Parent Visa 103
The parent visa 103 has the lowest application fee out of all the Parent Visas.
Parent Visa (subclass 103)
The parents’ visa 103 is the lowest costing option among all
Apply outside of Australia
- have a child who is a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- Become a permanent Australia resident
- Meet Family balance test
- Assurance of support
Processing times for parent visa 103
The processing time will be up to 30 years
Assessment
Applications are assessing for this visa in 2 stages.
- Check eligibility and either add the application to the queue or refuse it.
- Continue assessing the application when a place becomes available and make a decision.
Having a parent 103 visa granted
- stay in Australia indefinitely
- work and study in Australia
- enroll in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
- sponsor your family members to come to Australia
- apply for Australian citizenship.
How long you can stay
This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.
For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day the visa granted it for 2 years.
Cost
This visa costs from AUD6,415. There is also an additional charge for each family member who applies with you.
You pay for this visa in 2 parts called installments.
Pay the first installment when you apply. Pay the second installment when your visa granted.
You might also have to pay other costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Apply from
You can be in or outside Australia when you apply for the visa. However, you will not obtain a bridging visa to stay in Australia.
You must be outside Australia when the application granted.
If you apply in Australia, any family members who apply with you must also be in Australia, when you apply. If you apply outside Australia, any family members who apply for the visa with you must also be outside Australia when you apply.
Consider another visa
Other parent visas might be processed more quickly:
- the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) is a permanent visa. Contributory Parent visas are processed faster, but they cost more
- the Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173), then a permanent Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143). This 2-step visa process is faster but costs more than the subclass 103 visa. It also costs more than applying directly for the Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143), but the cost is spread across the 2 visas over a longer period
Meet the balance-of-family test for visa 103
A parent meets the balance of family test if:
- at least half their children and stepchildren are eligible children, or
- there are more eligible children than children living in any other single country
You must meet the balance-of-family test. You meet the balance of family test if:
- at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or
- there are more eligible children living in Australia than in any other single country
See examples of how the balance-of-family test is applied.
Meaning of ‘eligible child’ and ‘ineligible child’
A child is an eligible child if they are:
- an Australian citizen, or
- an Australian permanent resident usually resident in Australia, or
- an eligible New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia
Any other child of the parent is an ineligible child. An ineligible child is taken to be a resident overseas.
We don’t consider children who are in Australia on a temporary visa as usually resident in Australia.
If a child’s whereabouts are unknown, we consider they are residents in their last known usual country of residence.
| Table 1: Examples of calculating when a parent would pass the balance-of-family test | ||||||
| Total number of children | Children living permanently in Australia | Children in country A | Children in country B | Children in country C | Children in country D | Passes test? |
| 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | No |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | No |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Yes |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | No |
