Immigration Law | Child Visa Application

Australian citizenship is automatically granted to a child born in Australia, with at least one Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident parent. As such, a visa is no longer required for the child to travel and live in Australia. Otherwise, a child whose parent is an Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, but does not meet the requirements for automatic citizenship, can be sponsored by the parent to live in Australia as a permanent resident on a Child Visa application (subclass 101). For the duration of the application process—from visa application lodgement to grant—the child must remain outside Australia.

Child visa holders are allowed to live, work and study in Australia without any time restrictions or limitations as it is a Permanent Resident visa. A child visa holder is also entitled to enrol in Medicare and Australian citizenship application (when eligible).

For Child visa eligibility, their parent or their parent’s partner must sponsor them; the applicant must be single and younger than 18 years of age. Alternatively, an applicant over the age of 18 can still be considered eligible for a Child visa if they are a full-time student aged between 18 and 25. If a child is unable to work due to disability and remains dependent on the sponsoring parent, their eligibility can still be considered.

The applicant can either be a biological child or stepchild of the sponsoring parent to serve the purposes of this visa. An adopted child’s eligibility under this visa can be considered if the sponsoring parent became an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen after they adopted the child.

The child applicant must meet character requirements over the age of 16 for the Child visa application. As such, requirements like police checks from any country that the child has lived in for a period of 12 months or more shall be included. An immigration agent in Sydney can assist you in fulfilling all the requirements to ensure that the application process is conducted smoothly.

A medical examination must also be taken by the child applicant in order to fulfil the health requirements of the application.

The Child visa application must be in the best interest of the child. Sponsoring parents must present at least one of the following requirements for the visa to be granted: written consent of each person who can legally decide where the child lives, present evidence that the laws of the child’s home country allow the removal of the child or that the grant of the visa is consistent with any Australian child order.

To ensure that the sponsoring parent is financially capable of supporting the child, an assurance of support might be requested. With the aid of an immigration agent in Sydney, this requirement can be processed quickly.