Child Visas
If you are an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, you may be eligible to apply for a child visa for your child to migrate to Australia.
If you do not have full custody of the child, you must have permission for the child to migrate to Australia from anyone who has joint custody.
The child may be eligible for a this visa if the child is:
- under 18 years old
- between 18 and 25 years old and not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship and not working full-time and still dependent on the parent because they have been a full-time vocational or higher education student since finishing school or turning 18
- over 18 years old and not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship and unable to work and dependent on the parent because of a disability
Orphan relative visas
Eligible relatives of an orphaned child who are Australian citizens. Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, may be eligible to apply for an orphan relative visa for the child to migrate to Australia.
The child must be under 18 years old and their parents must be dead, missing or unable to care for the child because they are permanently incapacitated.
The Australian relative must be the brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, niece or nephew (or step-equivalent) of the child.
Dependent child visas
If you hold a temporary partner visa and you did not include your child in your partner visa application, you can apply for a temporary dependent child visa for your dependent child come to Australia. Your child can then be added to your permanent partner visa application to stay in Australia with you.
If you do not have full custody of the child, you must have permission for the child to migrate to Australia from anyone who has joint custody.
Australian citizenship for children
If your child was born outside Australia and one of the child’s parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the child’s birth, the child can apply for Australian citizenship by descent.
