Subclass 103 — Parent visa

Eligibility snapshot

General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. The subclass 103 Parent visa is, in broad terms, a non-contributory permanent visa for a parent of a settled child in Australia. It is the lower-cost counterpart to the contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), and in return it sits in a separate, far longer queue that is typically measured in decades. In general terms, applications usually turn on a few core ideas: - Sponsorship by a child. The applicant is typically sponsored by a child (or, in some situations, another eligible sponsor) who is settled in Australia as an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. - The balance-of-family test. As a rule of thumb, this test looks at where an applicant's children live, comparing how many are settled in Australia against how many live elsewhere. The precise way the test is calculated is defined in the migration rules and can be intricate; the official page sets out the current method, and a registered practitioner can advise on how it applies to a particular family. - Health and character. Permanent visas of this kind generally involve health examinations and character checks (such as police certificates) for applicants, and an assurance of support is commonly part of the process. - Most applicants apply and are assessed from outside Australia. These are the kinds of factors that typically matter, described at a high level only. Exact thresholds, definitions, and current conditions are set by the Department of Home Affairs and change over time — always check the official subclass 103 page for current requirements, and a registered migration practitioner can advise on individual circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

Health and character checks

Applicants for this permanent visa are generally assessed against Australia's health requirement. Most visa applicants must meet minimum health standards, and applicants may be asked to complete health examinations that are assessed by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. In some cases, family members may also be asked to meet the health requirement even if they are not moving to Australia. The health requirement generally focuses on whether a condition would involve significant healthcare or community-service costs, or would limit access to services that are in short supply. When giving advice, the medical officer generally considers only the medical situation and not a person's finances or private insurance arrangements. Applicants are also generally assessed against the character requirements set out in section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. When applying, applicants are typically asked to declare any criminal charges or convictions in any country and to answer all questions truthfully. After an application is lodged, the department may ask applicants to provide a police certificate and to complete further character documents, such as Form 80 (Personal particulars for character assessment). This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Medicare and health insurance

This subclass is a permanent visa. Official information indicates that people who hold this visa can enrol in Medicare, Australia's public health scheme. Medicare eligibility is generally restricted to people permanently residing in Australia who are Australian citizens, permanent visa holders, New Zealand citizens, or in certain circumstances people applying for a permanent residence visa. Adequate private health insurance is generally most relevant to visitors who do not have Medicare access. Such visitors are usually responsible for their own hospital and medical costs and are strongly encouraged to arrange private cover, most commonly Overseas Visitor Health Cover. Some visas carry a health-insurance condition (condition 8501), so applicants are generally advised to check the requirements of the specific visa they are applying for. Australia also has Reciprocal Health Care Agreements with some countries, which may give people from those countries limited access to medical care under Medicare while in Australia. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Cost of applying

The Australian Government charges a Visa Application Charge for this visa. Official information lists the cost as from AUD 8,665 for a single applicant, generally paid over two instalments. Concessions are stated to apply only in limited circumstances. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost is stated to apply to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Additional fees may apply beyond the base charge, and charges can change over time, so the department's current pricing should be checked. This government Visa Application Charge is separate from, and additional to, any fee charged by a service provider or migration professional. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Timeframes and validity

This is a permanent visa, so once it is granted a person can generally stay in Australia indefinitely. The travel facility generally allows travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted. Parent visas are subject to capping and queueing, which means only a limited number can be granted each migration program year. As a result, processing is generally lengthy. Applications are assessed in lodgement-date order, and those that meet the core criteria are assigned a queue date, which the department confirms in writing. Official information estimates that new Parent and Aged Parent visa applications may take around 33 years for final processing, and the department states it cannot give exact timeframes. As at 31 May 2026, the department reported that it had released Parent (subclass 103) applications with a queue date up to February 2014 for final processing, and that acknowledging a new application generally takes around four weeks. These dates are updated over time. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Eligibility in general terms

The subclass 103 is a single permanent stream for a parent of a "settled" Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. It is a family visa rather than a skilled visa, so there is no points test, English-language test, occupation list or skills assessment. A central requirement is the balance of family test. In general terms, this is met where at least half of the applicant's (and their partner's) children are "eligible children" living in Australia, or where more of the children live in Australia than in any other single country. Stepchildren and adopted children are counted. The Department states it will not waive this test, even in compelling or exceptional circumstances. Applicants are generally sponsored (a sponsor takes on financial and other responsibilities), and an Assurance of Support is generally required in connection with the visa. Applicants are generally asked to meet the health requirement and the character requirement, and to have repaid, or arranged to repay, any outstanding debts to the Australian Government. An applicant can be in or outside Australia when applying, but must generally be outside Australia when the decision is made. Because demand for parent visas is greater than the number of places available each year, applications that meet the core criteria are generally placed in a queue, and the Department notes that processing can take many years. This general framing is not an assessment of any individual's circumstances. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Family members and what the visa allows after grant

An applicant can generally include a partner and dependent family members (such as dependent children) in the same application, and details of all family members must be included in the application even if they are not migrating. Included applicants generally need to meet health and character requirements. Once granted, the subclass 103 is a permanent residence visa. Holders can generally live in Australia indefinitely, work and study, and enrol in Medicare, Australia's public health scheme, as permanent residents. Eligible holders may also access free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program. The visa includes a travel facility that generally permits travel to and from Australia for the first five years. To re-enter Australia as a permanent resident after that period, a Resident Return visa is generally required, although permanent residence status itself continues while the holder remains in Australia. As a permanent resident, a holder may in time become eligible to apply for Australian citizenship if the relevant residence and other requirements are met. Citizenship is a separate process with its own criteria. Holders and their assurers also have ongoing obligations. In particular, obligations under the Assurance of Support continue for the assurance period (generally four years for this visa type), during which certain recoverable income support payments made to the visa holder may be recoverable from the assurer. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Common refusal reasons and review at the Tribunal

Applications of this type are commonly affected where the balance of family test is not met, for example where more of the applicant's children live outside Australia than in it. Because the Department will not waive this test, not meeting it is a frequent and decisive reason for refusal. Other factual grounds include not meeting the health requirement or the character requirement, outstanding debts to the Australian Government that have not been repaid or arranged, the required sponsorship or Assurance of Support not being in place, or the applicant not being outside Australia when the decision is made. Separately, because places are limited, an application can remain in the queue for many years even when the core criteria are met. If a decision is unfavourable, merits review may be available at the Administrative Review Tribunal (ART). The Department's decision letter states whether the decision is reviewable and who may apply. Strict time limits apply and are set out in that letter, so the deadline should be checked carefully and any application lodged promptly. A fee applies to lodge a review of a migration decision. The ART fee for review of a reviewable migration decision (other than a protection decision) was $3,580 for fees paid on or after 1 July 2025 and is $3,727 for fees paid on or after 1 July 2026. A 50% reduction may be available on financial-hardship grounds, and the ART generally refunds 50% of the fee paid if the decision is set aside or varied, or the matter is remitted to the Department. This is a neutral description of how the process generally works and is not a prediction about any particular application. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Costs in detail

The main government cost is the Visa Application Charge (VAC), which is set by the Department and is separate from any service or professional fee. For the subclass 103 the VAC is paid in two instalments: a first instalment when the application is lodged, and a second instalment that the Department requests before the visa is granted. On the official visa listing, the cost for a single applicant starts from AUD8,665 across those two instalments. Additional applicants included in the same application generally attract further charges, at a higher rate for each applicant aged 18 or over and a lower rate for each applicant under 18. Exact instalment amounts and additional-applicant charges are published on the Department's current visa pricing page and change over time, so current figures should be confirmed there. A surcharge may apply to some payment methods, and Visa Application Charges are generally not refunded even if an application is refused or withdrawn. Separate from the VAC, applicants generally meet the cost of health examinations, police clearance certificates and biometrics. A skills assessment is not part of this family visa, so that cost does not arise. An Assurance of Support also involves cost. For this visa a monetary bond is mandatory: the assurer generally provides a bank guarantee and term deposit lodged with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, administered by Services Australia. It is held for the assurance period (generally four years for this visa type) and released afterwards, subject to whether recoverable income support payments were made to the visa holder during that period. The bond amount is set under the Assurance of Support arrangements. Any fee charged by an independent service or a registered practitioner is separate from, and additional to, these government charges. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Conditions that generally attach to the Parent visa (subclass 103)

The subclass 103 Parent visa is a permanent visa. Once it is granted, the holder can live in Australia indefinitely and can work and study here, without the work or study limits that attach to many temporary visas. Because it is permanent, it does not carry the short-stay conditions common on visitor and temporary visas — the regulations do not impose a mandatory health-insurance condition (8501) or a "no further stay" condition (8503) on this subclass. The standing obligation for any holder is to comply with Australian law and with the specific conditions recorded against the individual grant. The exact, up-to-date condition list for a particular visa is shown in the visa grant letter and in the Department's Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) service, which are the authoritative places to check it. Under the Migration Regulations (Schedule 2, clause 103.6), a subclass 103 grant carries a first-entry requirement where the applicant is outside Australia when the visa is granted — first entry must then be made before a date the Minister specifies, which is shown in the grant letter. The regulations also allow either or both of two conditions to be imposed: condition 8515 (the holder must not marry or enter into a de facto relationship before entering Australia) and condition 8502 (the holder must not enter Australia before a person specified in the visa has entered). Both are discretionary, so they may or may not appear on any given grant. As a permanent visa, it also comes with an initial travel facility that lets the holder travel to and from Australia for five years from the date of grant. After that travel facility ends, re-entering Australia as a permanent resident generally requires a separate Resident Return visa; the underlying permanent status does not lapse when the travel facility expires. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.