Permanent Parent Visa Australia: Subclasses 143, 864 & 103 Compared (Costs, Eligibility & Wait Times)

What are the three permanent parent visas?

All three visas give your parents permanent residency. That means the right to live, work and study in Australia, to enrol in Medicare, to sponsor eligible relatives and, once residence requirements are met, to apply for citizenship. All three are also capped and queued. Home Affairs can only grant a set number each program year, and everything else waits in line.

Subclass 143 (Contributory Parent). This visa has no age limit. You can lodge from inside or outside Australia, but the parent generally needs to be outside Australia when the visa is decided. "Contributory" means a large second payment helps cover the cost of the health and welfare services a permanent resident parent can access.

Subclass 864 (Contributory Aged Parent). This is the onshore version for parents who have reached Age Pension age, currently 67. The parent must be in Australia when applying and when the decision is made. The charges match the 143.

Subclass 103 (Parent). This is the lower cost visa, with no large contribution. It has the same eligibility tests as the 143 but a far longer queue, because the annual places are shared unevenly and most go to contributory applications.

143 vs 864 vs 103 at a glance

Sources: Department of Home Affairs charges as reported for 1 July 2026, and the Home Affairs parent visa queue page (updated 9 July 2026). Charges are indexed each 1 July, so confirm the current figure before you lodge.

How much does a parent visa really cost?

The government charge is paid in two installments. You pay the first when you lodge. The second is only requested years later, once health, character and Assurance of Support steps are close to complete.

For the 143 and 864, that means roughly AUD 6,300 upfront and AUD 43,600 near grant. The second instalment applies per adult applicant. If both parents apply, the second instalments alone come to AUD 87,200. For the 103, the second instalment is about AUD 2,065 per adult.

Budget for these extras as well:

• Assurance of Support (AoS). This is a legal promise to repay certain welfare payments, lodged with Services Australia. For the contributory visas, the bond is commonly about AUD 10,000 for one adult and AUD 14,000 for two. It runs for 10 years and is refunded afterwards if there are no debts. Your sponsor does not have to be the assurer, but the assurer must pass an income assessment.
• Health examinations, police certificates and biometrics for every applicant.
• Translations of documents that are not in English.
• Professional fees, if you use a registered migration agent.

The 103 looks like a bargain next to the 143, and the saving is real. But it only helps if the visa is granted while your parent is alive and able to travel. That is the real question, and the next section answers it.

How long does a parent visa take?

Home Affairs will not give a fixed processing time for parent visas. It publishes an estimate for new applications instead:

• Contributory Parent visas (143, 864): about 15 years
• Parent and Aged Parent visas (103, 804): about 33 years

Here is how the process works. Home Affairs first checks your application against the core criteria, including health and character. If it passes, you get a queue date. Contributory applications lodged before 1 June 2018 keep their lodgement date, and all others get a queue date once assessed. Applications are then released for final processing in queue date order, as places become available.

As at 31 May 2026, Home Affairs had released contributory applications queued up to November 2018. It had released 103 applications queued up to March 2014.

Do not read that November 2018 date as "the wait is about eight years." It shows where the line is today. It says nothing about how many people are behind you or how many places will exist each year. The 15 year estimate accounts for that, and it can move.

The 2026 to 2027 Migration Program cut parent places from 8,500 to 7,060, and Home Affairs lists planning levels among the things that change processing times. So plan for the long end.

Here is what that means in practice. A parent who is 60 when you lodge a 143 could be about 75 at grant. Under the 103 estimate, that same parent would be 93. This is why we usually tell families the 103 works only for a very young parent, or as a long shot alongside other plans.

Who is Eligible for Permanent Parent Visa Australia?

For a standard application (not the retiree pathway), your parent generally needs to:

• Be the parent, adoptive parent or stepparent of a settled Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
• Be sponsored by that child, who is usually at least 18 and has been living in Australia for at least two years.
• Pass the Balance of Family test.
• Meet health and character requirements.
• Provide an Assurance of Support when Home Affairs asks for it.

There is also a retirement pathway for some 103 and 143 applicants. It does not require a sponsor, the Balance of Family test or AoS, but it has its own strict conditions, including being in Australia when you lodge. Get advice before you rely on it.

The Balance of Family test, explained

This is where many applications stall. According to Home Affairs, your parent passes if at least half of their children and stepchildren are eligible children, or if more eligible children live in Australia than in any other single country. Home Affairs will not waive this test, even in compelling circumstances.

An eligible child is an Australian citizen, or a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who usually lives in Australia. Two details catch families out:

• Children on temporary visas do not count as living in Australia. A child here on a student visa or a Temporary Graduate visa is treated as living overseas.
• Every child is counted, including stepchildren and adopted children, whether or not they plan to migrate.

Some examples:

• Three children, two in Australia and one overseas: pass.
• Four children, one in Australia and one in each of three other countries: fail, because Australia has neither half nor more than any other country.
• Five children, two in Australia and one each in three other countries: pass, because Australia has more children than any other single country.

Which parent visa in Australia is right for your family?

• Parent is under 67, overseas, and the family can fund the second instalment: the 143 is usually the strongest permanent option.
• Parent is 67 or older and already in Australia: the 864. Because it is an onshore visa, your parent can generally wait in Australia, usually on a bridging visa once the application is lodged, rather than being outside the country.
• The budget cannot stretch to the contributory charge: the 103 is cheaper, but go in knowing the 33 year estimate. Consider it alongside the temporary options below.
• Your parent does not pass the Balance of Family test: none of these three visas is available. The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) does not use that test.
• You want your parents here sooner: the 870 lets parents stay for three or five years and is not capped and queued. You can also stage the cost with the temporary Contributory Parent visa (173) or Contributory Aged Parent visa (884). For shorter trips, a visitor visa may do the job.

Mistakes we see most often

1. Using outdated fee figures. Charges change every 1 July, and older articles still circulate with last year's numbers.
2. Counting a child on a temporary visa in the Balance of Family test.
3. Treating 15 years as a promise. It is an estimate, and quota changes can push it either way.
4. Leaving the Assurance of Support until the last minute. The assurer needs to be assessed, so start early once your application is released.
5. Not keeping evidence current. Over a wait this long, children's residency, visas and family circumstances change. Keep your documents up to date and get advice when something shifts.

Next steps

A permanent parent visa in Australia is a long plan, and the first decision shapes everything after it. At Classic Migration, our registered migration agents assess your Balance of Family position, compare the 143, 864, 103 and temporary options against your budget and your parents' ages, and prepare the application. You can read more on our Family Migration page or our earlier guide on 143 vs 103 costs and processing time.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between the 143 and 864 visas?

The charges, the 15 year estimate and the tests are the same. The difference is the parent's age and location. The 143 has no age limit and the parent is generally offshore at grant. The 864 is for parents who have reached Age Pension age (currently 67) and are in Australia when they apply and when the decision is made.

Is the 103 parent visa worth applying for?

For most families, no. It costs from AUD 8,665, but Home Affairs estimates 33 years for a new application. It can make sense only for a very young parent, or where the family fully understands the timeline. Talk to a registered migration agent before lodging, so you are not locked into a decades long queue by default.

Can my parents live in Australia while they wait?

Not on the 143 or 103, because the parent generally has to be outside Australia at grant. Parents applying for the 864 are in Australia while they wait. Otherwise, the 870 visa (three or five years), the temporary 173 or 884 visas, or visitor visas are the usual ways to spend time together.

What if my parents do not pass the Balance of Family test?

Home Affairs does not waive it. Your options are the 870 visa, which does not require the test, or waiting until family circumstances change. For example, a child who becomes a permanent resident or citizen and lives in Australia can change the count. Get advice before lodging anything, because a refusal costs the first installment.