How to Apply for Subclass 115 From Outside Australia in 2026: Step by Step

A chronological walkthrough of the Subclass 115 application: documents, paper lodgement, post-lodgement steps, cost and decision.

Published: 24 September 2026

According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) official page (as at July 2026), the pathway runs in one fixed order: you must be outside Australia when you apply, you must lodge Form 47OF on paper rather than online, you pay the first instalment through ImmiAccount before submission, you post everything to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, and you must still be outside Australia when the decision is made. This article follows that same sequence — before you apply, gathering documents, lodging, after you lodge, and the outcome — so you can match the Home Affairs steps to your own place in the queue. It is general information only and is not advice about anyone's individual circumstances; because visa rules, forms and charges change, treat the Department's current published page as the authority for your own decision, and get help from someone permitted to give immigration assistance if your situation is complicated.

What does Subclass 115 actually lead to?

Subclass 115 is a permanent visa. The Remaining Relative visa (Subclass 115) is designed for people who are the remaining relative of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and who have an eligible sponsor. With it, you can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, attend free English classes under the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, and later apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

Two mechanics matter before anything else. You must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the Department decides your application — this is not a visa you can wait out onshore with a bridging visa. And as for other Other Family visas, demand exceeds the number of places available each year, so these applications are subject to capping and queueing and processing takes a long time.

Can you lodge Subclass 115 online?

No. The Home Affairs step-by-step guide states that you must apply for this visa on paper, on Form 47OF Application for migration to Australia, and that you cannot submit it in person. There is a partial online element: payment. You must pay the first instalment when you apply, and the payment itself is made before submission using the online portal payment function in ImmiAccount, with evidence of payment included in the paper package. You cannot pay in person.

Think of it as one continuous transaction with three parts: complete the paper form, pay online, then post the paid application with all supporting material. If any of those parts is incomplete, the application may be invalid, and Home Affairs does not process invalid applications.

What must be settled before you start?

Do you have a valid passport in hand?

You do not need a valid passport in order to apply, but you must provide details of your most recent passport. The visa itself will only be granted if you hold a valid passport, so arranging one early avoids a last-minute block at the decision stage.

Who may lawfully help you?

Only some people may give immigration assistance. If you appoint someone for that purpose, under Home Affairs rules they must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. You can appoint anyone you like purely to receive documents on your behalf, but the forms differ: Form 956A appoints or withdraws an authorised recipient, while Form 956 appoints a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person.

Are you genuinely a remaining relative with an eligible sponsor?

The process requirements listed by Home Affairs are that you be outside Australia at application and decision, that you be a remaining relative of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and that you have an eligible sponsor. Eligibility definitions for the "remaining relative" test itself are set out elsewhere on the Department's visa material and should be read directly from the official source before you invest in preparing a full package.

Which documents does Home Affairs ask you to gather?

Document requests fall into clear groups. The table below maps each group to what the official page asks for.

Part of the application	What the official page requires
Identity	Current passport pages showing photo, personal details, and issue and expiry dates; national identity card if you have one; proof of change of name if applicable
Sponsor	Completed Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia; evidence of your relationship (birth, marriage, death, adoption certificates, or officially issued family status certificates or family books); evidence the sponsor is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
Character	Documents such as police certificates if asked — do not arrange police certificates until Home Affairs requests them
Dependants under 18	Identity documents, proof of your relationship, and character documents if applicable
Dependants 18 or older	Identity documents, documents about their other relationships if applicable, character documents, and proof of dependency
Partner	Identity documents, character documents, documents about other relationships if applicable, plus a current marriage certificate, or enough evidence of a de facto relationship of at least 12 months before you apply

Home Affairs is blunt about identity. If you cannot prove your identity, the application will be refused, and you — and any family members listed on the application — might not be granted a visa for 10 years. Accuracy matters just as much as completeness; the Department's guidance on providing accurate information covers what happens if you cannot prove identity or do not provide true information.

Two details catch people out. First, proof of a name change can be a marriage or divorce certificate, change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names you have been known by. Second, de facto evidence is practical and domestic: joint bank account statements, billing accounts in joint names, joint leases or mortgages, and documents showing your partner lived at the same address as you.

For a child to be included as a dependent child, they must be under 18; or 18 to 22 and dependent on you or your partner; or over 23 and unable to earn a living due to physical or cognitive limitations while dependent on you or your partner.

How do you lodge the paper application from outside Australia?

Work through these steps in order, because skipping one is what makes applications invalid.

Complete Form 47OF Application for migration to Australia, in English. Include details of all your family members, whether they are migrating or not — members of the family unit can be added at any time before a decision is made.
Have your sponsor complete Form 40 Sponsorship for migration to Australia. The sponsor must be aged 18 or over and be a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.
Pay the first instalment through the ImmiAccount online payment portal before the application is submitted, and put proof of payment in the package.
Attach the appointment forms — Form 956 or 956A — if you are being assisted or want correspondence sent to someone else.
Include only certified copies. Do not send original documents. Keep a full copy of the completed application and supporting documents for your own records.
Post or courier the package to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, at the address printed on the form. You cannot submit it in person by hand.

What can you do once the application is in the post?

Import it into ImmiAccount

After the paper application has been submitted, you can import it into your ImmiAccount once you receive your acknowledgement letter. Importing gives you access to online services, and you do it by entering three things: your application ID, your date of birth, and your identity document number (passport, ImmiCard or Titre de Voyage number).

Once imported, ImmiAccount lets you attach supporting documents, view messages, update your details, check application status, apply for a bridging visa, and withdraw the application. Applications lodged outside Australia can be imported if they were made on or after 25 June 2020.

Expect limited news, then specific requests

Home Affairs cannot provide progress updates on applications that are still within normal processing times — which, for this visa, covers a long stretch. What you will receive instead are discrete requests: this article cannot predict what any individual will be asked for, so the practical rule is to check whichever channel Home Affairs writes to.

Typical items include health examinations if Home Affairs decides you need them; biometrics such as fingerprints and photo, again only if asked; further information and documents you omitted at lodgement; assurance of support when asked for; and eventually the invoice for the second instalment. If you have imported your application, upload extra documents into ImmiAccount. If you cannot use ImmiAccount, or you lodged outside Australia before 25 June 2020, additional documents go through the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.

Tell Home Affairs about changes and mistakes

Use Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answers if you made a mistake on the application, and report changes to your phone number, email, address or passport, changes to marital or de facto status, the birth of a child, or a decision to withdraw. Family violence provisions apply where relevant, and the same channels follow: upload through ImmiAccount, or attach the completed form to the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form.

Do not travel, and do not rely on staying

The Department's instruction is explicit: do not arrange travel to Australia until you are told in writing that the visa has been granted. If you travel to Australia on a different visa and that visa ends, you cannot get a bridging visa to remain, and you must be outside Australia when the decision is made. Leaving this until after you have booked flights is the single most expensive error available in this visa stream.

How long does it take, and what does it cost?

The official page frames processing times honestly: demand for Other Family visas exceeds available places each year, so processing can be lengthy. Applications are subject to capping and queueing, and are processed according to the Other Family visa queue and processing priorities. There is a visa processing time guide tool showing recently decided applications, but it is a guide only and not specific to any individual application. An application can take longer if the form is filled in incorrectly, required documents are missing or more information is needed, or verification takes longer than usual; it cannot be processed at all if the correct application charge has not been paid.

Cost is structured rather than fixed in this guide. Home Affairs directs applicants to its Visa Pricing Estimator for the actual amount, which is sensible because the estimator excludes the second instalment and other costs. The structure itself is:

the visa is paid in two instalments — the first when you apply, the second when Home Affairs asks for it;
the Department sends an invoice for the second instalment after you have met all other requirements for the visa, and the visa cannot be granted if it is not paid;
there is an extra charge for each family member applying with you, with concessions available in limited circumstances;
separate costs may apply for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

One timing change is worth noting for eligible applicants: from 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, charged during the application process. Eligibility is recognised through a valid passport issued by one of the listed countries — Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu — and the primary applicant must hold that passport. Family members are also eligible for the lower charge, based on the passport of the primary applicant.

What do you get at the decision, and what if it is refused?

If the visa is granted, Home Affairs will tell you in writing, providing your visa grant number, the date the visa starts, and any visa conditions. Keep a copy of the decision. There is no visa label: the visa is digitally linked to your passport, and VEVO is used to check details and conditions.

Two dates then govern your arrival and travel rights. You must enter Australia before the date specified in your grant letter, generally set at 12 months from the date of grant. From the date of grant you have five years of travel validity, during which you may travel to and from Australia as often as you like; after that period expires you will need a Resident Return visa to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to enter Australia.

If the visa is refused, Home Affairs will advise in writing why it was refused and whether you have a right to a review of the decision. The application fee is not refunded if the application is refused.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I apply for Subclass 115 online or on paper?

You must apply on paper using Form 47OF, and you cannot lodge or pay in person. The one part handled online is payment: the first instalment is paid through ImmiAccount's payment portal before submission, and proof of payment goes in with the paper package.

Where do I post a Subclass 115 paper application?

Applications go by post or courier to the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, at the address printed on the form. Hand delivery is not an option, and only certified copies of documents should be sent.

Can I wait in Australia while my Subclass 115 application is processed?

No. You must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the decision is made, and if you enter on another visa that then expires, you cannot obtain a bridging visa to remain.

Can I put my paper application into ImmiAccount after lodging?

Yes, after you receive your acknowledgement letter, using your application ID, date of birth and identity document number. Applications lodged outside Australia on or after 25 June 2020 can be imported, giving access to online services such as uploading documents, viewing messages, updating details and checking status.

When do I pay the second instalment?

Only when Home Affairs asks you to. The invoice is issued after you have met all other requirements for the visa, and the visa cannot be granted if the instalment is not paid.

How long will processing take, and can I add family members later?

Processing for Other Family visas is lengthy because demand exceeds available places, and these applications are subject to capping and queueing. Family unit members can be included when you apply or added at any time before a decision is made, and everyone included must meet health and character requirements.

Should I get police certificates before I apply?

Not unless asked. Home Affairs requests police certificates if they are needed for the character assessment, and obtaining them unprompted wastes time and money.