Have you ever wondered that how you can bring your parents to live with you in Australia? Like any other country, Australia has its own rules when it comes to parent visas or any kind of visa for that matter. Every child’s dream is to build the kind of life for his family and parents they deserve, and knowing the visa application process and the laws enforcing them is necessary if you plan to fly your parents to Australia to live indefinably.
Visitor visa (temporary)
A visitor visa may be one of the best choices for many people. A permanent contributory visa can be expensive, and not many can afford it, and the non-contributory visa is not practical because it literally can take up to 30 years to be processed.
A visitor visa is an affordable alternative for those who wish to bring their parents to spend time with their family in Australia on short notice. Also, there are longer validity visitor visas available for parents of Australians that are either permanent residents or eligible citizens. Visitor visa subclass 600 is an option for Australian residents and citizens. This visa allows parents to spend up to 12 months with their children in an 18 months period.
Sponsored parent visa (temporary)
Sponsored parent visa (subclass 870) is another temporary visa option you can choose to apply for if you have the resources. This visa allows Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens living in Australia to bring their parents for a 3 to 5-year stay.
Sponsored parent visa allows parents to stay in Australia significantly longer than the visitor visa. Parents can remain inside the country for up to 5 years without having to leave.
Parent visa (permanent)
The permanent contributory parent visa 143 allows parents of children who are living in Australia as citizens or permanent residents or are eligible citizens of New Zealand to live permanently in Australia as long as an eligible child sponsors them. Unfortunately, the processing time for this visa can take up to 30 years, and that’s all due to the tremendous number of applications that are waiting to be processed.
Primary requirements
- Have an eligible child living as a citizen or a permanent resident in Australia that has been living in the country for at least two years.
- Balance of Family test. To pass the balance of family test, at least half or more of the applicant’s biological, adopted, or step-children must be permanent residents or citizens of Australia must live in Australia than any other country.
- Parents’ age criteria for applications filled onshore, for both contributary and non-contributary, is 66 years or older. The following list shows the age requirements for the parents that want to lodge an onshore parent visa to receive an age pension in Australia. The age pension in Australia is gradually increased from 66 to 67.
| Period within which a person was born | Pension Age | Changed |
| 1st July 1955 to 31 December 1956 | 66 years and six months old | 1 July 2021 |
| From 1 January 1957 onwards | 67 years old | 1 July 2023 |
- Assurance of Support (AoS)- It is a legal commitment from an individual (the applicant’s children) or an organisation responsible for the applicants’ financial needs, so they don’t have to rely on government support (social security payments).
- It is mandatory that the main applicant applying for this visa be 66 and a half of age or older; however, if they have a partner that is younger than 66 and a half, they can be qualified as a secondary applicant.
- Health and Character: the parents need to pass health and character requirements and undergo several medical tests like chest X-rays and HIV tests.
Assurance of support requirements
The Assurance of Support is a legal commitment that holds you to the promise of paying any income support given to the visa holder during their initial stay in Australia. The AoS period is different for each visa type.
- The contributary visa subclass 143/864 (10 yeas)
- The temporary parent visa subclass 103/804 (4 years)
The starting time is from the first day your visa is granted.
An assurer must:
- Be 18 years or older.
- Be living in Australia.
- Have enough income to make sure they can cover all the current or future expenses whenever they arise.
- Provide a notice of assessment issued by the Australian Taxation Commissioner for the last two financial years.