Australian Visitor Visa Options for Parents
Rajwant Singh • October 27, 2021
Australian Visitor Visa Options for Parents
A visitor visa for parents to visit you in Australia is a critical visa option for many families. It is a faster and more cost effective alternative to bring your parents to Australia. If you are an Australian permanent resident or citizen, then longer validity visitor visas are available for your parents.
Visitor visas are not intended for maintaining ongoing residence in Australia. Accordingly, longer Visitor visas will not be considered for parents who:
are already in Australia; or
have already spent 12 months in Australia in the last 18 months.
If you have recently stayed in Australia for an extended period, you will generally not be considered for a longer Tourist visa until you have spent a minimum of 6 months outside Australia in the last 18 months at the time you apply for a new Visitor visa. For example, if you have spent the last 12 months in Australia, you should wait for 6 months before applying for a new visa if you wish to be considered under these arrangements.
Short-stay visitor visas for Parents
These are two types of short-stay visitor visas for parents that you can apply for online. Generally, approval will be granted within 24 hours. They allow multiple entries over a 12 month period but typically a maximum of 3 months for each stay in Australia.
The main restriction for these visa types is that you must hold a passport from a specific country.
ETA for Parents
The ETA will only cost you $20 to apply for, but you must hold a passport from one of the following countries:
Brunei – Darussalam
Canada
Hong Kong (SAR PRC)
Japan
Malaysia
Singapore
Korea, Rep of (South)
United States.
You can apply here.
eVisitor for Parents
This visa is free to apply for, but you must hold a passport from one of these countries:
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Republic of San Marino
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom – British Citizen
Vatican City
As at August 2021, processing time is:
75% of applications: 11 days
90% of applications: 45 days
You can apply here.
Longer Stay Visitor Visa Options for Parents
Subclass 600 Visitor Visa for Parents
Parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents are able to apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600) to visit Australia for a longer period. This allows parents who meet the criteria for a Visitor visa to have regular extended visits with their family in Australia without needing to apply for a new visa on each visit and also recognise the length of the Parent visa queue.
Multiple entry visas with a maximum stay of 12 months will be considered on a case-by-case basis with maximum validity periods of up to:
five years for parents outside Australia and in the Parent visa (subclass103) queue;
three years for parents outside Australia who have:
had a previous Australian visa and complied with the conditions; and
have not applied for a Parent visa; or
have applied for a parent visa but are not yet in the Parent visa (subclass103) queue; and
18 month for parents who have:
not previously travelled to Australia; and
have not applied for a Parent visa; or
have applied for a Parent visa but are not yet in the Parent visa (subclass103) queue.
These visas will also be considered for step parents and eligible New Zealand citizens.
To be granted a Visitor visa, applicants must meet all the usual requirements including health, character, having sufficient funds and satisfying the decision maker that they intend a genuine visit and will comply with relevant visa conditions.
Other options for parents
If you are an Australian permanent resident or citizen your parents may be eligible for a longer stay visitor visa. Please note that these visas must be applied for while your parents are outside Australia.
Parent Visa Applicants
If your parent/s has already applied for a permanent parent visa and are awaiting grant, they may be eligible for a longer stay visitor visa.
This could be valid for up to 5 years and would be multiple entry allowing up to 12 months’ stay for each visit.
Parents of Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident Children
If your parent is not in the parent queue, they can still be considered for a longer stay visitor visa. This would allow you to stay in Australia for up to 12 months on each visit. The duration of the visa will depend on whether they have had a history of travelling to Australia previously and returning within their visa period (this is known as compliant travel):
3 Years: history of compliant travel
18 Months: no history of compliant travel
