Aged Parent Visas are for parents who are older than 65 years, and who have a child that is either an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who wishes to sponsor them.

Note: An aged parent who has been granted a permanent Aged parent visa will not be entitled immediately for the Age pension. New permanent Australian residents must wait 10 years before they are eligible for the Age pension, unless there is an agreement with another country to pay (the resident) a pension.

How do I qualify for an Aged Parent Visa?

To be able to apply for an Aged Parent visa, applicants must have a child who is settled in Australia and an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand Citizen, and who wishes to sponsor them.

To be considered as “settled”, the sponsoring child must have been living in Australia for at least 2 years, however shorter periods of residency may be considering based on compassionate and compelling circumstances.

These visas are both high in demand and have a low processing priority with the Australian Government, and so there is a limitation on how many of these Parent Visas that are granted each year. As such, there is a long wait time on these Visas.

The Aged Parent Visa can also be Contributory & Non-Contributory, and the same rules apply here as in the Non-Aged Parent Visas.

If the Aged Parent Visa is Contributory, the processing time is much shorter, but the application charges are substantially larger, while if the Aged Parent Visa is Non-contributory, the application charges will be less, but the waiting period will be substantially longer.

Balance of Family Test

Applicants must also pass the Balance of Family test, to demonstrate that half or more of their children live in Australia, or that more of their children reside in Australian than any other country.

Health and Character

All Australian Visa applicants must meet health and character requirements by providing evidence such a medical clearances, Australian and International Police checks.

What this visa allows you to do:

As a permanent residency visa, this allows the holder to:

• Live and work in Australia, with no restrictions
• Study in Australia
• Apply for Medicare
• Apply for Australian citizenship
• Sponsor other family members for certain visas
• Travel in and out of Australia for 5 years

This visa can be applied for inside or outside of Australia, however the applicant(s) must be in the same place at the time of both the application and the visa decision.

Visa Charges

The government charges for visa applications can be found here.