Aged Parent Visa 804 Requirements

You must meet every one of these criteria.

• Have a sponsor. Usually your eligible child, who must be a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. The Department must approve the sponsorship. If your child is under 18, an eligible relative or community organisation can sponsor you instead.

• Be old enough to receive the age pension in Australia.

• Have an Assurance of Support. You must be able to obtain one. The Department will tell you when to provide it.

• Meet the health requirement. Applies to you and any family members applying with you.

• Meet the character requirement. Applies to you and any family members applying with you.

• Meet the Balance of Family Test. Covered in its own section below.

• Have paid back any debt to the Australian Government. Or have an approved repayment arrangement in place.

• Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused. Your immigration history is considered. Some exceptions apply.

• Sign the Australian Values Statement. Required if you're 18 or older.

• Best interests of the child. The Department won't grant this visa if doing so isn't in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

If the applicant is currently overseas, they need to hold a valid visa to enter Australia first, then lodge the 804 while in Australia. There is no retiree pathway on the 804.

​

Aged Parent Visa 804 Bridging Visa: Staying and Travelling While Queued

The applicant must be in Australia the entire time the 804 application is in the queue.

​

Staying in Australia. The Department's Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) is a temporary visa that allows a person to stay in Australia after their current substantive visa ceases, while a further substantive visa application is being processed. Whether a Bridging Visa A is granted, and what conditions apply, depends on individual circumstances. Check with the Department before the current visa expires.

​

Travelling overseas and returning. A Bridging Visa A does not permit international travel — leaving Australia ends it. The Department's Bridging Visa B (subclass 020) is the visa that allows a person on a Bridging Visa A to leave and return to Australia once while their substantive visa application — such as the 804 — is still being processed. Eligibility and conditions for a Bridging Visa B should be confirmed with the Department before booking any travel.

​

Medicare and health cover while the 804 is processed

According to Services Australia, an 804 applicant can enrol in Medicare once the visa is granted. Before grant, Medicare enrolment is available only if the applicant is from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) country and meets that country's RHCA conditions. This is the same rule that applies to the 103, 143, and 864 Parent visa subclasses.

​

There is no eligibility criterion on the 804 requiring private health insurance during the wait, unlike the 103's retiree pathway, which does require it. Applicants who are not from an RHCA country, and are not yet Medicare-eligible, should raise their health cover arrangements for the period before grant with Services Australia.

​

The Balance of Family Test

You must pass this test to be eligible for the 804.

​

You pass if:

• At least half of your children and stepchildren are "eligible children" — Australian citizens, or Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens who usually live in Australia, or

• More of your eligible children live in Australia than in any other single country

​

The Department will not waive this test for compelling or exceptional circumstances.

A child living in Australia on a temporary visa does not count as "usually resident" for this test. Only citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens count.

​

Example calculation

Four children, two living permanently in Australia and the other two living in two different countries (one each): passes the test, since two eligible children is more than the one child living in any single other country.

​

Four children, one living permanently in Australia and the other three split across three different countries: fails the test.

​

How to apply Aged Parent Visa: the 5-step process

Step 1 — Before you apply. Confirm you, and anyone applying with you, hold a valid passport. You can arrange someone to act on your behalf.

Step 2 — Gather your documents. This includes:

• Identity documents

• Sponsor documents

• Balance of Family Test evidence

• Character documents

• Assurance of Support evidence

• Partner and dependant documents, if applicable

• Photographs

Step 3 — Apply online via ImmiAccount. You must be in Australia (not in immigration clearance) when you submit. You cannot apply if you already hold or have applied for the 870 visa.

Step 4 — After you apply. The Department confirms receipt of your application and documents. Health examinations are requested when the Department is ready for them. The second instalment must be paid when invoiced, or the application is refused.

Step 5 — Visa outcome. You must be in Australia (not in immigration clearance) when the Department decides. If granted, the Department provides your visa grant number, start date, and conditions in writing. If refused, the Department states the reason and whether a review right applies. The application fee is not refunded on refusal.

​

Aged Parent Visa Costs

The AUD 8,665 figure is the visa application charge only. Additional costs:

• Assurance of Support bond — AUD 5,000 for one adult, AUD 7,000 for two adults, from an individual assurer (AUD 10,000 from an organisation). Held for up to 4 years from the date the visa is granted.

• Health examinations for each applicant

• Police certificates — required from each country where an applicant lived for 12 months or more (cumulative) in the past 10 years

• Certified translations of non-English documents

• Migration agent fees, if engaged

​

Timing of the Assurance of Support, health checks, and police certificates

Services Australia requests the Assurance of Support bond only once the application is close to final processing. The Department requests health examinations and police certificates on the same basis — not at the time of lodgement.

​

Aged Parent Visa 804 Processing Time and Queue

As at 31 May 2026, the Department had released Aged Parent visa applications with a queue date up to April 2014 for final processing. New applications are acknowledged within approximately 4 weeks of lodgement. The Department's current processing time estimate for new applications is 33 years.

​

Applications are processed in lodgement-date order under the Department's capping and queueing arrangements.

​

What the visa allows once granted

A granted 804 visa allows the holder to:

• Stay in Australia indefinitely

• Work and study

• Enrol in Medicare

• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date of grant

• Sponsor other eligible family members

• Apply for Australian citizenship, once the residence requirement is met

​

Under Services Australia's residence rules, the Age Pension requires 10 years as an Australian resident (with at least 5 of those years continuous) before it can be claimed. This applies regardless of the applicant's age at grant. Income-support options for this waiting period are best raised with Services Australia directly.

​

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between the 804 and the 103?

Both are non-contributory permanent parent visas with the same AUD 8,665 fee and 33-year processing estimate. The 804 requires the applicant to be in Australia at both lodgement and decision; the 103 does not have this requirement (except for its retiree pathway, which requires lodgement onshore).

​

Can I apply for the 804 if I'm not yet old enough for the age pension?

No. Being old enough to qualify for the age pension is a core eligibility requirement for the 804. The 103 Parent visa does not have this age requirement.

​

Can I access Medicare while the 804 is being processed?

Only if you're from a Reciprocal Health Care Agreement (RHCA) country and meet that country's RHCA conditions, per Services Australia. Otherwise, Medicare enrolment becomes available once the 804 is granted.

​

Can I travel overseas while the 804 is in the queue?

Not on a Bridging Visa A alone — leaving Australia ends it. The Department's Bridging Visa B (subclass 020) allows a person on a Bridging Visa A to leave and return to Australia once while the substantive application is still being processed. Check eligibility and conditions with the Department before booking travel.

​

Will I get a bridging visa while the 804 is in the queue?

The Department's Bridging Visa A (subclass 010) is designed for situations where a substantive visa application is still being processed after the applicant's current visa ceases. Whether one is granted, and whether it includes work rights, depends on individual circumstances — this is something to raise with the Department directly.

​

What's the difference between the 804 and the 864?

Both require the applicant to be in Australia and to be old enough for the age pension. The 864 (Contributory Aged Parent) costs from AUD 49,900, with an estimated processing time of 15 years, and requires an Assurance of Support bond of AUD 10,000/AUD 14,000 (individual assurer, one or two adults).