The Parent Visa Landscape
The Parent Visa Landscape
Before you can choose a pathway, you need the map. There are six permanent parent visa subclasses, plus a separate temporary sponsored option. They look bewildering at first, but they are really just the same idea sorted along three simple lines: how you pay, where the parent is, and whether the visa is permanent. Once you can see those three lines, the whole system falls into place.
This chapter is general information, not advice about your family's situation. It does not create any agent and client relationship. Use it to understand your options, then research the specific pathway that fits.
The three questions that sort everything
Every parent visa answers three questions. Hold these in your head and the rest is detail.
- Contributory or non-contributory? Contributory visas require a large financial contribution per parent, and in exchange the wait is measured in years rather than decades. Non-contributory visas cost little to lodge, but the wait is measured in decades. There is no cheap, fast option. See the Current Fees and Figures page for the charges and the current indicative waits.
- Onshore or offshore? Some parent visas must be lodged while the parent is inside Australia (onshore), others while the parent is outside Australia (offshore). This is not a preference, it is a hard requirement of each subclass, and getting it wrong invalidates the application.
- Permanent or temporary? Most parent visas are permanent. Two of them are temporary first steps that let a parent pay a smaller contribution now and pay the balance later when they move to the permanent visa. The temporary visa is never the destination, only the doorway.
The six permanent subclasses
| Subclass | Contributory? | Onshore or offshore | Permanent? | Aged only? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 103 Parent | No | Offshore | Yes | No |
| 804 Aged Parent | No | Onshore | Yes | Yes |
| 143 Contributory Parent | Yes | Offshore | Yes | No |
| 173 Contributory Parent (Temporary) | Yes (first stage) | Offshore | Temporary | No |
| 864 Contributory Aged Parent | Yes | Onshore | Yes | Yes |
| 884 Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) | Yes (first stage) | Onshore | Temporary | Yes |
"Aged only" means the parent must have reached age pension age to qualify. See the Current Fees and Figures page for the current pension age. The aged subclasses (804, 864, 884) are the onshore family; the others are lodged offshore.
Contributory versus non-contributory: the central trade-off
This is the decision that dominates everything, so be clear about it.
The non-contributory visas (103 and 804) are cheap to lodge. There is no large contribution. But the queue is extraordinarily long, measured in decades. For many families this is simply not a practical pathway for a parent to live to see granted. See the Current Fees and Figures page for the current indicative wait.
The contributory visas (143, 173, 864, 884) require a substantial contribution per parent, paid as a second instalment. A couple pays it twice, once for each parent. In exchange, the wait shrinks from decades to years. The onshore aged contributory pathway (884 then 864) is currently the fastest of all, and it lets a pension-age parent already in Australia remain here on a bridging visa for the whole wait. See the Current Fees and Figures page for the charges and current waits.
For how the wait itself works, how a queue date compares to the current queue release date, and why the two contributory and non-contributory queues move at such different speeds, see 16 The Parent Visa Queue.
Why the aged contributory pathway is powerful
A pension-age parent who is already in Australia on a visitor visa can lodge onshore, move onto a Bridging Visa A, and live in Australia lawfully for the entire wait while the permanent visa is processed. The wait is still years, but it is a wait spent here, with the family, rather than overseas. See 06 Subclass 884 Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) and 05 Subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent.
The temporary two-step: 173 and 884
The two temporary subclasses exist for one reason: to spread the large contributory cost over time. Instead of paying the full contribution at once, the parent pays a smaller first-stage contribution, holds a temporary visa, and then applies for the permanent visa and pays the balance.
- 04 Subclass 173 Contributory Parent (Temporary) is the offshore first step toward the permanent 03 Subclass 143 Contributory Parent.
- 06 Subclass 884 Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) is the onshore first step toward the permanent 05 Subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent.
The second step is a separate application with its own fees
The move from the temporary visa to the permanent one is a new application, with a new charge and the balance of the contribution. It is easy to forget when planning your family's total cost. Budget for both stages from the start. See the Current Fees and Figures page.
What every parent visa has in common
Whichever pathway you choose, the same core requirements apply to all six subclasses:
- The balance of family test. At least half the parent's children must live in Australia as eligible residents, or more must live in Australia than in any other single country. This is the gate. If it is not met, no parent visa is available. Read 02 The Balance of Family Test before anything else.
- A sponsor. An eligible child (or in limited cases the child's partner, or an approved community organisation) sponsors the parent and accepts formal undertakings.
- An assurance of support. An assurer, approved by Services Australia, lodges a financial assurance and pays a bond. This obligation runs for a long period. See the Current Fees and Figures page.
- Health and character. These are assessed at the time the visa is decided, not when it is lodged. On a long queue, that can be many years after lodgement, which is why parents can pass at lodgement and fail at grant.
The separate option: subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary)
There is one more parent visa that sits outside the six above. The subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) lets an approved sponsor bring a parent to Australia temporarily for an extended visit. It is not a pathway to permanent residence and does not lead to any of the visas above. It requires the sponsoring child to be approved as a parent sponsor before the visa application is made, carries a two-stage charge, and requires the parent to hold adequate health insurance for the life of the visa. See the Current Fees and Figures page for the charges.
GAP: This kit does not yet include a dedicated chapter on the subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa, its sponsor approval process, its health insurance standard, or its detailed conditions. Anyone considering the 870 should confirm the current requirements directly with the Department of Home Affairs, and Andy should decide whether a full 870 chapter is added to the kit.
Reading the rest of the kit
Read 02 The Balance of Family Test next, because it decides whether any of this is open to your family at all. Then read the chapter for the specific subclass that fits your parent's age, location and budget. The Current Fees and Figures page holds every current number.