POSTERN

Australia

Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143, via 173). Australia closed its investor visas to new applicants on 31 July 2024 and has no retirement visa; the real family-based route left is the expensive, faster-queue parent visa.

Free · The law behind every answer · Checked Sep 24, 2026

Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143, via 173)

Permanent residence in Australia for the sponsored parent, once granted.

Who qualifies

  • Applicant must have a child who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who sponsors them, and must meet the balance-of-family test.
    Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143)
  • A visa application charge of about AUD 49,900 per applicant (paid in two instalments, indexed each 1 July) plus an Assurance of Support bond; many applicants first take the 2-year temporary Contributory Parent visa (subclass 173) at about AUD 33,375 while the permanent visa processes.
    Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143)

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

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It could fit.

Australia closed its investor visas to new applicants on 31 July 2024 and has no retirement visa; the real family-based route left is the expensive, faster-queue parent visa.

Every door that fits your family

Not legal advice.

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What it takes.

Time
The Department of Home Affairs' own current estimate is about 15 years; as of the latest queue release (31 May 2026) it was still working through applications lodged in November 2018.
Cost
About AUD 49,900 (roughly $35,100) per applicant for the permanent visa, plus the Assurance of Support bond, plus the AUD 33,375 subclass 173 bridging visa fee if used — among the most expensive visas in the world. Fees are indexed and rise most years.
The hard part
The fee and the multi-year (sometimes multi-decade) queue, not the eligibility test itself.
3

Citizens by 2032.

If your first permit is issued in 2027 and you keep living there, this is the road.

  1. 2027
    First residence permit

    5 years, renewable for 5 years at a time.

  2. 2031
    Apply for citizenship

    With a language test and a civics test.

  3. 2032
    Citizenship
Language
Basic English; there is no separate language exam, but the test and interview are in English.
Civics
The citizenship test: 20 multiple-choice questions in 45 minutes; pass with 75% overall and all 5 questions on Australian values right.
Time away
Four years living in Australia on a valid visa immediately before applying, the last 12 months as a permanent resident; no more than 12 months away in total in the four years, and no more than 90 days in the last year.
Two passports
Yes. You keep your U.S. citizenship.
  • Permanent from the grant (the visa's travel facility lasts five years); if you go through the temporary 173 visa first, permanence waits up to two years. Citizenship after four years in Australia, the last one as a permanent resident.
  • Permanent residence comes from a permanent visa (skilled, family, parent), not from years of residence, so `permanent` is null; each program sets its own.
  • Home Affairs publishes processing times monthly but the page could not be read today, so no decision range is given; ceremonies add weeks to months.
  • The test details come from Home Affairs' test page as returned in search; applicants aged 60 and over follow different rules.
  • How long the decision takes isn’t published; we allow a year.
The law behind these dates
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Living there.

Time you must spend there
The program sets no minimum number of days. Renewal still expects it to be your home.
Tax
Once resident in Australia, worldwide income generally becomes subject to Australian tax.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

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Start today.

  1. Review the Contributory Parent visa with Australia’s Department of Home Affairs.Open immi.homeaffairs.gov.au ↗
  2. Round up the papers.
    • Proof of how you will support yourselves
    • Request your FBI Identity History Summary
    • Health cover for the move
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Or let us run it.

$900for your first year as a founding member. Then $399 a year, automatically.Standard first year: $1,200. Everyone renews at $399.One membership, the whole family. Accounts and activation included.

16 steps, from the first paper to the passport. You do 4 of them: send what we ask for, sign, and show up. We run the rest, and keep every permit renewed on time. Accounts and activation are included, whether you move now or keep the plan ready. Accounts depend on provider availability. Government, record and approved third-party charges are extra.

Run it for my family →
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ISSUED TO

YOUR FAMILY

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