The Subclass 804 aged parent visa allows older parents to move to Australia
The Subclass 804 aged parent visa allows older parents to move to Australia if more of their children live in Australia than any other country.
With this visa, you can:
- Stay in Australia indefinitely
- Work and study in Australia
- Enrol in Australia’s public healthcare system, Medicare
- Sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia
- Travel to and from Australia for 5 years
- Attend free English language classes through the Adult Migrant English Program (if eligible)
- Apply for Australian citizenship (if eligible)
You must:
- Have an eligible child who is a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
- Be of an age that qualifies you to receive the age pension in Australia
- Not have previously applied for or currently hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa when applying for this visa.
Travel to and from Australia for 5 years
You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you wish for 5 years from the date this visa is granted, as long as the travel facility on your visa remains valid.
If you wish to travel after the initial 5-year period:
- You will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return Visa (RRV) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.
- You may also want to consider applying for Australian citizenship. As an Australian citizen, you won’t need a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport to leave and re-enter the country. For more information on eligibility requirements and current processing times for Australian citizenship, please refer to the relevant resources.
To check when your travel facility ends, you can use VEVO (Visa Entitlement Verification Online).
How long you can stay
This is a permanent visa, allowing you to stay in Australia indefinitely.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence officially begins on the day the visa is granted.
Include family
You can include members of your family unit in your application. You are required to provide details of all family members in your application form, regardless of whether they are migrating with you.
If you have a partner, be sure to include their information in your application, even if they are not applying for the visa alongside you.
Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements. Additionally, family members who are not coming to Australia may also need to fulfill these health and character requirements.
Apply from
You must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when you apply for this visa.
Any family members applying for the visa with you must also be in Australia and not in immigration clearance at the time of your application.
Assessment
Applications for this visa are processed in two stages:
Initial assessment – Your application is reviewed to confirm you meet the eligibility requirements. If you do, it will be added to the queue; if not, it will be refused.
Final assessment – When places become available, applications are released from the queue for final processing.
Do not make plans to stay in Australia permanently until your visa has been granted. You will receive written confirmation if your visa is approved.
For more information, you can learn about the Parent visa queue and processing priorities.
Applying for an Aged Parent (Subclass 804) Visa
Not have this visa
You cannot apply for this visa if you have already applied for or currently hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa.
Have a sponsor
You must be sponsored by an eligible sponsor.
Typically, this would be an eligible child. If your child is under 18, you may be sponsored by an eligible relative or community organization.
Please note that we must approve the sponsorship.
AGE
You must be old enough to receive the age pension in Australia
| Period within which a person was born | Pension age | Date pension age changes |
| From 1 July 1952 to 31 December 1953 | 65 years and 6 months | 1 July 2017 |
| From 1 January 1954 to 30 June 1955 | 66 years | 1 July 2019 |
| From 1 July 1955 to 31 December 1956 | 66 years and 6 months | 1 July 2021 |
| From 1 January 1957 onwards | 67 years | 1 July 2023 |
Meet the healh requirement
You and any family members applying for the visa with you must meet our health requirements.
We may also require other non-migrating family members to fulfill these health requirements.
Meet the character requirement
You and any family members applying for the visa with you must meet our character requirements.
Additionally, we may require non-migrating family members to also meet this requirement.
Meet the balance-of-family test
You must meet the balance-of-family test, which can be satisfied in one of the following ways:
- At least half of your children and step-children are eligible children.
- More eligible children reside in Australia than in any other single country.
For more details, you can refer to examples of how the balance-of-family test is applied.
Have assusrance of support
You must be able to obtain an assurance of support.
An assurance of support guarantees that you and any family members accompanying you will not need to rely on government assistance after arriving in Australia on this visa.
We will inform you when you need to provide this assurance.
Have paid back your debt to the Australian government
If you or any family members owe money to the Australian Government, you must have repaid it or have an approved arrangement to repay it.
Not have had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused
We will review your immigration history when assessing your application. This means you may not be eligible for this visa if you have had a visa cancelled or refused.
In some cases, you may still apply for a permanent visa despite having a cancelled visa or a refused application. Please refer to “Limitations on applications in Australia” for more details.
Sign the Australian values statement
If you are 18 years or older, you must:
- Have read or had explained to you the “Life in Australia” booklet.
- Sign an Australian Values Statement confirming your commitment to respecting the Australian way of life and obeying its laws.
Be interests of the child
We will not grant this visa if doing so is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18 years of age.
There are a number of parent visa options which may be suitable
Parent Visas
Parent Visa Subclass 103
Contributory Parent Visa (Temporary) Subclass 173
Contributory Parent Visa (Permanent) Subclass 143
Sponsored Parent Visa Subclass 870
Processing time frames for new applications
| Visa type | Estimated processing time |
|---|---|
| Contributory Parent visas | 15 years |
| Parent and Aged Parent visas | 33 years |
Note: These time frames are estimates and are generally updated annually at the end of each program year.
Processing Times Updated 1 November 2025
Get a quote
Know what visa you want to apply for but need some pricing? Get in touch with us and we will get back to you with a fixed price quote.
Book a consultation
Here at Australian Skilled Migration, our team of Registered Migration Agents can assist you with your aged parent (Subclass 804) visa application.