Applying for the 870 visa onshore in 2026: PTA, immigration clearance and lawful status
When a 870 visa can be lodged and decided onshore: Permission to Apply, immigration clearance and the 90-day rule.
No — unless the Department of Home Affairs has given you Permission to Apply in Australia (PTA), you must be outside Australia when you lodge a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) application, and you cannot lodge while you are in immigration clearance. The position changes at the decision stage: you may be in or outside Australia when the Department decides your application, as long as you are not in immigration clearance. This follows the Department of Home Affairs' Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) official page, current as at August 2026, read with the Migration Regulations 1994.
This article is general information only. It is not advice about your own circumstances, so check the Department's current page or get help from a registered migration agent or legal practitioner before you act.
Do you have to be outside Australia to apply?
Yes, as a starting point. The Department's rule is stated in two places. When you apply for a first 870 visa, you must be outside Australia unless you hold PTA (but not in immigration clearance). The same rule applies again if you are applying for another 870 visa: that application must also be lodged from outside Australia unless PTA has been issued.
| Stage | Where you can be | Immigration clearance |
|---|---|---|
| Lodging the application | Outside Australia, unless you have PTA | Not allowed |
| When the Department decides | In or outside Australia | Not allowed |
So the onshore pathway is a narrow exception, not a second route that sits alongside the offshore one.
What is Permission to Apply in Australia, and who asks for it?
PTA is permission to lodge from inside Australia. The Department tells your approved Parent Sponsor if you have PTA (but not in immigration clearance) when it approves the sponsorship, and that advice comes in a Permission to Apply letter. You must attach a copy of that letter to your visa application.
The request is tied to the sponsor: if the 60-day window below passes and the sponsorship is still valid, your approved Parent Sponsor may apply again for PTA, but only if there are exceptional circumstances for applying while you are in Australia.
What counts as exceptional circumstances?
The Department approves PTA only in exceptional circumstances. The examples it gives are where the parent cannot depart Australia because of:
- the parent having an accident or a serious illness — medical evidence must be provided, or
- a natural disaster preventing travel to the parent's home country.
Assume a parent is in Australia on a visitor visa and suffers a serious illness with a specialist's letter confirming they are unfit to fly. That is the kind of situation the Department describes. A preference for staying with family, or the cost and inconvenience of travel, is not what the official page describes as exceptional.
How long do you have to lodge?
The clock starts at sponsorship approval, and the deadline depends on where you are:
- Get your approved Parent Sponsor in place first — you cannot apply or be granted without one.
- Apply online in ImmiAccount.
- Lodge within 6 months of sponsorship approval if you are outside Australia.
- Lodge within 60 days of sponsorship approval if you have PTA and are in Australia.
If you do not apply within the 60 days, your sponsor may apply again for PTA if the sponsorship is valid and exceptional circumstances still exist.
What does "not in immigration clearance" actually mean?
Immigration clearance is the border processing you go through when you arrive at an Australian airport or seaport, before you have entered the community. While you are in that process you are not treated as being in Australia for the purpose of lodging or being granted this visa.
Two consequences follow. You cannot lodge a 870 application from within the arrivals hall or while you are still being processed. And you cannot be granted the visa at that moment either — the Department states you can be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when it decides your application.
What happens if PTA is refused?
The Department sets out two options. You can apply for the visa from outside Australia within 6 months of sponsorship approval. Or you can apply for and be granted a different kind of visa that lets you remain in Australia.
Note that leaving Australia to lodge does not by itself guarantee a grant. If you are applying for another 870 visa from outside Australia, you will not be eligible unless you have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since your relevant departure day. Your relevant departure day is worked out from where you were when your last 870 visa ceased:
- If you were in Australia, it is the first day you left Australia after the visa ceased.
- If you were outside Australia, it is the last day you left Australia while the visa was in effect.
There is also a ceiling: once you have held 870 visas for the cumulative maximum of 10 years, you are not eligible for a further one, and you must either depart or be granted another kind of visa.
What does a granted 870 visa allow?
It is a temporary visa. You can stay for the period or dates on your grant letter, for up to 3 or 5 years at a time, with cumulative stays capped at 10 years. You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you like while the visa is valid, and the visa is digitally linked to your passport rather than a label.
The limits matter as much as the entitlements:
- You cannot work in Australia while you hold this visa.
- You cannot include family members in the application.
- The visa does not lead to permanent residence, and you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa once you have applied for or hold this visa.
- You cannot extend it — staying longer means applying for and being granted another visa.
If you held a 870 visa and were outside Australia on 1 July 2021, the COVID-19 visa concession extended that visa period by 18 months, and those 18 months do not count towards the 10-year cumulative maximum.
What will it cost?
The official page lists the cost as payable in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks for it. The visa will not be granted until the second instalment is paid, and if you do not pay the invoice the application will be refused. Budget as well for health checks, police certificates and biometrics, which may be required. Use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for the current charge. The fee is not refunded if you withdraw the application or if it is refused.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I lodge a 870 application while I am still at the airport after landing?
No. You cannot lodge, and cannot be granted, while you are in immigration clearance — the border processing you go through on arrival. You need to have completed that process first, and even then you still need PTA to lodge from inside Australia.
Who gets the Permission to Apply letter?
The Department gives it to your approved Parent Sponsor, not directly to you. You must attach a copy of that letter to your visa application, so make sure you have it before you start the online form.
What evidence is needed if the reason is a serious illness?
The Department's stated example is a parent who cannot depart because of an accident or a serious illness, and it says medical evidence must be provided. A hospital or specialist letter that speaks directly to why travel is not possible is the type of document the rule points to.
I have PTA but missed the 60-day deadline — is that the end of it?
Not necessarily. Your approved Parent Sponsor may apply again for Permission to Apply in Australia, but only if the sponsorship is still valid and there are still exceptional circumstances for applying while you are in Australia.
Can my spouse or another child be included in my application?
No. You cannot include family members in a 870 visa application. Each parent needs their own visa application and must have an approved Parent Sponsor, and one sponsorship can cover up to two parents, with a sponsor's household limited to one sponsorship at a time.
Can I just extend my 870 visa when the 5 years run out?
No. You cannot stay longer by extending this visa. You must apply for and be granted another visa, and if you want another 870 you must lodge from outside Australia unless you have PTA; if you apply from outside Australia, you must have been outside Australia for at least 90 consecutive days since your relevant departure day.