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“To be eligible for a child visa in Australia, the child must be a dependent child of a parent who is an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen, or living in Australia on a permanent visa,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales.

The child must meet an age requirement:

• Be under 18 years of age
• Be a full-time student aged over 18 and under 25; or
• Be over 18 and unable to work due to a disability

Additionally, the child should:

• Be the child of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Be single (i.e. not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship)
• Be under 25 years old at the time that your application is lodged

Parent visa requirements will vary depending on the type of visa the applicant is applying for. However, for all parent visas, the applicant must:

• Have a child who is an eligible Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Meet the balance of family test (meaning that at least half of your children live in Australia, or more of your children live in Australia than any other country)

If applying for a subclass 884, 804, or 864 visa, the applicant must also:

• Be old enough to qualify for the Australian age pension (66-67 years old)

If applying for a subclass 884, 143, 173, or 864 visa, the applicant must also:

• Pay an additional ‘contributory’ charge to the Australian Government

And if the applicant is applying for a Subclass 870: Sponsored Parent (temporary) visa, they must:

• be the parent (biological or adoptive), step-parent, or parent-in-law of their approved Australian family sponsor (see below)
• be at least 18 years of age
• genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia
• have access to sufficient funds to cover their costs in Australia
• meet health and character requirements
• have adequate health insurance for their stay in Australia
• have no outstanding Australian public health debts, and have complied with all previous visa conditions

To qualify as a dependent child, the child/step-child must be:

• not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship
• wholly or substantially reliant on you for their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter
• under 18 years of age

If the child is over 18, they must be:

• dependent on you more than any other person for their basic needs of food, clothing and shelter; or
• unable to work to support themselves because they have a disability that totally or partially affects their bodily or mental functions.

“For an adopted child to be eligible for a Subclass 101 visa, the child must have been adopted before they turned 18 by a parent who was not an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales.

“If the child was adopted before they turned 18 by a parent who was already an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption, they may be eligible for a subclass 102 Adoption visa,” says Mario.

“To be eligible for a Subclass 802 visa, the adoption must have been finalised before the child turned 18. The adoption may have taken place either before or after the parent became an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen. Specified additional requirements apply where the child was adopted after their parent became an Australian citizen, Australian permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen,” says Mario.

“Yes, a child can apply for Australian Citizenship instead of applying for a child visa, but only if they are eligible for Citizenship,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales.

“If the child was born outside Australia, and one of their parents was an Australian citizen at the time of the child’s birth, they may be eligible for Australian Citizenship by descent,” says Mario.

Yes, eligible siblings must generally lodge separate applications for a child visa. Each sibling who lodges an application will need to pay the main applicant fee in their own right.

“Your choice of parent visa will depend on your parents’ purpose of travel in Australia,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales. “For a short visit, they may consider applying for a visitor visa (up to 3, 6 or 12 months’ stay in Australia).”

If your parents seek to remain in Australia for a longer temporary period, they can apply for a subclass 870 visa. This has a three- or five-year visa term, with the option to re-apply after that. A maximum 10-year cumulative stay period is permitted,” says Mario.

“If your parents seek to live in Australia permanently, they must be sponsored by their child in Australia and meet all other requirements. A Balance of Family test, assurance of support, health and character criteria also apply,” says Mario.

“Yes, your parents can travel to and from Australia on an unrestricted basis over the visa term if they hold a temporary parent visa,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales.

“If they hold a permanent parent visa, their unrestricted travel will expire 5 years after the visa is granted, and they’ll need to apply for a Resident Return visa (RRV) to be able to re-enter Australia,” says Mario.

“Visa holders on a Subclass 870 visa have no work rights,” says Mario Amor, Principal Lawyer at PAX Law and a solicitor member of the Law Society of New South Wales.

“But they can do the following unpaid work:

• provide care for grandchildren or other minor relatives in a domestic environment
• undertake volunteer work in a non-commercial capacity such as assisting a charitable organisation
• assist at a local school where the sponsor’s children or other minor relatives attend
• unpaid work in a commercial environment or in a family business is not permitted

All other parent visas (143, 884, 864, 804, 103, 173) have unlimited work rights.”