Australia’s Department of Home Affairs has set out nine eligibility conditions that foreign parents of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens must meet to qualify for the Parent visa (subclass 103), a permanent visa that lets a parent settle in Australia indefinitely. The requirements matter most to families where an Australian-resident adult child wants to bring a parent to live in the country permanently, rather than on a temporary visiting basis.
Under the standard pathway, applicants must: have an eligible sponsor (usually an adult child who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen); meet the “balance of family” test, showing at least half their children live in Australia, or more of their children live in Australia than in any other single country; hold an Assurance of Support guaranteeing they won’t need to rely on certain government benefits; meet Australia’s health requirement; meet its character requirement, which can include police and background checks; have repaid any debts owed to the Australian government or arranged an acceptable repayment plan; not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused; sign the Australian Values Statement (required of applicants aged 18 or over); and satisfy a “best interests of the child” assessment for any applicant under 18, which the Department can use as grounds for refusal.
A separate pathway exists for certain long-term resident retirees. It is open to people who held an Investor Retirement visa (subclass 405) or Retirement visa (subclass 410) on May 8, 2018, have not held another substantive visa since, and are physically present in Australia when they lodge their Parent visa application. Retirees on this pathway are exempt from the balance-of-family test, the sponsorship requirement and the Assurance of Support — but they remain responsible for their own medical costs and must maintain adequate health insurance while their application is assessed.
The Parent visa (subclass 103) currently carries long processing times, since demand consistently outstrips the number of places available each year, according to the Department of Home Affairs’ own published guidance.
