Contributory Parent Visa (subclass 143)

Primary criteria

The Australian government’s parent visa criteria require that an individual applying for this visa must have a sponsor who can demonstrate that they are “settled” i.e. they have been legally residing in Australia for at least two years.

Applicants will also be expected to successfully meet something called the balance of family test to be eligible for this visa. The balance of family test requires that half or more of the applicant’s children should be resident in Australia, or that more of their children are resident in Australia than in another country. The test includes all children, biological or adopted, as well as any step-children.

Applicants must be sponsored by their child living in Australia, and both the applicant and their sponsor will be expected to meet the Australian government’s health and good character requirements.

Contributory Parent Visa types

Subclass 143 (Permanent) – This visa is permanent and also sometimes called a “contributory” visa. The fee for the first application is $6,300, with a further fee of $2,125 for a jointly-applying spouse. There is then a second, larger charge for each applicant of $43,600, which is intended to be a contribution towards the benefits (such as access to healthcare) that permanent residency in Australia affords.

Subclass 173 (Temporary) – This visa is temporary and comes with an initial fee of $4,245 for the main applicant, and $2,125 for any spouse attached to the application. Once a decision has been reached but prior to the visa itself being issued, applicants must pay a charge of $29,130. A two-year visa will then be issued, which can be converted into a permanent subclass 143 visa subject to a further application fee and additional surcharge of $19,420.

Waiting times for new applications for both subclasses of Contributory Parent visa are extremely long. At present, we estimate that it could take around 14 years for eligible applications to be granted even once they have been assessed by Australian authorities.

Fees

Permanent Parent Visa fees and charges are summarised below.

Please note those fees charged by Australian government authorities are subject to change. All VELawyers fees must be paid in full before your visa application is submitted.

If you wish to spread out the process of obtaining a permanent contributory parent visa, it is possible to apply first for the temporary subclass 173 visa, which lasts for two years, and then apply for the permanent subclass 143 visa. The main advantage of this is the lower second Visa Application Charge of $29,130, though please bear in mind the further payment of $19,420 that is required when converting to the permanent visa.

The full schedule of fees for individuals seeking to take the subclass 173 > subclass 143 pathway is below:

Assurance of Support (AoS)

In addition to the above fees, applicants will have to arrange for payment of an Assurance of Support (AoS) bond, which must be paid after a decision to grant the visa has been made. The cost of an AoS for two concurrent applicants is currently around $14,000.

The full amount of this bond will be refunded after the applicant has been in Australia for ten years after entering the country on a contributory parent visa, unless any outstanding debts to the Australian government need to be deducted from the total.