Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115 and 835): who qualifies as the last remaining relative

The Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115 offshore, 835 onshore) requires eligible sponsorship and excludes applicants if they or their partner have a near relative usually living outside Australia, or living in Australia unlawfully or on a temporary visa unless an eligible New Zealand citizen.

This page sits within family visas for relatives. Home Affairs’ estimate for a new Remaining Relative application is 26 years, on its Other Family visa processing page updated 6 October 2026; this is a dated estimate, not an individual forecast.

The last remaining relative test

The last remaining relative test considers near relatives of both the applicant and their partner. Under the Home Affairs subclass 115 eligibility rules, the applicant must be the remaining relative of the sponsor or the sponsor’s partner.

Whose near relative	Where the relative usually lives	Australian immigration status	Effect on the test
Applicant’s or partner’s	Outside Australia	The overseas-residence restriction does not specify a status exception	Prevents grant
Applicant’s or partner’s	In Australia	Temporary visa holder who is not an eligible New Zealand citizen	Prevents grant
Applicant’s or partner’s	In Australia	Unlawful	Prevents grant
Applicant’s or partner’s	In Australia	Eligible New Zealand citizen	Excepted from the temporary-visa restriction; does not establish overall eligibility

Sponsorship alone does not satisfy this test. The restriction applies even where the disqualifying near relative belongs to the applicant’s partner rather than the applicant.

An eligible sponsor can be:

A parent or step-parent.
A sibling or step-sibling.
An eligible partner of that relative.

The sponsor or their partner must be settled in Australia, aged 18 years or older, and an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The sponsor and their partner must never have held, or sponsored someone granted, a Remaining Relative visa subclass 115 or 835, Preferential Family visa subclass 104, or Family visa subclass 806.

115 or 835: offshore or onshore

The 115 or 835 distinction determines where the applicant must be at both application and decision.

Visa subclass	Required location when applying	Required location when Home Affairs decides
Remaining Relative subclass 115	Outside Australia	Outside Australia
Remaining Relative subclass 835	In Australia	In Australia

Subclass 115 is a permanent visa that permits an indefinite stay in Australia. Choosing the application location does not remove the near-relative or sponsorship requirements.

Assurance of Support

An Assurance of Support is a legal commitment to repay the Australian Government welfare payments made to the visa holder or accompanying family members. Applicants must be able to obtain this assurance; it is a financial commitment separate from sponsorship.

For Remaining Relative visas, the assurance lasts 2 years, starting on arrival in Australia or visa grant, whichever happens later. An individual assurer must be at least 18, be an Australian resident and provide proof of income for the current and previous financial year.

Home Affairs issues a Request for Assurance of Support letter after the visa application. An assurance cannot be cancelled once Home Affairs grants the visa.

There is no fee to apply to sponsor a Remaining Relative visa applicant. That is separate from visa application charges and any assurance-related financial commitment.

Visa subclass	Sponsorship obligation period	When the period starts
Subclass 115	2 years	First entry to Australia on the visa
Subclass 835	2 years	Visa grant

As at 19 October 2026, Home Affairs visa pricing lists the following charges for both subclasses:

Charge category	Amount
Base application charge	AUD6,600
Additional applicant aged 18 or older	AUD3,300
Additional applicant under 18	AUD1,655
Second instalment for each person included	AUD2,065

Queue: released up to 30 June 2013

The queue release position was up to 30 June 2013, as at 31 August 2026, on the Home Affairs page updated 6 October 2026.

Queue information	Published position
Remaining Relative applications released for final processing	Queue dates up to 30 June 2013
Estimate for a new application	26 years
Application assessment order	Lodgement-date order

The remaining relative visa processing time estimate is not an individual completion date. The release position identifies a queue-date cohort, not an individual application’s progress.

Brother or sister without a remaining relative case

A brother or sister relationship does not overcome a failed near-relative test. The sibling sponsorship page provides the relationship-based route context; failing this test does not establish eligibility elsewhere.

Keep the separate topics distinct: sponsor family to Australia covers sponsorship, Assurance of Support (AoS) addresses the financial commitment, and the dependent child definition for visas concerns a different family definition.

The Aged Dependent Relative visas, subclass 114 and 838, are separate visa categories, not an automatic alternative to a Remaining Relative application.

Before you lodge

Explore family visas by relationship for wider relationship-based information.

An application prepared by an Australian migration lawyer is more likely to succeed because the lawyer can check both partners’ near-relative circumstances, sponsor history and application-location requirements before lodgement. Request a pre-lodgement check; enquiries from this site go to Australian Migration Lawyers.

Questions about a family visa application go to an Australian migration lawyer.

Ask an Australian migration lawyer