent visa option with processing times measured in months rather than years. The Department has been processing 870 applications in approximately 7 months. Unlike the permanent visas, the 870 does not operate on a queue system. It is assessed on individual merit and processed in order of lodgement without the annual allocation constraint.

There is, however, a cap. The government allows 15,000 new 870 approvals per year. In years where the cap is reached early, later applications in the program year may experience delays or be held over to the next year. Applying early in the program year (from 1 July) reduces this risk.

The 870 does not lead to permanent residence. It allows up to 10 years total stay in Australia across multiple grants, with no pathway to citizenship and no Medicare access. It is a temporary solution, not a destination.

How to check current processing times

The most reliable source for current queue dates is the Department of Home Affairs’ parent visa processing times page, updated monthly at homeaffairs.gov.au. The queue dates for 143, 103, 864, and 804 are published there, along with the current processing month for each stream.

The Department also publishes estimated processing times for the 870 on the same page. These are typically expressed as a range (for example, “75% of applications processed within 8 months”) and are updated periodically.

One practical note: the Department’s published queue dates reflect when they are currently granting visas, not when they are doing preliminary assessment work. An application that is sitting at the front of the queue may still take several more months to reach grant after the queue date is passed, because medicals, police checks, and second instalment payment all need to be completed.

What to do while waiting

If you have lodged a permanent parent visa and face a multi-year wait, there are several things worth attending to during that period.

  • Keep contact details current with the Department. All correspondence goes through ImmiAccount. If your email address changes, update it immediately. Missed second instalment invitations are a real and avoidable problem.
  • Maintain valid bridging arrangements. If the parent wants to spend time in Australia during the wait, the 870 is the structured option. Visitor visas can supplement this but have limitations on total time in Australia.
  • Plan for the second instalment. For 143 and 864 applications, the second instalment of approximately $43,600 per person will arrive. Start saving or making financial arrangements now rather than scrambling when the invitation comes.
  • Keep documents accessible. Health records, police checks, and identity documents will be requested when the application nears grant. Having organised records reduces delays at that stage.
  • Review your migration agent’s ongoing role. Some agents offer annual review services to ensure your application file remains current. This is worth having for long-queue applications.

Frequently asked questions

Can I speed up my parent visa application by paying extra?

No. There is no priority processing or fast-track option for parent visas. All applications are processed in queue order based on their lodgement date. The only way to get a parent to Australia faster is through the 870, which is a separate temporary visa with its own processing stream.

What happens if processing times improve significantly?

If the government increases the annual parent visa allocation, queue dates advance more quickly and wait times shorten. This has happened before when migration program settings were adjusted. It can also go the other way: if allocations are reduced, the queue slows down. The estimates in this guide reflect current settings and recent trends, not a guarantee of future processing times.

Does lodging early in the program year affect my queue date?

Your queue date is based on the date your application is validly lodged, not the program year. Lodging on 1 July rather than 30 June gets you one day ahead in the queue, not a full year. The program year matters for when annual places are allocated, but your position in the queue relative to other applicants is determined by your individual lodgement date.

My parent is currently in Australia on a visitor visa. Can they lodge a 143 from onshore?

For the standard Subclass 143, the application is generally lodged onshore or offshore, and a parent who is in Australia on a valid temporary visa can lodge from here. Since April 2026, lodgement must be done online through ImmiAccount regardless of where the applicant is located. The parent can remain in Australia on a bridging visa after lodging, subject to the conditions of that bridging visa. The April 2026 lodgement changes are worth reviewing if you are planning to lodge soon.

Can I withdraw my 103 application and lodge a 143 instead?

Yes. Families who lodged a 103 and have since decided the wait is unrealistic can withdraw and lodge a 143 instead. The 103 application fee is not refunded, and the 143 lodgement fee applies as a new application. However, a new 143 application today gets a 2026 queue date, which means an approximately 8-year wait for grant rather than the 30+ years remaining on the 103 queue. For many families, this trade-off is worth it.

Get clear on your timeline before you commit

Processing times shape every financial and practical decision your family makes around a parent visa. I am Andrew Heathcote, a registered migration agent (MARN 0850840) based in Brisbane, with more than 15 years working specifically in parent migration. I can tell you exactly where your application sits, what to expect, and how to structure your family’s arrangements sensibly in the meantime.

Contact me for a consultation and let’s map out a realistic plan.

Choosing the Right Australian Parent Visa: A Decision Framework

Written by isoadmin on . Posted in News.

Australia offers five distinct parent visa pathways. Each one has a different cost, waiting time, eligibility test, and set of ongoing conditions. Choosing the wrong one does not just cost money. It can mean your parent waits years longer than necessary, or spends years outside Australia when they could have been here.

This guide walks through the key decision factors clearly and honestly. I am Andrew Heathcote, a registered migration agent with over 15 years of experience handling parent visas. This is the framework I use with clients.

Why the right strategy matters more than you think

Parent visa decisions have consequences that play out over decades. The Subclass 143, for example, involves lodging an application that will sit in a queue for 12 to 15 years before it progresses to the second stage. The wrong choice made at lodgement cannot easily be undone. Similarly, committing to the Subclass 103 rather than the 143 to save the initial application fee means a 30-plus-year wait instead of 12-to-15. That is not a theoretical difference.

The decisions made now, including whether to also apply for a Subclass 870 while waiting, will shape your family’s life for a long time. Getting it right at the start is worth the investment.

The full landscape: all five parent visa options

Visa Type Cost (per person) Wait time Balance of family test Medicare
Subclass 143 Permanent ~$48,640 12-15 years Required On arrival
Subclass 103 Permanent ~$7,345 30+ years Required After grant
Subclass 864 Permanent (onshore) ~$48,640 12-15 years Required On arrival
Subclass 804 Permanent (onshore) ~$7,345 30+ years Required After grant
Subclass 870 Temporary ~$1,045-$5,175 ~7 months Not required No access

Annual places across the entire parent visa program are approximately 8,500: roughly 7,250 contributory places (143 and 864) and 1,250 non-contributory places (103 and 804). The 870 has a separate cap of 15,000 grants per year.

Decision factor 1: how urgently does your parent need to be in Australia?

If urgency is the primary driver, the permanent visa queues are not the answer. The fastest permanent visa pathway still takes over a decade. See current parent visa processing times for the queue dates behind that. If your parent needs to be in Australia within the next one to three years, the only viable option is the Subclass 870 or a visitor visa arrangement while a longer-term strategy is built.

If urgency is moderate, meaning the parent wants to be in Australia within two to five years, the 870 can get them here quickly and the permanent visa application can run in parallel. This is the 870-plus-143 combination strategy and it is the most commonly recommended approach for families with reasonable financial resources.

If the family is playing a long game and the parent is happy to wait abroad until the permanent visa is granted, lodging the permanent visa now and waiting is a viable path, provided the balance of family test and other eligibility rules are met.

Decision factor 2: what can you afford?

Budget scenarios by visa type

The cost difference between the contributory and non-contributory permanent visas is stark. The Subclass 143 costs approximately $48,640 per person across both instalments. The Subclass 103 costs approximately $7,345 per person. The non-contributory option saves roughly $41,000 per parent.

But the 103’s 30-plus-year wait compared to 12-to-15 years for the 143 means the parent will likely never see the visa granted if they are already in their 50s or 60s. The apparent saving is illusory for most families. Paying the higher contributory fee is usually the right financial decision when the alternative is waiting 30 years.

For the 870, the upfront government fees are low. The ongoing cost is private health insurance, which is mandatory. For an older parent, this can be several thousand dollars per year. Over a decade, the health insurance cost can approach or exceed the second instalment of the 143.

Families pursuing the 870-plus-143 strategy need to budget for: the 143 first instalment now (~$5,040), ongoing 870 health insurance for up to 10 years, and the 143 second instalment (~$43,600) when invited.

Decision factor 3: your parent’s age and health situation

Age affects several things. The Aged Parent visas (Subclass 864 onshore and Subclass 804 onshore) require the parent to be of pension age. If the parent is not yet pension age, only the 143 and 103 are available as permanent options, plus the 870 as a temporary option.

Health is a factor for every parent visa application. All permanent and temporary parent visas require a health examination. Parents with significant medical conditions may face health requirement complications. The contributory visas do not waive the health requirement, and meeting it is a condition of grant.

For the 870, health must be met at each renewal. A parent whose health is currently good but may deteriorate over a 10-year bridge period faces real risk of failing the health examination at a later renewal.

Decision factor 4: will your parent pass the balance of family test?

The balance of family test is required for all four permanent parent visa subclasses. It cannot be waived. The test requires that at least half of the parent’s children who are still living must reside permanently in Australia, or that more of the parent’s children live in Australia than in any other single country.

For families spread across multiple countries, this test can be the decisive barrier. If the parent has four children and only one lives in Australia while three live in the UK, the test fails. No amount of sponsorship or financial contribution overcomes a failed balance of family test for the permanent visas.

This is where the Subclass 870 becomes genuinely important. The balance of family test does not apply to the 870. For parents who cannot pass the test, the 870 may be the only realistic path to spending meaningful time in Australia.

The 870-then-143 combination strategy

For most families with adequate financial resources, the recommended approach is to lodge the 143 now to secure a queue position, then apply for the 870 to get the parent to Australia in the interim. The 870’s 10-year maximum allows the parent to spend up to a decade in Australia while the 143 queue moves.

This strategy works best when the family lodged the 143 application some years ago (reducing the remaining wait below 10 years), when the sponsor consistently meets the $83,454.80 income threshold, and when the parent’s health allows for health insurance at a reasonable premium.

For newly lodging families, the 10-year 870 cap will run out before the 143 is granted, meaning a gap period will need to be managed. This is a real limitation of the strategy and should be planned for, not ignored.

When a registered migration agent makes a real difference

Parent visa decisions have long consequences and significant costs. The interaction between the balance of family test, the queue dates, the 870 cap, the Assurance of Support bond ($10,000 for one adult, $14,000 for two adults), and the health requirements means there are many variables to get right simultaneously.

A registered migration agent can assess your specific family circumstances, identify whether the balance of family test is met, calculate which combination of visas makes sense, manage the applications, and ensure documents are prepared correctly. Errors on a parent visa application are not easily fixed after lodgement.

Since 22 April 2026, all permanent parent visa applications lodge online via ImmiAccount, which has changed some procedural aspects of the process. Getting advice from an agent who is current with those changes matters.

Frequently asked questions

Can my parent apply for both a permanent parent visa and the 870 at the same time?

Yes. The 870 and any of the permanent parent visas are independent applications. Holding or applying for the 870 does not affect a pending permanent visa application. Many families run both simultaneously.

What is the Assurance of Support bond and does it apply to the 870?

The Assurance of Support (AoS) is a financial bond required for permanent parent visa grants. It is $10,000 for one adult and $14,000 for two adults, held with a bank for 10 years after the visa is granted. It is not required for the 870. If the parent later transitions to a permanent parent visa, the AoS will apply at that point.

What if my parent cannot pass the balance of family test but I still want them here permanently?

If the balance of family test cannot be met, none of the four permanent parent visas are available. The 870 is the only pathway for extended stays. The 870 cannot lead to permanent residence, so unless the family’s circumstances change (for example, other children relocate to Australia), permanent residence through a parent visa may not be achievable. This is a hard reality that is better understood early than discovered after years of planning.

Is the Subclass 864 the same as the 143 but for older parents?

They are similar but not the same. The Subclass 864 is the onshore version of the contributory parent visa, meaning the parent must be in Australia when they apply. The Subclass 143 can be applied for onshore or offshore. Both cost approximately $48,640 per person and have similar processing times. The key distinction is where the parent is at time of application.

How do I know which permanent visa to lodge if my parent is overseas?

For a parent who is not of pension age and is outside Australia, the Subclass 143 is typically the relevant option. For a parent of pension age outside Australia, the 143 is still available. The 864 and 804 require the parent to be in Australia at time of application. If your parent is overseas and needs guidance on which visa to lodge, a consultation with a registered migration agent will give you a clear answer based on their age, location, and family composition.

Get a strategy that actually fits your family

Every family’s situation is different. The visa that is right for one family may be wrong for another. I am Andrew Heathcote, registered migration agent MARN 0850840, based in Brisbane. I will give you a straight assessment of your options, the costs, and the realistic timeline, then manage the applications if you want to proceed.

Book a parent visa strategy consultation