What Can You Do on a Subclass 117 Visa in 2026? Work, Study, Medicare

What a Subclass 117 Orphan Relative visa allows: permanent stay, work and study, Medicare, free English classes, sponsoring relatives and citizenship.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

Yes — once the Subclass 117 Orphan Relative visa (Subclass 117) is granted, the child can live in Australia permanently, work and study, enrol in Medicare, attend free English classes if eligible, sponsor relatives and eventually apply for Australian citizenship. All six of these entitlements are set out on the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Orphan Relative visa (Subclass 117), checked as of the August 2026 version of that page. This article is general information only, not personalised advice; your own situation should be checked against the current official pages or with a registered migration professional before you act on it.

What follows explains how each right actually starts, because "permanent" and "immediate" are not the same thing for every item on that list.

What the visa allows	When it starts	Limits worth knowing
Stay indefinitely	From the day the visa is granted	The visa is permanent, but the travel facility runs for 5 years from grant
Work and study	From the date of grant	Must be in line with Australian law; workplace protections apply
Medicare enrolment	After arrival	Enrolment is separate from waiting periods for some government payments
Free English classes	Once eligible and enrolled	Must meet the Adult Migrant English Program eligibility rules
Sponsor relatives	Once the visa is held	Family members still need to meet the requirements of the visa they apply for
Australian citizenship	After a qualifying period of residence	Permanent residence for citizenship purposes starts on the day the child enters Australia

Is Subclass 117 really a permanent visa?

It is. The Home Affairs page describes it as a permanent visa that lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely, and nothing in the grant is tied to a sponsor's ongoing approval. The page states directly that a sponsor cannot cancel the visa, withdraw it, or otherwise influence the holder's residency status.

That permanence attaches to residence, not to travel. The visa comes with a travel facility that lasts five years from the date of grant, during which the child can come and go as often as they like. Once that five-year facility expires, re-entering Australia as a permanent resident requires either a granted Resident Return (RRV) visa (subclasses 155 and 157) or Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to enter altogether. The expiry date of the travel facility can be checked through VEVO.

Can the child work as soon as the visa is granted?

Yes. According to the Home Affairs page, the child may be able to work or study in Australia from the date the visa is granted, and while doing so is protected by Australian workplace law. The Fair Work Ombudsman sets out the workplace rights and entitlements that apply to visa holders and migrant workers — the same minimum pay, conditions and protections, rather than a separate set of rules for migrants.

In practice this means the usual Australian law limits still apply: minimum age and safety rules for young workers, tax file number and superannuation arrangements, and award or national minimum wage rates. The visa does not exempt anyone from those obligations.

Does the visa cover study, and at what cost to the family?

Study rights come with the same grant. The official page lists work and study in Australia, in line with Australian law, as entitlements of the visa, without restricting them to a particular sector or level. The one distinction that matters is between holding the right to study and being charged as a domestic student — school and university fee classifications are decided separately from the visa, which only lists work and study in Australia in line with Australian law.

Is Medicare available on Subclass 117?

Yes, with one caveat about timing. The visa allows the child to enrol in Australia's public healthcare scheme, Medicare. Enrolment is a step the family takes after arrival; it does not happen automatically with the grant.

The important distinction is that Medicare enrolment and access to income-support style payments are two different things. As a newly arrived resident, the child might have to wait before accessing certain Australian Government payments and benefits. The waiting period rules are published by the Department of Human Services, and which payments are affected, and for how long, is set out there rather than on the visa page.

Are free English classes part of the package?

They can be. The visa allows the child to attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP), if eligible. Eligibility and class location are matters for the AMEP itself. Because the entitlement is conditional, families usually find it easier to enquire soon after arrival.

Can the Subclass 117 holder sponsor relatives later?

Yes. Sponsoring relatives to come to Australia is listed among the things this visa allows. Two boundaries sit around it. Siblings cannot ride on this application — each sibling needs a separate application. And dependent children of the child can be included in this application before a decision is made, but dependants cannot be added to the visa once the decision has been made.

When does the path to citizenship begin?

It begins with entry, not with grant. For citizenship purposes, the child becomes a permanent resident on the day they enter Australia on this visa, and permanent residence for citizenship purposes starts that same day. After a certain period of time the child might be eligible to apply; eligibility requirements and current processing times are published on the Home Affairs citizenship page.

Citizenship also solves the travel problem permanently: once someone becomes an Australian citizen they no longer need a visa to enter Australia, and they travel on an Australian passport instead.

What obligations come with these rights?

The visa holder and any family members must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws. Conditions attached to the particular grant can be checked through VEVO. Home Affairs also needs to be told about certain changes: a new or changed passport, the birth of a child, and a change of name. This matters more than it sounds, because the visa is not a sticker in the passport — it is digitally linked to the passport, and the grant notification letter containing the visa grant number is what gives access to the digital visa record.

There is also a first entry date. The child must enter Australia before the date specified in the grant letter, which is generally set at 12 months from the date of grant. Travelling after that date is possible if the visa is still valid, but the visa may still be subject to cancellation before arrival or at the border, so the first-entry date should be treated as a hard planning deadline rather than a suggestion.

Finally, the rights described above sit within Australian law generally. Every resident of Australia, including the holder of this visa, has the rights and protections described by the Attorney-General's Department, including freedom from abuse and exploitation. No sponsor, employer or family member can trade those away by cancelling or threatening the visa.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Subclass 117 visa permanent, or does it have to be renewed?

It is a permanent visa and lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely. Only the travel facility needs attention: it runs for five years from the date of grant, after which a Resident Return visa or Australian citizenship is needed to re-enter Australia.

Can a Subclass 117 holder start working immediately after arrival?

Yes. The Home Affairs page states the child may be able to work from the date the visa is granted, not merely from arrival. While working, they are protected by Australian workplace law in the same way as other workers in Australia.

Does the whole family get Medicare through this visa?

This visa covers the child; whether relatives also get Medicare depends on the visa they hold, which is worth checking individually. The child's ability to sponsor relatives is a separate matter from any relative's own access to public healthcare.

Why might a newly arrived Subclass 117 holder have to wait for government payments?

Australia applies waiting periods to certain payments and benefits for newly arrived residents. Which payments are affected and how long the wait runs is set out by the Department of Human Services, and it applies regardless of the visa being permanent.

Can dependent children be added after the 117 visa is granted?

No. Dependants cannot be added to this visa after a decision has been made. Dependent children must be included in the application before the decision, and they have to meet the health requirement.

How long does the child have to make their first entry into Australia?

The grant letter specifies a first entry date, generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant. Missing it does not automatically end the visa, but Home Affairs warns the visa may be cancelled before arrival or at the border, so it should not be left to lapse.

Does applying for or holding this visa guarantee citizenship later?

No. Citizenship requires meeting the eligibility requirements set by Home Affairs after a period of residence, starting from the day the child enters Australia on the visa. Holding a permanent visa makes someone eligible to be assessed, not automatically a citizen.