After a 870 visa ends in 2026: pathways parents can consider next

What parents can do once a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) ends in 2026, and the rules that shape the next application.

Published: 9 October 2026

Parents who reach the end of a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) in 2026 cannot extend it — staying on means either being granted another 870 lodged from outside Australia, or being granted some other visa before the current one ceases. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) official page, as at August 2026, the visa is temporary, does not lead to permanent residence, and stops holders from applying for a permanent or temporary parent visa while they hold it or have applied for it.

What follows sets out the order those published rules create: how the visa ends, what the parent visa restriction is actually tied to, how another 870 works, and where the route closes.

Can a 870 visa be extended once it ends?

No. The official page states plainly that you cannot stay in Australia longer by extending this visa; if you wish to remain, you must apply for and be granted another visa.

The 870 itself ends on the date specified in the visa grant letter, when the Department cancels it, when the sponsor withdraws sponsorship and no new Parent Sponsor is found, or when the sponsorship is cancelled. That end date is fixed at grant, which is why planning for afterwards starts well before the letter's date.

Is the parent visa restriction permanent, or only while the 870 is held?

The restriction is written around the period of holding or having applied — the page says you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa when you have applied for or hold this visa. It is not written as a lifetime bar on people who have ever held an 870.

That distinction matters for families thinking about the longer term: once the 870 has ceased and the person is neither a holder nor an applicant, this particular restriction no longer describes their situation. What a later parent visa application then requires is set by that visa's own criteria, fees and lodgement rules, which are published separately and change over time, so the current official page for that visa is the controlling source.

Can parents apply for another 870 visa?

Yes, up to a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years across all 870 visas held. A 870 can be granted for up to 3 or 5 years at a time, and the page describes re-applying for further 870 visas to reach that cumulative maximum.

Re-applying comes with conditions that catch families out:

You must have an approved Parent Sponsor, and no family members can be included in the application.
The visa carries no work rights; the unpaid activities allowed are limited to caring for grandchildren or other minor relatives in a domestic environment, volunteer work in a non-commercial capacity such as assisting a charitable organisation, and assisting at a local school where the sponsor’s children or other minor relatives attend, and unpaid work cannot be undertaken in a commercial environment or a family business.
The cost is paid in two instalments — the first when you apply, the second when asked. The Department's Visa Pricing Estimator does not include the second instalment or health check, police certificate and biometrics costs.
From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, based on holding a valid passport from one of the specified countries.

How does the 90-day outside Australia rule work?

If you apply for another 870 from outside Australia, you must have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since your relevant departure day. That day is worked out from where you were when the last 870 ceased.

Where you were when the last 870 ceased	Relevant departure day
In Australia	The first day you left Australia after the visa ceased
Outside Australia	The last day you left Australia while the visa was in effect

International movement records can be requested from the Department as proof of travel in and out of Australia, which is useful when the count is close.

Can parents apply for another 870 while still in Australia?

Only with Permission to Apply in Australia. The general rule is that you must be outside Australia when you apply, although you can be in or outside Australia — but not in immigration clearance — when the decision is made.

Permission to Apply in Australia may be approved in exceptional circumstances, such as the parent being unable to depart because of an accident or serious illness (medical evidence must be provided), or a natural disaster preventing travel to the parent's home country. It cannot be granted to someone in immigration clearance.

What happens once the 10-year cumulative limit is reached?

A further 870 is not available. The page states that a person who has held 870 visas for the cumulative maximum 10-year period must either depart Australia or apply for and be granted another kind of visa that allows them to remain.

One exception sits inside the calculation: if you held a 870 and 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 does not count towards the cumulative 10-year maximum.

Does the sponsor need to be free to sponsor again?

Yes, and sponsor capacity is often the practical constraint. 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 their current approved sponsorship ends.

Two deadlines apply if sponsorship breaks down:

If the approved Parent Sponsor withdraws, a new sponsorship application must be lodged within 35 days of the withdrawal, and the new sponsor must meet the sponsor eligibility requirements.
If the approved Parent Sponsor dies, a new sponsorship application can be lodged within 90 days of the death, and the new sponsor must meet the sponsor eligibility requirements.

If no new sponsorship is approved, the choice is the same one the 10-year limit produces: be granted a different kind of visa, or make arrangements to leave.

What about visas the 870 pages do not describe?

The 870 pages describe only the 870. They refer to permanent and temporary parent visas as a category, and to "another kind of visa" as the alternative, but they do not set out the criteria, costs, queues or processing times of any of those visas. Those figures are published on each visa's own official page and should be read there rather than assumed from an older article.

The one structural point the 870 pages do make is about timing: any alternative has to be applied for and granted, not assumed, and the 870 will end on its own date regardless of whether another application is still being decided.

What should parents confirm before the visa expires?

Check the expiry date and conditions in VEVO and keep the passport valid, since a valid passport or travel document is required to leave Australia. Requesting international movement records also gives a reliable record of dates in and out, which matters for both the 90-day count and any future application.

If sponsorship is at risk, the 35-day and 90-day windows above start running from the withdrawal or death, not from the visa's expiry date.

This article is general information about how the published rules are framed, not legal advice and not an assessment of any family's circumstances; because decisions turn on facts the Department assesses case by case, rely on the official pages current at the time of lodgement and, where needed, a qualified professional's opinion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a 870 visa be extended in Australia in 2026?

No. The Department's official page states that you cannot stay longer by extending this visa, and that remaining in Australia requires applying for and being granted another visa. The visa ends on the date in the grant letter, or earlier if it is cancelled or sponsorship fails.

Can parents apply for a parent visa after their 870 ends?

The published restriction applies while a person has applied for or holds a 870, so it does not describe someone whose 870 has already ceased. Whether a parent visa application then succeeds depends on that visa's own criteria, which are published separately and should be checked on its official page.

How long must parents stay outside Australia before another 870?

At least 90 consecutive days, counted from the relevant departure day. That day is the first day you left Australia after the visa ceased if you were in Australia, or the last day you left while the visa was in effect if you were already outside.

Can a second 870 be applied for while still in Australia?

Only if the Department has issued Permission to Apply in Australia, which may be approved in exceptional circumstances such as a serious illness supported by medical evidence, or a natural disaster preventing travel. Without that permission, the application must be lodged from outside Australia.

What happens after 10 years of 870 visas?

No further 870 can be granted. The parent must either depart Australia or apply for and be granted another kind of visa that allows them to remain, and the 18-month COVID-19 concession period does not count towards that 10-year total.

Can another person take over as sponsor if the original sponsor withdraws?

Yes, but a new sponsorship application must be lodged within 35 days of the withdrawal and the new sponsor must meet the eligibility requirements. The previous sponsor remains responsible for any outstanding health debts incurred while they were the sponsor.