You may be eligible for an Australia parent visa if you have one or more children living in Australia (subclass 103).
This visa is for the parent or parents of a settled Australian citizen, settled permanent resident, or settled eligible New Zealand citizen child or stepchild. If granted, this visa will allow the parent or parents to join their children in Australia permanently.
Whether or whether you are eligible for this visa is determined by a variety of variables, including:
- In Australia, what is the status of your child(ren)?
- The duration of the sponsoring child’s stay in Australia
- Whether you pass the family balance test
- Whether you meet specific health and personality requirements
Visa requirements for parents
Please take note:
- The time it takes for this visa to be accepted can be as long as 30 years.
- You will not be eligible for a bridging visa to stay in Australia if you are in Australia and your existing temporary visa is set to expire. This is because a decision on your application must be made while you are outside of Australia.
Parental visa advantages
A parent visa allows you, your partner, and any dependent family members to live permanently in Australia. The following are some additional benefits:
- It is possible to work or study.
- Medicare, which is subsidized by the government, provides access to healthcare.
- family members can be sponsored for permanent residency in Australia (a waiting period applies)
- social safety net (a waiting period applies)
A number of requirements must be completed by applicants for a Parent (subclass 103) visa. The general requirements for this visa are outlined in this section.
Eligibility for parent visas
Certain requirements must be satisfied in order to be eligible for a parent visa:
THE CANDIDATE
- The applicant must have an Australian citizen child, or
- a permanent resident of Australia, or
- a New Zealand citizen who qualifies
THE SPONSOR
If your child is unable to sponsor you, you may be sponsored by one of the following individuals:
- partner of your child
- a child’s guardian or a family member
- your child’s partner’s guardian or family member
- a non-profit organisation
REQUIREMENTS FOR HEALTH AND CHARACTER
All candidates and accompanying family members, including your partner and any dependent family members, must undergo a health examination.
DEBTS TO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT THAT HAVE NOT BEEN PAID
Before this visa can be granted, you must repay any debts you owe to the Australian government. If you’re having financial problems, you may need to set up a repayment plan.
LIMITATIONS ON VISA APPLICATIONS
Certain circumstances may prevent you from applying for this visa if you are in Australia, such as:
- if your previous visa had a restriction that you would not be granted a substantive visa while in Australia
- You don’t have a valid visa and have had a visa refusal or cancellation since your last visit to Australia.
- You currently have a guest visa sponsored by someone else.
- You’re being held at a detention center for illegal immigrants.
The family-balance test
Your ties to Australia are measured using the balance-of-family test. If either of the following applies to you, you meet this requirement:
- At least half of your children reside in Australia on a permanent basis.
- In Australia, more of your children dwell permanently than in any other country.
To be awarded this visa, you must meet this condition. Even in compelling or exceptional circumstances, it cannot be waived.
The table below shows several instances of families with various numbers of children and whether or not they would pass the family balance test.
| TOTAL NUMBER OF CHILDREN | NUMBER OF CHILDREN USUALLY LIVING IN AUSTRALIA | NUMBER OF CHILDREN USUALLY LIVING IN COUNTRIES OTHER THAN AUSTRALIA | MEETS BALANCE OF FAMILY TEST | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Country A | Country B | Country C | Country D | |||
| 1 | 1 | – | – | – | – | Yes |
| 2 | 1 | 1 | – | – | – | Yes |
| 3 | 1 | 2 | – | – | – | No |
| 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | – | No |
| 4 | 2 | 2 | – | – | – | Yes |
| 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | No |
| 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | – | No |
| 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | No |
| 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | – | Yes |
| 5 | 3 | 2 | – | – | – | Yes |
| 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | – | – | No |
The nature of your relationship with your children is not assessed by us.
If you have no idea where your children are, we assume they are in the country where they were last seen.
Your children must be one of the following to be considered normally living in Australia:
- Citizens of Australia
- Permanent citizens of Australia who live in Australia on a regular basis
- New Zealand citizens who live in Australia on a regular basis are eligible.
Your children are counted as generally living outside Australia if they are in Australia on a temporary visa (such as a Student visa).
The balance-of-family test counts your and your partner’s children, including stepchildren and adopted children, unless they:
- are no longer alive
- Adoption or a court order removes children from their parents’ legal care.
- are registered as refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and live in a UNHCR-run camp
- They reside in a nation where they are persecuted or have their human rights violated, and they are unable to reunite with their parents in another country.
A stepchild is one of the following:
- the child of your present partner, or
- younger than 18 years of age, and you or your partner’s legal duty, and:
- a child from a previous relationship, or
- the child of your current spouse’s past partner
In Australia, stepchildren born from polygamous or concurrent partnerships are not recognized, therefore they cannot be counted in the balance-of-family test.
THE CANDIDATE (S)
If you are given this visa, you will be required to live up to Australian standards, and it is vital that you and any extra family members follow all Australian laws.
THE SPONSOR
You would be expected to assist your family members and aid them in settling in Australia as the sponsor by providing the following:
- moral assistance
- a suitable location
- financial assistance
It is critical that the sponsor fulfills these requirements throughout the first two years of residency.
GUARANTEE OF SUPPORT
The guarantor/assurer must:
- provide enough financial support so that you or any accompanying family members do not need government assistance, and
- Any recoverable social security payments, including those made by Centrelink to you and anyone protected by the Assurance of Support, must be reimbursed to the Australian Government.
- Before the visa is approved, you must pay a refundable security deposit.
From the time you and any accompanying family members arrive in Australia, the Assurance of Support must be in place for two years.
An Assurance of Support (AoS) is a legal agreement between a sponsor, a family member, an organization, or any other person who may be eligible to be an assurer and the Australian Government to repay certain social security payments made to a person or their family members applying to migrate to Australia during their AoS period.
