Child Visa
Children of Australian citizens, Permanent residents, or New Zealand citizens eligible for sponsorship, and certain relatives who are orphans can apply for a Child Visa to enter and remain permanently in Australia.
Subclass 101 Child visa
This visa lets a child outside Australia move to Australia to live with their parents. The child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted
Visa Advantages:
Can legally study and work in Australia
Access to Medicare and other social welfare benefits in Australia
Can travel freely to and from Australia for the duration of the visa
May apply for Australian citizenship after meeting residency requirements
Can enter New Zealand without a visa
Eligibilities for visa applicant:
1. The child must be either:
under 18 years old, or
over 18 and under 25 years and studying full time, or
over 18 years with a disability
2. The child can’t be or ever have been: married or engaged to be married in a de facto relationship
3. Meet the health and character requirement
Eligibilities for sponsor:
To sponsor a child for this visa you must:
be an Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen, or hold an Australian permanent visa
be aged 18 or older
You must also be:
the child’s parent, or
their parent’s current 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.
You can sponsor a child for this visa if you are their adoptive parent and you adopted them before becoming an Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen, or the holder of an Australian permanent visa.
Subclass 802 Child visa
This visa allows a child to stay in Australia permanently and live with their parents.
The child must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, when the application is submitted and when we make a decision.
The child can’t apply for this visa if they are in Australia on another visa with a no further stay condition.
Visa Advantages:
Can legally study and work in Australia
Access to Medicare and other social welfare benefits in Australia
Can travel freely to and from Australia for the duration of the visa
May apply for Australian citizenship after meeting residency requirements
Can enter New Zealand without a visa
Eligibilities for visa applicant:
1. The child must be dependent on a parent who is an:
Australian citizen
Eligible New Zealand citizen
Australian permanent visa holder
They can be their parent’s:
biological child
adopted child
stepchild (only from a former parent)
A child does not meet the dependency requirement, if the stepparent is the current spouse or de facto partner of the child’s biological or adopted parent.
2. The child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or their parent’s spouse or de facto partner.
3.The child must be either:
under 18 years old, or
over 18 and under 25 years and studying full time, or
over 18 years with a disability
4. The child:
can’t be married or in a de facto relationship
can’t be engaged to be married
If the child is over 18, they must never have been married or had a de facto partner.
5. Meet the health and character requirement
Eligibilities for sponsor:
To sponsor a child for this visa you must:
be an Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen, or hold an Australian permanent visa
be aged 18 or older
You must also be:
the child’s parent, or
their parent’s current 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.
You can sponsor an adopted child for this visa if the child was younger than 18 when you adopted them and:
they were adopted in line with the Adoption Convention and you have an adoption compliance certificate for them, or
you became an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a New Zealand citizen after you adopted them, or
you were an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen when you adopted them with approval from an Australian state or territory authority, or
the adoption was an expatriate adoption