Jurisdiction brief · AU

Australia Subclass 116 Carer Visa 2026: A Family-Stream Route to Permanent Residence

21 September 2026 · 9 min read · 2,008 words

Yes — the Carer visa (Subclass 116) is a permanent visa inside Australia’s family stream, and it is granted in a single step. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs’ official Carer visa (Subclass 116) page, as of July 2026, the visa lets you come to Australia to provide care to someone with a long-term medical condition who does not have reasonable access to care options in Australia. You must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the application is decided, and you must be sponsored by your Australian relative or their partner for your first two years in the country. For families thinking about residence across borders, that combination — permanent status from the moment of grant, care as the stated purpose, and an offshore decision — is what sets 116 apart from most other care-driven options.

This article is general information about published criteria rather than advice on any individual’s situation; confirm the current official text before acting and get professional advice if your circumstances are complex.

What does permanent residence through Subclass 116 actually give you?

The visa is permanent, which means you can stay in Australia indefinitely. Beyond residence itself, the official page lists the rights that come with it:

work and study in Australia
enrol in the public healthcare scheme, Medicare
sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date of grant
attend free English language classes under the Adult Migrant English Program, if eligible
apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

One planning detail is easy to miss: the five-year travel facility and permanent residence are not the same thing. Residence does not expire, but the right to leave and re-enter as a permanent resident runs for five years from the grant date. After that you need a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to enter altogether. You can check when your travel facility ends through VEVO.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residence starts on the day you enter Australia on the visa — so a delayed first entry delays that clock, even though the grant itself is permanent.

Where does Subclass 116 sit in the family stream?

It sits in the “Other Family” part of the family stream, alongside the categories that depend on a family relationship rather than a partner relationship. The relationship at the core of 116 is care, not marriage or de facto partnership, and the visa is decided offshore.

The Department’s page is direct about the consequence: demand for Other Family visas is greater than the number of places available each year, so processing times can be lengthy, and applications are subject to capping and queueing. The Department publishes Other Family visa queue release dates and processing priorities, and the Reports on Migration Programs give outcomes against planning levels for each migration program year. If you are weighing 116 against other family options, the queue is a structural feature of the category, not a temporary backlog.

The person you care for must be your Australian relative who needs care, or your relative’s family member who needs care and lives with them. The relative connection is set at the relationship level — parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, and similar close family links, as defined in the Migration Regulations 1994.

Sponsorship follows the same relationship. Under the criteria for Subclass 116 in the Migration Regulations 1994, you must be sponsored either by the Australian relative themselves, if they are at least 18, or by that relative’s spouse or de facto partner, provided the partner cohabits with the relative, is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and is at least 18. The sponsorship covers your first two years in Australia, and it must be approved and still in force when the decision is made.

Assume an applicant whose Australian sister has a long-term condition and whose brother-in-law is an Australian citizen living with her: either can sponsor, but the partner route only works if the cohabitation, status and age conditions are all met.

What does the carer test require?

This is the part of the visa that applications most often turn on. Guidance on regulation 1.15AA of the Migration Regulations 1994 describes a carer as someone whose relative has a long-term or permanent medical condition, and summarises the test in three linked parts: the condition leaves the person unable to carry out at least four daily living activities such as bathing, dressing, eating, toileting, moving about or communicating; the person cannot reasonably access the care they need in Australia, whether because it is unavailable, too costly or subject to long waits; and the applicant is willing and able to provide substantial, continuing and direct care.

Two things follow for planning. First, the medical evidence has to carry both the functional limitation and the local-care gap — one without the other does not meet the definition. Second, the applicant’s own capacity matters: the criteria look at willingness and ability to provide the care personally and on an ongoing basis. Because these provisions are technical and amended over time, the current text of the Regulations and the Department’s official page are the authority on the wording in force.

Does the application have to be made offshore?

Yes. The official page states you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the Department decides your application. There is no onshore version of this route described on that page, so anyone already in Australia on another visa should not treat 116 as an in-country conversion.

After grant, the obligations are specific. You must enter Australia before the date in your grant letter, and the official page notes the first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of grant. You and any family members included must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws. Conditions that may be attached, per guidance on the Regulations, include condition 8502, requiring your sponsor to arrange accommodation in Australia before you enter, and condition 8515, requiring you not to act contrary to the purpose of the visa — in practice, not to stop providing the care the visa was granted for without good reason.

Your visa is digitally linked to your passport; no visa label is issued.

What does it cost, and how is payment structured?

The official page lists a starting visa application charge for the main applicant, with a separate charge for each family member who applies with you, and concessions in limited circumstances. You pay in two instalments: the first when you apply, the second when the Department asks for it. Use the Visa Pricing Estimator for a figure that reflects your circumstances — it does not cover the second instalment or other costs.

Other costs arise per applicant for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. The Department may waive the second instalment if paying it would cause you or the person you care for severe financial hardship, but it will not waive it for family members applying with you; such requests are made in writing. From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application charge applies to eligible citizens of specified Pacific island countries and Timor-Leste who lodge a valid application with a valid passport from one of those countries, with family members eligible based on the primary applicant’s passport.

How long does a decision take?

The Department does not publish a fixed timeframe for this visa. It states that demand for Other Family visas exceeds available places each year, that processing times can be lengthy, and that applications are subject to capping and queueing. The visa processing time guide tool shows times for recently decided applications, but the Department describes it as a guide only and not specific to any application.

Processing can also take longer if the form is not filled in correctly, documents are missing or further information is needed, or verification of your information takes longer than usual. An application will not be processed at all if the correct visa application charge is not paid; the Department says it will notify you and, if necessary, return the application.

What should cross-border planning weigh before choosing this route?

Three points matter most from a residence-planning perspective.

The first is that permanent residence begins at grant but residence for citizenship purposes begins at entry, so an early first entry protects the citizenship timeline even if you continue to split time between countries. The second is that the five-year travel facility governs re-entry, not status: once it lapses, a Resident Return visa or citizenship is required to come back as a permanent resident. The third is that the visa’s purpose is care — the sponsorship runs for two years, and condition 8515, where attached, ties the holder to the care role the visa was granted for. Families whose plans involve the carer working, studying or relocating should read the visa’s purpose alongside those plans, not after them.

Members of the family unit can be included when you apply, and each family member must meet the health and character requirements. The same public interest criteria summarised in the Regulations apply to applicants, including health (PIC 4005), character (PIC 4001–4004), biometrics (PIC 4009 and 4010), and the integrity criteria in PIC 4020 and 4021, which deal with false or misleading information and carry serious consequences if breached.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Subclass 116 Carer visa a permanent visa?

Yes. The Department’s official page describes it as a permanent visa that lets you stay in Australia indefinitely, with rights to work, study and enrol in Medicare. Permanent residence for citizenship purposes, however, starts on the day you first enter Australia on the visa.

Can I apply for Subclass 116 while I am in Australia?

No. You must be outside Australia when you apply and when the application is decided. If you are already in Australia on another visa, this route does not function as an in-country change of status.

Does my relative have to prove Australian care options are unavailable?

The criteria require that the person needing care does not have reasonable access to care options in Australia, alongside a long-term or permanent medical condition and significant functional limitation. In practice that means evidence on the condition and evidence on the local care gap, not just a medical diagnosis.

Can my partner and children be included in the application?

Yes, members of the family unit can be included when you apply, and each must meet the health and character requirements. Each family member also adds a charge, and the second instalment waiver for financial hardship is not available for them.

How long can I travel in and out of Australia after the visa is granted?

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you like for five years from the date of grant, as long as the travel facility remains valid. After that you need a Resident Return visa (subclass 155 or 157) to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship.

What happens if I stop providing care after the visa is granted?

The sponsorship runs for your first two years in Australia, and condition 8515, where attached, requires you not to act contrary to the purpose of the visa. Holders should also note the first entry date in the grant letter, generally set at 12 months from grant.

References

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