Subclass 870 — Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa

Eligibility snapshot

General information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) is a temporary visa that, in general terms, allows a parent of a settled Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen to spend extended periods in Australia. It is built around two linked approvals rather than one: first a sponsor (typically the parent's child) must be approved under the parent-sponsorship framework, and then the parent applies for the visa itself. The sponsorship stage usually involves a test of the sponsor's circumstances, including an income-related requirement, alongside character and other obligations the sponsor takes on. The parent applicant is typically assessed against identity, health, character, and relationship-to-sponsor criteria. This visa is temporary by design: it does not, in general, lead to permanent residence, and a no-work condition normally applies for the duration of the stay. Applicants commonly need to hold adequate health arrangements and may be asked about debts to the Australian government. Eligibility rules, thresholds, and conditions change over time and depend heavily on individual facts. Check the official Home Affairs page for the current requirements, and a registered migration practitioner can advise on how the criteria apply to your specific circumstances.

Frequently asked questions

Health examinations and character (police certificates)

Applicants for this visa are generally required to meet Australia's health requirement. Whether health examinations are needed depends on factors such as the visa applied for, the length of stay and the tuberculosis risk level of the applicant's country. For this visa, applicants can check whether examinations are required and may choose to complete them before lodging, or the Department may ask for further examinations during processing. Examinations are usually carried out at a panel clinic (a medical provider approved for immigration purposes) rather than by an applicant's own doctor. Applicants are also generally assessed against the character requirement, which is set out in the Migration Act 1958. As part of this, applicants are typically asked to provide police (penal) certificates for each country, including Australia, where they have spent a total of 12 months or more over the past 10 years. These checks are usually requested during processing, and applicants are expected to provide them when asked. Requirements and timing can change and depend on individual circumstances, so the official Department of Home Affairs pages are the authoritative source. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Adequate health insurance

This visa requires the holder to have and maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance from an Australian health insurer for the whole time they are in Australia. The Department of Home Affairs also publishes a list of visas subject to condition 8501, the visa condition that requires holders to maintain adequate health insurance. Temporary visa holders are generally not eligible to use Medicare, Australia's public health system, so private cover is typically used to meet this requirement. The Australian Government's private health information service describes Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC) as health insurance designed for visitors to Australia who do not have access to Medicare, insuring against potential medical or hospital expenses. Some visitors from a country that has a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement with Australia may be eligible for some medical care under Medicare, but these arrangements have limits and do not cover treatment as a private patient in hospital, so separate cover is still commonly recommended. Policy inclusions, exclusions and limits vary between insurers and levels of cover. The cost of health insurance is paid to a private insurer and is separate from the government Visa Application Charge and from any service or platform fee. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa Application Charge and related costs

The main government cost for this visa is the Visa Application Charge (VAC), which is set by the Department of Home Affairs. The published amount differs depending on the option applied for: at the time of review the Department's visa page listed a charge from AUD6,370 for a visa of up to 3 years and from AUD12,440 for a visa of up to 5 years, with concessions in limited circumstances. Charges are reviewed periodically, so current figures should be checked on the Department's visa page and its visa pricing estimator rather than relied on from memory. This VAC is generally paid in two instalments: a first instalment paid when the application is made, and a second instalment paid after the application is made but before the visa can be granted. The Department sends an invoice when the second instalment is due, and the second instalment is not required if the application is refused or withdrawn before it is paid. A separate sponsorship application must generally be approved before the visa application can be lodged. Other costs applicants commonly encounter include health examinations, police certificates and biometrics; health insurance is a further, separate cost paid to a private insurer. These government charges are always separate from any service or platform fee. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa length, travel and processing

This is a temporary visa that generally allows a stay of up to 3 years or up to 5 years, depending on the option applied for, and the Department states it does not lead to permanent residence. During the visa's validity, holders can generally travel to and from Australia as many times as they wish. There are limits on repeat use: a parent can generally hold this type of visa for a cumulative maximum period of up to 10 years in Australia. A person generally must be outside Australia when they apply, and applies for any further Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa from outside Australia, unless the Department grants permission to apply in Australia, which is only approved in limited circumstances. An approved sponsorship generally needs to be in place before the visa application is lodged, with the application generally lodged within 6 months of the sponsorship approval. For an indication of current processing times, the Department's visa page directs applicants to its visa processing time guide tool. The Department's parent-visa processing information lists the parent visa subclasses that are subject to capping and queueing (which can cause lengthy waits); the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) is not among the subclasses listed there. Current processing information is published on the Department's visa processing pages. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Visa conditions that generally apply

The subclass 870 visa is generally granted subject to a set of mandatory conditions. Official material for this visa lists conditions 8103, 8303, 8501, 8531, 8550 and 8564. The exact conditions imposed are shown on the visa grant notification. Condition 8103 is a no-work condition. Holders generally cannot work in Australia without written permission from the department. Providing in-home care for a holder's own children or family is treated differently from paid employment, but work that would ordinarily be paid, including helping in a family business, is generally not permitted. Condition 8501 requires the holder to maintain adequate health insurance for the whole time they are in Australia. This is significant because holders of this visa are generally not covered by Medicare, so private cover is expected throughout the stay. Condition 8531 requires the holder to leave Australia before the visa ceases. Remaining after the permitted period of stay is a breach of the visa. Condition 8550 is a notification condition, under which the holder is generally required to tell the department about changes to their personal or contact details. Condition 8303 requires the holder not to become involved in activities that are disruptive to, or that threaten harm to, the Australian community or a group within it, and condition 8564 requires the holder not to engage in criminal conduct. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Eligibility in general terms

This is a single temporary family visa rather than a visa with skilled streams, although applicants generally choose between a visa allowing a stay of up to three years and one allowing a stay of up to five years. Because it is a family visa, there is no points test, no English language requirement, and no skills assessment or occupation list involved. The process is sponsor-led. An approved parent sponsor must generally be in place before a visa application can be made, and the applicant must generally be the parent of that sponsor. The sponsor is usually an adult child who is a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Sponsorship approval turns on factors including a minimum household income requirement, together with the sponsor accepting ongoing obligations such as supporting the parent while in Australia. Only a limited number of parents per household — generally two — can be sponsored under this visa at one time. The visa applicant is generally expected to be outside Australia when applying, unless invited in writing to apply. Where a person holds or has previously held this visa, they are generally expected to have been outside Australia for a set minimum period (generally at least 90 days) before applying again. Applicants are also generally required to meet health and character requirements, and applications are usually lodged within a set period (generally six months) after sponsorship approval. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Family members and what the visa allows after grant

This visa is designed for an individual parent and does not allow other family members to be added to the application. Each parent generally lodges a separate application, and only a limited number of parents per household can hold this visa at any one time. After grant, the visa generally allows the holder to live in Australia temporarily for the period granted, up to three or five years, and to travel in and out of Australia during that period. The visa conditions restrict paid work; they do not impose a study prohibition, but holders should confirm the exact conditions shown on their grant notice. Holders are generally not eligible for Medicare and are expected to maintain their own health insurance throughout the stay. There is no direct pathway from this visa to permanent residence. It is a temporary visa, and a holder who wishes to remain beyond the period granted must generally either depart Australia or apply for a different visa. There is also a cumulative limit (generally a maximum of 10 years) on how long a person can spend in Australia on these visas over time. Once that overall limit is reached, the person is generally expected to leave Australia or move to another visa. Ongoing holder obligations generally include maintaining health insurance, keeping the department informed of changes to their details, not engaging in criminal or disruptive conduct, and leaving before the visa ends. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Common refusal reasons and review at the ART

Because this visa is sponsor-led, applications of this type are commonly affected where the required parent sponsorship has not been approved, has lapsed, or where the sponsor cannot meet requirements such as the minimum income threshold. Applications may also be refused where the applicant does not meet health or character requirements, where required documents are missing or insufficient, or where location and timing requirements are not met, such as not being outside Australia or not completing a required period outside Australia before applying again. If a decision is unfavourable, merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal may be available. The department's decision letter generally states whether the decision can be reviewed, who is able to apply, and the time limit that applies. Time limits are strict and are generally calculated from the date the applicant is notified of the decision. A prescribed application fee generally applies to a review. The fee is set under the applicable regulations and is indexed or updated periodically, may be reduced in cases of financial hardship, and part of it may be refunded depending on the outcome. Merits review generally means the Tribunal considers the decision again on the facts and the law and can affirm, vary, set aside, or send the matter back to the department for reconsideration. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Costs in general terms

The government Visa Application Charge for this visa is separate from, and additional to, any fee charged by a service provider or this platform. The government charge is set by the department and changes from time to time, so current amounts should be checked using the department's official fees pages and pricing estimator. For this visa the charge generally depends on whether the visa sought allows a stay of up to three years or up to five years, with the longer option attracting a higher charge. Where a charge is payable in more than one part, the department's official fees and instalments pages set out the current amounts and when each part falls due, and should be checked before applying. Because family members cannot be included in this application, there are generally no additional applicant charges for adults or children and no subsequent-entrant charge; each parent generally applies and pays separately. A separate, smaller sponsorship application charge is generally payable earlier in the process when the parent sponsor applies. Government charges are generally non-refundable, including where an application is unsuccessful, and a surcharge may apply to some card payment methods. Applicants also generally meet other related costs, such as health examinations and police or character certificates. No skills assessment is required for this visa. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.