There are a number of differing visas available to child applicants depending on their circumstances. Child visas are available to dependent children as well adopted and/or orphaned children of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.
Children are usually granted visas on the basis of being a migrating member of the family at time of their parents being granted visas. In some circumstances, however, children may need to apply for visas independently as in the case of adoption. The correct visa for a child applicant will be dependent on the specific circumstances of the child, which include, but are not limited to, the child’s age, dependency status and whether the child is located inside or outside of Australia.
The Subclass 101 and 802 Child visas allow a child to migrate to Australian to live with their parent or parents who are Australian Citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.
Visa requirements include, but are not limited to, the child being:
Critically, in cases of adoption, the child must have been adopted before the relevant parent became an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Furthermore, the adoption must have been an adoption within the meaning contained within the Migration Act 1994 (Cth).
Children applying outside of Australia, who were adopted after the parent became an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen are unable to apply for a Subclass 101 Child visa and should, alternatively, consider applying for a Subclass 102 Adoption visa.
The Subclasses 117 and 837 Orphan Relative visas enable a child to be granted permanent residency to Australia to enable the child to live with a relative where the child’s parents are deceased, are unable to care for them or are unable to be found. Orphan Relative visa applications can be made outside Australia through the Subclass 117 visa or within Australia via the Subclass 837 visa.
Visa requirements include, but are not limited to, the child being:
The Subclass 102 Adoption visa allows children adopted outside Australia to obtain permanent residency to live in Australia with their adoptive parent.
Visa requirements include, but are not limited to, the child being:
Subclass 102 Adoption visas can only be applied while the applicant is outside of Australia.
The Subclass 445 Dependent Child visa allows a child to stay in Australia temporarily while the Department processes their parent's permanent Partner visa application.
The utility of this visa is to include a child on a permanent Partner visa application where the child was not initially included in the combined visa application before grant of the temporary visa. Where the Subclass 445 visa is granted, the child should immediately apply for the permanent Partner visa of the same class as the parent. The temporary visa allows the child to enter and/or remain in Australia until a decision is made on the parent’s application for a permanent Partner visa.
Visa requirements include, but are not limited to, the child being:
