Funding a long 870 parent stay in Australia in 2026: planning the evidence
There is no published savings figure to hit for a Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870). The requirement, stated on the Australian Department of Home Affairs Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) official page as of the August 2026 version and carried into clause 870.222 of the Migration Regulations 1994, is that the applicant has — or has access to — enough money to support themselves while in Australia, and can show it. For a household planning a stay measured in years rather than weeks, that turns the task into a funding plan with a paper trail behind it, not a single bank letter. What follows is general information about published criteria and is not personalised professional advice; the official page and the current legislation remain the reference for any individual case, and figures quoted here should be re-checked against the Department's latest published information.
What does "enough money" actually mean for a subclass 870 applicant?
The criterion has two halves, and the second one is the one families usually under-plan.
The first half is the standard: enough money to support yourself while you are in Australia. The official page does not convert that standard into a dollar amount or a formula. It is assessed against the stay the applicant says they intend to have, which is why the length of the planned stay is a funding question before it is a paperwork question.
The second half is the word "access". The requirement is satisfied by money the applicant holds or money the applicant can draw on. That distinction matters for parents who have retired from work, live on investment or pension income, or whose wealth sits in accounts held jointly or by another family member. Access has to be visible in the documents, not merely asserted.
One further detail is easy to miss. The official page's suggested evidence for the genuine temporary stay criterion includes "proof you have enough money for your stay and to leave Australia". Departure is inside the same calculation, so a return fare belongs in the budget as surely as rent does.
Because the 870 has no Assurance of Support requirement and no balance of family test, the funds question is answered through the applicant's own evidence rather than through a sponsor's binding undertaking. A large closing balance is useful, but the page asks for evidence of money available across a period.
How long does the funding have to last?
A grant can run for up to five years, and a person's total time on 870 visas is capped at ten years across all grants, according to the Migration Regulations 1994. Where an applicant applies from outside Australia and has held an 870 before, clause 870.223 generally requires at least 90 consecutive days outside Australia after the previous visa ceased before another 870 can be granted, unless exceptional circumstances apply. These durations and their current effect should be confirmed against the Department's official page.
That structure changes what "long stay" means in practice. It is a sequence, not a single grant: a stay of up to five years, a required break outside Australia, then a further grant inside a ten-year lifetime ceiling. A funding plan built only for the first grant leaves the later grants to be improvised, and the evidence assembled for grant one becomes the baseline the next application is compared against.
What the funding question looks like at each stage
| Stage | What is being tested | What the file needs to show |
|---|---|---|
| Before the visa application | An approved Parent Sponsor, and a timely application | Sponsorship approval; application lodged within 6 months of approval if outside Australia, or within 60 days if Permission to Apply in Australia was granted |
| The funds criterion (clause 870.222) | Enough money, held or accessible, for the stay | Itemised personal bank statements showing a 3-month period; tax records; pension or other regular income streams |
| The temporary stay criterion | Genuine intention to stay temporarily | The same funds evidence, plus home-country ties and a letter of reasons and plans |
| Health insurance | Adequate arrangements with an Australian health insurance provider, maintained | Policy evidence covering the intended stay |
| After lodgement, before grant | Payment of the second instalment | Payment of the invoice when it is issued |
What evidence does the official page point to?
For the money itself, the official page names three items: itemised personal bank statements showing a 3-month period, tax records, and pension or other regular income streams. Each does a different job.
The statements show behaviour — money arriving, money being spent, a balance that is stable rather than borrowed for the occasion. "Itemised" is the operative word; a document that shows only a closing figure answers a narrower question than the one being asked.
Tax records corroborate income that is declared rather than merely deposited. Pension or other regular income streams do the work that employment income would do for a younger applicant: they show that support will continue month after month after the visa is granted.
The same page lists these funds items under the genuine temporary stay criterion, alongside evidence of previous international travel, ties to home country such as property or business interests, and a letter stating the purpose of the stay, the plans, and who the applicant intends to visit. One set of documents therefore serves two criteria, which is why a funds file that ignores the letter and the home-country ties tends to feel thin even when the balance is large.
How do you show a pattern rather than a one-off balance?
Suppose an applicant intends to stay for most of what a grant allows, with no employment during that time. The strongest version of that file has three properties.
It shows recurring inflows. Pension payments, regular income streams and any family support arrive on a schedule, and the schedule is visible across the three months of statements rather than concentrated in the final week.
It reconciles. The income visible in the statements is the income declared in the tax records. Where those two documents tell different stories, the file creates a question the applicant then has to answer.
It budgets the ongoing costs. Health insurance premiums and the return fare are recurring or certain expenses, and a plan that covers accommodation but not insurance has not actually answered whether the stay is funded.
Where the money sits with someone else, the nature of the access needs to be documented: whose account it is, why the applicant can draw on it, and how the arrangement continues through the stay. A transfer made shortly before lodgement shows that money existed at a point in time; the criterion is about support across a period, and those are different claims.
Where does the sponsor fit — and what the sponsor does not replace?
No 870 application can be made without an approved Parent Sponsor, and sponsorship is decided separately, before the visa application. The official page is explicit that the visa cannot be applied for or granted without one.
Sponsorship carries its own financial assessment — procedural guidance refers to a sponsor income test under regulation 2.60W — but that test belongs to the sponsorship decision and is described as complementary to the applicant's own funds requirement. It does not operate as an Assurance of Support, because the official page states that this visa has no Assurance of Support requirement.
Timing is where sponsor and applicant planning meet. An applicant outside Australia must apply within 6 months of sponsorship approval. If the applicant has Permission to Apply in Australia, the applicant must apply within 60 days of sponsorship approval, and a copy of the Permission to Apply letter must be attached to the visa application. If the Permission to Apply request is not approved, the applicant has to apply from outside Australia within 6 months of sponsorship approval instead.
What else the funding plan has to carry
Health insurance is a standing cost, not an afterthought. The applicant must have and maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance with an Australian health insurance provider, covering unforeseen medical treatment during the stay. "Adequate" has no legislative definition; procedural guidance notes it is assessed case by case. Some countries have reciprocal healthcare agreements with Australia, administered by Services Australia, but that is a separate scheme from the visa criterion.
The second instalment is the payment most likely to undo an otherwise prepared application. It must be paid before the visa can be granted, the Department sends an invoice when it is due, and failure to pay the invoice leads to refusal. The Regulations and procedural guidance describe the instalment as being calculated on different bases depending on whether the visa is for three years or less or for longer; current amounts should be read from the official page.
Two constraints shape the whole budget. Procedural guidance notes the visa carries condition 8103, which prohibits work unless the Minister permits it in writing (and no work rights are granted under current policy), so the stay cannot be funded from Australian employment. And the visa application fee is not refunded if the application is withdrawn or refused.
For a household with significant assets, the practical point is sequencing: the living costs, the insurance premiums and the second instalment are three cash flows on three separate clocks, and only the third one has an invoice attached to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a minimum bank balance for the 870 visa?
The official page states the requirement as a standard — enough money to support yourself while in Australia — rather than as a published dollar figure. Evidence is expected in the form of itemised personal bank statements over a 3-month period, tax records, and pension or other regular income streams. The assessment is made against the stay the applicant says they intend to have.
Do I need to show funds for the whole stay, or only at the time of application?
The suggested evidence covers a three-month window, but the criterion concerns the period of stay in Australia. Showing continuing income rather than a static balance is what connects the two: statements and tax records that demonstrate support arriving month after month speak to the whole stay, not just to the lodgement date.
Can the sponsor's income cover the parent's funds requirement?
The sponsor must be approved in their own right, and sponsorship involves its own income test under regulation 2.60W. That test belongs to the sponsorship decision and is described as complementary to the applicant's requirement to have, or have access to, enough money. Because the 870 has no Assurance of Support, money held by a sponsor still has to be documented as accessible to the applicant.
Do pension payments count as funds evidence?
Yes. The official page names pension or other regular income streams alongside tax records and three-month itemised bank statements as proof of enough money for the stay and for leaving Australia. Regular income is particularly useful for long stays because it demonstrates support that continues after the visa is granted.
What happens if the second instalment is not paid?
The visa will not be granted until it is paid, and the Department issues an invoice when it falls due. If the invoice is not paid, the application is refused. The instalment is calculated on different bases depending on whether the visa is for three years or less or for longer, and current amounts should be confirmed on the official page.
Can a parent hold an 870 visa while pursuing a permanent parent visa?
If a permanent parent visa application has already been lodged, the parent may hold this visa and visit Australia but is not to remain permanently while that application is being decided; the 870 is a temporary visa only and does not lead to permanent residence. The official page also states that you cannot apply for a permanent or temporary parent visa if you have applied for or hold this visa.