FAMILY VISAS

There are various migration options for fiancés, partners, children, parents and other family members of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens to live in Australia.

PARTNER CATEGORY

This is a 2 stages visa.

The Provisional Partner Visa (Subclass 820) is the first stage to obtaining a Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 801) provided the relationship still exists for at least 2 years before being invited to apply for your Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 801)

Provisional Partner Visa – Onshore (Subclass 820)

The Provisional Partner Visa (Subclass 820) allows you to live in Australia if you are the married partner (de jure) or de facto partner of:

• An Australian Citizen

• An Australian Permanent Resident

• An eligible New Zealand Citizen

Visa Highlights:

• Application to be made in Australia and you must be within Australia when the visa is granted

• Be able to remain in Australia until a decision has been made on the Permanent Partner Visa

• Dependent children can be included in your application

• Work in Australia

• Study in Australia with no access to government funding

• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health related care and expenses

• Average processing time: 12 – 15 months

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

Permanent Partner Visa – Onshore (Subclass 801)

The Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 801) will allow you to:

• Stay in Australia indefinitely

• Work and study in Australia

• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence

• Receive some social security payments

• Apply for Australian Citizenship (if you are eligible)

• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date of the visa is granted

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

Provisional Partner Visa – Offshore (Subclass 309)

The Provisional Partner Visa (Subclass 309) will allow you to:

• Remain Australia until a decision is made about your Permanent Partner Visa

• Work in Australia

• Study in Australia, but with no access to government funding

• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health related care and expenses

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

The application has to be made outside Australia and you must outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Permanent Partner Visa – Offshore (Subclass 100)

The Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 100) will allow you to:

• Stay in Australia indefinitely

• Work and study in Australia

• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence

• Receive some social security payments

• Apply for Australian Citizenship (if you are eligible)

• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date of the visa is granted

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

In some circumstances the visa can be granted even if the relationship has ended. Special situation allows direct grant of Permanent Partner Visa.

Note: Your partner may not be able to sponsor you if they sponsored another person or has been sponsored within 5 years or if they have sponsored 2 people previously. There are some exemptions for compelling circumstances.

Please Contact Us for more information.

Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)

This visa allows people to come to Australia to marry their prospective spouse.

Visa Highlights:

• Enter Australia before you marry your prospective spouse

• Wedding can be held in any country: the wedding does not need to be in Australia

• Include your dependent children and or other dependent relatives

• Travel in and out of Australia as often as you want

• Work in Australia, although some employers might not hire people with temporary visas

• Study in Australia, but with no access to government funding for tertiary study

• You must be outside Australia when you lodge your application and when the visa is granted. 

• You must marry your spouse within 9 months of the initial fiancé visa being granted and lodge a Partner Visa onshore before your Prospective Marriage Visa ends

• Average processing time: 6 – 12 months

PARENT CATEGORY

Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa – (Subclass 173)

The Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 173) allows parents who are outside Australia to live in Australia for up to two years if they are the parents of an Australian Citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand Citizen who is settled in Australia.

The visa is temporary and cannot be extended or renewed. After Arriving in Australia, you have 2 years to apply for a Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143).

The sponsor needs to have lived lawfully in Australia for the 2 years before the application is lodged.

Visa Highlights:

• Live in Australia for 2 years

• Work and study in Australia

• Enrol in Medicare Australia’s scheme for health –related care and expenses

• Travel to and from Australia for 2 years from the date the visa is granted

• Spread the costs of the Contributory Parent Migration over a number of years

• Faster visa process

To get this visa you must meet the balance of family test which measures your ties to Australia:

• At least half of your children is living permanently in Australia

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

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

There is an option of applying for a Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143), which provides a direct pathway to permanent residence.

The visa can be applied outside Australia. If you are in Australia, you can only apply if your temporary visa allows you to apply for another visa while you are in Australia. You must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

Parent Visa (Subclass 103)

The Parent Visa (Subclass 103) allows parents to live permanently in Australia if they have a child who is an Australian Citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.

The sponsor needs to have been living lawfully in Australia for at least 2 years before you apply for this visa. For most applicants, your child, your child’s spouse or de facto partner will need to sponsor you.

Visa Highlights:

• Permanent visa

• Stay in Australia indefinitely

• Work and study in Australia

• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses

• Apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)

• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence

• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the visa is granted

The current waiting time for this visa is over 30 years.

To get this visa you must meet the balance of family test which measures your ties to Australia:

• At least half of your children is living permanently in Australia

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

The visa can be lodge either in Australia or outside Australia. However, if the visa is lodged in Australia, you will not be granted a bridging visa and must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.

The applicant and any dependent members must satisfy health and character requirements.

Contributory Parent Visa (Subclass 143)

This visa allows parents to live permanently in Australia if their child is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who is settled in Australia.

Visa Highlights:

• Stay in Australia Indefinitely

• Work and Study in Australia

• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health- related care and expenses

• Apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)

• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence

• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the visa is granted

• Faster Visa process

To get this visa you must meet the balance of family test which measures your ties to Australia unless your or your family members already have a Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 173).

There is an option of applying for a Contributory Parent (Temporary) visa (Subclass 173), which provides a two-stage pathway, allowing the costs of Contributory Parent Migration to be staggered.

If the child who sponsored you for your Contributory Parent (Temporary) Visa (Subclass 173) has died, you could be eligible for a sponsorship concession.

Aged Parent Visa (Subclass 804)

This visa allows older parents to live permanently in Australia if they have a child who is an Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident or Eligible New Zealand Citizen who is settled in Australia.

The sponsor needs to have been living lawfully in Australia for at least 2 years before you apply for this visa.

You must be at the age where you are eligible for an Age Pension in Australia.

Eligibility

Age Requirements

Women born before 1949 have already qualified for the Age Pension. Women born in 1949 and beyond now qualify at age 65, the same as men.

The pension age for men and women born from 1 July 1952 will be gradually increased from 65 to 67 years as set out in the table below.

There is an option of applying for a Contributory Aged Parent (Temporary) visa or Contributory Aged Parent Visa (Permanent) visa, which provides a higher processing priority but they must pay a higher contribution towards their family members’ health and welfare costs in Australia.

Please Contact our Immigration Consultant to determine eligibility for a parent visa.

* On Friday 5 May 2017, the Australian government has announced a new temporary sponsored parent visa which will allow Australians to sponsor their parents to stay in Australia for up to five years at a time with the maximum stay is 10 years in total. NO financial bond is needed for this visa.

The new visa is scheduled to be introduced in late 2017. More information about the sponsorship requirements and how to apply for this visa will be available later closer to the commencement of this visa.

CHILD CATEGORY

Child Permanent visa (Onshore Subclass 802 & Offshore Subclass 101)

Orphan Relative Permanent (Onshore Subclass 837 & Offshore Subclass 117)

Adoption Visa Permanent (Subclass 102) – Offshore

Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445) – Onshore / Offshore

A Child visa allows an eligible parent or relative to sponsor their dependent children, orphan relatives or adopted children to live in Australia indefinitely. An eligible parent or relative must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. The parent or relative can apply on behalf of a child younger than 18 years of age.

Child over 18 years of age might be able to apply for this type of visa.

Average processing time: 9 – 14 months

Contact Us for more information to find out how to bring your family member into Australia.