After 10 years on 870 visas in 2026: what options are left
What happens when the 10-year cumulative limit on subclass 870 sponsored parent visas is reached, and what remains in 2026.
Once you have held Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visas (subclass 870) for the cumulative maximum of 10 years, there is no further 870 to return on. The Department of Home Affairs states this on its official page for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870), as at the October 2026 version of that page: a person who has held 870 visas for the cumulative maximum 10-year period is not eligible for another one, and must either depart Australia or apply for and be granted another kind of visa that allows them to remain.
That is the whole answer, and it is deliberately narrow. The rest of this article works through what the limit counts, why the usual re-application tricks stop working, and what "another kind of visa" realistically means for a family that has used the 870 as its long-term arrangement.
Is there any way to get an eleventh year on an 870?
No. The 3-year and 5-year grant options are choices inside a single 10-year ceiling, not separate allowances. The Department's page describes the visa as permitting stays of up to 3 or 5 years at a time, with a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years.
Nor can the current visa be stretched. The page is explicit that you cannot stay in Australia longer by extending an 870; to remain, you must be granted a different visa.
The two rules that families often rely on for repeat applications — lodging from outside Australia, unless you have been issued Permission to Apply in Australia (but not in immigration clearance), and being outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since the "relevant departure day", which departmental guidance allows to be waived in exceptional circumstances — are preconditions for a further 870, not a route around the ceiling. Departmental guidance on the subclass treats the cumulative limit as a threshold for a further application at all: Migration Regulations 1994 and the accompanying guidance describe the cap in terms of the total of the 870 visas already held. Once that total reaches 10 years, no amount of time offshore revives eligibility.
What actually counts towards the 10 years?
The cap is cumulative across every 870 visa held, not per application. The Department's page describes it as a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years across those visas, with each grant allowing a stay of up to 3 or 5 years at a time.
There is one significant exclusion, set out on the Department's page:
| Counts towards the 10 years | Does not count |
|---|---|
| Cumulative stay in Australia of up to 3 or 5 years at a time under each 870 visa | The automatic 18-month COVID-19 concession extension, where the holder was outside Australia on 1 July 2021 |
| Time after the visa has ceased, which simply ends the running total |
For parents who were outside Australia on 1 July 2021, the visa period was automatically extended by 18 months under the COVID-19 visa concessions, and that additional 18 months is excluded from the cumulative 10-year maximum. A family in that position may have held 870s across a calendar span longer than ten years while still being under the cap.
So what are the two options left?
Depart Australia, or be granted another kind of visa. The wording matters: the Department requires a grant, not a pending application, for the second option.
This is general information about how the published rules connect, not a personalised recommendation about which visa to choose, and because criteria and charges change, the current official pages and a registered migration professional remain the reference point for an individual situation.
Two features of the 870 shape what "staying" can look like. Holders cannot work in Australia; departmental guidance ties this to condition 8103, under which work is prohibited unless the Minister allows it in writing. And the visa does not lead to permanent residence — the Department's page says so directly. A decade on 870s therefore produces no accrued claim to stay, no work history, and no incremental progress towards permanence.
Can a parent visa be the next step?
Only after the 870 relationship ends, and only on its own criteria.
The Department's page states that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa when you have applied for or hold the 870. The practical consequence runs in both directions: a family that has cycled through 870s for ten years has generally not been able to have a parent visa application on foot at the same time, so the parent visa question is usually still open at the ten-year mark rather than part-heard.
Once the last 870 has ceased and no further 870 application is pending, that particular bar no longer applies on its own terms. What replaces it is the ordinary criteria for whichever parent visa is being considered — criteria the 870 page does not cover. Those sit under the Migration Regulations 1994 and the relevant Departmental page for that visa, and are subject to change, so anything you plan around should be checked against what is currently published.
Timing is the hard part. Because remaining lawfully requires a grant, the gap between the 870 ceasing and any new visa taking effect is the risk window, and whether anything bridges that gap depends entirely on the rules of the visa applied for.
Does the sponsor's side change anything?
No. Sponsorship mechanics are separate from the cumulative ceiling and do not create an exception to it.
Under the rules summarised on the Department's page, an applicant must have an approved Parent Sponsor; a sponsor's household is limited to one sponsorship at a time; a sponsorship can cover up to two parents per household at a time; and a sponsor cannot lodge a new sponsorship application until the current approved sponsorship ends. Even a sponsor who becomes free to sponsor again cannot convert that into an 870 for parents who have reached the cap.
What still applies while the current 870 is running?
Until the visa ceases, the usual conditions hold:
- You cannot work in Australia.
- You must obey Australian laws and meet all visa conditions.
- You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you like while the visa is valid.
- No family members can be included in an 870 application; guidance on the subclass notes it has no secondary applicant criteria, so every applicant must meet the primary criteria in their own right.
The visa can also end earlier than the date on the grant letter — if the sponsor withdraws sponsorship and you do not find a new Parent Sponsor, if the sponsorship is cancelled, or if the visa itself is cancelled.
How to work through the final year
- Add up the granted validity periods of every 870 visa you have held.
- Subtract the 18-month COVID-19 concession period if you were outside Australia on 1 July 2021.
- Compare that total with 10 years.
- Read the end date on your current visa grant letter.
- Decide early between departing and applying for another kind of visa.
- Check the criteria for any visa you are considering separately, on its own official page.
- Line up the changeover so a grant is in place before the 870 ceases, or plan departure before it does.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I apply for another 870 from outside Australia once I reach 10 years?
No. The Department's page states that a person who has held 870 visas for the cumulative maximum 10-year period is not eligible for a further 870. Lodging offshore does not change that outcome; the remaining choices are departure or a grant of another kind of visa.
Does the COVID-19 extension count towards the 10-year limit?
No, where it applies. If you held an 870 and were outside Australia on 1 July 2021, the visa period was automatically extended by 18 months, and the Department states those additional 18 months will not count towards the cumulative 10-year maximum.
Is the limit counted by days physically in Australia or by visa validity?
The Department's page sets the cap as a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years across all 870 visas you have held. Whatever the measuring basis, once that cumulative maximum is reached no further 870 is available, so time offshore cannot revive eligibility on its own.
Does an 870 lead to permanent residence?
No. The Department describes the 870 as a temporary visa that does not lead to permanent residence, and it also bars applying for a permanent or temporary parent visa while you have applied for or hold the 870.
Can I work while I sort out the next visa?
No. The 870 carries no work rights; departmental guidance refers to condition 8103, which prohibits work unless the Minister allows it in writing. Any work arrangement has to wait for a visa that actually permits it.
Can my sponsor lodge a fresh sponsorship to get around the cap?
No. A sponsor cannot lodge a new sponsorship until the current approved sponsorship ends, and sponsorship is limited to one at a time per household, covering up to two parents. Even a fresh, approved sponsorship cannot overcome the fact that the parents are no longer eligible for a further 870.