Subclass 116 Carer Visa (Offshore) | Permanent Residence to Travel to Australia and Provide Continuing Care
The Carer visa (Subclass 116) is for people who are outside Australia and who are willing and able to provide long-term, continuing daily care to a relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen with a long-term medical condition or disability. A grant confers permanent residence.
The central threshold for this visa is that the care recipient’s medical condition must meet the assessment standard set by Bupa Medical Visa Services, and that the care required can be reasonably obtained neither from welfare or community services in Australia nor from another relative or friend already in Australia.
One key point to understand first: like other visas in the Other Family category, the Carer visa is subject to an annual cap and a queueing system, so it calls for long-term planning. Section 4 below explains what the queueing period means for your strategic choices (official figures published by the Department of Home Affairs prevail).
Carer Visa Eligibility Assessment | MARA-registered agent →What You Gain After a Grant
Once granted, the Subclass 116 Carer visa is a permanent resident visa carrying the standard PR rights:
permanent residence
You obtain Australian permanent residence in one step, with the right to live in Australia indefinitely and travel freely in and out. The visa initially carries a 5-year travel facility, renewed through a Resident Return Visa (RRV) once it expires.
Work and Study
No restrictions on employer or course, with the same rights to work and study as local residents. As a permanent resident, you are protected by Australian workplace law.
Medicare and Social Support
You can enrol in Medicare public health cover; offshore (Subclass 116) applicants only after the visa is granted may enrol in Medicare; once residence requirements are met, you have access to corresponding social support.
Pathway to Citizenship
Once you meet the residence requirements (typically around 4 years of lawful residence in total, including 12 months as a PR), you can apply for Australian citizenship.
The final entitlements are identical to those of any other PR visa; the differences lie in the eligibility logic (the care relationship and medical assessment), the sponsorship and Assurance of Support arrangements, and—most importantly—the queueing period.
Five Conditions That Must All Be Met
The Carer visa has very specific requirements about the care relationship and the care recipient’s medical condition. The following five conditions must all hold at once:
1. Offshore application and grant (Subclass 116)
The applicant must be outside Australia both when the application is lodged and when it is decided; no bridging visa is issued, and you wait offshore until the visa is granted.
2. Care recipient’s eligibility
The person receiving care must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, and must have a long-term medical condition causing a physical, intellectual or sensory impairment (one that affects daily life and is expected to last at least 2 years).
3. Bupa medical assessment standard met
The care recipient’s medical condition must be assessed by Bupa Medical Visa Services against the Department’s Impairment Tables, producing an impairment rating that meets the standard (assessing the ability to manage daily living and the help required).This is the decisive precondition—if the rating does not meet the standard, the visa cannot be granted.
4. The care cannot be provided by others
You must show that the care required can neither be reasonably obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in Australia, nor be reasonably provided by another relative or friend of the care recipient who is already in Australia.
5. Sponsorship and Assurance of Support
The sponsor (the care recipient or their spouse/relative) must provide accommodation and, where required, sign a 10-year Assurance of Support (AoS) (a refundable bond paid to Services Australia, roughly AUD 10,000 for the first adult and AUD 4,000 for each additional adult, subject to the Department of Home Affairs); all applicants must meet the health and character requirements.
The Queue: Plan Over a Multi-Year Horizon
Before you decide to lodge a Carer visa, this is something you must be clear about:
Capping and queueing — in the Department of Home Affairs’ own terms
This visa is subject to annual capping and queueing. For each Migration Program Year, the Department of Home Affairs sets a maximum number of grants; once that ceiling is reached, no more are granted that year and all remaining applications enter a “queue”, waiting for places to be released in later years.
Estimated wait for new applications — about 8 years
The Carer visa sits in the capped Other Family category, so new applications must queue. The current estimated wait is around 8 years (some applications enter the queue within roughly 18 months, while the overall release cycle can run for several years). This estimate is adjusted each Migration Program Year and is subject to the Department of Home Affairs.
Compared with other Other Family visas
The Carer visa is usually faster than the 20+ year queues for Remaining Relative (Subclass 835/115) and Aged Dependent Relative (Subclass 838/114) visas, because the genuine, continuing care need in the application is taken into account. We do not promise a specific grant date; this is subject to the Department of Home Affairs.
What this means in practice: the Carer visa suits long-term planning. Offshore (Subclass 116) applicants wait offshore during the queue, with no bridging visa; we assess faster family or skilled pathways in parallel to create a dual track. Whether to lodge depends on how well it fits your overall strategy.
Faster or Parallel Pathways
In most cases the Carer visa is not the only pathway. We typically assess the following options side by side:
Subclass 836 | Onshore Carer
If the applicant is already in Australia, the Subclass 836 (onshore Carer visa) applies; you can remain lawfully on a Bridging Visa A during the queue and enrol in Medicare earlier.
Remaining Relative (Subclass 835) / Aged Dependent Relative (Subclass 838)
Other permanent-residence pathways in the Other Family category, likewise subject to capping and queueing, each with its own evidentiary logic. See our Other Migration Pathways to Australia overview page for details.
Partner visas (Subclass 820/801, 309/100)
If you have an Australian citizen or PR partner, a partner visa is significantly faster (typically 1–3 years to PR). Where a genuine, provable partner relationship exists, it should be assessed first.
Parent visas (Subclass 143 contributory / 103 non-contributory)
For reuniting with parents. Also subject to capping, the Subclass 143 contributory parent visa is usually faster than the non-contributory Subclass 103. Exact timeframes are subject to the Department of Home Affairs.
Skilled migration (Subclass 189 / 190 / 491 → 191, 482 → 186)
If you have an assessable occupation and the required English, independent or employer-sponsored skilled migration is usually significantly faster and does not rely on a family relationship.
Bridging / Combined strategies
A consultant designs a lawful-stay and bridging strategy in Australia—for example, pairing a faster substantive visa with the Carer visa as a dual track to maintain lawful status during the queue.
The Lodgement Process (5 Steps)
The Carer visa hinges on the medical assessment and care evidence—what takes time is the queue after lodgement. The steps are:
Step 1 | Eligibility and Bupa assessment strategy
A MARA-registered agent assesses the care relationship and the care recipient’s condition, plans the Bupa MVS medical assessment strategy, confirms the sponsor, and assesses whether lodging makes strategic sense (locking in a queue date, running a substantive visa in parallel, long-term family planning).
Step 2 | Sponsorship and Assurance of Support
Confirm the sponsor, accommodation and the 10-year Assurance of Support (AoS) arrangement; the assurer provides proof of income and pays a refundable bond to Services Australia.
Step 3 | Assembling the evidence
Assemble medical evidence, the Bupa impairment assessment, a statement of care needs, proof of the family relationship, and comprehensive evidence that the care cannot be provided otherwise (neither by welfare or community services nor by other relatives or friends in Australia).
Step 4 | Lodgement (Subclass 116: offshore)
The applicant lodges through ImmiAccount while outside Australia; the offshore category issues no bridging visa, so you wait offshore for a decision after lodging.
Step 5 | Maintaining documents during the queue
During the queue, keep your materials current (health, character, changes of sponsor/address, condition updates) and respond promptly to any request for further information (RFI), so the application can move quickly to final assessment when your queue date is released.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Carer Visa (Subclass 836/116)
1. What is the difference between Subclass 836 and Subclass 116?
The core eligibility is the same for both; the difference is the place of application. Subclass 836 is the onshore category: the applicant must be in Australia both when lodging and when the visa is decided, usually waiting on a Bridging Visa A (BVA) before the decision, and can apply for Medicare once the application is lodged. Subclass 116 is the offshore category: the applicant must be outside Australia both when lodging and when the visa is decided, no bridging visa is issued, and you can only enrol in Medicare after the visa is granted.
2. Do I have to be a relative of the person receiving care?
The carer must be a relative of the care recipient, or have a provable, genuine caring relationship with them, be at least 18 years old, and be willing and able to provide substantial and continuing daily care. The family relationship and the genuineness of the care are central to assessment.
3. What happens if the Bupa medical assessment is not met?
The care recipient’s medical condition must be assessed by Bupa Medical Visa Services, producing an impairment rating that meets the standard in the Impairment Tables.This is the decisive precondition—if the rating does not meet the standard, the visa cannot be granted. That is why we plan the assessment strategy before lodging.
4. How long is the queue?
The Carer visa sits in the capped Other Family category, so it must queue. The current estimated wait for new applications is around 8 years, though usually faster than the 20+ year queues for Remaining Relative (Subclass 835/115) and Aged Dependent Relative (Subclass 838/114) visas. We do not promise a specific grant date; everything is subject to the Department of Home Affairs.
5. Can I work and use Medicare while waiting?
Subclass 836 (onshore) applicants are usually granted a BVA automatically after lodging, can apply for work rights on the grounds of financial hardship, and can enrol in Medicare; Subclass 116 (offshore) applicants wait offshore with no bridging visa and can only enrol in Medicare after the visa is granted. Full permanent-resident rights take effect from the day the visa is formally granted.
6. Can my spouse and children apply with me?
Yes. A spouse (married or de facto) and dependent children under 18 can be included as secondary applicants and are assessed for health and character against the same standards as the main applicant.
7. How much does the visa cost?
Visa application charges are adjusted by the Department of Home Affairs each year; please use the Visa Pricing Estimator at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au for current charges for the main and secondary applicants. You should also budget for the Bupa assessment fee, health examinations, police clearances from each country, translation and notarisation, and the AoS bond. Everything is subject to the Department of Home Affairs.
8. Will Newstarsec keep acting for me throughout the long wait?
Yes. Our service covers eligibility and assessment strategy, lodgement, long-term document maintenance (health, character, address, changes of sponsor) and responses to requests for further information (RFI), across the full life of the application. Even when your place is released after years in the queue, we remain your appointed migration agent.
Decide With the Full Picture | Speak With a Newstarsec Consultant
The Carer visa (Subclass 836/116) is for genuine, continuing care relationships, and its long-term value is real—but only when it fits your overall strategy. Book a 30-minute strategy session and we will weigh the prospects of the Bupa assessment together with the queueing period to help you judge whether the Carer visa should be part of your family’s long-term plan—and, if not, what a better option would be.
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