Australia Family Visas
Australia offers a number of permanent immigration services designed to allow foreign nationals to permanently relocate to Australia based on their family connections. The Spouse or common-law partner of a person with settled status may immigrate to Australia as may a fiance under the Prospective marriage visa. Family visas to Australia also encompass children, parents and in some limited circumstance other relatives.
Visit the Global Visas online assessment tool now to find out whether you qualify for a new life in Australia.
Australian Spouse Visa
Like all Australian family immigration services, Australian spouse visas require each applicant to be sponsored by a person with permanent settled status in Australia. This means that all sponsoring relatives must be either an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or in some cases, a qualifying New Zealand resident. Applicants must be legally married to their sponsor in a 'genuine, continuing relationship' and they must intend to continue this relationship in Australia.
A spouse visa is granted for an initial duration of two years beyond which it must be demonstrated that the marriage is still in place. After the initial two year grant, a spouse visa applicant may apply for permanent residency in Australia, and ultimately, Australian Citizenship.
Australian De Facto Visa
In Australia, De facto visa applications apply to applicants who are in a "genuine, continuing de facto relationship" with their sponsor, who must be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a qualifying New Zealand resident. Like a marriage visa, De Facto visas also known as unmarried partner visas are granted for an initial period of two years, following which, providing that the requirements of this visa service are still fulfilled, an applicant may apply for Australian permanent residence.
In all cases, the relationship in question must have been in place for at least the 12 months period directly preceding the application. Relationships must be exclusive and parties must be either cohabiting or living separately as a temporary arrangement. The relationship will need to be demonstrated through a range of documentary evidence. A Global Visas immigration consultant will be able to advise you on the exact documentation which must be included as part of your Australian De Facto visa application.
Australian Prospective Marriage Visa
The Australian Prospective Marriage Visa is also known an the Australian fiance visa and applies to those applicants who are engaged to married to an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident or a qualifying New Zealand citizen.
This Australian immigration visa is granted for the specific purpose of applicants who are migrating to Australia in order to marry and cohabit with their sponsor. Initially, fiancé visas are granted for nine months, during which time the marriage upon which the application is based must take place. Beyond this a spouse temporary visa will be issued and ultimately, applicants will be permitted to apply for permanent residency in Australia.
Applicants must be over the age of 18 and must intend to marry their sponsor and cohabit with them in a 'genuine, continuing & exclusive relationship'. The marriage must be permitted under Australian law and parties must show that arrangements have been made for the marriage to take place in Australia within the 9 month duration of the fiance visa application.
Australian Contributory Parent Visa
The contributory parent visa is designed for applicants who have an equal or greater number of children living in Australia than those living in their current country of residence. This is referred to as the ‘balance of family test’ and applies to potential applicants or their spouse or partner.
As the name of this visa route suggests, a contribution must be paid by each applicant as part of their application. The contribution must be paid to the Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) and the total amount required is AUS $27,850 per adult applicant, or in the case of dependents under the age of 18, AUS $1,205. In addition the applicant must pay a ten year refundable bond of AUS $10,000 and an additional AUS$ 4,000 will be payable for the main applicant’s spouse.
Applicants must also be sponsored by an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen and in all cases this sponsor must be the child of the applicant. Applicants must also have an ‘Assurer’ who must meet specific financial criteria. An Assurer must also be a citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen although they do not necessarily have to be related to the applicant.
Australian Last Remaining Relative Visa
Australian Last Remaining Relative Visas allow applicants who wish to immigrate to Australia do so provided that neither they, nor their spouse, have any close familial relationships in their country of residence or anywhere except Australia.
This is an Australian permanent residence visa, and once again candidates must be sponsored in order to apply. In this particular visa category, a sponsor will only be valid if they have not already sponsored a relative on this basis and if they themselves did not obtain their citizenship or permanent residency through this route. However, this immigration service does permit a family group, and therefore permits spouse immigration and the dependent children on the applicant under the term ‘last remaining relative’.
Applying for a Last Remaining Relative Visa – Eligibility Criteria
As outline above, the key requirements of this class of family visa for Australia are that the applicant (or their spouse or partner) has no close relatives outside Australia and that they are sponsored by an eligible resident or citizen. Applicants must be related to their sponsor as a sibling, child, or step child. For the purposes of this visa, a ‘near relative’ is defined as either a parent or sibling, a minor child outside the applicants care, an adult independent child, or the step equivalents of any of these categories.
Australian Child Visa
This family visa service allows the child of a qualifying sponsor to move to Australia permanently. Applicants must be under the age of 25 and if over the age of 18 they must be in full time education and dependent upon their parents except in the case of a disability which prevents them from finding employment.
Relationship Requirements - Adopted children
Applicants applying outside Australia who were adopted after their parent became an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen may not apply under this category. It may however be possible to apply under the adopted child category. Where an adopted child applies from within Australia and was adopted after their parent became settled in Australia may be able to apply. Where step children wish to apply an Australian child visa may only be issued where a natural or adopted parent is a citizen, permanent resident or qualifying New Zealand citizen, or where the parent is no longer married to the step parent and the step parent has legal custody of the child.
Applicants wishing to move to Australia under this route must not be married and must not have a common-law partner. Where an applicant is under the age of 18, permission must be sought from every individual who has a right to decide where the applicant should live.
Sponsor Requirements
Aside from the settled status and relationship to the applicant, sponsors must also be more than 18 years of age, approved as a sponsor, and they may need to give an assurance of support. A Global Visas immigration consultant will be able to advice you on the specific requirements for both potential applicants and for sponsors.
Australian Designated Area Sponsored Visa
Although this visa category is also an employment visa is it based primarily upon the applicant having a sponsor in a designated area of Australia. This route is initially a temporary one, granting temporary residency status for a maximum of three years. However, beyond this the applicant may apply for permanent residency and subsequently, Australian Citizenship.
Applicants must be under the age of 45 and must have a sufficient grasp of the English language to enable them to live and work in Australia. They must also be able to satisfy the following criteria.
- Applicants must nominate an occupation which features on the Skilled Occupations List.
- Applicants must have a tertiary qualification which is deemed suitable by the assessing authority for the chosen profession. In some circumstances a significant level of relevant experience may be substituted for the qualification.
- Applicants must also have been employed in a position of at least 20 hours per week in a position which appears on the Skilled Occupations List.
Sponsorship Requirements
Applicants must be sponsored by a qualifying person who is over the age of 18 and has settled status. The sponsor must be related to the applicant as a sibling, parent or non-depend child, niece, nephew or cousin. It will also be necessary to establish an Assurance of Support from a qualifying Assurer.
Australian Family Visa – Health and Character Requirements
As with all long term and permanent visas for Australia, all family immigration applicants must undergo Australia’s strict health and character checks. These include providing police checks for each country in which they have resided for more than a year within the last decade, and undertaking a chest x-ray by a designated Australian doctor.
You can set your application in motion today by visiting the Global Visas online assessment area. Just take a moment to complete one of our assessment forms and a specialist Australia immigration consultant will contact you.
