What is the Aged Parent visa (subclass 804)?
The Aged Parent visa (subclass 804) allows older parents to permanently live in Australia, if they are the parents of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.
Applicants must be sponsored by their child. The sponsor (child) needs to have lived lawfully in Australia for 2 years prior to the visa being lodged.
What does the Aged Parent visa let you do?
This is a permanent residence visa that lets you and any family members who have also been granted this visa to:
- stay in Australia indefinitely and receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare – Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
- work and study in Australia
- apply for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency eligibility criteria)
- sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
- travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted (after that time, you will need either a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia).
Visa processing time involved
As you could imagine, there is significant demand for this particular visa and places are limited. You could wait up to 30 years to have this visa granted.
However, instead of waiting you could consider a Contributory Aged Parent visa, which is usually finalised in less than two years.
With a prerequisite visa, you can lodge your application in Australia, which will allow you to remain in Australia whilst the visa is being processed by the Department.
The Contributory Aged Parent (Migrant) Visa (subclass 864)
If you wish to speed up the process and apply for a Contributory Parent visa, you will pay a higher application charge. These charges will offset some of the costs to the community, such as health and welfare services.
- the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 884) gives you a two-stage visa pathway in which you can first apply for a temporary visa and later for a permanent visa
- the Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864) is a permanent visa that lets you pay the full costs of Contributory Parent migration through just one visa application.
Do you pass the balance-of-family test?
The balance-of-family test measures your ties to Australia and is a crucial part of your visa application. The balance-of-family test cannot be waived, even in exceptional circumstances.
You will meet this requirement if either:
- at least half of your children permanently live in Australia
- more of your children live permanently in Australia than in any other country
The table below gives some hypothetical examples of families with different numbers of children who are permanent Australian residents and whether they would pass the balance-of-family test.
| Total number of children | Number of children permanently residing in Australia | Number of children usually resident in countries other than Australia | Passes balance of family test | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country ‘A’ | Country ‘B’ | Country ‘C’ | Country ‘D’ | |||
| 1 | 1 | Yes | ||||
| 2 | 1 | 1 | Yes | |||
| 3 | 1 | 2 | No | |||
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No | ||
| 4 | 2 | 2 | Yes | |||
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No | |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | No | ||
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | Yes | |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | Yes | |||
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | No | ||
Visa requirements
In addition to the previously mentioned criteria, you may be eligible for this visa if you:
- are currently in Australia
- are sponsored
- if your temporary visa lets you apply for another visa while you are in Australia
- meet the age requirements (below)
- meet the balance-of-family test
- are prepared to wait in a queue before your visa can be approved.​
Men must be 65 years of age, or older, in order to meet the age requirements.
Women on the other hand need to refer to the table below which shows the age at which a woman is eligible to apply for an Aged Parent visa (subclass 804).
Costs involved
| Date of Birth | Minimum Age |
|---|---|
| Before 30 June 1944 | 63 years |
| 1 July 1944 – 31 December 1945 | 63.5 years |
| 1 January 1946 – 30 June 1947 | 64 years |
| 1 July 1947 – 31 December 1948 | 64.5 years |
| 1 January 1949 and later | 65 years |
The visa charges for the different instalments and visa options are below.
| Aged parent subclass 804 | |
|---|---|
| 1st Instalment | Fee |
| Primary applicant | $3,870.00 |
| Additional applicant 18 and older | $1,935.00 |
| Additional applicant under 18 | $970.00 |
| No 2nd Installment | |
| Aged contributory parent subclass 864 | |
|---|---|
| 1st Instalment | Fee |
| Primary applicant | $3,695.00 |
| Additional applicant 18 and older | $1,845.00 |
| Additional applicant under 18 | $925.00 |
| 2nd Instalment | |
| Primary applicant | $43,600.00 |
| Additional applicant 18 and older | $43,600.00 |
| Additional applicant under 18 | $2095.00 |
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