Subclass 103 Eligibility 2026: Which Document Proves Each Requirement?

Every subclass 103 criterion points at one narrow question, and each question is answered by a particular kind of record: your own visa history for the subclass 870 bar, old Investor Retirement or Retirement visa records for the retirement pathway, an approved sponsorship for the sponsor requirement, a complete register of children and step-children for the balance of family test, and so on. This page takes the eligibility list published by the Australian Department of Home Affairs on its Parent visa (subclass 103) official page, as at July 2026, and restates each item in those terms. It is general information about how the criteria are framed, not an assessment of any individual case; the wording currently on the department's page is what governs, and where your situation turns on a cancelled visa, a government debt or an unusual family composition, that is exactly the point at which personalised advice from a registered practitioner is worth paying for.

How to read the criteria: condition first, evidence second

The department publishes the conditions, not a tick-the-box document checklist, and it also tells you it will ask for the Assurance of Support when it wants it rather than at lodgement. That means evidence planning is a translation exercise: read the condition, identify the fact it asserts, then decide which record establishes that fact without contradiction.

One practical consequence: every document you gather has to agree with every other one. A family register that omits a step-child, a sponsorship that names a child who is not yet settled, or an insurance policy that excludes transport can each satisfy the letter of one item while breaking another.

Criterion	Who it applies to	The record that answers it
No subclass 870 application or visa	The applicant	Your own visa and application history
Retirement pathway (optional route)	Applicants who, on 8 May 2018, held or had previously held subclass 405 or 410	Old visa records plus continuous absence of another substantive visa
Sponsor	All applicants except retirees	An approved sponsorship from an eligible sponsor
Balance of family test	All applicants except retirees	A complete list of children and step-children with status and country of residence
Assurance of Support	All applicants except retirees	The Assurance of Support itself, provided when asked
Health and character	Applicant, migrating family, possibly non-migrating family	Health checks and police certificates per applicant
Debt to the Australian Government	Applicant and any family members	Proof of repayment, or an approved repayment arrangement
Visa cancellation or refusal history	The applicant	Immigration history; see Form 1026i for the exceptions
Australian Values Statement	Applicants aged 18 and over	The signed statement
Adequate health insurance	Retirement pathway applicants only	A policy covering medically necessary treatment, including transport

Can you apply at all if a subclass 870 is in the picture?

No. The department states you cannot apply for a Parent visa (subclass 103) if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa, and the visa summary repeats the bar as a condition at the time you apply.

The evidence here is not a document you supply so much as a fact already on your record: any subclass 870 application or grant in your history. Because this is decided from departmental records, the planning step is to check your own history before you commit to a lodgement strategy, not to find a form that waives the bar. The 870 is a separate temporary visa that allows parents to visit children in Australia for up to 3 or 5 years at a time, for a maximum total of 10 years, and the two cannot be run in parallel.

Are you applying as a retiree? That changes four other criteria

You can apply as a retiree if, on 8 May 2018, you held or had previously held an Investor Retirement (subclass 405) visa or a Retirement (subclass 410) visa, you have not held any other substantive visa between 8 May 2018 and the date you apply, and you are in Australia. Retirement pathway applicants must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when they apply; they can be in or outside Australia when the decision is made.

Choosing this route removes three criteria rather than adding evidence: no balance of family test, no sponsor, and no Assurance of Support. It adds one: you are personally liable for all your healthcare costs in Australia while the visa is processed, and you must maintain adequate health insurance until the visa is granted, covering medically necessary treatment including transport. Some countries have reciprocal healthcare agreements with Australia, which Services Australia describes separately, but that does not remove the insurance obligation.

Two further consequences belong in the same plan. A retiree applicant can include a partner in the application if that partner also holds a Retirement or Investor Retirement visa, and cannot include children in the application.

Who can sponsor you, and what has to be approved?

You must have an eligible sponsor, and the department must approve the sponsorship. Usually the sponsor is an eligible child; if that child is under 18, an eligible relative or a community organisation can sponsor instead. The visa summary describes the eligible child as a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

So the sponsorship evidence works on two levels. The relationship level is straightforward: the child's status as a settled citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and their age if a substitute sponsor is being used. The approval level is not something you self-certify — the sponsorship itself has to be approved by the department, which is why a sponsorship lodged late can hold up an otherwise complete file.

What proves the balance of family test?

You meet the test if at least half of your children and step-children are eligible children, or if there are more eligible children living in Australia than in any other single country. The department publishes worked examples on its balance of family test page.

The word that causes the most trouble in planning is "step-children". The test counts children and step-children together, which means the record behind it has to be a genuinely complete list of both, with each person's residence and status — including children who are not migrating and have no interest in the application. A file built only around the child who lives in Australia will not answer either limb of the test, because both limbs are comparisons.

Retiree applicants are exempt from this test entirely.

What does an Assurance of Support actually guarantee?

You must be able to obtain an Assurance of Support unless you apply as a retiree under the Retirement visa pathway. It is a guarantee to the government that you will not need to rely on government assistance after you enter Australia on the visa, for the Assurance of Support period, and it covers you and any family members who come to Australia with you on this visa.

Two features matter for planning. The department tells you when to provide it, so it is not a lodgement-day document; and the sponsor or a family member does not need to provide it — an individual, more than one person, or an organisation can. Services Australia publishes details on Assurances of Support. The evidence question is therefore forward-looking: can you point to someone, or some organisation, able and willing to give the assurance when asked.

Health and character: whose checks are these?

You and any family members who apply with you must meet the health requirement and the character requirement. The department may also ask non-migrating family members to meet either requirement, so excluding a family member from the application does not guarantee they are excluded from the checks.

The department lists health checks, police certificates and biometrics among the related costs you might need to pay for each applicant, which gives a fair indication of what sits behind these two criteria in practice. Because the trigger is the department's, the practical task is to be ready to produce them promptly rather than to guess a list in advance.

What if you owe the Australian Government money?

If you or any family members owe the Australian Government money, the debt must be paid back, or there must be an approved arrangement to pay it back. There is no partial credit for having started the process: the evidence is either a cleared debt or an arrangement the government has actually approved.

Does a cancelled visa or a refused application disqualify you?

Not automatically. The department says it will consider your immigration history when deciding, which means you might not be eligible if you have had a visa cancelled or an application refused before. It also says that in some circumstances you may still apply for a permanent visa, and points to Limitations on applications in Australia (Form 1026i) for those circumstances. Applicants outside Australia are directed to the department's "Can I go to Australia" page on re-entry bans.

This is the criterion where the record is entirely the department's. Your job is to know what is on your history before you lodge, and to understand which limb applies to you, rather than to submit a document that explains it away.

What do applicants aged 18 and over sign?

If you are 18 or older, you must have read, or had the Life in Australia booklet explained to you, and sign the Australian Values Statement, confirming you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. The signed statement is the evidence; the booklet is the precondition.

The department separately states it will not grant the visa if granting it would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18 — a stand-alone condition that attaches to any under-18 applicant in the file, not a matter that is satisfied by a form.

What does it cost, and when do you pay?

The visa costs from AUD 8,665 for a single applicant, with additional charges for each family member who applies with you. It is paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, and the second when the department asks for it. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics are listed as related costs you might also need to pay per applicant.

The passport is the evidence for one cost rule worth checking. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application, recognised from a valid passport issued by one of the specified countries: Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Family members also get the lower cost, based on the primary applicant's passport.

Where can you be when you apply, and how does the queue work?

You and any family members applying with you can be in or outside Australia when you apply, but not in immigration clearance. Retirement pathway applicants must be in Australia at lodgement.

Demand for Parent visas is greater than the number of places available each year, so there are long processing times, and applications are subject to capping and queueing and are processed in the order received. Assessment runs in two stages: an initial assessment to decide whether to add the application to the queue or refuse it, then a final assessment as places become available. The department warns that applications can take longer if you do not complete the form correctly, do not include all required documents, or your information takes a long time to verify — which is the strongest practical argument for getting the evidence mapping right the first time.

If you are paying someone to help with the application, the department's "Who can help with your visa application" page explains who can lawfully provide immigration assistance; that is worth reading before any money changes hands, and it is the only kind of help check that matters here.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I still need a sponsor if my sponsoring child is under 18?

Yes, but not from that child. You must have an eligible sponsor and the department must approve the sponsorship; where the child is under 18, an eligible relative or a community organisation can sponsor you instead.

Can I apply for subclass 103 while holding or having applied for a subclass 870?

No. You cannot apply for this visa if you have already applied for or hold a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) (subclass 870) visa. The bar is assessed against your own visa and application history at the time you apply.

Who has to provide the Assurance of Support?

The sponsor or a family member does not need to provide it. An individual, more than one person, or an organisation can provide the Assurance of Support, and it covers you and any family members who come to Australia with you on this visa. The department tells you when to provide it.

Do family members who are not migrating need health and character checks?

They might. You and any family members applying with you must meet both requirements, and the department says it may also ask other non-migrating family members to meet them. Leaving someone out of the application does not guarantee they are out of the checks.

Do retirement pathway applicants need the balance of family test, a sponsor, or an Assurance of Support?

No to all three. Retiree applicants are exempt from the balance of family test, do not need a sponsor, and do not need an Assurance of Support — but they must maintain adequate health insurance until the visa is granted and are personally liable for their healthcare costs while it is processed.

How much does a subclass 103 visa cost and when is it paid?

From AUD 8,665 for a single applicant, with additional charges for each family member who applies with you. It is paid in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the department asks for it.