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Child Visa

A Child visa (subclass 101) lets an eligible parent sponsor their child to live in Australia indefinitely. The parent can apply on behalf of a child younger than 18 years of age.

An eligible parent for  Child Visa is:

  • an Australian citizen
  • the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
  • an eligible New Zealand citizen.

The child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.

To get this Child visa, the child must be:

  • sponsored by their parent or their parent’s partner
  • single
  • younger than 18 years of age, or:
    • a full-time student between 18 and 25 years of age, or
    • 18 or older and unable to work due to a disability and dependent on the sponsoring parent.

The child can include their own dependent children in this application.

The sponsoring parent

The child’s sponsoring parent must be an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen. The spouse or de facto partner of the child’s parent can also sponsor the child.

The child’s relationship with the sponsor

The child must be:

  • the biological child or adopted child of the sponsoring parent
  • a step child who has not turned 18 of a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child’s parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child.

An adopted child must have been adopted before their parent became an Australian citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

Children younger than 18 years of age

A child younger than 18 years of age:

  • cannot have a spouse or de facto partner
  • cannot be engaged to be married.

Children between 18 and 25 years of age

A child between 18 and 25 years of age who does not have a disability that prevents them from working must:

  • never have had, and not now have, a spouse or de facto partner
  • not be engaged to be married
  • not be in full-time work
  • be a full-time student.

To be a full-time student, the child must:

  • be currently enrolled and participating in a full-time course of study leading to a professional, trade or vocational qualification
  • have started that course since turning 18 years of age or within six months or a reasonable time after finishing school.

The child must be a full-time student when they apply for this visa. Any gaps of more than six months between the final year of school and tertiary studies must be explained.

Children with a disability aged 18 or older

A child with a disability is eligible for this visa if they:

  • are not engaged, married or have a de facto partner
  • are not in full-time work
  • are dependent on the sponsoring parent.

Disability means that the child has total or partial loss of their bodily or mental functions, and they are unable to work because of it.

To be dependent they must be reliant on the sponsoring parent for financial support because they are not able to work because of their disability.

Parental responsibility

This Child visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:

  • you have the written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives
  • the laws of the child’s home country permit the removal of the child
  • it is consistent with any Australian child order.

The documents checklist lists you the documents you must provide with your application to support this claim.

Best interests of the child

This Child visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age.

DHA may ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.

Health requirements

The child must meet certain health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months. This also applies to any member of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.

Character requirements

A child older than 16 years of age must meet certain character requirements. They must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country they have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after they turned 16 years of age.

This applies to you and all members of your family unit listed in your application, whether they are migrating or not. ​​

To sponsor a child for this Child visa you must be:

  • the parent (or their partner) or step-parent of the child
  • older than 18 years of age

You must also be either:

  • an Australian citizen
  • the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
  • an eligible New Zealand citizen.

You can sponsor a child if you are:

  • a step-parent who is no longer the partner of the child’s parent but has a legal responsibility to care for the child and the child is younger than 18 years of age
  • an adoptive parent who adopted the child before you became an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa, or eligible New Zealand citizen.

You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application. You can still be a sponsoring parent if you:

  • entered Australia in the past but are outside Australia when you lodge the application
  • have been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but have not yet entered Australia.

A child who was adopted after you became an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or eligible New Zealand citizen, might be able to apply for an Adoption visa (subclass 102).

Parental responsibility

This Child visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:

  • you have the written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives
  • the laws of the child’s home country permit the removal of the child
  • it is consistent with any Australian child order.

The documents checklist lists you the documents you must provide with your application to support this claim.

Character requirements

You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.