Australian Family Visa

Australian Visas Ltd specialises in processing Family streamed immigration visa applications to Australia.

Our Australian registered migration agents & expert migration consultants pride themselves on giving honest, reliable Australian immigration advice. We acknowledge not all situations are the same. We give realistic expectations on visa processing procedures and time frames.

Below we compare Australian Family streamed visas for you to evaluate.

Please complete our Free online assessment if you wish to have one of our experienced Australian registered migration agents contact you, regarding your eligibility to apply for an Australian family streamed visa.

Overview - Australian Family visas

People applying for a permanent residence visa are entitled to include their family members in their visa application, provided they meet the definition of "member of the family unit".

For all visas except a student visa, the following people are considered to be members of the family unit;

•  spouse or de facto spouse;
•  dependent children (of either the family head or of their spouse);
•  dependent children of dependent children
•  dependent relative (of the family head or of their spouse) who usually    lives with them and has never married or is widowed, divorced or    separated;

The family stream of the Migration Program also allows Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens to sponsor some categories of relatives to migrate to or stay permanently in Australia.

Visas subclasses in the Family stream include:

•  Child visas
•  Adoption visa
•  Orphan child visa
•  Aged Dependent visa
•  Remaining Relative
•  Carer
•  Former Resident

Visa Subclasses and basic requirements

Child category

The Child category is for the natural child, adopted child or stepchild of a sponsor. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Where a child is overseas and was adopted after the sponsor became a permanent resident, they should apply under the Adopted Child category.

Note that a child can only be granted a permanent Child visa on the basis of a step relationship in circumstances where:

•  the child's natural or adopted parent is an Australian citizen,    permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, or;
•  the parent is no longer a spouse of the step parent and that step    parent has and been granted legal responsibility for the child by a    court.

Adoption category

The Adoption category is for a child under 18 years of age who has been adopted or is in the process of being adopted by their sponsor.

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The adoption must be supported by a State or Territory adoption authority, unless the adoptive parent has been resident overseas for a period of at least 12 months at the time of the migration application, and they can demonstrate that their residence overseas was not contrived to deliberately bypass the requirements concerning entry of adopted children.

Orphan Relative category

The Orphan Relative category is for a child under 18 years of age who has no parent to care for them.

The sponsor must be a relative who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Aged Dependent Relative category

To be eligibile for an Aged Depedent Relative visa the applicant must be single, widowed or divorced, aged person, and be financially dependent on a relative who lives in Australia.

Acceptable Relative includes parent, spouse, child, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, grandchild, and grandparent.

To be considered dependent, the applicant must be wholly or substantially reliant on their Australian relative for financial support to meet their basic needs for food, clothing and shelter.

The applicant must have been dependent on the sponsor for a reasonable period, usually being at least 3 years.

To be aged the applicant must be old enough to receive the Australian aged pension.

You must be sponsored by your relative in Australia who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Remaining Relative category

To be eligible for a Australian Remaining Relative visa the applicant must be the brother, sister or child (or step relative to the same degree) of a person in Australia, and have no near relatives other than those in Australia.

If the applicant is married or in a de facto relationship then their spouse also must have no other overseas near relatives. If the applicant is divorced, their ex-spouse's family will not be counted when deciding whether they are a remaining relative.

You must be sponsored by your relative in Australia, who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Carer Visa

To be eligible for a Carer visa, the applicant must be willing and able to give substantial, continuing assistance to an Australian relative (or a member of their family unit) who has a medical condition that is causing physical, intellectual or sensory impairment of their ability to attend to the practical aspects of daily life.

The need for assistance must be likely to continue for at least two years.

You must be sponsored by the relative in Australia , who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Definition of relative

The definition of 'relative' for carer visa purposes is:

•  a close relative; or
•  a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, or a
   step-equivalent.

The person needing the care must be "usually resident" in Australia.

Please complete our Free online assessment if you wish to have one of our experienced Australian registered migration agents contact you, regarding your eligibility to apply for an Australian family streamed visa.