Aged Parent Visa 804 vs Contributory Aged Parent Visa 864: Which Is Right?

804 vs 864: the aged parent visa choice explained

If your parent has reached retirement age and you want them in Australia permanently, you’re looking at two visa options: the Aged Parent Visa (Subclass 804) and the Contributory Aged Parent Visa (Subclass 864). They share the same eligibility rules but differ dramatically on cost and wait time. Understanding that trade-off clearly is what this article is for.

Both visas are permanent. Both lead to Australian permanent residency. The core question is how much you’re willing to pay to get there faster, or how long you’re prepared to wait to pay less.

Who qualifies as an “aged parent”?

An “aged parent” under Australian migration law is a parent who has reached Australian pension age. That threshold is currently 67 years old. If your parent is under 67, they don’t qualify for either the 804 or 864. They would instead look at the non-contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 103) or the Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143).

Age is assessed at the time of application. If your parent turns 67 after lodging a 103 or 143 application, they cannot simply switch to the aged parent stream mid-queue. They would need to make a fresh application under the 804 or 864.

Both aged parent visas also require the parent to be physically in Australia when the visa is granted. This is a key difference from the 103 and 143, which can be granted while the applicant is offshore.

Cost comparison: 804 vs 864

The Assurance of Support bond applies to both visas: $10,000 for one adult, $14,000 for two adults. This is a separate financial requirement lodged with a bank, not a visa fee. It is released after 10 years if no social security payments have been claimed against it.

Processing time comparison

This is where the two visas diverge most sharply. As of March 2026, the Department of Home Affairs is processing 103 and 804 applications lodged in July 2013. That is a wait of over 30 years from today’s lodgement date. The 804 sits in the same queue as the 103.

The 864 shares its queue with the 143. As of March 2026, 143 applications from November 2018 are being processed. That is a wait of roughly seven to eight years from today. Still long, but meaningfully shorter than three decades.

For a parent who is already 67, a 30-year wait is not realistic. Most families who ask me about the 804 are doing so because of the lower cost, without fully appreciating what that wait means in practice. A parent lodging a 804 today would likely be in their late 90s before it is granted. That is the honest reality of the current queue.

What you get with each visa

Once granted, both the 804 and 864 provide:

• Permanent residency in Australia
• The right to live, work, and study in Australia indefinitely
• Access to Medicare (Australia’s public health system)
• A pathway to Australian citizenship after meeting residency requirements
• The ability to sponsor eligible family members

Medicare and health coverage

Both the 804 and 864 include Medicare access from the date of grant. This is a significant benefit, particularly for parents who may have ongoing health needs. Neither visa provides Medicare access during the waiting period, which is why many families combine a lodged permanent application with a Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa to cover the gap years.

Work rights

Both visas grant full work rights in Australia from the date of visa grant. During the waiting period, no work rights are available under the 804 or 864 unless the parent holds a separate visa permitting work.

Which is right for your parent?

Here is the practical breakdown as I give it to families:

If your parent is 67 or older and in reasonable health, the 864 is almost always the right call. The cost is substantial but the wait is manageable. A parent lodging a 864 today could realistically be granted permanent residency in their early to mid 70s.

The 804 only makes sense if cost is genuinely prohibitive and your family has genuinely accepted a 30-year queue. In most cases, families who lodge a 804 end up lodging a 864 a few years later anyway, having lost the lodge fee on the 804. If that’s a possibility, it is often better to lodge the 864 from the start.

I also strongly recommend considering the 870 temporary visa alongside either permanent application. It allows your parent to live in Australia for up to 10 years while the permanent queue moves. Read more about how the 870 works as a bridging strategy on the 870 visa page.

Frequently asked questions

Can my parent lodge a 804 and later switch to a 864?

No. These are separate applications with separate queue positions. If your parent has lodged a 804 and you want faster processing, you would need to lodge a fresh 864 application and pay the 864 fees. The 804 application and its fee are not transferable.

Can both parents apply together on one application?

Yes. Secondary applicants (typically the other parent) can be included in the same application. The visa fees apply per person, so costs roughly double for a couple.

Does the balance of family test apply to aged parent visas?

Yes. The balance of family test applies to both the 804 and 864. At least half of your parent’s eligible children must usually reside in Australia. This cannot be waived.

What happens if my parent’s health deteriorates while waiting in the queue?

Health is assessed at the time the Department is ready to finalise the application, not at lodgement. A decline in health between lodgement and finalisation can affect the outcome. This is another reason the lengthy 804 wait creates practical risk for older applicants.