Child Visas

With this visa a child can migrate to Australia as a permanent resident, work and study and enrol Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of the visa grant.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) visa

• if the child becomes an Australian citizen, they don’t require a visa to enter Australia

If the child has siblings who also want to apply, applications should be submitted separately for each sibling.

The child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• Age:
• be younger than 18 years
• be a full-time student financially dependent on the parent aged over 18 and under 25 (can’t work full time)
• be over 18 and unable to work due to a disability (must have totally or partially lost their bodily or mental functions)
• Must be single (can’t be or ever have been married or engaged or in a de facto relationship)
• Must be dependent on a parent (sponsor)
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back
• Must have a written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live, or the laws of the child’s home country allow them to leave their home country

Additional Requirements for applicants – Adopted children:

• The adoption must have been finalised before the child turned 18.

Additional Requirements for applicants – Stepchildren:

• Be the child of their step-parent’s former partner
• Be aged under 18

Sponsorship:

The child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or their parent’s spouse or de facto partner.

You can sponsor a child for this visa if the child is under 18 years old and you are no longer the partner of the child’s parent but you have legal responsibility for the child.

Sponsorship must be approved.

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• 18 years old or older
• Must be the child’s parent, or their parent’s current spouse or de facto partner
• Must provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child’s reasonable living needs for their first 2 years in Australia

Additional Requirements for Adoptive parents:

• Must adopt their child before becoming an Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen, or the holder of an Australian permanent visa.
• A child who was adopted by a person who WAS already an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption is not eligible for this type of visa. They might be eligible for an Adoption visa (subclass 102).

Additional Requirements for Step-parents:

• Must have either:
• an Australian parenting order in force that says the child is to live with them and be looked after by them

OR

• guardianship or custody of the child under an Australian law or the law of another country

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 2,665 for the main applicant.

With this visa a child can migrate to Australia as a permanent resident, work and study and enrol Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of the visa grant.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) visa

• if the child becomes an Australian citizen, they don’t require a visa to enter Australia

If the child has siblings who also want to apply, applications should be submitted separately for each sibling.

The child must be in Australia when the application is submitted and when the visa is decided.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• be younger than 18 years
• be a full-time student financially dependent on the parent aged over 18 and under 25 (can’t work full time)
• be over 18 and unable to work due to a disability (must have totally or partially lost their bodily or mental functions)
• Must be single (can’t be or ever have been married or engaged or in a de facto relationship)
• Must be dependent on a parent (sponsor)
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back
• Must have a written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live, or the laws of the child’s home country allow them to leave their home country
• Must have a valid visa without no further stay condition

Additional Requirements for applicants – Adopted children:

• The adoption must have been finalised before the child turned 18.

Additional Requirements for applicants – Stepchildren:

• Be the child of their step-parent’s former partner
• Be aged under 18

Sponsorship:

The child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or their parent’s spouse or de facto partner.

You can sponsor a child for this visa if the child is under 18 years old and you are no longer the partner of the child’s parent but you have legal responsibility for the child.

Sponsorship must be approved.

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• 18 years old or older
• Must be the child’s parent, or their parent’s current spouse or de facto partner
• Must provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child’s living needs and those of any dependent child granted the visa with them, for their first 2 years in Australia

Additional Requirements for adoptive parents:

The adoption can have happened either before or after the parent became an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen.

If the child was adopted after their parent became an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen, they must have been adopted:

• through an intercountry adoption with the involvement of an Australian state or territory central authority

OR

• through an intercountry adoption by arrangement between two countries (other than Australia) that are parties to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (the Hague Adoption Convention)

OR

• if no Australian state or territory central authority was involved, through an expatriate adoption by an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent visa who has been living outside Australia for more than 12 months before the adoption was finalised

Additional Requirements for Step-parents:

• Must have either:
• an Australian parenting order in force that says the child is to live with them and be looked after by them

OR

• guardianship or custody of the child under an Australian law or the law of another country

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 2,665 for the main applicant.

With this visa a child can stay in Australia indefinitely with their adoptive parent as a permanent resident, work and study and enrol Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of the visa grant.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) visa

• if the child becomes an Australian citizen, they don’t require a visa to enter Australia

If the child has siblings who also want to apply, applications should be submitted separately for each sibling.

The child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• The child must be under 18 at the time of adoption, when the application is submitted and when the visa is decided
• Have been or be in the process of being adopted
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back
• Children who have been adopted in Pakistan are not eligible for this type of visa

Sponsorship:

The child must be sponsored by an eligible adoptive parent or prospective adoptive parent. Sponsorship must be approved.

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• 18 years old or older
• Must be the child’s adoptive parent or their prospective adoptive parent
• Must provide adequate accommodation and financial support to meet the child’s needs for their first 2 years in Australia

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 2,665 for the main applicant.

This visa lets a child who is single come to Australia to live with a relative if their parents are dead, are unable to care for them or can’t be found. With this visa you can work and study and enrol Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of the visa grant.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) visa

• if the child becomes an Australian citizen, they don’t require a visa to enter Australia

The child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted and the visa is finalised.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• Be sponsored
• The child must be under 18 years when apply for the visa
• The child should have no parent who can care for them. This might be because both their parents either:
  • • are deceased, or

• • • are permanently incapable of caring for the child, or

• • • can’t be found
• Must have a written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live, or the laws of the child’s home country allow them to leave their home country
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Settled and usually resident in Australia (have lived lawfully in Australia for a reasonable period, usually at least 2 years)
• 18 years old or older
• Must provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child’s reasonable living needs for their first 2 years in Australia
• Must be the child’s:
• sibling or step-sibling
• grandparent or step-grandparent
• aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
• the current spouse or de fact partner of the child’s relative

Sponsorship must be approved.

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 1,630 for the main applicant.

This visa lets a child who is single come to Australia to live with a relative if their parents are dead, are unable to care for them or can’t be found. With this visa you can work and study and enrol Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of the visa grant.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) visa

• if the child becomes an Australian citizen, they don’t require a visa to enter Australia

The child must be in Australia when the application is submitted and the visa is finalised.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• Be sponsored
• The child must be under 18 years when apply for the visa
• The child should have no parent who can care for them. This might be because both their parents either:
  • are deceased, or

• • are permanently incapable of caring for the child, or

• • can’t be found
• Must have a written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live, or the laws of the child’s home country allow them to leave their home country
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back
• Must have a valid visa without no further stay condition (holders of 771 Transit visa are not eligible)

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Settled and usually resident in Australia (have lived lawfully in Australia for a reasonable period, usually at least 2 years)
• 18 years old or older
• Must provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child’s reasonable living needs for their first 2 years in Australia
• Must be the child’s:
• sibling or step-sibling
• grandparent or step-grandparent
• aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle
• the current spouse or de fact partner of the child’s relative

Sponsorship must be approved.

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 1,630 for the main applicant.

This visa allows a child to stay in Australia temporarily while their parent’s permanent Partner visa application is in process.

This visa lets the child move to or stay in Australia until their parent’s permanent partner visa application is decided, travel to and from Australia, work and study in Australia.

Once the child has been granted this visa, they must apply to be added to their parent’s permanent Partner visa application. When an application to add the child to their parent’s permanent Partner visa application has been submitted, the child can enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare.

Each of the child’s siblings must apply for this visa separately.

The child can be in or outside Australia when the visa application is submitted.

Primary Requirements for applicants:

• Must be dependent on a parent who holds a:
  • Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309)
  • Partner visa (subclass 820)
  • Dependent Child visa (subclass 445)
• Be sponsored
• Must be under 18 years or over 18 years and financially dependent on the parent who has the temporary Partner or Dependent Child visa
• Meet health requirements
• Meet character requirements (a police certificate from every country where the child spent a total of 12 months or more since they turned 16)
• Must have a written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live, or the laws of the child’s home country allow them to leave their home country
• Must not have any debt to the Australian government (a child or any family members) or have an approved formal arrangement to pay it back
• Must have a valid visa without no further stay condition

Primary Requirements for sponsors:

• Australian citizen
• Australian permanent resident
• Eligible New Zealand citizen
• 18 years old or older
• Must sponsor child’s parent’s Partner visa application.
• Must not sponsor any other applicants for partner visas in the last 5 years

Sponsorship must be approved.

The Department of Home Affairs fee:

AUD 2,665 for the main applicant.