What you can do once your subclass 143 visa is granted in 2026

What the subclass 143 visa lets you do after grant: permanent stay, work and study, Medicare, travel, English classes and citizenship.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

Once your Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) is granted, you hold a permanent visa. According to the Department of Home Affairs' Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) page, current as at July 2026, that single grant brings a bundle of rights with it: you can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Australia's public healthcare scheme Medicare, sponsor eligible family members, travel to and from Australia for five years, attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program if you are eligible, and apply for Australian citizenship if you meet the requirements. The same page attaches conditions to those rights, which is where most of the practical detail sits.

Do you become a permanent resident the moment the visa is granted?

Yes. The subclass 143 is a permanent visa, so there is no expiry date on your stay — you can remain in Australia indefinitely.

The one place where the grant date is not automatically the start date is citizenship. For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts when you enter Australia on this visa, or, if you have been in Australia before and held a permanent visa immediately before last leaving Australia, on the day the visa is granted. That distinction matters later, when you are counting time towards a citizenship application.

Can you work and study, and are you covered by workplace law?

Work and study rights come with the visa, and you do not need a separate permission to use them. As a permanent resident you also have Australian workplace law protections; the Fair Work Ombudsman publishes a fact sheet on the workplace rights and entitlements of visa holders and migrant workers, which is the natural starting point if you want to know what a minimum wage, breaks or unfair dismissal look like in practice.

Your exact entitlements are recorded against your own visa, so the reliable way to confirm them is VEVO, the Department's online visa entitlement verification system. VEVO shows your visa conditions, work and study entitlements and expiry details.

Do you get Medicare, and do other government payments start immediately?

You can enrol in Medicare, Australia's public healthcare scheme. Enrolment is the step that activates the entitlement, so it is worth doing soon after you arrive rather than assuming it follows automatically from the grant.

Other government support is treated differently. As a newly arrived resident you might have to wait before you can access certain Australian Government payments and benefits; Services Australia sets out those newly arrived residents' waiting periods. Medicare access and payment waiting periods are separate questions, and a permanent visa does not by itself remove the waiting period for every payment.

Can you sponsor family members to come to Australia?

As an Australian permanent resident, you might be able to sponsor eligible family members. What the relative has to satisfy is set by the visa they would apply for, so check that visa's own requirements rather than treating your subclass 143 grant as deciding their eligibility.

How long can you travel in and out of Australia?

The travel facility runs for five years from the date of grant, not from the date you first arrive.

Period	What applies to travel
Five years from the date of grant	Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want, as long as the travel facility remains valid
After the five-year travel facility ends	You need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
After becoming an Australian citizen	No visa is needed to enter Australia; you travel on an Australian passport

VEVO is where you check the date your travel facility ends. If it has expired or is close to expiring, the Department has separate guidance on overseas travel for permanent residents.

Are the free English classes automatic?

No — the Adult Migrant English Program is available if you are eligible. The Department lists attendance at free English classes as something you can do "if eligible", so treat it as an entitlement you apply for and have assessed rather than one that switches on with the grant.

When does citizenship become a realistic next step?

Citizenship is a separate application with its own eligibility requirements and processing times. What the subclass 143 page tells you is the entry point: after a certain time you might be eligible for Australian citizenship, and for citizenship purposes you become a permanent resident when you enter Australia on this visa, or on the day the visa is granted if you have been in Australia before and held a permanent visa immediately before last leaving Australia.

There is also a practical reason to consider it before the five-year travel facility runs out. Australian citizens do not need a visa to enter Australia, so citizenship removes the need to renew travel rights through a Resident Return visa; you would instead apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter.

What are you required to do after the grant?

The obligations are few but firm:

Enter Australia before the date in your grant letter. If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, the grant letter specifies a first entry arrival date. You can still travel with an expired initial arrival date if the visa itself remains valid, but the visa may be cancelled before arrival or at the border. Check validity in VEVO first.
Meet your visa conditions and obey Australian laws. This applies to you and to family members who hold the visa.
Tell the Department if your situation changes, such as a change of contact details or family circumstances.
Travel with valid documents. You need a valid passport or other travel document to enter and leave Australia, and a valid visa to enter.

Two small border mechanics are worth knowing: everyone arriving in Australia must complete an Incoming Passenger Card, and if you hold an ePassport you may be able to use SmartGate, which uses facial recognition to clear the border faster.

You will not receive a visa label in your passport. The visa is digitally linked to your passport instead, and VEVO is how you prove to anyone — an employer, a landlord, a border officer — that you hold it and what conditions apply.

This article describes the subclass 143 visa in general terms and is not advice about your own circumstances; confirm your conditions in VEVO and against the Department's current page, or get help from a qualified professional, before acting on it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the subclass 143 visa give me Medicare?

Yes. Permanent residents on this visa can enrol in Medicare, Australia's public healthcare scheme. Enrolment is a separate step from the visa grant, and other Australian Government payments may have waiting periods for newly arrived residents.

Can I work and study on the subclass 143 visa?

Yes, both are included in the visa. As a permanent resident you also have Australian workplace law protections, and VEVO is the place to confirm the entitlements recorded against your own visa.

How long can I leave Australia and come back?

Your travel facility lasts five years from the date the visa is granted, and you can travel as many times as you like during that period. After it ends you need a Resident Return visa to re-enter as a permanent resident, unless you have become an Australian citizen and travel on an Australian passport.

When does my permanent residency start for citizenship purposes?

It starts when you enter Australia on this visa, or, if you have been in Australia before and held a permanent visa immediately before last leaving Australia, on the day the visa is granted. That date is the reference point for later citizenship eligibility, not the date you applied.

Can I sponsor other family members once I hold this visa?

As a permanent resident you might be able to sponsor eligible family members. Their eligibility is set by the visa they apply for and its own requirements, rather than by your subclass 143.

Do I have to enter Australia by a certain date?

If you are outside Australia when the visa is granted, yes — your grant letter specifies a first entry arrival date. Travelling after that date is possible if the visa is still valid, but it may be cancelled before arrival or at the border, so check your visa status in VEVO.

How do I prove I hold the visa and what conditions apply?

Use VEVO. There is no visa label in your passport; the visa is digitally linked to it, and VEVO is the record you show to employers, agencies or border officers.