Parent sponsor rules for the 870 visa in 2026: one household, two parents
How the Subclass 870 sponsorship cap works: one sponsorship per household, up to two parents, and when a new one can start.
Yes — one approved Parent Sponsor can cover both of your parents. As at the August 2026 version of the Department of Home Affairs' official Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 870) page, a sponsor's household is limited to one sponsorship at a time, and that sponsorship may cover up to 2 parents per household at a time. The same page states that a sponsor cannot lodge a new sponsorship application until their current approved sponsorship ends. What follows is general information about how those limits are published, not advice on any individual family's circumstances.
What does "one household, two parents" actually limit?
Three separate limits sit on top of each other, and it helps to read them one at a time:
- One sponsorship at a time. A sponsor's household cannot run two sponsorships in parallel.
- Up to 2 parents at a time. The sponsorship that is running can cover a maximum of two parents.
- No new application until the current one ends. The restriction is on lodging; the sponsor has to wait for the existing sponsorship to finish before starting another.
Two is a ceiling, not a requirement. A sponsorship covering only one parent is still a valid sponsorship, and the unused place does not roll over to anyone else.
Why four parents does not fit inside one sponsorship
The common assumption runs like this: two adult children in one home, each wanting their own mother and father in Australia, so four parents in total. The cap counts parents, not couples. Two is the number regardless of how the four people are related to each other, so a single household sponsorship cannot carry four parents at once.
The sequencing rule then bites. Because a sponsor cannot lodge a new sponsorship until the current approved sponsorship ends, a household wanting to bring a second pair of parents has to wait for the first sponsorship to end rather than stacking them.
One point is genuinely unsettled by the published text: the cap is expressed as "your sponsor's household", and that page does not define household for this purpose. Whether two adults living at the same address can each hold their own sponsorship is therefore not answered by the cap text itself, and should be checked against the current official guidance rather than assumed either way.
Do both parents need their own visa application?
Yes. The official page says you cannot include family members in your visa application. The Migration Regulations 1994 go further for this subclass: there are no secondary criteria, so every applicant has to satisfy the primary criteria in their own right.
In practice that means two parents under one sponsorship still produce two applications, two decisions and two sets of evidence. Each parent separately has to show that they are sponsored by a parent sponsor (clause 870.221), that they have sufficient funds for the stay (870.222), that they have adequate health insurance arrangements (870.224), that they genuinely intend to stay temporarily (870.226), and that they meet the public interest and special return criteria (870.228 and 870.229). A parent who has held a Subclass 870 before also has to satisfy the 90-day rule in clause 870.223 if applying from outside Australia.
The upside of separate applications is that a refusal affects the parent who was refused, not the other one.
By when must each parent apply?
The clock starts on the sponsorship approval, not on the visa grant.
- Wait for the sponsorship to be approved.
- Note the approval date.
- Lodge each parent's application within 6 months of that date.
- Lodge within 60 days instead if the parent has Permission to Apply in Australia.
- Apply online.
- Lodge from outside Australia unless Permission to Apply in Australia was granted.
- Attach the Permission to Apply letter if one was issued.
Permission to Apply in Australia is only approved in limited circumstances, and the Department tells the approved sponsor if it is granted.
When does a sponsorship end?
The official page links the end of the sponsorship to the visa itself: the visa ends if the sponsorship is cancelled, and it also ends if the sponsor withdraws and the parent does not find a new Parent Sponsor. That wording assumes a replacement sponsor can be found in some cases.
The Migration Regulations 1994 (regulation 2.64B) set out the sponsorship termination grounds: the sponsor's permanent visa is cancelled, the sponsor dies, the sponsor withdraws the sponsorship in writing, or the sponsored person does not apply within the required 6 months. The Department's visa page does not restate that list, so the current consolidated regulations are the source to read for the termination points, and any detail there should be confirmed against the Department's latest published guidance.
Where two parents are covered by the same sponsorship, the termination of one parent's coverage does not automatically end the other's. That reading comes from the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's PAM3 guidelines rather than the visa page, so treat it as the general position and check it against the current official text before relying on it.
What the household cap does not decide
The cap governs sponsorship capacity only. Other limits apply independently of it:
- No work rights. The visa holder cannot work in Australia.
- No permanent residence pathway. The visa does not lead to permanent residence, and a person who has applied for or holds this visa cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa.
- Length of stay. A visa may be granted for up to 3 or 5 years, with a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years across all Subclass 870 visas held.
- Repeat applications. A further Subclass 870 generally requires at least 90 consecutive days outside Australia since the relevant departure day, and applications must be lodged outside Australia unless Permission to Apply in Australia is granted.
- Cost. Each parent's application is charged separately and is paid in two instalments — the first when the application is lodged, the second when the Department asks for it. The amount payable is determined through the Visa Pricing Estimator, not by the household cap.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can one sponsor cover both my mother and father at the same time?
Yes. A sponsor's sponsorship can cover up to 2 parents per household at a time, so both parents can be covered by the same approved Parent Sponsor, subject to that parent meeting the visa criteria in their own application.
Can one household sponsor four parents at once?
No. The limit is counted in parents, not couples, and the ceiling is 2 parents per household at a time. A sponsor also cannot lodge a new sponsorship application until the current approved sponsorship ends, so a second pair cannot be added alongside the first.
Do both parents have to lodge their visa applications together?
Each parent lodges a separate application, because family members cannot be included in a Subclass 870 application. Both applications must be lodged within 6 months of the sponsorship approval, or within 60 days for a parent holding Permission to Apply in Australia.
What happens if one parent does not apply in time?
The Migration Regulations 1994 treat a sponsored person failing to apply within the 6-month period as a ground for the sponsorship to end. The Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's PAM3 guidelines indicate that the termination applies to the parent concerned and does not automatically end the coverage of the other parent.
If the sponsorship ends for one parent, does the other parent's visa stop?
Not automatically. The official page says the visa ends if the sponsorship is cancelled, or if the sponsor withdraws and the parent does not find a new Parent Sponsor, so the outcome depends on what ended and whether a replacement sponsor is found.
Can sponsoring two parents lead to permanent residence for them?
No. The Subclass 870 is a temporary visa that does not lead to permanent residence. A person who has applied for or holds this visa cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa.