Subclass 884+864 vs Subclass 804: Cost Comparison for Parents in 2026

Which parent pathway costs more in 2026 — subclass 884 then 864, or subclass 804 — and why the Department's own answer is directional.

Published: 10 October 2026

Yes, the two-stage route costs more. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 884) official page, lodging subclass 884 followed by the permanent Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864) costs more than the Aged Parent visa (subclass 804), and also more than applying directly for subclass 864. What the extra money buys is time: the cost is spread across the two visas over a longer period. Everything below reflects the Department's Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 884) page, including its cost and processing sections.

What exactly does the Department say about 884 + 864 versus 804?

The comparison sits in the "Consider another visa" section of the subclass 884 page, and it is unusually direct. It lists three separate statements about the pathway: that it is a two-stage process ending in a permanent visa, that it costs more than the subclass 804 visa, and that it costs more than a direct subclass 864 application — with the qualification that the cost is spread across the two visas over a longer period.

Two consequences follow for anyone budgeting a parent's permanent residence:

The official comparison is directional, not a total. The Department does not publish a combined 884 + 864 figure on this page, so any "all-in" number you see quoted elsewhere is someone else's arithmetic rather than an published amount.
Subclass 804 appears here only as the comparator. The subclass 884 page sets out no visa application charge, instalment arrangement or processing figure for subclass 804, so the honest comparison is one of structure and official positioning rather than of two headline prices added together.

How much does subclass 884 cost in 2026?

The page publishes a clear starting figure for the temporary stage: from AUD 35,430 for a single applicant. Additional charges apply for each family member who applies with you, and concessions apply in limited circumstances.

The charge is also split. You pay for subclass 884 in two instalments — the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks for it. On top of the charge itself, you might need to pay other costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.

A reduced cost applies to some applicants from 1 July 2026. Eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application are charged the lower visa application cost during the application process, recognised by a valid passport from one of these countries:

Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji
Kiribati
Nauru
Palau
Papua New Guinea
Republic of the Marshall Islands
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Timor-Leste
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

Family members are eligible too, based on the passport of the primary applicant (or the visa holder who satisfies the primary visa criteria).

Where does the higher total actually come from?

The price gap is structural rather than punitive. A single pathway involves one visa application; the 884 + 864 pathway involves two, each carrying its own visa application charge and each falling due at a different point in the process.

Three cost mechanics on the page explain the shape of that total:

Two-stage charging. Lodging subclass 884 first, then subclass 864, splits the outlay across separate applications instead of concentrating it in one permanent application.
Staged payment within each visa. The 884 charge itself is collected in two instalments, one at lodgement and one on request.
Costs outside the charge. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics are additional per-applicant items, so any comparison built on headline visa charges alone will understate what a family actually pays.

Set against that, the same page notes that Contributory Aged Parent visas may be processed faster than the alternatives, but cost more. Speed and price move in the same direction here, not opposite ones.

If it costs more, why would a parent choose 884 first?

The Department gives one reason explicitly: applying for subclass 884 before subclass 864 allows you to spread the cost of the visas over several years. That is the entire value proposition — access to a permanent pathway for applicants who cannot comfortably fund a single concentrated outlay.

The temporary visa also carries practical rights while that spreading happens. Subclass 884 allows the holder to live in Australia for up to two years, to work and study (without government support), and to travel outside Australia and return as many times as they wish within those two years.

	Subclass 884 then subclass 864	Subclass 804
Pathway shape	Two applications: temporary, then permanent	Single visa pathway
Relative cost per the Department	Costs more than 804, and more than a direct 864	The lower-cost comparator
Published charge on the subclass 884 page	From AUD 35,430 for the 884 stage only	Not stated on the subclass 884 page
Payment structure	Instalments spread across two visas over a longer period	Not stated on this page
Residence before the permanent outcome	Up to 2 years on 884; cannot be extended	Not stated on this page

What timing rules decide when the money falls due?

The subclass 884 application must be made onshore: you, and any family members applying with you, must be in Australia — and not in immigration clearance — when you apply and when the Department decides. If you apply while holding a temporary visa with a "no further stay" condition, the application is invalid unless that condition is waived.

Three further timing constraints shape the schedule:

The permanent subclass 864 application must be lodged before the subclass 884 visa expires, to ensure all applicable lodgement criteria are met.
Subclass 884 runs for two years from the date of grant and cannot be extended or reapplied for.
The second instalment is not on a date you choose; the Department requests it.

Parent visas are also subject to capping and queueing, because demand exceeds the number of places available each year, and applications are processed in the order received. Assessment runs in two stages: an initial eligibility check that either queues or refuses the application, then final assessment as places become available. Assume — purely as an illustration of timing, not outcome — a single applicant whose second instalment is requested during the 884 period and whose 864 charge is incurred only when that permanent application is later lodged: nothing about that schedule advances or delays the queue.

Treat this as general information about how the Department frames the two pathways, not as personalised advice about your parent's circumstances; charges, concession eligibility and queue positions change, so confirm current figures against the Department's official pages or a registered migration professional before relying on them.

How do factor this into a PR budget without guessing?

Work from what is published and ring-fence what is not. The published anchor is the subclass 884 starting figure of AUD 35,430 for a single applicant, plus listed additional charges and third-party costs. Anything beyond that — the permanent stage's charge, the combined total, the subclass 804 amount — is not published on the subclass 884 page and should be read from the Department's current visa pricing page and visa listing pages rather than estimated.

Then plan for three variables rather than one number: the instalment schedule triggered by lodgement and Department requests, the additional per-applicant costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics, and the two-year subclass 884 window that governs when the permanent application must be in. Applications that are incomplete, missing documents, or slow to verify take longer to process, which is a cost in its own right when a temporary visa is running.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does subclass 884 + 864 really cost more than subclass 804 in 2026?

Yes, on the Department's own comparison the two-stage pathway costs more than the Aged Parent visa (subclass 804). It also costs more than lodging a direct subclass 864 application. The offsetting feature is that the cost is spread across two visas over a longer period.

How much does subclass 884 cost for a single applicant?

Subclass 884 costs from AUD 35,430 for a single applicant, with additional charges for each family member included in the application. Concessions apply in limited circumstances, and reduced charges apply to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens from 1 July 2026.

Why does the two-stage pathway end up costing more overall?

Each stage carries its own visa application charge, so the pathway involves two separate charges instead of one. The Department's stated reason for accepting that higher total is cost spreading — lodging the temporary visa first pushes part of the expense into later years.

What costs fall outside the visa application charge?

You might need to pay additional costs for each applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. These sit on top of the charge itself, so comparing headline visa charges alone understates the real outlay for a family.

Can a parent extend subclass 884 while waiting for the 864 decision?

No. Subclass 884 runs for two years from the date of grant and cannot be extended or reapplied for; you would need to apply for a different visa. The permanent subclass 864 application must be lodged before the 884 visa expires to ensure the applicable lodgement criteria are met.

Do Pacific Island and Timor-Leste applicants pay less?

From 1 July 2026, eligible citizens of listed Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste who lodge a valid application are charged the lower application cost during the application process. Eligibility is recognised by a valid passport from one of the specified countries, and family members qualify based on the primary applicant's passport.