Family Visa

Parent Visa

The Parent visa is for parents who wish to migrate to Australia to be with their children. The application must be sponsored by one of their children who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and is settled in Australia.

Parent visas are initially based on a 'balance of family' (BOF) test. This means that 50% or more of the applicant's children must be 'settled' in Australia as permanent residents, Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen. It disqualifies a lot of people from the parent visa category. Applicants are also required to satisfy health and character requirements and provide Assurance of Support (AoS).

There are two main streams of visas available to parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents:

• Standard Parent Visa (very slow processing/ non-contribution); and
• Contributory Parent Visa (fast processing/ higher visa charges).

PARENT VISA (without contribution)

Under the standard parent visa, limited number of visas are granted every financial year. Once all the requirements for the grant of parent visa are fulfilled, eligible parents make an application and then wait for approximately 30 years in the queue to be assessed.

While waiting for an offshore Parent visa to be processed, the parents can apply for a Tourist visa to visit their children in Australia.

Contributory Parent Visa (fast And Costly)

The Contributory Parent visa involves making a deposit to the Australian government. This amount is AUD$43,600 per migrating parent. This visa is processed in approximately 18- 24 months and the parent/s will become a permanent resident when the payment is made.

The Contributory Parent visa category also has two different pathways:

Two stage Application:
Apply first for a temporary visa, and then convert this to permanent residency within two years. The visa application charge can be paid in two stages; and

Single Stage:
Apply directly for permanent residency and the visa application charge should be paid once. Once the visa is granted, applicants would have access to Medicare and full work and travel rights.

Child Visa (Subclass 101)

This is a Permanent Resident visa that allows an eligible parent to sponsor their child to live in Australia indefinitely. The parent can apply on behalf of a child younger than 18 years of age. The spouse or de facto partner of the child's parent can also sponsor the child.

An eligible parent is:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
• an eligible New Zealand citizenship

It is important that the child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.

To be eligible for this visa, the child must be:

• single
• sponsored by their parent or their parent's partner
• younger than 18 years of age, or: a full-time student between 18 and 25 years of age, or 0 18 or older and unable to work due to a disability and dependent on the sponsoring parent.

Essential conditions to apply for this visa are that the child must be:

• the biological child or adopted child of the sponsoring parent
• a step child who has not turned 18 of a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child's parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child.
  
  The child can include their own dependent children and other dependent relatives in this application who must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements.

There are special conditions for:

• Children younger than 18 years of age
• Children between 18 and 25 years of age
• Children with a disability aged 18 years older

When the Child Visa is granted, it allows a child to:

• travel to and stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• apply for Australian citizenship (if they are eligible)
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time they will need another visa to enter Australia.

This visa comes with some parental responsibilities too. This visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:

• you have the written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives
• the laws of the child's home country permit the removal of the child
• it is consistent with any Australian child order.

Other important factors to be considered:

• Best interests of the child
• Assurance of support
• Health requirements
• Character requirements
• No outstanding debts to the Australian Government
• Provide biometrics

This visa places obligation on both child and the sponsor.

Child's obligations: The child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions. This includes:

• entering Australia by a set date
• not getting married or entering into a de facto relationship before arriving in Australia.

Sponsor's obligations: As a sponsor you must:

• be responsible for the cost to the Australian Government of the child living in Australia
• provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child's reasonable living needs for their first two years in Australia
• help the child settle in Australia
• support the child to attend any required English language class.

Child Visa (Subclass 802)

This is a Permanent Resident visa that allows an eligible parent to sponsor their child to live in Australia indefinitely. The parent can apply on behalf of a child younger than 18 years of age. The spouse or de facto partner of the child's parent can also sponsor the child.

An eligible parent is:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.
• Have been nominated by an approved business.

It is important that the child must be in Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.

To be eligible for this visa, the child must be:

• single
• sponsored by their parent or their parent's partner
• one of the following:
• younger than 18 years of age (and not adopted)
• younger than 18 years of age (and not adopted)
• adopted (and under 18 when adopted)
• full-time student between 18 and 25 years of age, or
• 18 or older and unable to work due to a disability and dependent on the sponsoring parent.

Essential conditions to apply for this visa are that the child must be:

• the biological child or adopted child of a parent (there are special requirements for adopted children); or
• a stepchild who has not turned 18 of a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child's parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child. The child can include their own dependent children and other dependent relatives in this application who must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements

There are special conditions for:

• Children younger than 18 years of age
• Children between 18 and 25 years of age
• Children with a disability aged 18 years older
• Adopted children

When the Child Visa is granted, it allows a child to:

There are special conditions for:

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• apply for Australian citizenship (if they are eligible)
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time they will need another visa to enter Australia.

This visa comes with some parental responsibilities too. This visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:

• you have the written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives
• the laws of the child's home country permit the removal of the child
• it is consistent with any Australian child order.

Other important factors to be considered:

• Best interests of the child
• Assurance of support
• Health requirements
• Character requirements
• No outstanding debts to the Australian Government
• Provide biometrics

This visa places obligation on both child and the sponsor.

Child's obligations: The child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions.

This includes:

• entering Australia by a set date
• not getting married or entering into a de facto relationship before arriving in Australia.

Sponsor's obligations: As a sponsor you must:

Child's obligations: The child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions.

This includes:

• be responsible for the cost to the Australian Government of the child living in Australia
• provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child's reasonable living needs for their first two years in Australia
• help the child settle in Australia
• support the child to attend any required English language class.

Adoption Visa (Subclass 102)

This is a Permanent Residence Visa that allows a child come to Australia to live with their adoptive parent. The child can already be adopted or be in the process of being adopted. The adoptive parent sponsors the child for this visa and usually applies on their behalf. The child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.

To be a sponsoring parent, you must be:

• the child's adoptive or prospective adoptive parent
• older than 18 years of age
• an Australian citizen
• the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.

It is important for the adoptive parents to seek advice from the closest state and territory adoption authority before starting any adoption process to adopt a child from outside Australia.

For a child to be eligible for an Adoption visa, one of the following must apply:

• They have been adopted (or are to be adopted) with the involvement of an Australian state or territory adoption authority.
• They have been adopted privately by an expatriate Australian resident who has been living outside Australia for more than 12 months before the visa application is lodged.
• They have been adopted through an 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).

To be able to get the visa, the child must:

• be younger than 18 years of age
• be living outside Australia
• be either already adopted or in the process of being adopted by their sponsor
• meet health and character requirements
• does not have any outstanding debts to the Australian Government
• if the child is under 18 years of age at the time of application, but will turn 18 before the application is decided, they will not be eligible for this visa And might be asked to provide biometrics.

When a child is granted the visa, it allows the child to:

• travel to and stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• apply for Australian citizenship (if they are eligible)
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time they will need another visa to enter Australia.

It is also important that the child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions.

This includes:

• entering Australia by a set date
• not getting married or entering into a de facto relationship before arriving in Australia

Assurance of Support

We might ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.

Do not provide an assurance of support unless we ask for one and tell you what you need to do. You do not need to be in Australia to sponsor the child for this visa. You can sponsor the child for this visa if you have:

• entered Australia in the past but you are outside Australia when they apply
• been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but you have not yet entered Australia.

Assurance of Support

Australian Government takes measures to ensure the best interests of the child. This visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age. A sponsoring parent must meet character requirements and may be asked to provide for the Assurance of support.

As the sponsoring parent you must agree to:

• be responsible for the cost to the Australian Government of the child living in Australia
• provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child's reasonable living needs for their first two years in Australia
• help the child settle in Australia
• support the child to attend any required English language classes