Aged parent visas onshore: the 804 and the 864

What makes these two visas different

The 804 and 864 are built around a parent who is already in Australia. Under the Migration Regulations the applicant must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the application is made, and must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the visa is granted.

That makes them a natural fit for a parent who is already here, usually on a visitor visa or another temporary visa, and who is old enough for the Age Pension. A younger parent, or one applying from overseas, is looking at a different subclass.

One small trap: one step of the Department's own step-by-step guide says you can be in or outside Australia when you submit the application. The Regulations and the Department's own "Apply from" section both say in Australia. Plan on the stricter rule.

Who can apply

The core requirements are the same for both visas.

• Age. The parent must be an "aged parent", which the Regulations define as old enough to be granted an Age Pension under the Social Security Act 1991.
• A settled child. The parent must have a child who is a settled Australian citizen, settled permanent resident or settled eligible New Zealand citizen. "Settled" means lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable period.
• A sponsor. Usually that child, or the child's partner if they are also settled. If the child is under 18, a relative, a guardian or a community organisation can sponsor instead.
• The balance of family test, covered below.
• An assurance of support, which the Department asks for later in the process, not at lodgement.
• Health and character for the parent and any family members included in the application.
• No Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa. The parent cannot hold a subclass 870 visa, and a parent who has held one must have left Australia since it ended. The Department's visa pages go further and say a parent who has applied for an 870 cannot apply either.
• No other parent visa still undecided. Any earlier parent visa application must be decided or withdrawn first. The Department lets you withdraw it as part of the new application.

The balance of family test

This is the test that rules most families in or out, and the Department says it will not waive it even in compelling or exceptional circumstances.

The parent passes if at least half of their children (including stepchildren) are eligible children, meaning Australian citizens, or permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia. They also pass if more of their children are eligible than live in any other single country. A child living in Australia on a temporary visa does not count as usually resident here.

So a parent with two children in Australia and two in one other country passes. A parent with one child here and two in the same overseas country does not. A parent with one child here and one in each of three different countries also does not, because one is not at least half of four and is not more than any single overseas country.

What each visa costs

These are the Department's published costs for a single applicant. Both are paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks for it, which is close to grant. If the second instalment is not paid, the application is refused.

Each family member included in the application adds a further charge, and a lower rate applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste passport holders. Health checks and police certificates are extra.

There is also a two-step route for the contributory version: the Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 884) first, then the 864. A parent who holds an 884, or held one in the 28 days before applying, does not have to pass the balance of family test again. The Department is clear that the two-step route costs more overall than going straight to the 864, but spreads the cost over a longer period. Our guide to contributory and non-contributory parent visas goes through that trade in detail.

How long it really takes

Every parent visa is capped. The Department can only grant a set number each program year, and everything else waits in a queue. Applications are first checked against the core criteria, including health and character. Those that pass get a queue date in writing. Those that don't are refused at that point.

These are the Department's milestones as at 31 August 2026.

The Department says these estimates are based on the places currently available each year and are generally updated at the start of each program year. They move with planning levels, withdrawals, refusals and changes to processing directions, and they are not a prediction for any one application. Our piece on parent visa queues explains the mechanics.

Ministerial Direction 117 does put family applications made in Australia, for a visa granted in Australia, in the higher priority group, and the 804 and 864 sit there by design. Within that group, contributory aged parent applications still come ahead of aged parent applications, and capped visas are released in queue date order. The onshore priority does not take an application past the cap.

Staying in Australia while you wait

Because the parent has to be in Australia at grant, the years in the queue matter as much as the application itself. When the application is made in Australia, the Department says it is likely to grant a bridging visa, which takes effect when the parent's current visa ends. The Department's advice is not to cancel the current visa, because doing so can leave the person unlawful and without a bridging visa.

A few rules decide whether the application can be made at all.

• Current visa. The parent should hold a substantive visa when applying. A parent whose visa has already expired can still apply in some cases, but under the Regulations only within 12 months of the last substantive visa ending, and not if that last visa was a transit visa.
• Condition 8503. If the parent's visitor visa carries condition 8503 'No Further Stay', they cannot be granted a substantive visa such as the 804 or 864 while they remain in Australia unless the condition is waived.
• Immigration history. A previous refusal or cancellation can limit what a person may apply for in Australia. The Department says it will consider immigration history, and this is worth checking before money is spent.
• Travel. The Department asks to be told about travel outside Australia while the application is processed, and the parent needs a valid visa to come back.

Switching between the 804 and the 864

A family's finances can change over a wait this long. The Regulations allow a parent to withdraw an 804 application at the same time as applying for an 864 or 884, or the other way round. Where the parent was on a bridging visa linked to the first application and holds no substantive visa, the Regulations require a new Bridging A visa to be granted, so the switch itself does not leave them unlawful.

What the switch does to the parent's place in the queue is something to confirm on the individual file before deciding.

What this means in practice

• Run the balance of family test first. It cannot be waived, and it is the quickest way to know whether either visa is open.
• Check the parent's current visa before booking anything. An 8503 condition, an expired visa or a past refusal changes the plan.
• Treat the Department's estimates as the starting point. At 42 years against 18, the choice between the 804 and 864 is mostly a choice about cost against time.
• Plan for the assurance of support. Someone has to be able to give it when the Department asks, and it does not have to be the sponsor.

General information only, current at 21 October 2026. Not immigration assistance or advice for your circumstances. Visacorp Pty Ltd — MARN 0317382 · 1799004.