Australia is among the few advanced economies whose visa system explicitly allows parents of citizens or permanent residents to immigrate. The routes are not always quick; the move is rarely simple, but the destination is the same one your children have already chosen, and the welcome at the end of it, by every measure that matters, is truly worthwhile.
At Sterling Migration, we understand, as parents, how much we miss our children and grandchildren when they leave us. We want to be close to help them and remain a part of their lives. With a variety of visas available for Australia, parents who meet the qualifying criteria under Australian law can emigrate.
To help you emigrate to Australia quickly and stress-free.
Complete our enquiry form to receive your free guide on emigrating to Australia as a Parent. One of our experts can evaluate your options if you wish.
Our Parent guide is packed with useful information you will need to know when emigrating to Australia.
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There are seven parent visa subclasses. Four provide permanent residency, while three offer temporary residency.
The Department of Home Affairs no longer publishes a year estimate for the Non-Contributory Parent visa. It releases applications in queue order and is currently finalising applications queued around twelve years ago, so plan for a wait of that order or longer. For those over 67 years old, it is possible to apply once you have arrived in Australia and remain on a bridging visa. While holding a bridging visa, your Aged Non-Contributory Parent Visa is being processed.
AUD 6,600 Initial Applicant
AUD 3,300 Partner
AUD 2,065 2nd instalment due when the visa is approved per person
The sponsoring child must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.
AUD 5,000 for a Single Parent
AUD 2,000 for an additional Parent
Police Report approx. AUD 200
Medical Report approx. AUD 500
The Department of Home Affairs releases Contributory Parent applications in queue order and is currently finalising applications queued around seven years ago, so plan for a wait of several years.
For those over 67 years old, you can be in Australia when applying for an Aged Contributory Parent Visa and remain in Australia on a bridging visa until the case is complete.
For those under 67 years, you will apply off-shore. During this time you are able to visit Australia, or subsequently apply for a temporary parent visa to stay for up to 10 years while your application is being processed.
AUD 6,300 Initial Applicant
AUD 2,125 Partner
AUD 43,600 per parent. This is payable when the visa is approved.
The sponsoring child must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.
Your child must be over 18 and have held PR for over two years.
AUD 10,000 for a Single Parent
AUD 4,000 for an additional Parent
AUD 83,454.80 of household taxable income
The sponsor can combine income with a spouse, de facto partner or another child of the parent, contributing at least half of the AUD 83,454.80 themselves
For Assurance of Support income requirements, Services Australia calculates the minimum from current JobSeeker and Family Tax Benefit rates for the household.
Police Report approx. AUD 200
Medical Report approx. AUD 500
The sponsorship application is assessed first, and processing times vary with the Department’s caseload.
The sponsoring child must have been lawfully Resident in Australia for over 4-years and hold PR or citizenship.
AUD 83,454.80 of household taxable income
The sponsor can combine income with a spouse, de facto partner or another child of the parent, contributing at least half of the AUD 83,454.80 themselves
For Assurance of Support income requirements, Services Australia calculates the minimum from current JobSeeker and Family Tax Benefit rates for the household.
A separate application charge of AUD 420
Once the sponsor (Your child) has been approved, we may file for the Temporary Parent Visa, with processing times varying with demand.
AUD 1,515 Initial Government fee – per person
AUD 4,855 On approval of the visa – per person
AUD 1,515 Initial Government fee – per person
AUD 10,925 on approval of the visa, per person
Police Report approx. AUD 200
Medical Report approx. AUD 500
Permanent parent visas carry full work rights. The temporary Sponsored Parent visa (subclass 870) does not permit work.
The Department of Home Affairs is currently finalising non contributory parent applications queued around twelve years ago, and the wait for new applicants is likely to be longer still. This can be a disincentive for many parents.
Contributory parent applications queued around seven years ago are now being finalised, a far shorter wait.
You can apply for an Aged Parent Visa starting from the age of 67. The aged Parent Visas have certain advantages over the Parent visa streams. However, they do not expedite the process.
Everything indicates that Australia would prefer to abolish the Parent visa stream as they deem Parents as liabilities and possible burdens on the public purse who have paid their income taxes to another country.
Therefore, the benefits of issuing parent visas are outweighed by the risks.
However, if you receive your invitation to emigrate prior to any potential changes, any new laws will not affect you retrospectively.
Yes, it is important that parents budget for medical insurance. The Australian Medicare system will not provide adequate cover as the parent would not have paid into the system.
Temporary Parent Visas are issued for three or five years, you are able to apply for a temporary visa several times, but the limit is capped at ten years. They are designed to allow a grandparent residency in Australia during the formative years of their grandchildren’s lives.
Once the children have grown, or the visa expires, the grandparents are expected to return to their country of origin.
There may be ways to extend beyond that time period based on the current law. However, there is no way to foresee what the policy will be like in ten years or even three.
To be eligible for a permanent Parent visa, at least half of your children must live permanently in Australia, or more of your children must live permanently in Australia than in any other country.
This includes stepchildren and adopted children.
There is no family test to be eligible for a Temporary Parent visa. However, your child must be settled in Australia as a citizen or permanent resident.
Aged parents living overseas first approached Sterling after hearing that their daughter, an Australian permanent resident in Brisbane, was expecting her first child. They had a matter of months to be present for the birth. They wanted to remain in Australia afterwards, for the early years, and indefinitely.
We completed the substantive paperwork before they travelled, so that nothing in the file would later jeopardise the plan.
The balance of family was confirmed; the sponsoring child’s residence and capacity to sponsor were documented; medical and character evidence were assembled in advance. Both parents were above the Australian Aged Pension age. Sterling then placed the family on a defined Aged Parent strategy that has, over twenty-five years, become a quiet feature of our practice.
The strategy is not set out on these pages; it is the substance of the conversation we have with each family at the beginning of an Aged Parent matter.
The grandparents were present at the birth. They are present today, settled near their daughter, enrolled in Medicare, and known to their granddaughter from her first week of life.
Discuss your eligibility and explore your options with a dedicated migration specialist.
Discuss your eligibility and explore your options with a dedicated migration specialist.
Whether you have questions or need guidance on your Australian immigration path, our specialists are ready to listen and advise. Contact us today.
Comparing life in Australia to the United Kingdom.
Australians live longer in good health, and the gap widens in later life. The World Health Organization measures healthy life expectancy the same way for every country, which makes this a clean comparison.
| Measure | Australia | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Healthy life expectancy at birth | 70.6 years | 68.6 years |
| Years of life remaining at sixty | 25.7 | 23.2 |
| Healthy years remaining at sixty | 19.1 | 17.6 |
Sources: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Australian source
Australians wait around half as long for planned surgery. The difference is understated here, because the Australian figure counts patients who have had their operation while the English figure counts the wait so far of patients who are still waiting.
| Measure | Australia | England |
|---|---|---|
| Median wait for planned surgery | 45 days | About 87 days |
| What the figure counts | Patients who have had their operation | Patients who are still waiting |
Sources: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare; NHS England Australian source
A midwinter day on the Sunshine Coast is warmer than a midsummer day in Bournemouth. Both sets of figures are long term averages published by each country’s national weather service.
| Measure | Sunshine Coast | Bournemouth |
|---|---|---|
| Mid winter daytime high | 21.2 °C | 8.7 °C |
| Year round daytime high | 25.5 °C | 15.1 °C |
| Days of rain a year | 106.7 | 125.3 |
Sources: Bureau of Meteorology; Met Office Australian source