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Pathway

Australia Carer Visa

Australia Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

The Carer visa may let you move permanently to Australia to provide substantial ongoing care for an eligible relative or someone in their household. The need must last at least two years, pass an official medical assessment, and lack reasonable local care options. The published wait for new applications is about 12 years.

Medical requirement
An official assessment of help needed with daily life for at least two years
Other care options
Show that reasonable care is unavailable from local relatives or services
Sponsor
Normally the eligible relative or their spouse or qualifying unmarried partner

Summary

The Carer visa is a permanent route for a person needed to provide substantial, continuing care to an eligible relative in Australia—or to a member of that relative's household—because reasonable care options are not available in Australia. Subclass 116 is applied for from outside Australia; Subclass 836 is for eligible applicants inside Australia.

This category uses an independent medical assessment and a strict care-availability test. A close family relationship, a serious diagnosis, or the family's preference for care by a relative is not enough by itself.

Carer visas have annual limits and waiting lists. Home Affairs' update for new applications, current as of 31 May 2026, estimated about 12 years. Actual timing can change and no individual grant date is guaranteed.

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Eligibility

The person needing care must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is usually resident in Australia, or a qualifying household member of such a person. The applicant must be a relative who can and will provide the needed continuing practical support.

The medical condition must prevent the person from handling practical daily tasks without direct help. The impairment is assessed under the official process, currently involving Bupa Medical Visa Services, and the need must be expected to continue for at least 2 years.

The family must also show that the care cannot reasonably be obtained in Australia from another relative or from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services. Availability, affordability, waiting time, location and the precise care required can matter. Evidence should explain the actual daily tasks, frequency and why identified alternatives are not reasonable.

The sponsor is normally the relative who needs care or that relative’s spouse or qualifying unmarried partner. The sponsor must meet the status, age and settled-residence rules. Health, character, identity, government-debt, visa-history and sponsorship requirements apply to the applicant and relevant family members.

Subclass 116 generally requires the applicant to be outside Australia when applying and when decided. Subclass 836 is for a person in Australia who is allowed to apply from inside the country.

Checking whether the Carer visa fits
  1. Document the daily care needs and expected duration Gather clinical records and follow the official medical-assessment process.
  2. Show why reasonable local care is unavailable Check relatives and health, welfare, nursing, and community services.
  3. Check sponsorship and apply under the correct visa Plan care during the long wait separately from the visa application.

A serious diagnosis or a family preference alone does not establish eligibility.

What This Route Allows

If granted, the applicant becomes an Australian permanent resident and can live, work and study in Australia indefinitely while providing the care that supported the application. Medicare enrollment and later citizenship may be available under their separate rules.

The permanent visa normally lets you leave and return as a permanent resident for 5 years. A Resident Return visa may be required for re-entry after that return-travel permission expires if the holder has not become a citizen.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a general family-reunification visa and not a visa for paid care work. It does not fit merely because the applicant is the relative the family trusts most, the person needing care feels more comfortable with them, or private care is inconvenient.

It also does not replace the official medical assessment. Letters from treating doctors are useful evidence, but the official assessor determines the medical impairment rating and duration for the visa process.

The long queue makes it unsafe to assume the applicant will arrive quickly to solve an immediate care crisis. Families should make care arrangements that meet the relevant rules while waiting and keep the applicant's immigration position separate from the eventual permanent-visa hope.

Next Steps

  1. Map the exact practical daily-living tasks for which assistance is required.
  2. Gather current clinical records, prognosis and evidence that the impairment will persist for at least 2 years.
  3. List possible care from relatives and Australian health, welfare, nursing and community services, and document why each is unavailable or unreasonable.
  4. Confirm the applicant's qualifying relationship and the sponsor's settled Australian status.
  5. Follow Home Affairs' instructions for the Bupa medical assessment; do not assume an ordinary migration health examination is the same assessment.
  6. Compare the outside-Australia 116 and inside-Australia 836 location and application rules.
  7. Read the current Other Family queue estimate before relying on timing.

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Other routes in Australia.

Sources