How to Bring Your Parents to Australia Permanently: A Complete Guide

Can you bring your parents to Australia permanently?

Yes, you can bring your parents to Australia permanently, but it takes planning, patience, and in most cases a significant financial commitment. Australia’s permanent parent visa program has four main visa subclasses, a lengthy queue, and a limited annual allocation of roughly 8,500 places across all streams. The earlier you understand the system, the better placed you are to navigate it.

This guide covers everything: who can sponsor a parent, what your parent needs to qualify, which visa suits your situation, what it costs, how long it takes, and what mistakes to avoid. I’ve been working on parent visa cases for over 15 years and the questions I get most often are addressed directly here.

Who is eligible to sponsor a parent?

Australian citizenship, permanent residency or eligible NZ citizens

To sponsor a parent for a permanent visa, you must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. Eligible NZ citizens are those who hold a Special Category Visa (SCV) and have been resident in Australia for at least two years.

Temporary visa holders cannot sponsor a parent for a permanent visa. If you are on a temporary skilled visa, a student visa, or a partner visa that has not yet been granted permanently, you cannot be the primary sponsor. You would need to wait until you hold permanent residency or citizenship.

Residence requirements for the sponsor

There is no strict minimum residence period required for most sponsors, but you must be settled in Australia at the time of application. The Department will assess whether Australia is genuinely your usual country of residence. If you have been here for only a few months or are frequently absent, that can raise questions about the genuineness of the sponsorship.

For the Aged Parent Visa (804) and Contributory Aged Parent Visa (864), the sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible NZ citizen who is settled in Australia.

Does your parent qualify? Key eligibility checks

The balance of family test

The balance of family test is the eligibility requirement that catches the most families off guard. Your parent must pass this test to be eligible for a permanent parent visa.

The test works like this: at least half of your parent’s eligible children must usually reside in Australia. Alternatively, more of your parent’s children must usually reside in Australia than in any other single country.

Eligible children include biological children, adopted children, and stepchildren. Children who are deceased are excluded. The count looks at where children usually live, not their nationality or visa status.

One important and frequently misunderstood point: children on temporary visas in Australia do not count as “usually resident in Australia” for the purposes of this test. A sibling on a student visa or a working holiday visa does not tip the balance in your favour. Only those with permanent residency, citizenship, or settled long-term status count.

This test cannot be waived and there is no discretionary override. If your parent does not pass it, there is no permanent visa pathway available to them.

Health and character requirements

Your parent must meet Australian health and character requirements. Health is assessed through a medical examination conducted by a Department-approved physician. The examination includes blood tests, chest X-rays, and a general health assessment. For older applicants, additional tests may be required.

Australia applies a health waiver in limited circumstances, but the cost-to-health-care ratio is a strict filter. Character requirements involve police clearances from every country where your parent has lived for 12 months or more in the past 10 years.

Financial requirements: Assurance of Support

Before a permanent parent visa is granted, an Assurance of Support (AoS) is required. This is a financial bond lodged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia. The amounts are $10,000 for one adult applicant and $14,000 for two adults. The bond is held for 10 years. If your parent claims certain social security payments during that period, the government recovers those amounts from the bond. After 10 years without a claim, the bond is released back to you.

The AoS is separate from visa application fees. It is a cash deposit, not a payment.

Your permanent parent visa options

Contributory Parent Visa 143: faster and more expensive

The Subclass 143 Contributory Parent Visa is the most practical permanent option for most families. It costs approximately $48,640 per person (roughly $5,040 at lodgement and $43,600 before grant) and as of March 2026 the Department is processing applications lodged in November 2018. That puts the current wait at around seven to eight years from lodgement today.

The 143 can be lodged and granted while your parent is offshore or onshore. Upon grant, your parent receives Medicare access from day one.

Non-Contributory Parent Visa 103: lower cost but very slow

The Subclass 103 Parent Visa costs approximately $7,345 per person, with no second instalment. The catch: as of March 2026, the Department is processing July 2013 lodgements. From today’s lodgement date, you are looking at 30 or more years in the queue.

The 103 is technically still available and people do still lodge it. In most cases I advise against it unless cost is genuinely the primary constraint and your family fully understands what a multi-decade wait means. Unlike the 143, Medicare under the 103 is available only after the visa is granted, not on arrival in Australia.

Aged Parent Visas 804 and 864

If your parent is 67 or older (the current Australian pension age), they qualify for the aged parent stream instead of the standard stream. The Subclass 864 Contributory Aged Parent Visa costs approximately $48,640 and shares the 143’s queue. The Subclass 804 Aged Parent Visa costs approximately $7,345 and shares the 103’s queue.

A critical difference from the 103 and 143: aged parent visas must be granted while your parent is physically in Australia. They cannot be granted offshore.

The 870 temporary visa as a first step

The Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa deserves serious consideration alongside any permanent application. It is a temporary visa, capped at 15,000 grants per year, and allows your parent to live in Australia for up to three or five years per grant, with a maximum stay of 10 years total.

The 870 does not require the balance of family test. It does not lead to permanent residency directly. Processing is typically around seven months. Your parent will not have Medicare or work rights on an 870.

The sponsor income requirement for the 870 is $83,454.80, which can be combined with a partner’s income.

How to use the 870 while a permanent application is in the queue

The most common strategy I see is this: lodge the permanent visa application (usually a 143 or 864), then lodge the 870 to cover the waiting period. This lets your parent spend meaningful time in Australia with you now, rather than waiting offshore for seven or more years before the permanent visa comes through.

There are two things to keep in mind. First, the 870 does not provide Medicare. Private health insurance is essential. Second, only 15,000 870 visas are granted per year globally, so earlier lodgement is better.

Step-by-step: how to apply for a parent visa

Step 1: check eligibility

Before lodging anything, confirm three things: you can sponsor (citizen, PR, or eligible NZ citizen), your parent passes the balance of family test, and your parent meets the health and character criteria. The balance of family test is the most common stumbling block. Do this analysis carefully before paying any fees.

Step 2: gather your documents

Core documents include your parent’s passport and birth certificate, birth certificates for all of your parent’s eligible children, evidence of the children’s usual country of residence, your citizenship or residency evidence, police clearance certificates for your parent, and medical examination results. Start gathering these early. Police clearances from some countries take weeks or months.

Step 3: lodge online via ImmiAccount (required from April 2026)

From 22 April 2026, all permanent parent visa applications must be lodged online through ImmiAccount. Paper lodgement is no longer accepted. You will need to create or log in to your ImmiAccount, complete the relevant form, attach all supporting documents, and pay the first instalment of the visa application charge. Details on the online lodgement changes are covered on the parent visa online lodgement page.

Step 4: await queue release and finalise

After lodgement, your application enters the queue. The Department will contact you when it is approaching the front of the queue to request updated documents, health examinations, and the Assurance of Support. The second instalment of the visa application charge (for the 143 and 864) is paid at this stage, not at lodgement.

How long it takes and what it costs

Common mistakes that cause delays or refusals

The balance of family test is miscalculated. Families often include children on temporary visas in the count without realising those children do not satisfy the “usually resident” requirement. The calculation must be done correctly before lodgement.

Documents are not certified or translated. If any document is not in English, it must be translated by a NAATI-accredited translator. Uncertified copies of identity documents are commonly rejected.

Health examinations are arranged too early. Medical results are only valid for 12 months. If you arrange the medical before lodgement and the application is not finalised within that window, the exam will need to be repeated.

The Assurance of Support is not set up in time. The AoS must be arranged before the visa is granted, but the bank process takes time. Leaving it to the last minute when the Department is ready to finalise the application causes unnecessary delays.

The sponsor’s status changes between lodgement and grant. If the sponsor loses permanent residency or citizenship for any reason, the sponsorship is affected. This is rare but worth noting for complex situations.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sponsor both parents on the same application?

Yes. Both parents can be included in a single application as the primary and secondary applicant. Visa fees apply per person, so the total cost is roughly doubled for a couple.

My parent failed the balance of family test. Are there any other options?

There is no permanent visa pathway if the balance of family test is not met. The 870 temporary visa does not require the test, so your parent could live in Australia temporarily for up to 10 years. That said, it does not lead to permanent residency.

Can my parent work in Australia on a permanent parent visa?

Yes. Both the 143 and 103 (and their aged equivalents) grant full work rights. However, most parents in their 60s or 70s are not looking to work. The more relevant benefit is usually Medicare access and the ability to be close to family.

Do processing times ever change?

They move slowly and usually in one direction. The annual allocation is approximately 8,500 places across all permanent parent streams. With a large backlog and limited annual places, the queue does not clear quickly. Times quoted here are as of early 2026 and may shift slightly.

Is there a faster way to get parents to Australia permanently?

Not through the parent visa program. The 143 and 864 are the fastest options and they still take seven to eight years. There is no premium processing or priority pathway for parent visas outside the normal queue.

Does it matter which country my parent lives in?

No. Parent visa applications are available to applicants from any country. The same rules, costs, and queue positions apply regardless of nationality. Country of origin can affect police clearance requirements and the time needed to gather documents.