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Pathway

Australia Child Visa

Australia Residency
Pathway overview

At a glance

Australia's Child visa lets a dependent child live permanently in Australia with a qualifying parent.

Type
Permanent family residence
Sponsor
Eligible parent in Australia
Core requirements
Dependent-child status, sponsor eligibility, health, and character
What to know
Some children may already be Australian citizens by descent
What it gives
A grant gives the child permanent residence.
Main limit
This route is not automatically available to every adult child.

Summary

The Child visas are permanent family visas for the dependent child of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Subclass 101 is for a child outside Australia; Subclass 802 is for a child in Australia.

The route can cover a biological child, qualifying adopted child, stepchild in defined circumstances, or a child whose legal parentage follows recognized assisted-conception or surrogacy rules. The child's age, relationship status and dependency must fit at the relevant stages.

Before using a Child visa, check whether a child born outside Australia to an Australian citizen parent can apply for citizenship by descent instead. Citizenship may avoid an unnecessary permanent-visa application.

Pathway fit check

Eligibility

The child must be dependent on the sponsoring parent and must be unmarried, not engaged to be married and not in a de facto relationship.

A child generally fits the age/dependency definition if they are:

The detailed student-dependency rules look at matters such as when full-time study began, whether it has continued, and whether the child remains dependent. A short course started to create visa eligibility does not necessarily qualify. For disability-based dependency, medical and financial evidence must show why the child cannot support themselves.

The sponsor must be the child's eligible parent or, in some stepchild situations, a former parent. Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship. Consent or a court order may be needed where another person has parental responsibility or where removing the child from their home country raises custody issues.

Subclass 101 generally requires the child to be outside Australia at application and decision. Subclass 802 requires the child to be in Australia at application and usually at decision, with lawful ability to lodge onshore. Health, character, identity, government-debt and best-interests requirements apply.

What This Route Allows

A grant gives the child permanent residence. The child may live, work and study in Australia indefinitely, enroll in Medicare if eligible, and later seek citizenship under the normal rules.

The visa usually has a 5-year travel facility. Permanent residence may continue after that, but a non-citizen generally needs a valid travel facility or Resident Return visa to re-enter Australia.

What This Route Is Not

This route is not automatically available to every adult child. An applicant aged 18 to 24 must meet the full-time-study and financial-dependency rules unless the disability branch applies. A financially independent adult child does not qualify just because a parent lives in Australia.

It is not the same as the Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445), which is temporary and connects a child to a parent's unresolved permanent Partner visa application. It is also not the Adoption visa for an overseas adoption still within that process.

Family relationships created through step-parenting, international surrogacy, informal adoption or guardianship can be legally complex. Everyday use of the word "child" does not guarantee that the migration-law parent-child definition is met.

Next Steps

  1. Check citizenship by descent before starting a visa application if a parent was Australian at the child's birth.
  2. Obtain the child's full birth record and documents proving the sponsor's Australian status.
  3. For an applicant aged 18 or older, document full-time study and financial support or the disability preventing work.
  4. Resolve custody and parental-consent issues before lodging.
  5. Choose Subclass 101 or 802 based on the child's location and ability to lodge, not simply family preference.
  6. Follow the current Home Affairs paper-application instructions. Eligible applications can now be imported into ImmiAccount for management after paper lodgment.
Compare your options

Other routes in Australia.

Sources