You came to visit the grandchildren, and Australia quietly became home. For parents of pension age already onshore, the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa, Subclass 884, converts that visit into a lawful, bridged, two-year stage on the road to permanent residency, without leaving the country.
Here is how the onshore aged route works in 2026, and the timing rules that decide who gets to use it.
The Subclass 884 is the onshore, aged-parent twin of the contributory temporary route:
Its defining requirement: you must be “aged” (old enough to qualify for the Australian age pension) and in Australia when you apply.
Four tests decide an 884 case:
Health and character requirements apply as standard, assessed with an aged applicant’s realities in mind.
The onshore sequence:
Travel on a bridging visa requires the correct arrangement before you fly; one wrong departure can collapse the onshore advantage entirely.
Cost: the contributory arithmetic applies: around AUD 50,000 per parent when complete, with the 884/864 pairing staging the payments: a first charge at the temporary stage and the substantial second instalment (roughly AUD 43,600) at permanent conversion.
Timing: parent places are capped at 8,500 across all streams and contributory queues are measured in years, but the onshore bridging arrangement means aged parents wait in Australia, with the family, rather than abroad.
The alternative: parents below pension age cannot use the 884; their onshore options run through the offshore contributory 173/143 or the 870 long-stay instead.
The lodgement window: onshore eligibility is a moving target of visa conditions and expiry dates. We map yours before anything else.
“No further stay” strategy: where condition 8503 sits on your current visa, a waiver application must succeed first; the evidence for compassionate and compelling circumstances is a craft of its own.
The family ledger: balance-of-family evidence prepared to Departmental standard, first time.
The conversion diary: the 864 lodgement, finances and Assurance of Support planned from the day the 884 is granted, never from the month it expires.
Discuss your eligibility and explore your options with a dedicated migration specialist.
Your current Australian visa, its conditions (especially any 8503 “no further stay”) and expiry: the documents that determine whether and when the 884 can be lodged onshore.
Certified passport and birth certificate establishing you have reached Australian age-pension age, plus evidence of your relationship to your sponsoring child.
Residence and status documentation for every one of your children, wherever they live, assembled to prove the balance-of-family test with case-officer rigour.
Your Australian child’s sponsorship undertaking and settlement evidence, with the Assurance of Support and bond prepared for the permanent 864 stage.
Age-appropriate immigration medicals and police certificates from every country of 12+ months residence in the past decade, sequenced early for slow jurisdictions.
Nearly three decades guiding successful emigrations to Australia.
Former Emigration Officials with deep, current knowledge of Australian immigration law.
Considered, discreet guidance tailored precisely to your circumstances.
A parent who has reached Australian age-pension age at the time of application, the single non-negotiable entry requirement of the 884.
Yes. The 884 is lodged onshore, and a bridging visa keeps you lawfully in Australia when your current visa ends.
Condition 8503 must be waived before you can lodge. Waivers exist for compassionate and compelling circumstances, and building that case is a specialty of ours.
Yes. The 884 carries work rights during its two-year validity.
The permanent Contributory Aged Parent visa, the 884’s destination. You convert within the two-year temporary period, paying the second instalment then.
Contributory pricing applies: around AUD 50,000 per parent all-in, staged across the 884 and 864, with the second instalment of roughly AUD 43,600 at the permanent step.
Only with the correct bridging arrangement organised before departure; the wrong exit can void your onshore position. Always check before booking.
The 884 is closed to them, but the offshore contributory 173/143 route and the 870 long-stay visa remain open, and we map which fits your family.
Book an assessment and our team will assess your options.
Receive tailored advice and a clear migration strategy built entirely around you.
Let us manage your application from lodgement to decision, or choose to be guided.
Whether you have questions or need guidance on your Australian immigration path, our specialists are ready to listen and advise. Contact us today.