- Who is eligible for a child visa?
- Is a child (whose parent is already an Australian citizen) required to apply for Australian permanent resident (PR) status before applying for an Australian citizenship?
- Can an Australian citizenship be applied for immediately after the child visa is granted?
- What factors may affect the outcome of an Australian child visa application?
The Australian child visa is an immigration visa category specifically designed by the Australian government for the children of Australian citizens or permanent residents.
The child visa category is divided into two subclasses:
- Subclass 802 (Onshore)，and
- Subclass 101 (Offshore).
For more information about visa and application requirements, please refer to “Child Visa (subclass 101) and (subclass 802)”.
In this article, we will further explore and analyse the common questions in the index as mentioned above:
- In relation to the first question, the primary applicant suitable for an Australian child visa is the children of Australian citizens or PRs who intend to obtain Australian PR or citizenship (including biological and adopted children);
- In relation to the second question, it is only necessary to clarify and focus on one point, namely, for children born outside of Australia, the exact point in time when the parent obtained Australian citizenship is important – before or after the child’s birth.
- If the parent obtained Australian citizenship before the child was born, the child does not need to apply for an Australian PR status, and can directly apply for Australian citizenship (by descent category); or
- If the parent obtained Australian citizenship after the child was born, the child must follow the normal process of obtaining a permanent resident visa first before naturalization.
Tips: If the child was born in Australia, regardless of whether the parents are Australian citizens or PRs at the time of birth, the child will automatically obtain Australian citizenship and can directly apply for an Australian citizen certificate.
- In relation to the third question of when you can submit a citizenship application after gaining your permanent residency, it should be clear that children aged 16 and above who have been granted Australian PR status has the same requirements as other Australian permanent residence visa categories. They can only submit a citizenship application after obtaining their permanent residency and have met the required residence requirements of the citizenship application.
We will go into detail and discuss later on when children under the age of 16 can apply for citizenship. - In relation to the fourth question, which is also the most complicated question, is the variety of factors that may affect a child’s visa application. Firstly, there is no doubt that the child must satisfy the various requirements of the visa application, which is described below:
- under the age of 18 years old;or
- over the age of 18 years old but under the age of 25 years old, and is a full-time student; or
- over the age of 18 years old and with a disability: complete or partially loss physical/mental function and inability to work full-time.
Tips: Given the recent visa processing time provided by the Department of Home Affairs, it is recommended to complete the child visa application before the child turns 18, or at the latest, before the child turns 23. This is to allow sufficient time for the Department of Home Affairs to process the application, and to avoid reaching the age limit of 25 before the visa application process is completed.
- At least one of the parents must be an Australian citizen or PR: to act as the sponsor for the visa application
- Marital status: Must be single
- Both biological parents of the applicant must provide written consent to the child’s immigration plan (sign Form 1229)
- Meet the health requirements including completing the required immigrating body check andimmigration health examinations
- Meet character requirements (of high importance)
Tips: The Australian government places great emphasis on character assessment. This applies not only to the applicant, but more importantly to the background of the sponsor for this type of visa. If the Department of Home Affairs finds that the sponsor has a record of bad character after investigation, especially if the bad conduct is related to children, it will have a significant negative impact on the application. Therefore, it is important that all details and background information are clearly communicated to the immigration agent prior to the submission of the visa application. The application should be submitted to the Department of Home Affairs after full preparation is made.
If you or your family and friends need any assistance relating to your immigration to Australia, or you have any other questions about Australian child visa, feel free to leave a comment!
If you would like to know more about Australian visas and other legal information, you can get in touch with us and we will be happy to help you!
