Child Offshore Visa (Subclass 101)
The Child visa allows an eligible dependent child outside Australia to move permanently to Australia and live with a parent who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen.
This is an offshore Child visa. The child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and must satisfy the applicable location requirement at decision. Their dependency, age, relationship and single status must remain eligible throughout processing.
What is the Subclass 101 Child Visa?
Subclass 101 is a permanent Family visa intended to reunite a dependent child with an eligible parent in Australia. The child can be a biological child, stepchild or adopted child where the relevant legal and migration requirements are met.
Once granted, the child can live in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, sponsor eligible relatives and apply for Australian citizenship when eligible.
Key benefits
Child age and dependency requirements
The child must be under 18; or over 18 but under 25 and studying full time; or over 18 and unable to work because of disability. In all cases, the child must be dependent on the eligible parent and cannot be or ever have been married, engaged or in a de facto relationship.
An applicant aged 18 to 24 must remain a full-time student at application and decision, cannot work full time and must depend financially on the parent more than any other person. Study should generally have commenced after turning 18 or within a reasonable period after finishing school, and significant gaps require explanation.
Disability dependency pathway
An applicant aged 18 or older may qualify where a total or partial loss of bodily or mental functions prevents them from working full time. Detailed medical evidence should explain the diagnosis, functional limitations, prognosis and effect on employment capacity.
The applicant must still meet the relationship, dependency, single-status, sponsorship, health and character requirements.
Eligible parent and sponsorship
The child must be the dependent child of an Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or Australian permanent visa holder. The sponsor is generally that eligible parent or the parent's spouse or de facto partner, and Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship before grant.
Strict child-protection measures apply, particularly where the child is under 18. Pending charges or convictions involving registrable offences held by the sponsor or their partner can prevent sponsorship approval except in very limited circumstances.
How the Subclass 101 process works
Confirm the family relationship
Establish the biological, stepchild or eligible adoption relationship and the parent's Australian status.
Assess age and dependency
Check the under-18, student or disability pathway and ensure the child remains single and dependent.
Obtain parental consent
For a child under 18, secure consent or court and legal evidence permitting permanent migration.
Lodge visa and sponsorship
Submit the prescribed Child visa and sponsorship forms with payment and certified supporting evidence.
Complete final checks
Respond to health, character, biometrics or additional-document requests and keep circumstances updated.
Parental responsibility and consent
For an applicant under 18, Home Affairs must be satisfied that everyone legally entitled to decide where the child lives has given written consent, the child's home-country law permits departure, or migration is consistent with an applicable Australian child order.
Evidence can include Form 1229, a statutory declaration, identity documents of the consenting parent, parenting orders, custody judgments, death certificates or other documents establishing sole parental responsibility.
Adopted children and the correct visa
An adopted child may qualify for Subclass 101 where the adoption occurred before age 18 and the parent was not yet an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption.
If the adoptive parent already held one of those Australian statuses when the adoption occurred, the Adoption visa (Subclass 102) or Australian citizenship by adoption may be the correct pathway instead.
Health, character and best interests
The child and included dependants must satisfy health requirements. Applicants aged 16 or older must meet character requirements and may need police certificates and Form 80.
Home Affairs may refuse a visa for an applicant under 18 where grant would not be in the child's best interests. Australian Government debts must also be paid or covered by an approved repayment arrangement.
Important Subclass 101 Considerations
- The child must apply from outside Australia.
- Maintain the required age and dependency status until decision.
- The child cannot be or have been married, engaged or de facto.
- Have an eligible parent and approved sponsor.
- Provide lawful parental consent for applicants under 18.
- Check whether Adoption visa or citizenship is more appropriate.
- Meet health, character and best-interests requirements.
Including other children
Each sibling seeking their own Child visa needs a separate application. An eligible dependent child of the primary applicant may be included before a decision, subject to health, relationship and dependency requirements.
Documents commonly required
Evidence may include passports, photographs, birth and adoption records, parent citizenship or visa evidence, relationship documents, sponsorship forms, custody orders and consent, school enrolment and attendance records, financial-support evidence, medical reports for disability dependency, police certificates for applicants aged 16 or older, health examinations and certified English translations.
How Echoes Global Education can assist
Our migration team can assess the child's relationship, age and dependency pathway, distinguish Child and Adoption visa options, prepare parental-consent evidence, build a tailored checklist and assist with the visa and sponsorship applications.