One of the most stressful events for the parents of any child whom they wish to have live with them in Australia is the visa process that has to be followed. There can seem to be lots of criteria and requirements that have to meet. What often adds to any misunderstanding of child visas is that, just like the visa processes for adults, there are multiple visa types. Here, Success Migration will to to explain child visas for Australia in as simple a way as we can.
Four Child Visa Options
In Australia, four different child visa options can be applied for. These are:
- Child Visa For Offshore = Subclass 101
- Child Visa For Onshore = Subclass 802
- Dependent Child Visa = Subclass 445
- Adoption Visa = Subclass 102
Thankfully, the application process for both subclass 101 and 802 is identical with the only difference being the location of the child is either in Australia (802) or overseas (101). In all other aspects, the requirements and eligibility criteria within the application process for them is identical.
Child Age
It is often wrongly assumed that when we refer to children when discussing child visas that we are only talking about young children and those of school age. Obviously, that covers many of them but when it comes to child visas when certain criteria apply, they can apply to children of any age. Here are those age requirements.
- Children aged under 18 years of age.
- Children aged 18 to 25, who are full-time students and who are dependent upon their parents.
- Children aged over 18 years of age, who cannot work due to a disability and who are dependent upon their parents.
Parent Eligibility
For a parent to sponsor their child or children to join them in Australia they must meet one of the following three statuses.
- An Australian citizen
- A permanent resident of Australia
- A New Zealand citizen
Child Visa Subclasses 101 and 802
This is the visa that parents of children who want to live permanently in Australia should apply for. The full list of benefits of the child visa (101 & 802) include.
- The right to live permanently in Australia
- The right to study in Australia
- The right to work in Australia
- The right to sponsor other family members to live in Australia
- The right to apply for Australian citizenship
Obviously, with some of the above, specific criteria will need to be met first before the child can exercise that right. An example being them having sufficient finances to sponsor a family member who is overseas.
The requirement for the child visa that must be met are as follows:
- The child must be the biological child, stepchild or adopted child of the parent
- The child must be dependent upon their parents
- The sponsor must be a suitable parent, the parent’s spouse, or the parent’s de facto partner
- The child must be single and not in any de facto relationship
- The child must meet the necessary health and character requirements
- The move must be in the best interests of the child
- There must be no previous rejected visa applications
Dependent Child Visa (445)
This is a temporary visa that does not have any additional requirements and can allow short-term stays in Australia with parents whilst the process for their permanent visas can be processed.
Adoption Visa (102)
This is a permeant visa for children under 18 which their adoptive parents or prospective adoptive parents can apply for. It provides all the same benefits as the 101 and 802 child visas, but with one main difference. That is the child must live with their adoptive parents whereas this is not a requirement of 802 and 101 visas. The adoption visa can only be applied for if the child in question is outside Australia.