Child Visas

Child visa applications are legally straightforward and practically sensitive. They turn on dependency, custody and consent, and frequently involve a parent residing overseas whose agreement to the child’s migration must be established. These applications require careful handling.

For the Subclasses 101 and 802, the child must be the biological, adopted or step-child of the sponsoring parent, must not be married or in a de facto relationship, and must be:

# under 18; or

# aged 18 to 24 and financially dependent on the sponsoring parent; or

# of any age, where a disability renders the child dependent.

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

# Custody and consent evidence. Where the parents are separated, the Department requires proof of legal custody or the consent of the other parent, ordinarily by court order or formal statutory declaration. This is the single most common cause of delay in the category.

# Dependency evidence for applicants aged 18 to 24, comprising continuing financial support, enrolment records and a genuine dependency narrative rather than a bare assertion.

# Recognition of overseas adoptions. An adoption effected overseas is recognised only in defined circumstances. Where an Australian citizen or permanent resident adopted a child while residing overseas, it is generally necessary to establish residence outside Australia for more than twelve months before lodgement, and that the residence was not contrived to facilitate the adoption. Where the adoption is not recognised, a Subclass 102 application is ordinarily required instead.

# Health and character requirements, which apply to the child