How to Apply for an 804 Visa in Australia

Your parent is here on a visit, the grandchildren are settled around them, and the family has started to ask a quiet question: could they simply stay?

For a parent who has reached Age Pension age, the Aged Parent visa (subclass 804) is one way to do that. It’s a permanent visa, and it’s lodged from inside Australia.

The hard part is that much of what you’ll read online is out of date. Older guides still say to post a paper form to Perth, and quote a fee of about AUD 5,000.

Neither is true now. Since 22 April 2026, you apply for an 804 visa online in ImmiAccount, and the visa costs AUD 8,665 for one parent.

This guide shows how to apply for an 804 visa step by step. It covers who qualifies, the forms and documents for every child, what it costs and what happens while you wait.

If you’d rather have someone check your parent’s position first, our MARA-registered agents can help.

What Is an Aged Parent Visa (Subclass 804)?

The subclass 804 is a permanent visa for an aged parent whose child is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. You can travel in and out as many times as you like for the first five years after the visa is granted.

The visa also lets you:

• Stay in Australia with no end date.
• Work and study in Australia.
• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s public healthcare scheme, once the visa is granted.
• Sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia.
• Apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible.

For a full overview of who the visa suits and how it compares with the contributory options, see our Aged Parent visa 804 page.

What Are the Eligibility Requirements to Apply for an 804 Visa in Australia?

You must be of Age Pension age, in Australia, sponsored by a settled child and able to pass the balance of family test. You also must not hold, or have applied for, a Sponsored Parent visa (subclass 870). Here are the requirements in detail.

• Age requirement. You must be old enough to receive the Australian Age Pension, which is 67 for most people.
• Sponsorship requirement. You need an eligible child to sponsor you. Your child must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.
• Balance of family test. At least half your children must live permanently in Australia, or more of them must live in Australia than in any other single country. Our balance of family test guide works through examples.
• Health and character requirements. You’ll do health examinations and provide police certificates when Home Affairs asks, which is usually at final assessment, not at lodgement. The 804 has no health waiver.
• Assurance of Support. Before the visa is granted, someone must give an Assurance of Support. This is a promise to repay certain welfare payments for 4 years. It doesn’t have to be your sponsor, because an individual, several people or an organisation can give it.
• Immigration history. A visa refusal or cancellation since your last arrival can trigger the section 48 bar. That bar can stop you lodging any parent visa in Australia. Our section 48 guide explains the options.

What Documents Are Required for an Aged Parent Visa in Australia?

You need identity documents, your sponsor’s Form 40 and proof of how many children you have and where each one lives. Here’s the 804 visa document checklist for lodgement.

• Identity documents: your passport photo page, a national identity card if you have one, and proof of any name change.
• Birth certificates for all your children, including those who don’t live in Australia.
• Evidence of each child’s citizenship or country of permanent residence, and death certificates for any children who have passed away.
• Form 40, Sponsorship for migration to Australia, completed by your sponsor, with proof they’re settled here.
• Partner documents if your spouse or de facto partner applies with you.
• Form 47A for each dependent family member aged 18 or over.
• Four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm) of everyone in the application.
• Certified English translations of any document not in English.

Don’t arrange police certificates, medical examinations or the Assurance of Support yet. Home Affairs will ask for these when your application reaches final assessment.

How to Apply for an 804 Visa in Australia?

You apply in five steps, and the application itself is lodged online in ImmiAccount.

• Step 1: Check your eligibility.
• Step 2: Prepare your documents.
• Step 3: Apply for the 804 visa online.
• Step 4: Do these things after you apply.
• Step 5: Wait for the visa outcome.

Step 1: Check Your Eligibility

• Check that you meet the requirements above and have a valid passport.
• Check your current visa in VEVO. If it carries condition 8503 (No further stay), you can’t lodge the 804 in Australia unless Home Affairs waives that condition first. See our guide to condition 8503.
• If you’ve already applied for another parent visa that hasn’t been decided, you need to withdraw it first using the Parent visa processing centre form.

Step 2: Prepare Your Documents

• Gather the documents in the checklist above for you and anyone applying with you.
• Ask your sponsor to complete Form 40 and give you their supporting documents.
• Have non-English documents translated. Translators in Australia should be NAATI-accredited.
• Make clear colour scans so you can attach everything online.

Step 3: Apply for the 804 Visa Online

You must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when you apply. Then follow these steps.

• Create or log in to your ImmiAccount.
• Complete the Aged Parent (subclass 804) application form online.
• Attach your documents, your sponsor’s Form 40 and any Form 47A.
• Pay the first instalment of AUD 6,600 for the main applicant.

Important note: applications made on or after 22 April 2026 must be lodged online. Home Affairs only accepts paper if ImmiAccount support can’t fix a technical problem. An application with missing forms or unpaid fees is invalid, so check everything before you submit.

Step 4: Things to Do After You Apply

• If you applied while your current visa was valid, you’ll usually be granted a Bridging visa A that keeps you lawful while you wait.
• A Bridging visa A ends when you leave Australia, so apply for a Bridging visa B before you travel.
• Plan private health cover. Medicare usually starts only once the 804 is granted, unless you’re from a country with a reciprocal health care agreement.
• Tell Home Affairs about any change of address, passport, relationship or family details.
• You may be asked for more information or biometrics (fingerprints and a photo).

Step 5: Wait for the Visa Outcome

When your application is released from the queue, Home Affairs will ask for health checks, police certificates, the Assurance of Support and the second instalment. You must be in Australia when the decision is made. The Department will notify you through ImmiAccount. If your visa is granted, you’ll receive the following.

• Your visa grant number.
• The date your visa starts.
• Your visa conditions.

If your application is refused, you’ll be told the reasons and whether you have the right to a review.

What Is the Processing Time for an Aged Parent Visa in Australia?

Home Affairs estimates around 42 years for a new 804 application, as at 31 August 2026. At that date, the queue had been released to 804 applications lodged up to October 2014. You can follow it on the parent visa queue release dates page.

For a parent who is already 67 or older, that number is hard to read. It’s an estimate built on today’s planning levels, and it can move when the Government changes the number of places each year.

Many families still lodge the 804 because it lets a parent stay lawfully in Australia with their family while the application waits. Others choose it first and later compare it with the faster contributory visas below.

What can you do while your parent waits?

• Keep the bridging visa and health cover steps in Step 4 up to date, especially before any overseas trip.
• Tell Home Affairs about changes to your parent’s address, passport or family, so letters reach them years from now.
• Keep copies of every child’s birth and residence documents, because Home Affairs can ask for updated evidence at final assessment.
• Reply to any Home Affairs request on time. Errors, missing documents and late replies are the delays you can control.
• Review the contributory options below if the family’s budget changes, since a shorter wait may become possible.

What Is the Visa Cost of an 804 Visa in Australia?

The 804 visa costs AUD 8,665 for one parent, split into two instalments. You pay the first instalment of AUD 6,600 when you apply, and the second instalment of AUD 2,065 when the Department asks for it. These are the Migration Regulations figures checked on 14 October 2026. Confirm them with the Home Affairs visa pricing estimator before you pay.

Expert Australian Migration Guidance

Not sure your parent can apply from inside Australia? A MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2619480) can check their visa conditions and family position first.

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If a partner applies with you, add AUD 3,300 to the first instalment and AUD 2,065 to the second, so a couple pays AUD 14,030 in total. You may also pay extra for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

Other Parent Visa Options

If the 804 wait is too long for your family, these are the main parent visas to compare it with. Costs are for one parent, and waits are Home Affairs estimates as at 31 August 2026.

• Subclass 864 suits families who can afford the higher charge and want the shorter permanent route. See our 864 visa page.
• Subclass 884 spreads the cost over two stages, but costs more in total than going straight to the 864. See our 884 visa page.
• Subclass 870 allows stays of 3 or 5 years at a time with no path to permanent residency. Holding or applying for an 870 stops a parent applying for the 804. Read our 10-year parent visa guide.

For all seven parent visas side by side, see our guide to parent visa options in Australia.

How The Migration Helps With Your 804 Visa

We check the details that decide whether an onshore 804 is valid before anything is lodged. Our work for 804 families includes:

• Onshore check. We look at your parent’s visa conditions, including 8503, and their immigration history.
• Balance of family mapping. We count every child and plan the evidence for each country.
• Online lodgement. We prepare the forms and lodge the application through ImmiAccount.
• Waiting-period planning. We explain bridging visas, travel and health cover during the queue.
• Pathway comparison. We compare the 804 with the 864 and 884 if a shorter wait matters to your family.

Every 804 file is handled by a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2619480), which you can confirm on the MARA register. We have 7+ years of practice in Australian migration.

Conclusion

The 804 visa gives an aged parent of an Australian citizen or permanent resident a way to stay in Australia permanently. You apply online in ImmiAccount from inside Australia, with your sponsor’s Form 40 and documents for every child.

The fee is low, but the wait is long, so the right choice depends on your parent’s age, health and the family budget. If you’d like a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2619480) to check your parent’s position or compare the 804 with the faster options, book a consultation. You can also read more on our Aged Parent visa 804 page.

Related article: What is the balance of family test for Australian parent visas?

Frequently asked questions