870 visa lodgement deadlines in 2026: 6 months offshore, 60 days onshore

You have six months to lodge a Subclass 870 (Sponsored Parent (Temporary)) application after the sponsorship is approved — but only if you lodge from outside Australia. If you have Permission to Apply in Australia, that window shortens to 60 days from sponsorship approval, not from the date the permission was granted. Both deadlines come from the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870), as of August 2026.

Which deadline applies to me?

The deadline is set by where you are when you lodge, not by where you live or where your sponsor lives.

Situation at lodgement	Deadline	What the official page also requires
Outside Australia	Within 6 months of sponsorship approval	Apply online; you must be outside Australia when you apply
In Australia with Permission to Apply in Australia (PTA)	Within 60 days of sponsorship approval	You must attach a copy of the Permission to Apply letter to the application

The same page lists a third basic condition that sits above both deadlines: you must have an approved Parent Sponsor before you can lodge. The Department states you cannot apply for, or be granted, this visa without one.

How do you count the 6 months and the 60 days?

Both clocks start on the date of sponsorship approval, which is the date recorded in the sponsor's approval letter. The 60-day onshore clock is the one that catches people out, because the official wording ties it to sponsorship approval rather than to the date the Permission to Apply letter is issued — so part of your 60 days may already have run before you hold the letter you need to attach.

Assume a sponsorship approved on 1 April 2026. Counting forward, the six-month offshore window ends on 1 October 2026, and the 60-day onshore window ends on 31 May 2026. Whether the approval date itself counts as day one is not spelled out on the official page, and that ambiguity can move the last permissible day by one, so the practical rule is not to plan a lodgement for the final day of either window.

Counting a deadline off a letter you did not write is easy to get wrong. This article describes published requirements only and is general information, not advice on your own case; where the dates in your letter do not line up with what is set out here, rely on the official page and on someone who is legally permitted to give immigration assistance.

What happens if I miss the 60 days while I am in Australia?

Missing the onshore window does not automatically end the 870 route, but it moves you back onto the offshore deadline.

Your approved Parent Sponsor may apply again for Permission to Apply in Australia, but only if the sponsorship is still valid and there are exceptional circumstances for applying while in Australia.
If that request is not approved, you must apply from outside Australia within 6 months of sponsorship approval, or apply for and be granted a different kind of visa to remain in Australia.

The official page treats Permission to Apply as narrow. It may be approved in exceptional circumstances, and the examples given are the parent being unable to depart Australia because of an accident or serious illness (with medical evidence required) or a natural disaster preventing travel to the parent's home country.

Does the sponsorship itself lapse if I do not lodge in time?

The Department's page does not set out a sponsorship expiry rule, but the Migration Regulations 1994 do: under regulation 2.64B, a sponsorship ends where, among other events, the sponsored person does not apply within the 6-month period. Where a sponsorship ends and the visa holder does not find a new Parent Sponsor, the 870 visa can stop early under subclause 870.511, with a short buffer period to arrange a new sponsor or departure.

That is a different consequence from simply running out of time, and it is why the 6-month deadline is worth treating as a hard procedural date rather than a target. Because this point comes from the Regulations rather than the Department's page, read the current legislative text and the official page together.

What has to happen at lodgement for the deadline to be met?

Lodging means more than opening the form. The official page sets out four steps, and the fourth one is where late applications are often lost.

Log in to or create an ImmiAccount.
Complete the Application for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa.
Attach your documents.
Pay the application fee.

The Department states it will not process an application until the fee is paid, and that incomplete applications might be delayed or refused if there is insufficient information to show the requirements are met. If you are in Australia on a PTA, the letter itself is one of the required attachments.

Payment continues after lodgement. The visa is paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, and the second when the Department sends an invoice. If the second instalment is not paid, the application will be refused. The fee is not refunded if you withdraw the application or if it is refused. The official page directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator for the current amount; a lower visa application cost applies from 1 July 2026 to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application.

What other timing rules sit next to the lodgement deadline?

Four rules in the same official material change whether a timely application can succeed.

You cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa once you have applied for or hold this visa. Lodging the 870 closes that door for as long as the application or visa is on foot.
Repeat applicants need 90 consecutive days outside Australia. If you have held a 870 before and apply from outside Australia, you are not eligible for grant unless you have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since your relevant departure day. That day is calculated differently depending on where you were when the previous visa ceased: if you were in Australia, it is the first day you left after the visa ceased; if you were outside Australia, it is the last day you left while the visa was in effect.
There is a cumulative 10-year ceiling. You can be granted up to 3 or 5 years per visa, with a cumulative maximum stay of 10 years across 870 visas. An 18-month COVID-19 concession extension for holders outside Australia on 1 July 2021 does not count towards that total.
No family members can be included, and this visa does not permit work in Australia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I lodge the 870 application before the sponsorship is approved?

No. The official page requires an approved Parent Sponsor before you can lodge, and states you cannot apply for or be granted the visa without one. The sponsorship decision and the visa application are separate steps, and the deadlines only start running once the sponsorship is approved.

Does the 60-day period start from the Permission to Apply letter or from sponsorship approval?

From sponsorship approval. The Department's wording is that you must apply within 60 days of sponsorship approval if you have Permission to Apply in Australia, which means the onshore window can be shorter in practice than it looks if the PTA letter arrives later.

Can my sponsor ask for Permission to Apply again after I miss the 60 days?

Yes, but only in limited conditions. The official page says the approved Parent Sponsor may apply again for Permission to Apply in Australia if the sponsorship is valid and there are exceptional circumstances for applying while in Australia.

I am in Australia and my PTA request was refused — can I still get the 870 visa?

You can still apply, but from outside Australia and within 6 months of sponsorship approval. The other option the page gives is to apply for and be granted a different kind of visa in order to remain in Australia.

Is there a way to extend the 6-month deadline?

The official page does not describe any extension mechanism for the 6-month period. The Regulations instead treat a failure to apply within 6 months as an event that can end the sponsorship, which is the more serious consequence.

Does the 6-month rule apply if I have held a 870 visa before?

The 6-month lodgement deadline applies in the same way, but a repeat applicant who lodges from outside Australia must also have spent at least 90 consecutive days outside Australia since the relevant departure day. Those are two separate tests, and meeting one does not meet the other.

Can I include my spouse or another child in the application?

No. The official page states you cannot include family members in a Subclass 870 application, and the Regulations set no secondary criteria for this subclass.