Child Visa
These visas confer permanent residency to step-children and dependent children of Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens who satisfy the primary and sponsorship criteria. An applicant for a Subclass 101 visa must be offshore, whereas a Subclass 802 visa requires an applicant to be inside Australia, at the time of application.
Primary Criteria for Grant
To qualify for either of these onshore and offshore visas, the following must be met by the dependent child applicant:
[1] Age Requirements
Children must be under the age of 25 to satisfy the age requirement. Exemptions may apply to children aged 25 years old or over in limited circumstances, that is if they suffer from a severe mental or physical disability.
A child applicant who is over 18 but less than 25 years old must be dependent, which are demonstrated by the following factors:
- The applicant is not engaged in full-time work; and
- The applicant is not engaged to be married; and
- The applicant has no spouse/ de facto partner; and
- The applicant has never been married or in a de facto relationship; and
- Either:
- The applicant, since turning 18, or within 6 months or a reasonable time after completing the equivalent of year 12 in the Australian school system, has been undertaking a full-time course of study at an educational institution leading to the award of a professional, trade or vocational qualification; or
- The applicant is incapacitated physically or mental
[2] Sponsorship
The dependent child to be sponsored may be a biological child, step-child or adoptive child. The sponsor must be:
- An Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen; and
- At least 18 years of age.
The application to be approved as a sponsor may be refused if the sponsor or their partner has previously been charged or convicted of offences involving children.
Relevant Public Interest Criteria
Subclass 101: 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007, 4009, 4020, 4021, 4019 (if applicable), 4017 and 4018 (if applicable).
Subclass 802: 4001, 4002, 4003, 4004, 4007, 4020, 4019 (if applicable), 4017 and 4018 (if applicable).
Visa Conditions
With respect to a subclass 101 visa, the Department may impose the following visa conditions:
- 8502: The holder of the visa must not enter Australia before the entry to Australia of a person specified in the visa.
- 8515: The holder of the visa must not marry or enter into a de facto relationship before entering Australia.
There are no conditions associated with a subclass 802 visa.
Child Visa Application Charge
First instalment for an applicant:
(a) who appears to the Minister, on the basis of information contained in the application, to be an orphan relative; or
(b) whose application is combined, or sought to be combined, with an application made by that person:
- Base application charge: $1,870
- Additional applicant charge for an applicant who is at least 18: $935
- Additional applicant charge for an applicant who is less than 18: $470
First instalment for any other applicant:
- Base application charge: $3,055
- Additional applicant charge for an applicant who is at least 18: $1,530
- Additional applicant charge for an applicant who is less than 18: $765