Subclass 864- CONTRIBUTORY AGED PARENT VISA 

This is the faster of the two permanent parent visa pathways, but it comes with a substantial additional second instalment paid shortly before the visa is granted. It suits parents (and sponsoring families) who can afford the higher upfront cost in exchange for a significantly shorter processing time than the non-contributory option. To qualify, both the parent applicant and their sponsoring child in Australia need to meet the requirements below.

This is an onshore visa option that will allow you to await the outcome of the visa decision onshore.

Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must:

• have a child who is an eligible Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen 
• meet the ‘balance of family’ test. This requires that at least half of your children reside in Australia, or that more of your children reside in Australia than in any other single country

Note: You are not required to meet this test if you hold an eligible subclass 884 Temporary Contributory Aged Parent visa

• be old enough to qualify for the Australian age pension, meaning 66-67 years old (depending upon your date of birth)
• pay an additional (‘contributory’) charge to the Australian Government immediately prior to the grant of your visa

Australian Child

Your Australian child must:

• be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• be settled in Australia (generally this means that your child must have resided in Australia for at least two years)
• be at least 18 years old, and willing to sponsor your application
  • Note: You may instead be sponsored by your child’s spouse or de facto partner, provided that this person meets the above requirements. Alternatively, if your child is under 18, you may in some circumstances be sponsored by a relative or guardian of your child, or by a community organisation
• undertake to provide you with any necessary financial and accommodation support for the first two years that you live in Australia

Subclass 804 - NON CONTRIBUTORY AGED PARENT VISA 

This permanent visa pathway has lower upfront costs than the Contributory option, but current processing times are considerably longer — often extending well beyond decades due to visa allocation limits (30 years plus ). It's worth discussing realistic timeframes before choosing this pathway, this is an onshore visa option that will allow you to await the outcome of the visa decision onshore. Eligibility requirements mirror the Contributory visa, covering both the parent applicant and the sponsoring Australian child.

Applicant

• have a child who is an eligible Australian citizen, permanent resident, or New Zealand citizen (see below)
• meet the ‘balance of family’ test. This requires that at least half of your children reside in Australia, or that more of your children reside in Australia than in any other single country
• be old enough to qualify for the Australian age pension, meaning 66−67 years old (depending upon your date of birth)

Australian Child

Your Australian child must:

• be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
• be settled in Australia (generally this means that your child must have resided in Australia for at least two years)
• be at least 18 years old, and willing to sponsor your application
  • Note: You may instead be sponsored by your child’s spouse or de facto partner, provided that this person meets the above
  •  requirements. Alternatively, if your child is under 18, you may in some circumstances be sponsored by a relative or guardian of your child, or by a community organisation.
• undertake to provide you with any necessary financial and accommodation support for the first two years that you live in Australia

Subclass 870 -SPONSORED PARENT (TEMPORARY) VISA

Unlike the two options above, this is a temporary visa with no pathway to permanent residency — it's designed for parents who want to spend an extended period in Australia with family without going through the permanent parent visa queue. It requires an eligible Australian family sponsor who meets specific income requirements, and the applicant must have adequate health insurance for the duration of their stay, since temporary visa holders don't have Medicare access.

Visa Applicant

As the visa applicant, you must:

• be the parent (biological or adoptive), step-parent, or parent-in-law of your approved Australian family sponsor (see below)
• be at least 18 years of age
• genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia
• have access to sufficient funds to cover your costs whilst you are in Australia
• meet health and character requirements
• have adequate health insurance for your stay in Australia
• have no outstanding Australian public health debts, and have complied with all previous visa obligations (conditions)

Australian Family Sponsor 

Your Australian family sponsor must:

• be an Australian citizen, OR an Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who has been usually and lawfully resident in Australia for at least the last 4 years
• be at least 18 years old, and willing to sponsor your application
• not have a spouse or de facto partner who is either a current parent sponsor or a previous parent sponsor who has breached a sponsorship obligation
• have a taxable income (either alone OR in combination with eligible family members) of at least AUD83,454.80 per year 

NOTE: Only the sponsor’s spouse/de facto partner, and/or ONE other of your children who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible NZ citizen, are eligible family members for this purpose. If a combination of incomes is used to meet this requirement, the sponsor’s taxable income must be at least 50% of the threshold amount.

• have no outstanding public health or Commonwealth debts, or more than 2 parents sponsored at any one time (this also applies to the sponsor’s spouse or de facto partner)
• meet character requirements, including the requirement to disclose criminal convictions to the visa applicant before the sponsorship approved.