Child Visa (Subclass 101, 802, 102, 117, 837, 445)

To qualify for any visa in this suite, the child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or relative who is an Australian citizen, a permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

Age and Dependency

• Under 18: Children under 18 meet the age criteria automatically.
• 18 to 25: Applicants in this age bracket must be full-time students and financially dependent on their sponsoring parent. Any gap in studies longer than six months after finishing school must be justified with evidence.
• Over 18 with Disability: Adult children over 18 may qualify if they have a total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions that prevents them from working full-time.
• Relationship Status: The child must be single. They cannot be married, engaged, or in a de facto (common-law) relationship. If they enter a relationship before the visa is granted, they lose eligibility.

Specific Pathway Criteria

• Adoption (Subclass 102): The child must be under 18. If the adoption was not handled via a state authority or the Hague Convention, the sponsoring parent must prove they lived outside Australia for at least 12 months before applying to demonstrate the adoption was not arranged solely for migration purposes.
• Orphan Relative (Subclasses 117 & 837): For children under 18 whose parents are both deceased, permanently incapacitated, or missing. The sponsor must be a relative (sibling, grandparent, aunt, uncle, or step-equivalent).
• Step-children: A step-parent can only sponsor a child if they are no longer the partner of the child’s biological parent but have a legal parenting order or guardianship.

Sponsor Requirements

Sponsors must undergo character checks. Under Australian law, sponsorship will be refused if the sponsor has a history of registrable offences (crimes involving children).