What Is the 28-Day Rule for Subclass 836 Applications in 2026?
Explains Schedule 3 criterion 3002 — how the 28 days after your last substantive visa are counted for a Subclass 836 carer visa application.
The 28-day rule is Schedule 3 criterion 3002, and it is the provision that lets you lodge a Subclass 836 (Carer visa) application after your last substantive visa has already come to an end. Under clause 836.211 of the Migration Regulations 1994, you meet the visa-holding requirement if you hold a substantive visa other than a Transit visa (subclass 771), or if you no longer hold one but your last substantive visa was not a subclass 771 and you made a valid subclass 836 application within 28 days of the day you last held it. The Department of Home Affairs sets out the same test on its Carer visa (subclass 836) page as at July 2026: hold any substantive visa except a 771, or have held any substantive visa except a 771 and applied within a certain time.
Subclass 836 sits in the Other Family (Residence) (Class BU) category and is a permanent visa that must be applied for and granted while you are in Australia. What follows is general information about how the timing test operates; it is not advice about your own circumstances, and the operative text remains the current Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's published guidance.
What does the 28-day rule actually require?
Criterion 3002 is only engaged when you do not hold a substantive visa at the time you apply. It has three moving parts, and all three must line up:
- Your last substantive visa was not a Transit visa (subclass 771). The 771 exclusion appears in both limbs of clause 836.211, so a person whose only recent visa was a transit visa cannot use this pathway.
- You made a valid application for a Subclass 836 visa. Lodging something incomplete, or lodging the wrong visa, does not start or satisfy the test.
- That application was made within 28 days of the day you last held a substantive visa.
If you still hold a substantive visa when you lodge, criterion 3002 is not needed at all — you satisfy clause 836.211 on the first limb, and the 28 days never come into the calculation.
How do I count the 28 days on my own timeline?
Work backwards from the lodgement date, not forwards from when you realised there was a problem.
- Fix the date your last substantive visa ceased. This is the expiry date on the visa, or the date a cancellation took effect — not the date a letter reached you, and not the date you noticed.
- Count 28 days forward from that date. The criterion is expressed in days from the relevant date, so what matters is the calendar date your visa ceased and the date your application was made.
- Mark the last day of the window. A lodgement inside that window satisfies the timing element of clause 836.211(b); a lodgement after it does not.
- Confirm the application is valid. A valid application is one that meets the lodgement requirements for the visa, including being made in Australia.
Assume an applicant whose visitor visa ceased on 1 March. The 28-day window closes at the end of 29 March. An application made on 20 March is inside it; an application made in April is not, even if the delay was caused by waiting on documents.
Does holding a bridging visa change the deadline?
No. A bridging visa is not a substantive visa, so being on one does not reset the clock, pause it, or give you a fresh 28 days. The count still runs from the day your last substantive visa ceased. Holding a bridging visa is common inside this window and is not itself a barrier — what matters is whether the bridging visa was granted while a substantive visa was still in effect, or after the substantive visa had already ended and within the 28 days.
| Your situation | What clause 836.211 requires |
|---|---|
| You hold a substantive visa (not a 771) | Timing test not required; lodge while the visa is in effect |
| On a bridging visa, last substantive visa ended 28 days ago or less | Criterion 3002 may be met if the last substantive visa was not a 771 |
| On a bridging visa, more than 28 days since the last substantive visa ended | The 3002 pathway is not available on these facts |
| Last substantive visa was a Transit visa (subclass 771) | Both limbs of clause 836.211 exclude the 771 |
| You never held a substantive visa | Neither limb of clause 836.211 is met |
What else has to be true on the day I lodge?
Meeting criterion 3002 only clears the visa-holding requirement. The rest of the Subclass 836 criteria still apply, and several of them are time-sensitive in their own way:
- You must be in Australia when you apply and when the visa is decided.
- You must claim to be the carer of an Australian relative (clause 836.212), and at the decision stage you must actually be a carer within regulation 1.15AA. That definition depends on an assessment by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth that the relative has a medical condition requiring direct care, that the care is needed for at least two years, and that you are willing and able to provide it. The assessment is arranged through Bupa Medical Visa Services or another specified body, and it is the kind of step that should be underway well before the 28-day window opens.
- You must be sponsored under clause 836.213 by the Australian relative — who must be 18 or over, settled, usually resident in Australia, and an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen — or by that relative's spouse or de facto partner, who must be living with the relative and meet the same age, status and residence requirements. The sponsorship must be approved and still in force at the decision (clause 836.227); Form 40 is the sponsorship form for this visa.
- Health and character requirements apply to you and to family members applying with you, along with public interest criteria including 4001–4005, 4009, 4010, 4020 and 4021, and criterion 4019 if you were 18 or over when you applied.
- Any debt to the Australian Government must be repaid or subject to a formal arrangement, and your immigration history is taken into account — a cancelled visa or a refused application can affect eligibility.
- The Australian values statement must be signed if you are 18 or over, and the best interests of any applicant under 18 are considered before grant.
What happens if the 28 days have already run out?
On the face of clause 836.211, an application made outside the window does not meet the visa-holding requirement, and a decision-maker would have no basis to grant the visa on that application. The Department's own page points to a separate consideration for people whose visa was cancelled or whose application was refused: some applicants in that position may still be able to apply for a permanent visa, and the Department refers those cases to its "Limitations on applications in Australia" material. Which pathway, if any, is open to you depends on your full visa history, and the published rules change — treat the current legislation and Departmental guidance as the authority rather than any summary.
How does the 28-day rule fit with the rest of the Subclass 836 criteria?
The timing test is a threshold, not a merit test. Satisfying it means your application can be assessed; it says nothing about whether you are a carer within regulation 1.15AA, whether your sponsor is eligible and approved, or whether the health, character and public interest criteria are met. In practice the two tracks run in parallel: the 28 days govern when you must lodge, while the carer assessment and sponsorship approval govern whether the application can succeed. Because the assessment requires a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth's finding and the care must be needed for at least two years, applicants who discover the 28-day window only after their visa has ended are usually compressing two separate preparations into the same short period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 28-day period include weekends and public holidays?
Criterion 3002 is expressed as a period of days running from the date you last held a substantive visa, so the two dates that matter are the date the visa ceased and the date the application was made. Public holidays and office closures do not extend the period, which is why the deadline is worth identifying as soon as you know when your last substantive visa ends.
I hold a Bridging visa A — can I still apply for Subclass 836?
Yes, holding a bridging visa does not prevent an application, because a bridging visa is not a substantive visa and the test asks about your last substantive visa. The question becomes whether that substantive visa ended 28 days ago or less and whether it was anything other than a Transit visa (subclass 771).
My last substantive visa was a Transit visa (subclass 771). Does the rule help me?
No. Both parts of clause 836.211 exclude the subclass 771, so neither holding one nor having recently held one satisfies the visa-holding requirement for Subclass 836.
My visa was cancelled rather than expired — does the 28-day window still apply?
The timing in criterion 3002 runs from the day you last held a substantive visa, and a cancellation brings that day forward to the date it took effect. A cancellation also engages the Department's separate assessment of immigration history, and the Department's page refers applicants with a cancelled visa or refused application to its "Limitations on applications in Australia" material, so both aspects need to be checked against the current published rules.
Does meeting the 28-day rule mean my visa will be granted?
No. Criterion 3002 only satisfies the visa-holding element of clause 836.211. You must also be a carer within regulation 1.15AA, have an approved eligible sponsor, and meet the health, character and public interest criteria before the visa can be granted.
Do I have to be in Australia to use the 28-day rule?
Yes. Subclass 836 is an onshore visa: the application must be made in Australia and you must also be in Australia, and not immigration cleared, at the time of grant.
Can I lodge first and arrange the carer assessment afterwards?
The carer definition in regulation 1.15AA depends on an assessment by a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth, and the assessment is arranged through Bupa Medical Visa Services or another specified body. Because the assessment underpins clause 836.221 at the decision stage, it should be completed rather than deferred, and lodging without it risks an application that cannot succeed on the care element.