Who is eligible for Australia's Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114) in 2026?

Who actually qualifies for the Subclass 114 Aged Dependent Relative visa in 2026? A clause-by-clause self-check against the official criteria.

Published: 10 July 2026 Reading time 12 min

You qualify for the Aged Dependent Relative visa (Subclass 114) only if you clear every one of the criteria on the Department of Home Affairs' official Aged Dependent Relative visa (subclass 114) page — as of August 2026, those are: an approved sponsorship by an eligible relative or that relative's partner; an age that meets the Australian Age Pension threshold; at least three years of dependency on the Australian relative for food, shelter and clothing; no partner; an obtainable assurance of support; and satisfaction of the health, character, debt-repayment and immigration-history requirements. The visa is permanent, but you and every applicant must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the decision is made.

This piece works through published criteria only. It is general information, not personalised migration advice, and it is not a substitute for reading the current legislation or obtaining advice from a registered professional about your own circumstances.

What does the official eligibility list actually require?

The Home Affairs page states plainly that you must meet all of the following. There is no balancing test — one failed criterion ends the assessment.

Criterion	What it turns on
Sponsor	An eligible relative, or that relative's partner, sponsors you and the sponsorship is approved
Age	You are old enough to receive the Age Pension in Australia
Dependency	Dependent on the Australian relative for basic needs — food, shelter, clothing — for at least 3 years before applying
No partner	You have no partner at the time eligibility is assessed
Assurance of support	You are able to obtain one; the Department tells you when to provide it
Health	You and accompanying family members meet the health requirement
Character	You and accompanying family members meet the character requirement; some non-migrating family members may also be asked
Debt to the Australian Government	Any debt owed by you or included family members is repaid, or an approved repayment arrangement is in place
Immigration history	No visa cancelled and no previous application refused in a way that counts against you
Best interests of the child	The visa will not be granted if it is not in the best interests of an applicant under 18

Who can sponsor you, and what does "approved sponsorship" mean?

The sponsor is the anchor of the whole application. Under the criteria described in the Migration Regulations 1994, the Australian relative must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen; if that relative is under 18 or not "settled", their spouse or de facto partner may sponsor instead, provided the partner is 18 or over, settled, and living with the relative. "Settled" is a defined term in the regulations rather than a casual description of living in Australia — read the current regulation text rather than assuming that holding permanent residency is enough.

Sponsorship is not automatic. The Department must approve it, and approval is assessed separately from your own eligibility. Because the criteria do not permit a change of sponsor, the sponsor's own status and capacity have to hold up for the life of the application.

How old is "aged" for this visa?

The test is not a fixed number written into the visa criteria. It is pegged to the Age Pension qualifying age set by the Australian Government, and the Department of Social Services publishes the current thresholds. The qualifying age depends on date of birth, and the figure to rely on is the one the Department of Social Services publishes at the time you apply.

The practical consequence: a relative who is "close enough" to pension age is not eligible. Age is measured against the published Age Pension rules, and an application lodged too early fails on this single point no matter how strong the dependency evidence is.

What counts as three years of dependency?

Dependency here is narrow and specific. It means reliance on the Australian relative for basic needs — food, shelter and clothing — for at least three years before you apply. It is not a general statement that family support each other, and it is not satisfied by occasional gifts.

Two clarifications come from the published criteria. First, the dependency may arise from a disability that prevents the applicant from working. Second, the assessment looks at whether the applicant actually relies on the relative for those basics — an applicant with income that comfortably covers their own needs is not dependent in the sense the visa requires, and independent income is a common reason for refusal.

Why does having no partner matter so much?

Subclass 114 is a residual family route, not a coupled one. To be eligible you must have no partner. This is an absolute bar, not a factor to be weighed.

It also has a timing dimension. The requirement is assessed across the life of the application, so entering a marriage or de facto relationship after lodgement can undermine a case that was valid when it was filed. If the person you are assessing has a partner — including a de facto partner — this is the wrong visa, and the assessment stops here.

What is an assurance of support, and who carries it?

An assurance of support is a commitment, given to the Australian Government, that you will not need to rely on government assistance after you enter Australia on this visa. It covers you and any family members who come with you, and the Department tells you when it must be provided rather than requiring it at lodgement.

The financial weight falls on whoever gives the assurance. The bond is typically AUD 5,000 for the main applicant and AUD 2,000 for each additional adult, and the assurance usually runs for two years; because these are agency-set figures, confirm them against current Services Australia assurance of support guidance before relying on them.

What else can end the assessment — health, character, debts and history?

You and any family members applying with you must meet the health and character requirements, and the Department may also ask non-migrating family members to meet them. Any money owed to the Australian Government by you or an included family member must be repaid, or covered by an approved repayment arrangement.

Immigration history is assessed as part of the decision. A cancelled visa or a previously refused application can make you ineligible, though the official page notes that in some circumstances a person in that position may still apply for a permanent visa, and separate rules apply to people outside Australia who are subject to a re-entry ban.

Can family members be included?

Yes, and the form asks for details of all of them whether or not they are migrating. For this visa, family members means dependent children and stepchildren. Those who apply with you must meet the health and character requirements; those who are not coming to Australia may still be asked to meet the health requirement. You can add family members at any time before a decision is made.

If a child under 18 is an applicant, the visa cannot be granted unless doing so is in that child's best interests.

Where do you have to be, and what does the grant actually give you?

You and all applicants must be outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides the application — the grant cannot be made while an applicant is onshore.

Once granted, the visa is permanent: you can stay indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives, access the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, and eventually apply for citizenship if eligible. Travel in and out of Australia is unrestricted for five years from the date of grant; after that travel facility expires, you need a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155/157) to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship. You must enter Australia before the date in your grant letter — generally 12 months from grant — and your visa is digitally linked to your passport rather than issued as a label.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

The visa is paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks for it. There is an additional charge for each family member who applies with you, and concessions apply in limited circumstances. Other costs can include health checks, police certificates and biometrics. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible citizens of specified Pacific Island countries and Timor-Leste holding a valid passport from 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, with family members assessed on the primary applicant's passport. Use the Visa Pricing Estimator on the official page for the current figure.

On timing, the official page is deliberately vague: demand for Other Family visas exceeds the places available each year, processing can be lengthy, and applications are subject to capping and queueing. The Department publishes a processing time guide tool showing recently decided applications, but it is a guide only and not specific to any one case. No processing time or refusal rate should be assumed beyond that.

The three criteria that stop most applications

Read in the order they bite:

Three years of documented dependency. This is the criterion with the longest evidence trail and the least room for reconstruction after the fact. Assume that bank transfers, remittance records, household arrangements and payment of living costs have to line up across the full three-year window.
No partner, plus the Age Pension age threshold. Both are binary. A partner, or an age below the published pension threshold, ends the assessment immediately and cannot be cured by stronger evidence elsewhere.
Sponsor capacity and the assurance of support. Sponsorship must be approved and the assurance must be obtainable by someone who can carry it. Because the sponsor cannot be swapped mid-application, this is worth verifying before anything is lodged.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my widowed or divorced parent still meet the "no partner" requirement?

Yes. The requirement is that the applicant has no partner at the relevant time, not that they have never been married. A widow, widower or divorcee with no current spouse or de facto partner satisfies it; a person in a de facto relationship does not, even if they were never formally married.

Does the three-year dependency period have to run right up to the application date?

The published criterion requires dependency for at least three years before you apply. In practice, the assessment looks at a continuous three-year record of reliance for basic needs leading up to the application, so gaps in the most recent period are the most damaging part of the evidence.

Can a permanent resident sponsor me, or does it have to be a citizen?

The regulations describe the Australian relative as an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and in some cases the relative's spouse or de facto partner may sponsor instead. The sponsor must also be settled and at least 18, and the sponsorship itself must be approved by the Department.

Does my parent's own pension or rental income disqualify them?

Not automatically, but it cuts directly at the dependency test. If the applicant's own income is enough to cover food, shelter and clothing, the claim that they depend on the Australian relative for those basics is weakened. Independent income that covers basic needs is one of the most common grounds for refusal on this visa.

Can we apply while the applicant is visiting Australia on another visa?

No. You and every applicant must be outside Australia both when the application is lodged and when it is decided. Lodging onshore is not an option for this subclass, and travel plans need to be arranged around that constraint.

What happens after the five-year travel period ends?

The permanent status does not expire — only the travel facility does. To re-enter Australia as a permanent resident after that, you apply for a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 or 157), or you apply for Australian citizenship and travel on an Australian passport. VEVO shows when the travel validity on a granted visa ends.