A 15 years applicationneeds a system,not a form filler.
No other application a family makes lasts this long, and most of the damage happens quietly in the middle years: an address changes, a passport expires, a visitor visa arrives with the wrong condition, or the release letter lands with 28 day deadlines and nobody ready. This is the five phase method we run every parent visa matter through.
What every parent visa matter gets
- Written strategythe visa, the reasons, the costs by year, the fixed fee1 letter
- Annual reviewaddresses, passports, sponsor, health, queue position1 email
- Lawyer on the filefrom lodgement to the release letter1 person
- Feestaged across lodgement and releaseFixed
Fees are quoted in writing after the consultation.
Lodging is the easy part. Fifteen years of keeping the file alive is the work.
A contributory parent visa takes about 15 years and a non contributory one about 33 years. Over that time the Department expects every change of address, passport, relationship and sponsor to be reported, and at release it asks for fresh health and character checks, an Assurance of Support and the second instalment on short deadlines. Our method breaks the matter into five phases with a named lawyer, an annual review and a forecast of every payment, so the release letter arrives at a current address, to a family that is ready.
Verified as at 1 July 2026 against the Department of Home Affairs visa pages and the Parent visas queue release dates page (as at 31 May 2026).
Six failures we see in files prepared elsewhere.
None of them are exotic. All of them cost years or money.
- 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.
Strategy in writing.
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, child by child
Including step and adopted children, with the evidence for each.
Sponsor and current visa
Settled status against the two year rule; the parent's visa checked for condition 8503 and expiry.
Direct or two stage
Decided on the family's cash flow, for one parent or both.
Health screened early
So nothing surprises us at release.
Decision ready lodgement.
A queue date is only issued when the core criteria are met, so a clean first pass matters.
Portal checklist
Tailored to the family, every document reviewed by the lawyer.
Sponsorship and undertakings
Completed correctly, with the evidence for every child counted.
Lodgement
ImmiAccount, or on paper for the 173 and 884, with the first instalment.
Acknowledgement and queue letter
Filed, with the queue date diarised.
The queue, actively managed.
This is where files drift. Ours do not.
Annual check in
Addresses, passports, the sponsor's circumstances, health, and the current queue position.
Changes reported on time
Passports, names, relationships, sponsor substitution if the child's situation changes.
Visits planned
Visitor visas arranged so a No further stay condition is never a surprise.
Payments forecast
The second instalment updated every 1 July when charges change; Medicare, reciprocal cover and private cover advised for the waiting years.
Ready on release day.
The Department's release letter asks for health, character, the bond and the second instalment, usually on short deadlines. We start before the letter, from the published release dates.
Health examinations
Booked with the panel provider 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.
Location at grant
Travel planned so a 143 or 173 parent is outside Australia, and an 804, 864 or 884 parent is inside.
Settling, and the next ten years.
A permanent parent visa carries a five year travel facility and the bond runs ten. We stay on the file for both.
Initial entry and Medicare
Deadline diarised and met; Medicare enrolment; the bond registered.
Resident Return Visa
Advised before the travel facility expires.
Two stage routes
The 143 or 864 lodged within 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 happens 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.
Do you handle both parents on one file?
Yes. One parent is the main applicant and the other is included as a partner, with the charges and the bond calculated for both.
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, staying 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.
Where this visa connects.
- All 7Open
Parent visas compared
The pathfinder, the cost stack and the queue timeline.
- 143Open
Contributory Parent 143
Permanent. $6,300 now, $43,600 at release, about 15 years.
- 864Open
Contributory Aged Parent 864
Onshore, pension age, permanent in about 15 years.
- 870Open
Sponsored Parent (Temporary) 870
Three or five years, no queue, no residence.
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.