Subclass 835 Remaining Relative Visa: The Onshore Family Pathway
The Subclass 835 visa is a permanent onshore family visa for people who are already in Australia and whose only close relatives are settled here as Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens.
It belongs to the Family stream — not the Humanitarian programme. The sponsor must be an eligible parent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, or their partner’s equivalent, and the applicant must not have any other near relatives living overseas or on temporary visas.
Important context first: Like all Other Family visas, the Subclass 835 is subject to capping and queueing. The Department of Home Affairs currently publishes an estimated processing time of 22 years for new applications. We discuss what that means for your strategy in section 4 below.
835 Eligibility Assessment with a MARN Agent →What a Subclass 835 Grant Gives You
The Subclass 835 is a permanent residence visa. Once granted, it carries the standard PR rights:
Permanent residence
Stay in Australia indefinitely. Permanent residence starts on the day the visa is granted, which is also the start date for citizenship counting.
Work and study rights
Work and study in Australia without restrictions. As a permanent resident you are protected by Australian workplace law.
Medicare and education
Enrol in Medicare, the public healthcare scheme, and access publicly funded education on the same basis as citizens.
Citizenship pathway
Apply for Australian citizenship once you meet the residence requirement. The visa carries a 5-year travel facility, after which an RRV is required for re-entry as a PR.
These are the same end rights as parent, partner or skilled PR visas — what differs is the eligibility logic, the sponsor relationship, and most importantly the processing timeline.
Who Can Apply — Five Conditions That All Must Be Met
The Subclass 835 is one of the most strictly defined family visas in the Australian system. Five conditions must be satisfied at the same time:
1. Onshore at lodgement and decision
You must be physically in Australia when you lodge the application, and you must remain in Australia until the Department makes a decision. Crossing the border at the wrong moment can invalidate the application.
2. Eligible sponsor relationship
Your sponsor must be your parent, step-parent, sibling, step-sibling, child or step-child (or their partner’s equivalent), aged 18+, and an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.
3. “Remaining relative” rule
Neither you nor your partner may have other near relatives — parents, step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, or adult children — who are usually resident outside Australia or living in Australia only on a temporary visa. Even a single overseas sibling will normally fail this test.
4. Assurance of Support
An Assurance of Support is usually required. Your sponsor (or a third-party assurer) commits to repay any social-security payments made to you in the first 2 years after the visa is granted. The assurer must meet an income threshold and lodge a bond.
5. Health and character
You and any family members included in the application must meet Australia’s health requirements (medical exam, certain conditions can be discretionary) and character requirements (police checks for every country you have lived in for 12+ months in the last 10 years).
A Long Queue — Plan Around the 22-Year Estimate
This is the single most important fact to understand before lodging a Subclass 835:
Capping & queueing — Home Affairs verbatim
Applications for this visa are subject to capping and queueing. Each program year, the Department of Home Affairs sets a maximum number of grants. Once that ceiling is reached, no further visas are granted in that year and remaining applications stay in the queue until a place becomes available in a future program year.
Queue release date — as at 31 March 2026
As at 31 March 2026, the Department of Home Affairs has released applications with a queue date up to 30 June 2013 for final processing.
Estimated processing for new applications
For new applications, the Department of Home Affairs publishes a current estimate of 22 years (as at June 2026) for both Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visas. This estimate may change with each program year.
In practical terms, applicants lodging today should plan on the basis that any visa grant is many years away. We will only recommend this visa where lodging it makes strategic sense for your circumstances — for example, securing a queue date, or stacking a long-horizon family pathway alongside a faster skilled or partner option.
Faster Family or Skilled Routes Worth Considering
In most cases, the Subclass 835 is not the only option. We routinely review the following alternatives alongside it:
Subclass 115 — Offshore Remaining Relative
Same eligibility rules as 835 but lodged from overseas. Same cap and queue (22-year estimate). Right choice if the applicant is currently outside Australia and not eligible for an onshore lodgement.
Subclass 114 / 838 — Aged Dependent Relative
For applicants who are old enough to receive the Age Pension and have been substantially dependent on the Australian relative for 3 years. Same cap/queue, but a different evidentiary route if the dependency is provable.
Partner visas (subclass 820/801, 309/100)
If you have an Australian-citizen or PR partner, partner visas are dramatically faster (typically 1–3 years to permanent grant). Whenever a credible partner relationship exists, this should be considered first.
Parent visas (143 contributory / 103 non-contributory)
For applicants sponsoring a child in Australia — these are also capped and slow, but the contributory 143 visa typically grants within 14–18 years (vs ~30+ years for 103).
Skilled pathways (189 / 190 / 491 → 191, 482 → 186)
If you have a skilled occupation and are under 45, employer-sponsored or points-tested skilled migration is normally much faster (3–7 years total) and does not depend on family ties.
Bridging arrangements
If you are already onshore and lodging the 835 to secure a Bridging Visa A, we plan a parallel substantive visa (work, student, or partner) to give you certainty while the 835 queue advances.
The Lodgement Process — Five Steps
The Subclass 835 lodgement itself is straightforward; the slow part happens after lodgement. The five steps are:
Step 1 — Eligibility and strategy review
A MARN-registered agent reviews whether you meet the remaining-relative and onshore tests, identifies the sponsor, and confirms there is a strategic reason to lodge (queue date, parallel substantive visa, family planning).
Step 2 — Sponsor and Assurance of Support
The sponsor signs the sponsorship undertaking. If an Assurance of Support is required, the assurer (often the sponsor) provides income evidence and lodges the AoS bond with Services Australia.
Step 3 — Evidence collation
Detailed relationship documents (birth certificates, family records, statutory declarations) and proof that no other near relatives exist outside Australia or on temporary visas. The “remaining relative” rule is evidence-heavy.
Step 4 — Lodgement and Bridging Visa
Application is lodged in ImmiAccount while the applicant is onshore. A Bridging Visa A is typically granted, allowing you to remain in Australia lawfully while the application is in the queue.
Step 5 — Long-term management
Over the years that follow, we keep the file current — health and character updates, sponsor changes, address updates, RFI responses — so that when the queue date is reached, the application can be finalised quickly.
Common Questions About the Subclass 835 Visa
1. Is the Subclass 835 a humanitarian visa?
No. The Subclass 835 sits in the Family stream of the Migration Program, not the Humanitarian Programme. Humanitarian visas (subclasses 200–204 offshore and 866 onshore Protection) are assessed against refugee or complementary protection criteria; the 835 is assessed against family-relationship criteria and is not for people fleeing persecution.
2. Why is the processing time so long?
The Department of Home Affairs sets a small annual planning level for the Other Family programme. Demand exceeds the planning level every year, so visas are placed in a queue in lodgement-date order and released in batches each program year. The 22-year estimate reflects this structural cap, not any individual case complexity.
3. What happens if I leave Australia after lodging?
For the Subclass 835, the applicant must be in Australia at lodgement and at decision. Travel during the bridging period requires a Bridging Visa B (BVB) and a substantial reason. Leaving without a BVB can cause the bridging visa to cease and may invalidate the application.
4. Can I work and access Medicare while waiting?
The Bridging Visa A granted after lodgement normally allows full work and study rights, and you can usually access Medicare. Permanent residence rights (including unrestricted re-entry) start only on the day the 835 visa is granted.
5. What does “no other near relatives” really mean?
You and your spouse/partner combined must have no parents, step-parents, siblings, step-siblings, or adult children who are usually resident outside Australia or living in Australia only on a temporary visa. A single overseas sibling will normally disqualify you. Step-relatives count. Cousins, aunts and uncles do not count.
6. Can my spouse or partner be included in the application?
Yes. Your spouse or de facto partner can be included as a secondary applicant, as can dependent children. Their inclusion is assessed on the same health and character grounds as the primary applicant.
7. Is an Assurance of Support always required?
In practice, yes — the AoS is the standard requirement. The assurer must meet an income threshold (recalculated each financial year) and lodge a refundable bond with Services Australia (currently AUD 5,000 for the primary applicant + AUD 2,000 for each adult secondary applicant).
8. How much does the visa cost?
The visa application charge is set by the Department and changes annually. Use the Visa Pricing Estimator on immi.homeaffairs.gov.au for the current main-applicant and secondary-applicant fees. Additional costs typically include health checks, police certificates, professional translation, and the AoS bond.
9. When should I actually lodge?
Whenever lodging secures a strategic benefit. Common reasons: (a) you are already onshore on a temporary visa and need a long-horizon substantive option, (b) you want to lock in today’s queue date so future policy changes do not lock you out, (c) the lodgement supports a Bridging Visa pathway while a faster route (partner, skilled) is built in parallel. We do not recommend lodging without a clear strategic reason.
10. Will Newstars represent me throughout the long wait?
Yes. Our retainer covers lodgement, ongoing file maintenance (health, character, address, sponsor updates) and RFI responses for the life of the application. If the queue is released and the application is finalised many years later, we are still your appointed migration agent.
Decide With Full Information — Talk to a Newstars Consultant
The Subclass 835 is a real visa with a real long-term value, but only when it fits the bigger plan. Book a 30-minute strategy call and we will review whether the 835 is the right anchor for your family — and if not, what is.
Book a 30-Minute Strategy Call →
