864 Visa: Queue Release Date, Processing Time and Costs in 2026

Home Affairs has released Contributory Aged Parent visa applications with a queue date up to November 2020 for final processing. That's the position its parent visa queue page reports as at 31 August 2026, and it covers both the permanent subclass 864 and the temporary subclass 884.

If your parent has a queue date in late 2020 or early 2021, this is the update to watch. If they're applying now, the picture is different, and this year's planning numbers make it harder.

Need advice on a queued parent application now? Book a consultation.

Where the parent visa queues stand

Every parent visa is capped and queued. Capping, in the Department's words, means a maximum number of grants each program year; once that's reached, the rest wait for a place in a later year.

Here's what the Department has released for final processing, as at 31 August 2026:

Source: Department of Home Affairs, Parent visas queue release dates, figures as at 31 August 2026.

Contributory Aged Parent applicants are two years further along than Contributory Parent applicants. The non-contributory queues are still in 2014.

What your queue date actually is

People often confuse the queue date with the date they applied. They're usually different.

A new parent visa application is first checked against the core criteria, including health and character where they apply. If it passes, the application gets a queue date and the Department tells you that date in writing. If it doesn't pass, it's refused.

There's one exception. For a Contributory Parent visa lodged before 1 June 2018, the queue date is the lodgement date.

So the "Lodged April 2023" column is about the first step: the Department is now giving queue dates to Contributory Aged Parent applications lodged around April 2023. Final processing runs on queue dates, and that's the November 2020 figure.

Applications come out of the queue in queue date order, and you'll get a letter when yours is released. It won't respond to individual status enquiries, so don't wait on a phone call.

The 2026-27 allocation: fewer parent places

This is the part of the update most families will miss. Each year the Government sets a planning level for each part of the Permanent Migration Program every year, and the Parent figure has been cut.

Figures from the Department of Home Affairs, Permanent Migration Program planning levels, read 7 October 2026.

There are 1,440 fewer Parent places in 2026-27 than in each of the previous two years, a cut of about 17%. According to the Department, small adjustments to the Parent and Other Family categories make room for higher Partner and Child levels. It also notes that Partner and Child are demand driven, with indicative levels only. Parent visas aren't. When the year's Parent places are used, the Department stops releasing parent applications until the next program year.

One Parent figure covers every parent visa: the 103, 804, 143, 173, 864 and 884 together. Home Affairs doesn't publish a separate number for Contributory Aged Parent visas.

Here's the practical effect. Planning levels are the first reason the Department gives for parent processing times changing. With fewer places to fill, expect the queue release date to move more slowly through 2026-27 than it did when the Parent level was 8,500. Plan around a long wait, not a quick one.

How long a new 864 application takes

For a new application, the Department's estimate is 18 years for Contributory Parent visas. For the non-contributory Parent and Aged Parent visas, it's 42 years. Those estimates are built on the number of places available each year, and the Department generally updates them at the start of each program year.

It's an estimate, not a promise. Its list of what can move it is long: planning levels, how many applications come in, withdrawals and refusals, tribunal outcomes, ministerial intervention and changes to processing directions.

Processing order matters too. Under Ministerial Direction 117, Contributory Parent and Contributory Aged Parent applications sit fourth in the family visa order, ahead of carer applications and the non-contributory parent visas. Applications made in Australia for a visa that can be granted in Australia also rank ahead of offshore ones, and the 864 must be applied for and granted onshore. Our post on how Direction 117 prioritises family visas sets out the full order.

Who can apply for the 864

You apply in Australia, and you must be in Australia (not in immigration clearance) when it's granted. The main requirements for a parent who isn't already an 884 holder:

• Age. You must be an "aged parent", meaning old enough for the Age Pension. For anyone born on or after 1 January 1957, pension age is 67.
• Your child. You're the parent of a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Settled means lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable period.
• A sponsor. Usually that's your child (if 18 or over) or their spouse or de facto partner if they're settled too. If your child is under 18, a settled relative or guardian, or a community organisation, can sponsor you instead. The Department must approve the sponsorship.
• The balance of family test. See the next section.
• Your current visa. At application you need a substantive visa other than a transit visa, or you must meet a further requirement if you don't hold one. Someone who withdraws an Aged Parent (subclass 804) application when lodging the 864 doesn't have to meet this one.
• No 870. You can't hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) subclass 870 visa when you apply, and if you held one you must have left Australia since it ended.
• Earlier parent applications. Any earlier parent visa application must have been decided or withdrawn.

Before grant, you'll also need an assurance of support accepted by the Department of Social Services, and you and your family members must meet the health and character requirements. The Department says the assurance can come from an individual, more than one person or an organisation, not only the sponsor. It also tells you when to provide it.

The balance of family test, worked through

In our experience, the balance of family test catches more parents than any other requirement. You pass if at least half of your children (stepchildren count) are "eligible children": Australian citizens, or permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens usually resident in Australia. You also pass if more of your children live in Australia than in any single other country.

Take a 68-year-old mother on a visitor visa in Melbourne. She has three children. Two are Australian citizens in Sydney, and one lives in India. Two eligible children against one overseas: she passes.

Now give her four children, two in Australia and one each in India and Canada. Two eligible, two ineligible. She still passes, because eligible children only need to equal the ineligible ones. Three children overseas against two here would fail, unless the three are split across countries so that no single country holds more than the two in Australia.

Some children aren't counted at all, such as a child removed from the parent's custody by court order or adoption. If your family is spread across several countries, check the balance of family test before you pay anything.

An 884 holder applying for the 864 doesn't take the test again. It was met at the 884 stage.

What the 864 costs from 1 July 2026

Home Affairs quotes the 864 from $49,900 for a single applicant. That's two instalments: $6,300 when you apply and $43,600 when the Department asks for it, just before grant.

Charges as set by the Migration Regulations 1994, current compilation (in force from 1 July 2026), for the 864 and 884.

Going through the 884 costs $55,405 in total, which is $5,505 more than applying straight for the 864. What it buys is time to pay, since the two-step route spreads the cost over several years.

A few other figures:

• On the direct route, each extra applicant aged 18 or over adds $3,145 to the first instalment, and each child under 18 adds $1,580.
• At the second instalment, a dependent child who was under 18 at application pays $2,095. Other family members pay the full second instalment.
• A lower charge applies where the main applicant holds a passport from an eligible Pacific country or Timor-Leste, from $5,170 for the first instalment.

You'll also pay for health checks, police certificates and any biometrics. Don't arrange to stay permanently until the visa is granted; that's the Department's own warning.

Moving from the 884 to the 864

An 884 holder applies for the 864 as the second stage. You can do this while you hold the 884, or within 28 days after it ends. After 28 days, you can only use the 884 holder route if you prove compassionate and compelling circumstances, and the second instalment for that group is $16,545.

Apply for the 864 straight after the 884 is granted. Home Affairs encourages exactly that, and it's sound advice. An 884 is temporary, and missing the 28-day window moves you to the full $43,600 second instalment unless the Department accepts your circumstances.

There's protection if the sponsor dies. An 884 holder whose sponsor dies, with no other eligible sponsor available, can still meet the sponsorship requirement for the 864.

May 2026 is the Department's milestone date for 884 holders applying for the 864. Those applications don't go through a second queue assessment.

864 or another parent visa?

For a parent of pension age, the 864 is the onshore contributory route. If the cost is out of reach, the onshore non-contributory Aged Parent (subclass 804) is cheaper, but its queue is at October 2014 and a new application is estimated at 42 years. For a parent below pension age, or one applying from outside Australia, the Contributory Parent subclass 173 and 143 or the Parent subclass 103 are the usual comparisons.

Where the goal is time with family rather than permanent residence, the subclass 870 lets a parent visit for up to 3 or 5 years at a time, to a maximum of 10 years. But holding one can block an 864 application, so pick the order carefully. A parent visiting on a subclass 600 should check their visa conditions before lodging onshore.

Our individuals and families service covers the full range of family visas.

FAQ

How long does the 864 visa take?

For a new application, the Department estimates 18 years for Contributory Parent visas, including the 864. Applications already in the queue are released in queue date order, and as at 31 August 2026 the Department had released 864 and 884 applications with a queue date up to November 2020.

What is the 864 queue release date now?

November 2020, as at 31 August 2026. That means the Department has released Contributory Aged Parent applications with a queue date up to November 2020 for final processing. New 864 applications lodged around April 2023 are being assessed for a queue date.

How much does the 864 visa cost?

From $49,900 for a single applicant from 1 July 2026: $6,300 when you apply and $43,600 before grant. An 884 holder pays $555 and then $19,420 for the 864, on top of the $35,430 already paid for the 884.

What is the age requirement for the 864 visa?

You must be old enough for the Age Pension. For anyone born on or after 1 January 1957, that's 67.

What is the difference between the 864 and 884?

An 884 is a temporary visa, and the 864 is permanent. Applying for the 884 first spreads the cost over two visas, but the total is $5,505 higher. An 884 holder applies for the 864 as the second step and doesn't take the balance of family test again.

Can I get Medicare on the 864?

Once the 864 is granted, the Department says you can enrol in Medicare. Whether you can enrol while your application is waiting is decided by Services Australia, so check with them for your circumstances.

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With fewer Parent places this year, a refusal costs more than the fee. It can cost years in the queue. If you're weighing the 864, the 884 or a different parent route, or your queued application needs attention, book a consultation and we'll go through it with you.