Parent Visa Cost Australia: $8,665 vs $49,900 Explained

Bringing a parent to Australia permanently can cost around $8,665 — or around $49,900 — depending entirely on which visa stream you choose. This video breaks down the contributory and non-contributory pathways, the Assurance of Support bond, and the temporary subclass 870 alternative. Figures as at September 2026.

Read the full guide, with official sources →

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Chapters

  1. 0:00 $8,665 or $49,900
  2. 0:16 8,500 places (2025–26)
  3. 0:30 Two streams,
  4. 0:43 Contributory: roughly
  5. 1:00 Non-contributory: roughly
  6. 1:15 The Assurance of
  7. 1:28 Other costs
  8. 1:42 The temporary
  9. 1:58 Up to 10 years total —
  10. 2:21 The mistake most
  11. 2:32 One parent, contributory:
  12. 2:45 Where to read more

Transcript

Bringing a parent to Australia permanently can cost around $8,665 in government charges — or around $49,900. The difference between them is entirely the queue.

Australia set the family parent visa program at 8,500 places for 2025–26, dropping to 7,060 places for 2026–27 — and demand runs far beyond either number.

There are two streams: contributory, which costs far more but Home Affairs estimates at about 15 years for new applications, and non-contributory, which costs less but Home Affairs estimates at about 33 years.

The contributory 143 or 864 charges a first instalment around $6,300, then a second instalment around $43,600 years later. Total government charge: roughly $49,900 per applicant.

The non-contributory 103 or 804 is far cheaper: a first instalment around $6,600, a second instalment around $2,065, for a total of roughly $8,665.

On top of that, most grants need an Assurance of Support bond, refundable at the end of the period. Services Australia sets the bond amount and how long it's held, separately from Home Affairs.

Then there's a health exam, which varies by clinic, a police check from the Australian Federal Police around $56, overseas police checks for any country you've lived in 12 months or more since turning 16, and migration agent fees.

There's a temporary option too: the Sponsored Parent visa, subclass 870. A 3-year grant costs around $6,370; a 5-year grant, around $12,440 — plus mandatory health insurance.

The 870 can run up to 10 years total across multiple grants, but it never leads to permanent residence on its own.

Both aged parent visas, the 804 and the contributory 864, must be applied for while the parent is in Australia. The 103 and 143 can be lodged from in or outside Australia instead.

Health exam results stay valid for 12 months. If the application sits in the queue longer than that — which is common — the Department can ask for it again.

For one parent on the contributory 143, the visa charge alone is $49,900 — and that's before the Assurance of Support bond, which is refunded at the end of its period if no debts are raised.

The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description. And if you'd like to talk it through, you can compare registered migration agents there, and see their fees before you book anything.

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