Want Your Parents to Join You in Australia? What Vietnamese Families Should Know About the Long Wait

Visa guide · 2026-08-31 · 3 min read

Family is important. Many Vietnamese workers in Australia hope their parents can live near them one day. The parent visa can make this possible. But the wait is very long. Please read the facts first.

How long is the wait?

For the non-contributory Aged Parent visa, the queue is about 33 years. There is also a faster path, called the contributory visa. It takes around 15 years. It costs close to $50,000 for each applicant. Even the faster path is a very long time.

Why is the line so long?

The government gives only a small number of places every year. This number has become smaller. It was 8,500 places. For this financial year it is 7,060. At the same time, more than 157,000 people are waiting.

Sadly, data from Senate estimates for the 21 months to 31 March this year shows that more than 1,500 applicants died while they waited. A government-commissioned review in 2023 said that offering a visa that may never arrive in a lifetime is cruel and unnecessary.

The onshore path

Some parents come to Australia on a visitor visa. Then they apply for a parent visa while they are already here. While they wait, they can stay on a bridging visa. A bridging visa lets a person remain in Australia while an application is decided. These cases are often handled before applications made from outside Australia. Many families who applied correctly from offshore feel this is unfair.

A change may be coming

One proposal would stop spouses, children and parents of Australian citizens from applying while they are in Australia as tourists. This may help offshore applicants. It may also remove one way to keep parents in Australia during the wait. Nothing is final. Please wait for official news before you decide.

If your parents already wait in the queue

Check the stream. The contributory and non-contributory visas have very different costs and wait times.
Follow every visa rule when your parents travel on visitor visas. A mistake can harm the main application.
Watch for ministerial directions on processing priority. They can change who is processed first.
Use a realistic timeline. Old estimates can be wrong.

Prepare your documents and stay safe

Many visa applications ask for certified English translations of Vietnamese documents. A police certificate may also be requested. For Vietnamese citizens this is usually the Judicial Record Certificate No. 2 (Phiếu lý lịch tư pháp số 2).

Please be careful. Deal only with licensed organisations and real employers. Never pay an unlicensed broker. Be careful with anyone who asks for money upfront to secure a job or a visa, or promises your parents a quick visa.

You can see visa types on the official Australian visa listing. A wrong choice can cost years that your parents may not have, so ask a registered professional for advice before you pay or apply.

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