Australia Office
If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you can bring your parents to Australia. The immigration department of Australia offers different types of visas for parents i.e., Parent Visa, Agent Parent Visa, Contributory Parent Visa. These visas will let your parent stay in Australia and live with their beloved ones.
Applicant can apply for this visa if:
Your child is an Australian Citizen or permanent resident
Your child living in Australia for 2 years
Your child can be eligible sponsor
Meet the ‘family of balance test’
Meet the health and character requirement
This visa will allow you to stay in Australia for 2 years on Temporary basis or Live in Australia permanently as a resident.
This visa requires you to have an eligible sponsor.
Your sponsor must be an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident
Must be over 18 years of age
Must be residing in Australia for more than 2 years before the application lodgment
If you want to apply for a parent visa, you must meet the balance of family test. Balance of family test determines that you have strong links in Australia.
To meet the ‘balance of family test’, you must have half or more than half of your children in Australia. For an example, if you have 3 children and 2 of them are permanently living in Australia as a citizen or permanent resident. You will then meet the ‘balance of family test’.
You can live in Australia temporarily or permanently
Which Parent Visa is most suitable for me?
Read scenario below to understand which visa option is the most suitable for you:
Visa option also depends on where the applicant is at the time of Visa Lodgment. Applicant will have different options for ONSHORE or OFFSHORE application.
This visa has two stream – Short Term and Long Term
Short term stream allows the holder to stay in Australia for 3 years and VAC is $5000
Long term stream allows the holder to stay in Australia for 10 years and VAC is $10000
This visa subclass is also subject to the approved sponsor who has been residing in Australia for over 4 years and pass the income (Currently $83454 per annum) and health tests.
It is an offshore visa, and the applicant is expected to lodge the application from offshore unless the minister has permitted the application in writing to lodge the application onshore.
There is no ‘family balance test’ required for this visa subclass
This visa is subject to annual cap, usually sets between 15000-16000 and applicant needs to have their own health insurance. Medicare facilities are not provided for this visa subclass.
Scenario 1:
Applicant wants to apply from outside Australia
Applicant’s child is Permanent Resident or Citizen of Australia and lives in Australia
Applicant wants to become Australia Permanent Resident
Then applicant may be eligible for Subclass 103
Applicant must meet:
The ‘balance of family test
Health and character requirements
Have an eligible and approved sponsor
30 years
Scenario 2:
Applicant is outside Australia
Your child lives in Australia
Your expected stay in Australia up to 2 years
If you are ready to pay higher fee for fast processing
You may be eligible for Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa subclass 173
To apply for Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa subclass 173, applicant must:
A have an eligible approved sponsor
Meet ‘the balance of family test’
Meet health and character requirements
Applicant can apply In or Outside Australia
Scenario 3:
Applicant is In or Outside Australia
Your child lives in Australia as a permanent resident or citizen
You want to become a permanent Australia Resident
You are happy to pay fast processing visa charges for your application
You may be eligible for Contributory Parent Visa subclass 143
To apply for Contributory Parent Visa subclass 143, applicant must:
Pass the ‘balance of family test’
Have an assurance of support
Health and character requirements
Have an approved sponsor
Applications for this visa subclass are processed according to the quota allocated for this subclass each year and the processing time may be varied depends in various factors.
If an applicant is holding contributory parent visa subclass 173, he/she can apply for Permanent visa subclass 143 before the subclass 173 expires.
This visa is designed for the aged parents and must be applied inside Australia
Scenario 4:
Applicant is in Australia
Your child is an Australian Resident or Citizen and lives in Australia on permanent basis
You want to get Australia Permanent Residency
You fall into Aged Parent Category and meet the age requirements
You may be eligible for Aged Parent Visa Subclass 804
To lodge the visa application for this visa subclass, applicant must:
Meet the age requirements
Pass the ‘Balance of family test’
Meet the health and character requirements
Have an approved sponsor
Processing times for subclass 804 may take up to 30 years
Scenario 5:
Applicant is in Australia
Your child is an Australia resident or citizen
You want to live in Australia for 2 years as a temporary resident
You meet the minimum age requirements
You are happy to pay high visa application charges to expedite the process
You may be eligible for Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa subclass 884
To apply for visa subclass 884, applicant must meet the following:
Age requirements
Pass the ‘balance-of-family’ test
Have an approved sponsor
Scenario 6:
Applicant is in Australia
Your child is an Australian resident
You want to become Australia Permanent resident
You meet the minimum age requirement to fall into aged parent category
If the applicant is already holding subclass 864 and it is about to expires. In that case, applicant can apply for a subclass 864 (Permanent Contributory Parent Visa)
Processing time varies and depends on various factors.
Assurance of Support may be required for a parent visa and $5000 (Primary applicant) to $2000 (Secondary applicant)
Bond period for subclass 103 and 804 is 2 years
Australian parent visas come with the complexities. You must make sure that your parents are residing in Australia on the best suited and affordable parent visa. Please book an appointment with our MARA Agent for an initial assessment for your parent visa.