Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143 Visa)

143 Visa – Main criteria

Both applicants and sponsors for the Subclass 143 Visa must meet certain eligibility criteria in order for an application to be successful. For example, sponsors are required to demonstrate that they are “settled“, which generally means that they have been lawfully resident in Australia for a period of two or more years. This residency period can consist of time spent on temporary visas.

For an applicant to qualify for a 143 Visa, they must meet what is referred to as the balance of family test. This test states that in order to be eligible to apply for a 143 Visa, the applicant must have at least half of their children living in Australia as an Australian citizen or permanent resident, OR that more of their children live in Australia than in any other country. All children, including step children and adopted children of both parents, are included in the balance of family test.

Both the sponsor and applicant are generally expected to meet good health and character requirements.

Contributory Parent Visa Types

Subclass 143 Visa

The 143 Visa is a permanent parent visa. The ‘contributory’ element of its name refers to the additional contribution to Australian government funds included in the second part of the application fee. This contribution is intended to reflect the access rights to healthcare granted by this visa to individuals who have not previously been resident in Australia and therefore have not contributed to Australian life through payment of taxes.

The initial application fee is $4,895 for the first applicant and $1,650 for their spouse. However, the second instalment for each applicant is $43,600. This visa takes approximately 14 years to process, but once approved will be a permanent visa.

Subclass 173 Visa

The 173 Visa is a temporary contributory parent visa with an initial Australian government fee of $3,140 and $1,570 for their spouse. A second, larger fee of $29,130 is required to be paid upon request before any final visa approval is granted. Applications for the 173 visa typically take around the same time as those for the permanent 143 Visa, with a current processing time of approximately 14 years. If successful, applicants are granted a 2 year temporary visa and will be expected to pay an additional $19,420 and apply for the permanent subclass 143 visa before their temporary visa expires.

For both the 143 visa and 173 visa, and in all cases, the second instalment of fees will only be requested if a provisional decision has been made to grant the visa. In no circumstances will the second instalment be requested and the overall visa application then denied.

Contributory Parent Visa Fees

The fees for a Permanent Subclass 143 Visa are as follows. All amounts are in AUD, and any VisaEnvoy fees are payable in full prior to lodgement of your visa application.

VisaEnvoy Professional Fee – Contributory Parent Visa (Permanent- SC143)	$4,500
Application Fee – Main Applicant (at time of application)* Dependant Application Fee (Spouse)*	$4,895 $1,650
2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Main Applicant 2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Spouse	$43,600 + $43,600

*1.4% Credit card surcharge applies.

Fees for those choosing to apply for the temporary Subclass 173 visa prior to the Subclass 143 visa are as follows:

VisaEnvoy Professional Fee –Contributory Parent Visa (Temporary-SC173)	$4,500
Application Fee – Main Applicant (at time of application)* Dependant Application Fee (Spouse)*	$3,140 + $1,570
2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Main Applicant 2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Spouse	$29,130 $29,130
VisaEnvoy Professional Fee –Contributory Parent Visa (Permanent- SC143)	$2,000
Application Fee – Main Applicant (at time of application)* Dependant Application Fee (Spouse)*	$430 + $220
2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Main Applicant 2nd Visa Application Charge (at time of decision)* Spouse	$19,420 $19,420

*1.4% Credit card surcharge applies.

Contributory Parent Visas – Assurance of Support (AoS)

In addition to the above fees, there is an AoS which is payable at around the time of decision. For two applicants, the AoS is currently $14,000. This bond is refunded ten years after a contributory parent visa holder enters Australia, and is subject to deductions to account for any debts that may be owed to the Australian government.

• If you are over 65 years old, you may instead wish to consider applying for the Contributory Aged parent visa (subclass 864), as this visa permits you to stay in Australia while your application is being processed.
• If you’ve already applied for a permanent parent visa (143 visa) and already have a temporary 173 or 884 visa, you are permitted to enrol for medicare.