A fifteen year application needs a system, not a form filler.
A contributory parent visa takes about 15 years and a non contributory one about 33 years. No other matter a family brings us lasts that long, and most of the damage happens quietly in the middle years. This is how we run every parent visa matter from the first call to grant.
Six failures we see in files prepared elsewhere.
Lodging is the easy part. Keeping a file alive for fifteen years is the work.
- 01
The wrong visa
A 143 lodged for a parent who was in Australia and over 67, who could have waited here on a bridging visa with an 864.
- 02
A step child left off the count
The balance of family test failed years later at release, after the second instalment had been requested.
- 03
The queue letter went to an old address
The Department wrote, nobody answered, and the application was refused for failing to respond.
- 04
A visitor visa with condition 8503 mid queue
It made the onshore option impossible when the family later wanted it.
- 05
An 870 lodged for now
It barred the permanent application the family always intended to make.
- 06
Nobody planned the second instalment
15 years on, $43,600 per parent was requested with 28 days to pay.
Five phases, one lawyer, a file that is always current.
Typical for a contributory application lodged in 2026. A non contributory one simply has a longer phase three.
- 01
Strategy in writingWeeks 1 to 2
One consultation, then a letter that names the visa, rejects the others with reasons, sets out every cost by year and quotes a fixed fee.
- Balance of family worked through child by child, with the evidence for each
- Sponsor's settled status against the two year rule; the parent's visa checked for condition 8503 and expiry
- Direct or two stage route decided on the family's cash flow, for one parent or both
- Health screened early so nothing surprises us at release
- 02
Decision ready lodgementWeeks 2 to 8
A queue date is only issued once the core criteria are met, so a clean first pass matters.
- Tailored checklist in the secure portal, every document reviewed by the lawyer
- Sponsorship form and undertakings completed correctly
- Lodgement in ImmiAccount, or on paper for the 173 and 884, with the first instalment
- Acknowledgement and queue letter filed, with the date diarised
- 03
The queue, actively managedYears 1 to 14
This is where files drift. Ours are reviewed every year and every change is reported.
- Annual check in: addresses, passports, sponsor's circumstances, health, queue position
- Passports, names, relationships and sponsor substitution reported on time
- Visitor visas planned so a No further stay condition is never a surprise
- The second instalment forecast updated each 1 July; Medicare, reciprocal cover and private cover advised
- 04
Ready on release dayFinal 12 months
The Department's release letter asks for health, character, the bond and the second instalment on short deadlines. We start before the letter, from the published release dates.
- Health examinations booked at the right moment, not too early
- Police clearances from every country the parent has lived in
- Assurance of Support: assurer chosen, income test checked, security arranged with Services Australia
- Travel planned so the parent is outside Australia for a 143 or 173, and inside for an 804, 864 or 884
- 05
Settling, and the next ten yearsGrant and after
A permanent parent visa carries a five year travel facility and the bond runs ten. We stay on the file for both.
- Initial entry deadline met; Medicare enrolment; the bond registered
- Resident Return Visa advised before the travel facility expires
- For two stage routes, the 143 or 864 lodged in the two year window at the reduced charge
- Bond return followed up with Services Australia at the end of the period
How we work, answered plainly.
How is the fee structured for a matter that lasts 15 years?
Fixed, quoted in writing after the consultation, and staged: one part at lodgement, one part at release. Nobody pays fifteen years ahead for work not yet done.
What if the sponsor's circumstances change during the queue?
We report it and, where needed, substitute the sponsor. A change of address, name or passport is reported the same way. The annual review is designed to catch these before the Department does.
Does the commercial practice have a role?
Often. Where the sponsor or assurer runs a business, the income test, the way profit is drawn and the structure behind it decide whether the 870 income threshold or the Assurance of Support income test is met. We prepare that evidence alongside the visa file.
What if the family cannot fund the second instalment when release comes?
That is why we forecast it every year. Options at release include the two stage routes or, for an onshore parent, remaining on the bridging visa. We would rather have that conversation in year three than in the last 28 days.
Will you tell us if a parent visa is the wrong move?
Yes, in the first consultation. If the release year and the parent's age make the route unrealistic, we say so and show the alternatives.
Start with the strategy consultation.
One meeting. You leave with the visa named, the costs by year and a fixed fee in writing. If a parent visa is not the right move yet, we will say so.