870 visa myths in 2026: it is not a step to Australian PR
Why the subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa is not a pathway to Australian permanent residence, and what it blocks instead.
No — the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) does not lead to permanent residence, and it is not a holding pattern that converts into one. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official page for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870), as at the October 2026 version of that page, this is a temporary visa, it "does not lead to permanent residence", and a person who has applied for or holds it cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa. The misconception is expensive because the mistake is only discovered years later, after a family has organised sponsorship, health insurance, travel and childcare around an assumption the visa terms contradict from day one.
This article deals with general published requirements only. It is not personalised advice, and anyone weighing their own sequencing needs to check the current official requirements as published, since subclass criteria and consolidated legislation both change.
Does the 870 visa lead to permanent residence?
No, and the official wording goes further than simply "no pathway". The Department's page states plainly that this is a temporary visa, that it does not lead to permanent residence, and that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa when you have applied for or hold this visa. Time spent in Australia on an 870 is therefore not credited toward a permanent outcome in any way described on the page, and there is no point at which the visa itself converts.
The second half of that sentence is the part families usually miss. The restriction is not only about the future; it bites at the moment of application. Once a parent has applied for or holds an 870, applying for a parent visa is ruled out on the face of the official page, so the two tracks cannot be run side by side in the way many people assume.
What does the visa actually allow, and how long can parents stay?
An 870 allows a sponsored parent to reunite with their children in Australia, to travel in and out of the country as many times as they wish while the visa is valid, and to stay for one continuous grant of up to 3 years or up to 5 years. Multiple 870 visas can be applied for in sequence, but the cumulative maximum stay across all of them is 10 years.
The practical shape of a long-term arrangement therefore looks like this:
- one grant of up to 3 or 5 years, with the exact end date set out in the visa grant letter
- a further 870 applied for later, from outside Australia, after a required gap overseas
- a hard ceiling of 10 years in total, after which another 870 cannot be granted
Once that cumulative 10-year period is reached, the official page says the holder is not eligible for a further subclass 870 and must either depart Australia or apply for and be granted another kind of visa that allows them to remain.
What blocks a second 870 application?
The re-application rules are stricter than most people expect, and they are where long-term plans tend to break. A further 870 generally has to be lodged from outside Australia, and if the applicant is outside Australia they are not eligible for the grant unless they have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since their relevant departure day. There is no extending an existing 870; staying longer means applying for and being granted another visa.
The relevant departure day depends on where the parent was when the previous 870 ceased. If they were in Australia, it is the first day they left Australia after the visa ceased. If they were outside Australia, it is the last day they left Australia while the visa was in effect. Assume an applicant who spends their final months of a 5-year 870 visiting family in Australia and departs one week after the visa ceases: their 90-day clock starts on that departure day, not on the day the visa expired, and any plan built around returning sooner will fail regardless of how strong the family's reasons are.
One historical exception sits inside the 10-year maths. If a parent held an 870 and was outside Australia on 1 July 2021, the visa period was automatically extended by 18 months under the COVID-19 visa concessions, and those additional 18 months do not count toward the cumulative 10-year maximum stay.
Can my parents work, or help with the family business, on an 870?
No work rights attach to this visa. The Department's page states that holders are not allowed to work in Australia while they hold it, and lists the unpaid work that is permitted instead.
Unpaid activity is allowed only in narrow settings, and the boundary is drawn around commercial activity rather than around whether money changes hands. Permitted unpaid work covers caring for grandchildren or other minor relatives in a domestic environment, volunteering in a non-commercial capacity such as assisting a charity, and assisting at a local school attended by the sponsor's children or other minor relatives. It excludes any unpaid work in a commercial environment or in a family business. A family that assumes a grandparent on an 870 can help out in the shop, in a restaurant, or in any income-generating operation — paid or not — is relying on something the visa explicitly prohibits.
Why is the 870 so often mistaken for a migration route?
Several features of the visa look like the architecture of a staged migration program, and none of them are. There is no balance of family test and no Assurance of Support requirement for this visa, which removes two hurdles people associate with permanent parent migration. The visa permits multi-year stays, unlimited travel, and repeat applications up to a 10-year cumulative ceiling. Put together, those traits read like progress toward something.
They are not, because the decisive criterion runs the other way. Applicants must have a genuine intention to stay in Australia temporarily, and must intend to do only the things the visa allows. That requirement is set out in the Migration Regulations 1994 criteria for Subclass 870, which readers should check against the current consolidated version of the regulations. The Department also addresses the situation directly: if a permanent parent visa application has already been lodged, the applicant may visit Australia but may not remain permanently while it is being decided, they will not have the right to permanent residence, and they cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa once they have applied for or hold an 870.
What happens if the sponsorship falls through?
The visa depends entirely on a live sponsorship, and several events can cut a stay short before the date printed on the grant letter. The visa can also be cancelled by the Department in the general exercise of its powers.
| Trigger | What follows |
|---|---|
| Sponsor withdraws the sponsorship | New sponsorship application must be lodged within 35 days of the withdrawal; otherwise the visa ceases |
| Approved sponsor dies | A new sponsorship application can be lodged within 90 days of the death |
| The Department cancels the sponsorship | The visa ceases |
| No new sponsor found after withdrawal | Holder must be granted a different kind of visa or make arrangements to leave Australia |
| Prior sponsor's outstanding health debts | The previous sponsor remains liable for health debts incurred while they were the sponsor |
Sponsorship capacity is also rationed. 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. Families arranging sequential or overlapping arrangements across parents and siblings should confirm the current position on the Department's page before relying on it.
Can family members be included in an 870 application?
No. The official page states that family members cannot be included in the visa application. Consistent with that, there are no secondary applicant criteria for this subclass in the regulations — every applicant must satisfy the primary criteria, which is why each parent applies in their own right rather than as a member of another person's application. Eligibility is limited to the biological, legal (including adoptive), step, or parent-in-law relationship to the Parent Sponsor, and the applicant must be at least 18 years of age.
What does it cost, and what changed on 1 July 2026?
The applications-run cost structure is two-stage: the first instalment is paid when applying, and the second is paid when the Department asks for it. The subclass 870 page sets out separate "from" cost figures for a visa of up to 3 years and a visa of up to 5 years, notes that concessions apply in limited circumstances, and refers applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator for their own figure. That estimator does not factor in the second instalment or other costs, and applicants may also need to pay separately for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. Specific figures should be read from those official sources at the time of applying.
One change with a 2026 date applies to Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible citizens of specified countries who lodge a valid application. The Department recognises eligible applicants by a valid passport issued by one of the listed countries — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu — charges the lower amount during the ImmiAccount process, and extends eligibility to family members based on the passport of the primary applicant or visa holder. This relief concerns the cost of a temporary visa; it does not alter the visa's temporary character.
When is an 870 the right tool, and when is it the wrong one?
It fits when the goal is genuinely a long visit: several years with children and grandchildren, with freedom to travel in and out, rather than repeated short visitor arrangements. Applicants must also meet and maintain the standard conditions — meeting the health and character requirements, having or having access to enough money to support themselves, having no outstanding debt to the Australian Government, and holding and maintaining adequate health insurance with an Australian health insurance provider for the whole intended stay.
It is the wrong tool when the goal is permanence. Because holding or having applied for an 870 rules out applying for a parent visa, treating the 870 as a bridge can cost a family the very application it was meant to support, along with two instalments of a visa charge, health insurance premiums across multiple years, and up to a decade during which no permanent outcome accrues. If permanence is the aim, that aim has to drive the sequencing rather than sit behind it. Processing times themselves should be checked in the Department's global visa processing times tool, which reflects recently decided applications and is a guide only.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can the 870 visa lead to Australian permanent residency?
No. The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) is a temporary visa and, per the Department of Home Affairs' official page, does not lead to permanent residence. Time spent in Australia on it does not convert into permanent status, and no stage of the visa grants a right to remain permanently.
Can I apply for a parent visa while I hold a subclass 870?
No. The Department states that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa when you have applied for or hold this visa. The restriction attaches to both holding and merely having applied for the 870, so the two processes cannot sensibly be run together.
How long can my parents stay in Australia on 870 visas?
Each grant runs for up to 3 or 5 years, with the end date fixed in the visa grant letter. Multiple 870 visas can follow each other, but the cumulative maximum stay is 10 years, after which a further 870 cannot be granted and the holder must depart or be granted another kind of visa.
Do 870 visa holders have any work rights?
No paid work is permitted while holding this visa. Limited unpaid work is allowed — caring for grandchildren or other minor relatives in a domestic environment, volunteering in a non-commercial capacity, and assisting at a school attended by the sponsor's children or other minor relatives — but not in a commercial environment or in a family business.
Can my parents include other family members in an 870 application?
No. Family members cannot be included in a subclass 870 application, and there are no secondary applicant criteria for this subclass. Each eligible parent must satisfy the primary criteria and be sponsored in their own right.
Does the COVID-19 extension count toward the 10-year limit?
No. Parents who held an 870 and were outside Australia on 1 July 2021 had their visa period automatically extended by 18 months under the COVID-19 visa concessions, and those additional 18 months do not count toward the cumulative 10-year maximum stay.
Does an 870 application need a Balance of Family test or Assurance of Support?
Neither applies. The Department's eligibility criteria for subclass 870 confirm there is no balance of family test and no Assurance of Support requirement. The trade-off is that applicants must instead demonstrate a genuine intention to stay in Australia temporarily.