Families often approach the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa backwards. They research the visa, gather documents for mum or dad, and then discover that nothing can be lodged until the Australian child has been approved as a sponsor first.
The 870 is a two stage process, and the first stage belongs entirely to the child in Australia. Getting that stage right sets up everything that follows.
What the 870 is for
The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa lets eligible parents stay in Australia for up to three or five years at a time, with a maximum of ten years across successive grants. It was introduced as a practical response to the very long waits attached to permanent parent visas.
Two features make it attractive. There is no balance of family test, so it does not matter whether most of your siblings live overseas. And the parent can stay continuously for the whole visa period rather than leaving and returning every few months on a visitor visa.
It is worth being clear about what it is not. The 870 does not lead to permanent residence and it does not allow work in Australia. It is a long stay family visa, not a migration pathway.
Stage one: the sponsorship application
The Australian child applies to become an approved parent sponsor. This is a separate application with its own fee, currently AUD 420, and its own requirements.
To be approved you generally need to be:
- An Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- At least 18 years old
- Usually resident in Australia, with a residence history the Department is satisfied with
- Able to meet an income test
- Willing and able to meet the sponsorship obligations
- Free of relevant character and debt issues
The parent you sponsor can be your biological parent, adoptive parent, step parent or a parent in law. If you want to sponsor your partner’s parents, your partner also needs to be a citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
The income test in practice
The income requirement is the part that causes the most anxiety, and the part where preparation matters most.
The test looks at your taxable income for the most recently completed income year before you lodge the sponsorship application, measured against a set threshold. Household income can be combined in certain circumstances, for example with a spouse or with another child of the parent, subject to the rules that apply.
Because the assessment is based on a completed income year, timing can change the answer. A person whose income rose sharply in the current year may still be assessed on last year’s lower figure. Lodging a few months later, after a stronger year is finalised and the notice of assessment has issued, can be the difference between approval and refusal.
The evidence usually centres on your ATO notice of assessment. Payslips, employment letters and business financials can support the picture, but the notice of assessment is the anchor document. Thresholds and the exact evidence expected change over time, so confirm the current requirement before lodging.
Sponsorship obligations you are agreeing to
Approval is not just a tick. As a sponsor you commit to real financial responsibility, including:
- Providing adequate accommodation and financial support for your parent during their stay
- Being liable for outstanding public health expenditure incurred by your parent in Australia
- Keeping records and telling the Department about changes in circumstances
Families sometimes treat this as paperwork. It is not. If your parent has a serious health event and a public hospital bill follows, the obligation is yours. That is the trade off the program is built on, because parents on the 870 are not intended to draw on the public system.
Stage two: the visa application
Once the sponsorship is approved, the parent lodges the visa application, and there is a deadline. The visa application generally must be lodged within six months of sponsorship approval.
The parent chooses a visa length of up to three years or up to five years, and the visa application charge differs accordingly. As at July 2026 the charge sits at roughly AUD 6,370 for the three year option and around AUD 12,440 for the five year option, paid in two instalments, with the second instalment requested before grant. These charges are usually indexed on 1 July each year, so check the current amount on the Department’s pricing estimator before you budget.
The parent also needs to meet health and character requirements, hold adequate health insurance for their whole stay, and have no outstanding debts to the Australian government.
Most applications are lodged from outside Australia. Applying onshore requires permission to apply in Australia, which is not automatic.
The health insurance condition
Condition 8501 applies, which means the parent must maintain adequate health cover for the entire visa period. Parents on the 870 do not have normal Medicare access.
For an older applicant on a five year visa, this is a substantial and ongoing cost that families frequently underestimate. Get quotes early, compare what the policies actually cover, and factor the premium into the total cost alongside the visa charges rather than treating it as a small extra.
Where families commonly come unstuck
Preparing the parent’s documents first. Nothing can be lodged until the sponsorship is approved, so effort spent on the parent’s file too early can go stale.
Missing the six month window. Sponsorship approval starts a clock. Diarise it.
Assuming income can be averaged. The test looks at a defined income year, not at what you feel your earning capacity is.
Forgetting the ten year cap. Successive 870 visas are capped at ten years in total, and a further grant usually requires the parent to have been outside Australia for at least 90 days unless permission to apply in Australia has been given.
Treating it as a PR pathway. Some families hold an 870 while a permanent parent visa application sits in the queue. That is a legitimate strategy, but it is two separate applications, not one.
Getting advice at the right moment
The most useful time to get advice on the 870 is before the sponsorship is lodged, when income timing, evidence and family structure can still be arranged sensibly. Firms that handle visa 870 matters regularly will usually look at your last two notices of assessment, your residence history and your parent’s health profile before recommending when to lodge and for how long.
A realistic view
The 870 solves a genuine problem. It gives grandparents years with their grandchildren rather than a series of short visits, and it does so without the decade long waits attached to some permanent parent options.
It also asks something real of the sponsoring child, financially and legally. Families who go in with clear eyes about the income test, the health cover and the obligations tend to have a much smoother experience than those who focus only on the visa charge.
