Child visas

The family stream of Australia’s Migration Programme enables the reunion of immediate family members, including dependent children, adopted children, stepchildren, and orphan relatives.

While children can often be included in the application of their migrating parents, they sometimes migrate separately. In this case they may apply for one of the child category visas.

This fact sheet covers in general terms, the requirements for child category visas including the permanent Child (subclass 802 and 101), Adoption (subclass 102), Orphan Relative (subclass 837 and 117) visas and the temporary Dependent Child (subclass 445) visas.

Child visa

A Child (subclass 802 and 101) visa is a permanent visa for a child, adopted child* or stepchild** of an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The child must be sponsored by their parent or that parent’s cohabitating spouse or de facto partner.

An applicant must be under 25 years of age. An applicant who has turned 18 years of age must be a full-time student and financially dependent on their parent, both at the time they lodge their application and when it is decided. These requirements do not apply to a child who can provide medical evidence of having a physical or mental disability that stops them from working, which is why they are still financially dependent on their parent.

The child must not be married, engaged to be married or have a de facto partner. If aged 18 years or over, the child must never have had a spouse or de facto partner.

* A child applying outside Australia who was adopted after their parent became an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen, should apply for an Adoption (subclass 102) visa.

** A stepchild can only be granted a Child (subclass 802 or 101) visa if they are under 18 years of age, and their parent is no longer the partner of the step parent, and that step parent has legal responsibility for the child.

Orphan Relative visa

An Orphan Relative (subclass 837 or 117) visa is a permanent visa for a child who has no parents to care for them because both of their parents are either deceased, permanently incapacitated or of unknown whereabouts.

The child must have an Australian relative who is their brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. The child must be sponsored by either their Australian relative or that relative’s current cohabiting spouse or de facto partner. The Australian relative, or their spouse or de facto partner, must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen who is aged 18 years and over and must be settled in Australia.

The child must be under 18 years of age at the time they apply for the visa, and must not have a spouse or de facto partner.

Adoption visa

In Australia, the processing of intercountry adoptions is the responsibility of state and territory central authorities such as departments of family services. These authorities manage arrangements for adopting children from outside Australia including assessing and approving prospective adoptive parents. The Australian Government, through the Attorney-General’s Department, has the responsibility for managing existing programmes and negotiating new intercountry adoption programmes with other countries.

We cannot arrange an intercountry adoption. Our role is to provide advice on the visa requirements that must be met for an adopted child to be granted a visa to enter Australia.

The Adoption (subclass 102) visa is a permanent visa for a child who is outside Australia and who has been adopted or is in the process of being adopted by an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

A child can be adopted or be in the process of being adopted though an intercountry adoption programme which involves an Australian state or territory central authority and the relevant adoption authority overseas.

Exception: Where an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen, who is resident outside Australia, adopts a child overseas without the involvement of an Australian state or territory central authority, at least one adoptive parent must have been residing outside Australia for more than 12 months before the child’s visa application is lodged. The adoption must be finalised in accordance with the laws of the child’s home country and the adoptive parent’s residence outside Australia must not have been contrived solely for the purpose of adopting the child.

For the Adoption (subclass 102) visa, the child must be under 18 years of age, both at the time of adoption and when the visa application is lodged. The child must be sponsored by their adoptive parent or their prospective adoptive parent.

Note: From 14 December 2015, we are unable to accept Adoption (subclass 102) visa applications for children who have been adopted in certain countries that are specified in a legislative instrument.  If you intend to adopt, or have adopted, a child from a country specified in this legislative instrument, you will be unable to lodge a valid application for an Adoption (subclass 102) visa for the child.

If the child was adopted before the sponsor became an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen, the child should instead apply for a Child (subclass 802 or 101) visa.

Dependent Child visa

A Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa is a temporary visa for a dependent child, whose parent holds a temporary Partner (subclass 820 or 309) visa or a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa. A child can apply for a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa so that they can be added to their parent’s permanent Partner (subclass 801 or 100) visa application.

To be granted a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa, the child must not be engaged to be married or have a spouse or de facto partner. If the child is over 18 years of age they must also be financially dependent on their parent who holds a temporary Partner (subclass 820 or 309) visa or a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa.

A Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa ia a temporary visa that allows a child to travel to or remain in Australia for the same period as their parent’s temporary Partner (subclass 820 or 309) visa.

After a child is granted a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa, they must immediately apply for the same permanent partner visa as their parent.

The child must apply for the same permanent partner visa as their parent before their parent’s permanent Partner (subclass 801 or 100) visa application is finalised. If this is not done, the child’s Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa will cease when their parent’s permanent visa application is finalised and the child may not have any other visa options open to them.

Parental responsibility (custody) requirement

Where an applicant for a child category visa is under 18 years of age, requirements relating to parental responsibility (that is, custody) must be met. This means that if there is any other person, apart from the parent (for the Child and Dependent Child visas) or the Australian relative (for the Orphan Relative visa), who can legally determine where the child should live, permission for the child to migrate must be obtained from that person. Alternatively a court order must be provided that allows the child to migrate.

Health and character requirements

Like all migrants, child applicants must be assessed against Australia’s health and character requirements.

Ready Migration is an international migration company; our Australian offices are Gold Coast based.

No matter what your circumstances we can assess your eligibility for migration to Australia whether it be for a temporary or permanent stay and also assist with any family visas so your loved ones can join you in migrating to Australia. If you would like expert and affordable advice tailored to your individual circumstances, simply complete a No obligation Free Visa Assessment and one of our experienced, registered migration agents will be in touch with you to advise you of your options, alternatively come to our Gold Coast based office for a confidential chat.