Do I Have to Stay Outside Australia While My 115 Visa Is Decided in 2026?
Subclass 115 applicants must be outside Australia at lodgement and again at decision — here is what that means while you wait.
Yes — twice over. For the Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) you must be outside Australia when you apply, and you must be outside Australia again when the decision on that application is made. Both requirements appear on the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115), as at the 13 July 2026 version, and being offshore for part of the process does not cover either one.
This article explains how the rule operates in general terms. It is not advice on your own circumstances, and where your family makeup, travel history or immigration record is unusual, the current official requirements — or advice from someone registered to give immigration assistance — should govern what you do next.
Where exactly does the offshore requirement bite?
The rule attaches to two separate moments, and each has its own consequence.
At lodgement, the page states simply that you must be outside Australia when you apply. Subclass 115 is a paper-only application: you complete Form 47OF Application for migration to Australia in English, your sponsor completes Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia, and the package goes by post or courier to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. You cannot lodge in person and you cannot pay in person; the first instalment of the visa application charge is due when you apply, paid through the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, with evidence of payment included in the package. An incomplete application may be treated as invalid, and invalid applications are not processed.
At decision, the requirement returns in stronger form. The Migration Regulations 1994 also carry this as a grant criterion — the applicant must be outside Australia at the time of grant (clause 115.411), though clause numbers and their current wording should always be confirmed against the official legislation. Practically, that means the last day of your wait is just as important as the first: where you are standing — literally — when the decision is recorded matters to whether the visa can be granted.
There is also a third line on the same page, easy to miss between the others: do not arrange to travel to Australia until the Department tells you in writing that the visa has been granted.
| Where you are during processing | What the requirements say |
|---|---|
| Outside Australia at lodgement | Required for the application to be made validly |
| Inside Australia at lodgement | The stated lodgement requirement is not met |
| Outside Australia when the decision is made | Required for the visa to be granted |
| Inside Australia on another visa when the decision is made | The offshore criterion at decision is not met |
| In Australia after your other visa has ended | No bridging visa is available through this pathway, and you must be outside Australia for the decision |
Can I come to Australia on another visa while the application is queued?
The Department's instruction is not to book travel until you hold written notice of a grant. That instruction is doing real work: nothing in this pathway pauses or reschedules a decision to fit around a visit, so any trip you take has to be planned on the assumption that you will be back outside Australia before the decision lands.
Entering on another visa is possible in principle, but that visa carries its own conditions and its own expiry, and neither fact changes the 115 requirement. If a decision becomes due while you are onshore, you are not outside Australia when the decision is made, and the criterion is not met. For most applicants the arithmetic is unappealing — a long wait offshore punctuated by a short visit that has to end early, at your own cost, with no certainty about timing.
Why can't I fall back on a bridging visa?
ImmiAccount does list applying for a bridging visa among the online services available once you import a paper application, so the question is a fair one. But the Subclass 115 page addresses it directly: if you travel to Australia on a different visa and that visa ends, you cannot get a bridging visa to stay in Australia, and you must be outside Australia when the decision is made.
The explanation is structural rather than discretionary. Bridging visas are the mechanism that keeps a person lawful while an onshore decision is pending; Subclass 115 has no onshore stream at all — it is a paper application posted to a processing centre in Perth, assessed as an offshore case. There is no onshore application for a bridging visa to attach itself to.
That distinction has teeth beyond the immediate predicament. If you have been to Australia, the Migration Regulations require you to meet the Schedule 5 special return criteria, which include SRC 5001 (not having had a visa cancelled or been deported in specified circumstances) and SRC 5002 (not having stayed unlawfully in Australia or breached visa conditions). Clause 115.224 and Schedule 5 should be read in their current wording on the Federal Register of Legislation, but the direction of travel is clear enough: a period spent unlawfully onshore is capable of damaging the very application you came to wait for, not just the next one.
What still has to happen while you wait offshore?
Processing is not passive time. Several steps can arrive mid-stream, and most of them are things only you can complete:
- Health examinations and biometrics, if requested; police certificates should not be arranged until asked for.
- An assurance of support, which you must provide when asked, and which your sponsor's side arranges through Services Australia.
- A second instalment invoice, sent once you have met all other requirements. If you do not pay it, the visa cannot be granted.
- Any missing documents from the original package, supplied as soon as possible.
- Notification of changes: contact details or passport, marital or de facto status, the birth of a child, a decision to withdraw, or family violence. Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers covers mistakes in what you already lodged.
- A valid passport. You can apply without a current one as long as you give details of your most recent passport, but the visa will only be granted once a valid passport exists.
Two administrative points save trouble later. Importing the paper application into ImmiAccount — possible after the acknowledgement letter — lets you upload documents, read messages, update details and check status; paper applications lodged outside Australia on or after 25 June 2020 can be imported. And the Department does not provide progress updates within normal processing times, so silence is not evidence of anything.
What does the decision itself look like?
Everything comes in writing. A grant notice gives you the visa grant number, the date the visa starts, and any conditions attached. The Migration Regulations also set a first-entry-by date determined by the Minister (clause 115.611), and allow conditions such as 8502 or 8515 restricting marriage or de facto relationships around entry (clause 115.612); those conditions are discretionary additions rather than entitlements, and the notice itself is what binds you. Only after that written grant is travel to Australia appropriate.
A refusal also comes in writing, with the reasons and a statement of whether you have a right to review of the decision. The application fee is not refunded if the visa is refused, which is another reason the timing and location requirements are worth getting right the first time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to stay outside Australia the whole time my 115 application is being processed?
Strictly speaking, the rule attaches to two points: you must be outside Australia when you apply, and outside Australia when the decision is made. The Department's own advice goes further — it tells you not to arrange travel to Australia until it has granted the visa in writing.
Can I get a bridging visa to wait in Australia if my visitor visa is about to expire?
No. If you travelled to Australia on a different visa and that visa ends, you cannot get a bridging visa to remain, and you must be outside Australia when the decision on your 115 application is made.
I'm already in Australia on another visa — can I lodge the 115 application here?
No. The application must be made on paper and you must be outside Australia when you apply; the package goes by post or courier to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth. It cannot be lodged or paid for in person.
What happens to my application if a decision is ready while I'm onshore?
The grant criteria require you to be outside Australia at the time of decision, so a decision cannot be made in your favour while you remain onshore. The practical effect is that you would need to be outside Australia before that point, rather than expecting the processing timeline to wait for you.
Do I need a valid passport to apply for Subclass 115?
You do not need a valid passport to lodge, but you must provide details of your most recent passport, and the visa will only be granted if you hold a valid passport. Sorting that out well before a decision is due avoids an avoidable delay at the last step.
Could an overstay affect anything besides my current stay?
Yes. Overstaying can put you unlawfully in Australia, and the Regulations' special return criteria include considerations around unlawful presence and breached visa conditions. Because this is general information rather than advice on your case, check the current official requirements and the legislative text, or take advice from someone entitled to give it.
How will I find out that the visa has been granted?
The Department notifies in writing, giving your visa grant number, the start date of the visa and any conditions. That written grant notice is also the point at which arranging travel to Australia becomes appropriate.