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Tag: subclass 864

Elderly grandparents at a family celebration in Australia on an Aged Parent Visa subclass 804 or 864

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

Written by webadmin on . Posted in News.

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

Fee Subclass 804 Subclass 864
First instalment (at lodgement) ~$7,345 per person ~$5,040 per person
Second instalment (before grant) None ~$43,600 per person
Total per person ~$7,345 ~$48,640

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.

Ready to work out the right visa for your parent?

I’m Andrew Heathcote, a registered migration agent (MARN 0850840) based in Brisbane with 15+ years working on parent visas. I can assess your parent’s eligibility, walk you through the real costs, and help you build a strategy that actually works for your family’s situation.

Book a consultation

Australian passport and visa application documents representing the Assurance of Support requirement for parent visas

Assurance of Support for Australian Parent Visas: What You Need to Know

Written by webadmin on . Posted in News.

The Assurance of Support is one of the most misunderstood parts of the Australian parent visa process. Families either don’t know it exists until late in the application, or they understand it vaguely as “a bond” without grasping what it actually commits them to. This guide covers it plainly.

What is an Assurance of Support?

An Assurance of Support (AoS) is a legal commitment made by a person in Australia (the assurer) to repay the Commonwealth government if the visa holder accesses certain welfare payments during a defined period. It is backed by a cash bond held by the Department of Social Services.

In practical terms: if your parent is granted a permanent parent visa, someone in Australia needs to vouch financially that they will not rely on government welfare payments for the specified period. That person lodges a bond in cash. If your parent receives certain welfare payments and the government seeks reimbursement, the bond can be drawn down. If no claims are made, the bond is returned in full at the end of the period.

The AoS is administered by Services Australia (formerly Centrelink), not by the Department of Home Affairs. It is a separate process from the visa application itself, but it is a condition that must be met before the visa can be granted.

Which parent visas require an Assurance of Support?

The AoS is required for the following parent visas:

The temporary Sponsored Parent Visa (Subclass 870) does not require an Assurance of Support. This is one of the practical advantages of the 870 for families where the bond requirement creates difficulties.

How much is the Assurance of Support bond?

The bond amount depends on how many adults are included in the visa application.

Single applicant

For a single adult visa applicant, the AoS bond is $10,000. This is paid as a lump sum to Services Australia before the visa is granted.

Two applicants together

If two adults are applying together (for example, both parents on a joint application), the bond is $14,000 for both combined. It is not $10,000 per person when applying jointly. This is a common source of confusion.

The bond is paid in full upfront. There are no payment plan options. The assurer needs to have the cash available at the point the bond is requested, which typically occurs when the visa is close to being granted.

Who can be an assurer?

The assurer is usually the sponsoring child in Australia, but it does not have to be. An assurer must be:

  • An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
  • At least 18 years of age
  • Resident in Australia
  • Able to meet the income threshold for the AoS period

There can be more than one assurer on a single AoS. Having a joint assurer (for example, the Australian child and their partner) is common and is often necessary to meet the income requirements.

Income requirements

The assurer must demonstrate sufficient income to meet the government’s threshold. The income test is applied at the time the AoS bond is lodged. Services Australia assesses whether the assurer’s income is adequate to support both their existing dependants and the incoming visa holder(s) without recourse to government support.

The income thresholds are updated periodically and vary depending on the assurer’s family composition. If the assurer’s income falls below the relevant threshold, the AoS may not be approved, which can block the visa grant. It is worth confirming income eligibility early in the process rather than finding out late.

Can a partner’s income be combined?

Yes. If the primary assurer is in a relationship, they can include their partner as a co-assurer, and the combined household income is assessed against the threshold. This is actually how most families get across the line when a single income is not enough. Both partners need to be willing to enter into the legal commitment of the AoS, and both need to meet the eligibility criteria above.

What happens if the assurance is called in?

During the AoS period, if your parent accesses certain welfare payments (primarily income support payments from Centrelink), Services Australia can seek repayment from the assurer. The bond is available to cover these costs. If the welfare debt exceeds the bond amount, the assurer may be personally liable for the shortfall.

In practice, most parent visa holders do not access the specific welfare payments that trigger AoS recovery. The main risk categories are income support payments, which parents generally cannot access for several years after arriving in Australia regardless of the AoS. But the commitment is real and should be understood before it is entered into.

The AoS period for contributory parent visas (143 and 864) is 10 years from visa grant. For non-contributory parent visas (103 and 804), the period is also 10 years.

When is the bond released?

The $10,000 or $14,000 bond is held for the full 10-year AoS period. At the end of that period, provided no recovery action has reduced the bond balance, the full amount is returned to the assurer. Services Australia initiates the release process and the funds are returned by cheque or direct deposit.

There is no interest earned on the bond during the holding period. The money sits in a Commonwealth Bank account in the assurer’s name but earns nothing. The real financial cost of the AoS is not the $10,000 or $14,000 itself (since you get it back), but the 10-year opportunity cost of having that capital locked away.

Frequently asked questions

Can the AoS bond be paid in instalments?

No. The bond must be paid as a single lump sum when Services Australia approves the AoS and issues a payment request. There is no instalment arrangement. If you do not have the funds available at that point, the AoS cannot proceed and the visa cannot be granted.

What if the assurer’s financial circumstances change after the bond is lodged?

Once the AoS is in force, the assurer’s ongoing financial situation does not affect the bond itself. The bond amount is fixed at lodgement. However, if the assurer loses income and becomes unable to meet the obligations of the AoS agreement (for example, reimbursing the government for welfare payments accessed by the visa holder), they remain legally liable regardless. The AoS is a genuine legal commitment, not just a deposit.

Does the AoS affect the assurer’s ability to access welfare payments themselves?

Not directly. The AoS does not automatically exclude the assurer from accessing Centrelink payments they are otherwise entitled to. However, Services Australia will consider the assurer’s income and assets when assessing any future payments, and having a significant cash bond in their name may affect some means-tested calculations.

What happens to the bond if the visa holder passes away during the 10-year period?

If the visa holder passes away during the AoS period, the obligation generally ends. Services Australia should be notified, and the remaining bond balance (less any amounts already claimed for welfare payments) can be returned early. The exact process depends on individual circumstances and it is worth contacting Services Australia directly when this situation arises.

Get the full picture before you commit

The Assurance of Support catches families off guard more than almost any other part of the parent visa process. I am Andrew Heathcote, a registered migration agent (MARN 0850840) based in Brisbane. I have been working on parent visas for more than 15 years and I can walk you through exactly what the AoS means for your family, whether you meet the income requirements, and how to structure it properly.

Contact me for a consultation before you get to the point where the AoS becomes urgent.