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This is a permanent residence visa. It allows the child to:
Children born in Australia are automatically granted Australian citizenship if at least one parent is either an Australian citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa. They do not need a visa to live in Australia.
Adopted children
You must apply for an Adoption visa (subclass 102) rather than this Child visa (subclass 802) if:
You can only apply for this Child visa (subclass 802) if the child is an adopted child applying in Australia, and they were adopted either before or after the sponsoring parent became an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or eligible New Zealand citizen.
A child who is applying for this Child visa (subclass 802) as an adopted child must meet certain requirements.
Seek advice from your closest state and territory adoption authority before starting any adoption process to adopt a child from outside Australia.
In Australia, the processing of inter-country adoptions is the responsibility of state and territory adoption authorities. These authorities manage arrangements for adopting children from overseas, including assessing and approving prospective adoptive parents.
We cannot help arrange an adoption. The department of immigration and border protection role is to assess and decide applications for visas.
You should first seek legal advice in both Australia and the country in which the child lives.
To be eligible for an Adoption visa (subclass 102), a child must have been one of the following:
Your relevant Australian state and territory adoption authority must be involved in managing the adoption process with the country where the child is living.
Contact the adoption authority before you start the adoption process. The department of immigration and border protection cannot grant a visa to a child who does not meet the visa requirements even if they have been adopted lawfully in the child’s home country.
Australian adoption authorities usually arrange adoptions through countries that:
In these cases, the adoption authority or an institution in the child’s home country will allocate the child to you. The authorities also ensure that local adoption laws have been complied with and that the child is legally allowed to leave their country for Australia.
A child adopted under the Hague Adoption Convention will need an adoption compliance certificate. This certifies that the adoption meets all the requirements of the Hague Adoption Convention. A visa cannot be granted until this certificate has been issued and a certified copy provided to us.
In some cases, children adopted under the Hague Adoption Convention could be eligible for Australian citizenship. You should seek legal advice as the child might not have to apply for a visa.
A child adopted under a bilateral agreement must have a letter from an Australian state or territory adoption authority that shows the child has been adopted through an adoption authority or an institution in the child’s home country. This letter must be included with the child’s visa application.
Some people decide to adopt a child while they are living outside Australia without the support of an Australian state and territory adoption authority. These adoptions are called expatriate adoptions. You can sponsor the child for an adoption visa if:
Australian state and territory adoption authorities do not usually support privately arranged adoptions from either in or outside Australia, including the adoption of children who are relatives. They are not able to help children or sponsors meet the requirements for granting a visa to an adopted child.
Adoptive parents need to ensure that any privately arranged adoption is legal. If you want to adopt a child from outside Australia without using an Australian state and territory adoption authority, it is strongly recommended that you first seek legal advice both in Australia and in the country where the child lives. A visa cannot be granted on the basis of an adoption where a child does not meet the requirements for this visa, even if an adoption is legal in the child’s home country.
You cannot apply for this Child visa (subclass 802) if you already hold another visa that has a ‘No further stay’ condition.
Contact us if you are not sure whether your current visa conditions prevent you from applying for a further visa while you are in Australia.
The visa application charges are listed in Fees and charges.
You might have to pay other costs, such as the costs of health assessments, police certificates, or any other certificates or tests. You are responsible for making the necessary arrangements.
To get this visa, the child must be:
The child can include their own dependent children in this application.
The child must be:
who is an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
The child’s sponsor is usually their parent who is 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 and they must also be an Australian citizen, the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
A child younger than 18 years of age:
A child between 18 and 25 years of age who does not have a disability that prevents them from working must:
To be a full-time student, the child must:
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.
A child with a disability is eligible for this Child visa (subclass 802) if they:
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.
For adopted children:
This visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:
The documents checklist lists you the documents you must provide with your application to support this claim.
This visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age.
Measures for the Protection of Children has more information.
We might ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.
Do not provide an assurance of support unless the department of immigration and border protection ask for one and tell you what you need to do.
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.
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. Do not arrange for police certificates until the department of immigration and border protection ask you to.
The child must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.
You might be asked to provide biometrics (a scientific form of identification) as part of the application. Countries and visa subclasses included in the biometrics program has more information.
You might be able to include your child in the visa application.
Any children included in the visa application must meet the requirements for including family members in your application.
The application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to you.
Children who are included as members of your family unit must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements.
Your siblings will need to lodge their own application.
This information explains what you need to do to apply for a Child visa (subclass 802).
The child must be in Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.
You need to provide documents to prove the claims you make in the application. The documents are listed in the Document checklist.
Some documents could take some time to obtain. You should have them ready when you lodge the application to reduce any delays in processing.
Complete the application forms and lodge them together.
The child or sponsoring parent should complete Form 47CH Application for migration to Australia by a child (333KB PDF).
Sponsoring parents should complete Form 40CH Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia(297KB PDF).
The forms must be completed in English. Provide all relevant documents and pay the visa application charge when you lodge the application.
You cannot lodge this application in person if you are applying in Australia. You must post or courier your application to the Perth office in Western Australia – marked: attention to Child and Other Family Processing Centre.
You can pay by credit card, bank cheque or money order made payable to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection.
Please refer to preparing your application, for information on:
After you have lodged your application and documents, the department of immigration and border protection will acknowledge that they have received your information.
We have visa processing time service standards for each visa.
Your application could take longer if the child needs character or health checks (including x-rays), you need to provide more information, or the application is incomplete.
If you apply for this Child visa (subclass 802) while the child is in Australia, they might be able to get a Bridging visa that allows them to stay in the country lawfully while the application is processed. If the child is given aBridging visa A, they should apply for a Bridging visa B (BVB) if they want to travel outside Australia while they wait for a decision.
You can provide more information to us, at any time until a decision is made on the application. If you want to correct information you provided, use:
We could also ask you for more information. You will have to respond by a set date. After that date, the department of immigration and border protection can make a decision about your application using the information that they have.
If another person gives the department of immigration and border protection information that could result in you being refused a visa, they will usually give you the opportunity to comment on the information.
You might also be interviewed. If you are asked to attend an interview in person, bring your passport or other identification and any requested documents to the interview.
Tell the department of immigration and border protection if your circumstances or the child’s circumstances change. Use the following forms:
You can withdraw the application at any time before the department of immigration and border protection make a decision about it. To do this, send them a letter or email to ask for the withdrawal. Your request must include your full name and date of birth. You should also include your file reference number, client ID, or a Transaction Reference Number.
All applicants 18 years of age or older, wishing to withdraw, must sign the request for withdrawal.
We will tell you when the department of immigration and border protection make a decision about your visa application.
If the visa is granted, the department of immigration and border protection will let you know:
If the visa is not granted, the department of immigration and border protection will let you know:
You need to provide documents to support your application for this visa. The department of immigration and border protection can make a decision using the information you provide when you lodge your application. It is in your interest to provide as much information as possible with your application.
Provide certified copies of original documents. Do not include original documents unless the department of immigration and border protection specifically ask for them. Police certificates should be original documents. Documents not in English must be accompanied by accredited English translations.
Use this checklist to make sure your application is complete.
Lodge these forms at the same time:
Provide the original certificates. Your sponsor can keep a copy for their own records.
You do not need these documents if the sponsor already has them as part of adopting the child through an Australian state or territory adoption authority.
This is a permanent residence visa. It allows the child to:
The child must comply with all visa conditions and Australian laws.
To sponsor a child for this Child visa (subclass 802) you must be:
You must be either:
You can sponsor a child if you are either:
You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application. You can still be a sponsoring parent if you:
This visa can be granted only if you can show one of the following for a child younger than 18 years of age:
The documents checklist lists you the documents you must provide with your application to support this claim.
This visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age.
Measures for the Protection of Children has more information.
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. Do not arrange for police certificates until the department of immigration and border protection ask you to.
We might ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.
Do not provide an assurance of support unless the department of immigration and border protection ask for one and tell you what you need to do.
As a sponsor you must:
You must tell the department of immigration and border protection in writing if the child’s circumstances change in a way that could affect the child’s eligibility for a Child visa (subclass 802), or your eligibility to sponsor the child.
Source: The Australian Department of Immigration and Border Protection. Please visit www.border.gov.au to get updated information.