870 visa eligibility evidence in 2026: proving the parent relationship

For the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870), the parent relationship is proved by showing you are the biological, legal (including adoptive) parent, step-parent or parent-in-law of your approved Parent Sponsor, and that you are at least 18 years old. That is the full relationship rule on the Australian Department of Home Affairs official page for the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870), as at the official page current in August 2026. The same page confirms there is no balance of family test and no Assurance of Support requirement for this visa. This article is general information about published criteria rather than personalised advice, so your own document set should be checked against the Department's current page or with a registered migration professional.

The complication is that the Department publishes the categories but not a document checklist for them. The rest of this article maps each category onto the identity and relationship records that carry it, and marks the points where the published rules stop and you need to confirm the current position yourself.

What exactly must you prove about the parent relationship?

The claim has two parts, and both sit on the official page: your relationship to the sponsor, and your age.

Relationship. You must be the sponsor's biological parent, legal parent (adoption is named expressly), step-parent, or parent-in-law.
Age. You must be at least 18 years of age.

Two features matter for how you build the file. First, the relationship is measured against one fixed reference point — the Parent Sponsor — not against Australia, not against a household, and not against a partner. Second, it is a status test, not a quality-of-relationship test. The official page asks nothing about shared finances, cohabitation, or the durability of a relationship, which is a different exercise from the evidence bundles partner visas are known for. What has to be established is the legal or biological link itself.

The published rule does not say whether a step-parent relationship survives the divorce or death of the parent through whom it was created, and it does not define "parent-in-law" beyond the term itself. Those gaps are read in context — a parent-in-law of the sponsor is the parent of the sponsor's spouse — but they are exactly the points worth confirming against current guidance before you rely on them.

Which records carry each type of parent claim?

The table below is a general evidence mapping, not a published departmental checklist. The first column is the official rule; the rest describes how that rule is normally supported on paper.

Relationship claimed	What the claim rests on	Records that typically carry it	Where files usually break
Biological parent	The sponsor's birth registration names you as a parent	Birth registration or certificate naming both you and the sponsor; your own passport or national ID	Your name is absent from the birth record, or spelled differently from your travel document
Legal parent, including adoptive	A court or competent authority made you the parent in law	Adoption order, court order or equivalent legal instrument	The order was issued under a former name, or does not name the child
Step-parent	Your marriage to the sponsor's biological or legal parent	Marriage record linking you to that parent, plus the record linking that parent to the sponsor	The two records name the same person differently
Parent-in-law	Your child is married to the sponsor	Marriage record linking your child to the sponsor, plus the record linking you to that child	No single document shows all three people in one chain

Your age is carried by the same identity documents — passport, national ID, or the birth record itself.

How does a biological parent show the link?

One document usually does the work: a birth registration that names you as a parent and the sponsor as the child. Where that record exists and the names match your current identity documents, the chain is complete in a single step.

What proves a legal or adoptive parent relationship?

The official page places adoptive parents inside the "legal" parent category, so the operative record is the instrument that created the legal relationship — an adoption order or court order — not the birth record alone. The order has to connect two identities: you and the child who is now the sponsor.

What proves a step-parent relationship?

A step-parent claim is a two-link chain. You need the record of your marriage to the sponsor's parent, and the record that makes that person the sponsor's parent. Neither document alone proves the relationship; the connection between them is the claim.

What proves a parent-in-law relationship?

The same two-link structure, running in the other direction. You need the record of your child's marriage to the sponsor, plus the record showing you are that child's parent. The relationship exists because of the marriage, so the marriage record is load-bearing rather than supporting.

Does an approved Parent Sponsor already prove the relationship?

No. Sponsorship approval and the visa decision are separate, and the visa criteria still require the applicant to be sponsored by a parent sponsor (clause 870.221 of the Migration Regulations 1994). The Regulations provide for Parent Sponsors to be approved under Division 2.13A, with a sponsor-side income test under regulation 2.60W, and the proof of that approval is itself a listed application document.

Treat the approval as a necessary first step, not as a finding that travels with you. Sponsorship can also end after it is granted: under regulation 2.64B, sponsorship terminates on events including cancellation of the sponsor's permanent visa, the sponsor's death, written withdrawal by the sponsor, and failure by the sponsored person to apply within six months. Where two parents are involved, the ending of one sponsorship does not by itself end the other. If sponsorship does cease, the visa may be brought to an early end under subclause 870.511(3), and the Procedures Advice Manual (PAM3) describes a buffer period to find a new sponsor or arrange departure.

What if names, spellings or dates don't line up?

Assume they will not. The practical discipline is to make every gap bridgeable by a shared identifier rather than by explanation alone.

Match the name on your identity document to the name on the relationship record. If they differ, add the record that explains the difference — a change of name document, or a marriage record that shows both forms.
Check transliteration. A name rendered differently in Roman script across two records is a common mismatch, and one consistent spelling across the file is easier to follow than a note explaining the variants.
Check dates. A birth date on a relationship record that conflicts with your passport creates doubt about identity, not about relationship.
Keep the chain as short as the records allow. Each extra document is an extra connection a decision-maker has to accept.

Can one application cover both parents?

No. The Migration Regulations 1994 set no secondary criteria for Subclass 870, and the guidance is explicit that every applicant must satisfy the primary criteria. There is no route by which one parent is assessed and the other is added as a family member; each parent lodges on their own relationship to a sponsor and their own evidence.

What does the 870 not ask you to prove?

The relationship rule is narrower than many applicants expect, and three things fall outside it entirely.

No balance of family test. The official page states there is no balance of family test for this visa.
No Assurance of Support. The same page states there are no Assurance of Support requirements.
No partner-style relationship evidence. The parent relationship runs to the sponsor; there is no published requirement to evidence a couple relationship.

The other criteria still apply and are assessed on their own material: sufficient funds (clause 870.222), adequate health insurance arrangements (clause 870.224), substantial compliance with your last substantive visa and any subsequent bridging visa (clause 870.225), a genuine intention to stay temporarily (clause 870.226), no outstanding public health debt (clause 870.227), the public interest criteria in clause 870.228, and the special return criteria in clause 870.229. The public interest criteria include criterion 4020, which is the reason an incomplete or inaccurate relationship claim carries more risk than a merely thin one — false or misleading information is a separate ground of failure from failing to prove the relationship.

How should you assemble the relationship file?

Work in this order.

Start from the sponsor and get the sponsorship approval decision.
Confirm the sponsor's identity details exactly as recorded by the Department.
Decide which of the four categories your claim falls under.
Pull the primary record for that category.
Add the second record if your category is a two-link chain.
Bridge every name or date gap with a document, not a note.
Read the finished file against the Department's current page before lodging.

Clause numbers and policy details in this article follow the Migration Regulations 1994 and the Department's PAM3 guidance; confirm them against the current legislation text and the official visa page, since both are subject to change.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a DNA test to prove I am the parent?

The official page does not list DNA testing. It requires you to be the biological, legal (including adoptive), step or in-law parent of the sponsor, and the ordinary way to show that is through civil registration and court records. Where no registration record exists, the problem is evidentiary rather than definitional, and what the Department will accept should be confirmed against current guidance.

Can a stepmother or stepfather be sponsored?

Yes. Step-parent is named on the official page alongside biological and legal parents, so the category itself is not in doubt. The evidence is a two-link chain: your marriage to the sponsor's parent, and that parent's relationship to the sponsor.

Are my spouse's parents eligible as my parents-in-law?

Yes, on the face of the published rule. The official page lists "parent in-law" of the Parent Sponsor, which means the parent of the sponsor's spouse. The evidence chain runs through the marriage record linking your child to the sponsor, plus the record showing you are that child's parent.

Does an approved sponsor guarantee the visa?

No. Sponsorship approval and the visa decision are separate. The applicant still has to satisfy the primary criteria, including being sponsored by a parent sponsor under clause 870.221, plus funds, health insurance, temporary intention, health, character and the other criteria in Subclass 870.

Does the 870 have a balance of family test or Assurance of Support?

Neither. The Department's official page states there is no balance of family test and no Assurance of Support requirements for this visa. This is one of the clearest differences between the 870 and the permanent parent visa pathways.

If I have already applied for a permanent parent visa, can I still use the 870?

The official page addresses this directly: if you have already lodged a permanent parent visa application, you may visit Australia but not remain in Australia permanently while it is being decided. It also states that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa if you have applied for or hold this visa, so the 870 is not a holding pattern on the way to a parent visa application.

I held an 870 before. Do I have to prove the relationship again?

Yes, the relationship and age requirements apply to every application. Clause 870.223 adds a further condition for some repeat applicants: if you apply outside Australia and have previously held an 870, you must have been outside Australia for at least 90 continuous days since that visa ceased, unless exceptional circumstances apply.

Can I add my spouse or an dependent child to my application?

No. The Regulations set no secondary criteria for Subclass 870, so there is no category of added family member. Each person who wants this visa must meet the primary criteria in their own right, including the parent relationship to an approved sponsor.