Family Visa

The Australian Family migration stream aims to bring together immediate and extended family members with their eligible Australian relatives. Our team are experts at assessing and processing various familial visas, giving you your best chances at a successful visa application.

It’s hard being apart. Partner visas will allow you to come live in Australia if you are the spouse or de-facto partner of an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

Partner visa applications are processed in two separate stages, with the second stage application to commence two years after the initial application has been lodged.

The Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) is a 9 month visa for intended spouses of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens. After marriage, you will need to apply for a Partner visa (subclass 820, 801).

This is an offshore application, that is, the applicant needs to be outside of Australia at the time of application and when the visa is granted as well. The location of the wedding is not bound to Australia, so fret not, you can still have that dream wedding in the Maldives.

Parent visas can take up to 30 years to be granted. An option to speed up this process involves a monetary contribution to Australia. This contributory sum runs into tens of thousands. Depending on the age of the applicant, they will be required to be either onshore or offshore. We’ll break this down by age group to keep things easy to digest.

If the main applicant is over pension age, they must be onshore at the time of application and when the visa is granted.

• Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 884) lasts 2 years, after which a further stay requires a permanent Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864). This allows costs to be staggered over a number of years. Learn More
• Contributory Aged Parent visa (subclass 864) is a permanent visa and requires the full contribution fee.Learn More
• Aged Parent visa (subclass 804) can take up to 30 years to be granted. Learn More

Other parent visas include:

• Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 173) lasts 2 years, after which a further stay requires a permanent Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143). This allows costs to be staggered over a number of years
• Contributory Parent visa (subclass 143) is a permanent visa and requires the full contribution fee. The application can be lodged onshore or offshore
• Parent visa (subclass 103) can take up to 30 years to be granted.

Applicants must pass the balance of family test to be eligible for a parent visa.

• At least half of your children live permanently in Australia
• More of your children live permanently in Australia than in any other country

These are permanent visas allowing an eligible parent sponsor their child to live in Australia indefinitely. In order to be eligible the parent sponsor must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. You can apply onshore or offshore. If you apply offshore, you will be need to be offshore at the time the visa is granted and vice versa if you are onshore.

Which visa subclass?

• Offshore Child (subclass 101)
• Onshore Child visa (subclass 802)

This visa permits an adopted child to live in Australia with their eligible adoptive parents. In order to sponsor a child the adoptive parent must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. This is an offshore application and the child must be living out of Australia at the time of application and when the visa decision is made.

Which visa subclass?

• Offshore Child (subclass 101)
• Onshore Child visa (subclass 802)

This visa permits a child to travel to Australia and live permanently with their sponsoring relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. You can apply onshore or offshore. If you apply offshore, you will be need to be offshore at the time the visa is granted and vice versa if you are onshore

Which visa subclass?

• Offshore Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117)
• Onshore Orphan Relative visa (subclass 837)

The sponsoring relative must be able to produce evidence of the following:

• 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
• Is consistent with any Australian child order 

• Offshore Carer visa (subclass 116)
• Onshore Carer visa (subclass 836)
• Offshore Aged Dependent Relative visa (subclass 114)
• Onshore Aged Dependent Relative visa (subclass 838)
• Offshore Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115)
• Onshore Remaining Relative visa (subclass 835)