Australia Family Migration: Partner, Parent and Child Visa Planning
Updated: 16 hours ago
Australian family migration starts with the status of the person in Australia and the relationship of each applicant. A partner joining an Australian permanent resident, a parent seeking a long visit and a child joining a temporary worker may need different applications. Prepare a family map before choosing a route.
Choose a route for each family member
Record each person’s citizenship, date of birth, location, current visa and relationship. Identify whether the person in Australia is a citizen, permanent resident, eligible New Zealand citizen or temporary visa holder. Family members joining a temporary worker must check the worker’s visa rules and subsequent entrant arrangements. An employer-sponsored visa does not give every relative an automatic entitlement to join.
Partner visas: 309/100 or 820/801?
Subclass 309 is applied for outside Australia; subclass 820 is applied for in Australia. The corresponding permanent stages are 100 and 801. Marriage alone does not establish eligibility: sponsorship and a genuine qualifying relationship still need assessment. Before planning an onshore application, check the current visa and any restriction on further applications. A temporary partner grant is not a permanent residence grant.
Prepare a consistent relationship record
Build a timeline of meeting, starting the relationship, living together, marriage and periods apart. Match genuine records of finances, household arrangements, social recognition and commitment to that timeline. Explain name differences, earlier marriages and time apart rather than copying another couple’s statement. For a first review, provide an organised document index instead of sending a large unlabelled collection of messages and photographs.
Parent visas: eligibility and the queue
Parent subclasses 103, 143, 173, 804, 864 and 884 use the balance of family test. A parent must have at least half their children and stepchildren counted as eligible children, or more eligible children than children living in any other single country. Apply the official definitions and exclusions to the whole family. Being physically in Australia on a temporary visa does not itself make a child eligible. On 12 November 2026, Home Affairs’ published estimates for new applications were 18 years for contributory parent visas and 42 years for Parent and Aged Parent visas. These are estimates, not personal grant dates. Keep the lodgement, queue assignment and release for final assessment stages separate.
Sponsored Parent 870 is a temporary visit
Subclass 870 permits visits of up to three or five years, with a maximum cumulative stay of ten years, subject to the rules. It does not permit work or lead to permanent residence. An approved Parent Sponsor is required first. Restrictions apply to applying for other parent visas after applying for or holding 870, so check the sequence before combining long visits with permanent migration plans. Prepare separate budgets for accommodation, insurance and care.
Child 101: do not borrow another visa’s age rule
An offshore Child 101 applicant must meet the relevant parent, dependency and relationship conditions. The age categories cover children under 18, financially dependent full-time students aged 18 to 24, and adult children unable to work because of disability. Check the precise conditions at the relevant stages. Do not apply a general under-23 secondary applicant rule to every child visa. For a minor, establish who can legally consent to migration and provide the required custody or consent documents.
Documents, police certificates and health checks
Create a separate file for every applicant: identity, birth and relationship records, sponsor status, and route-specific evidence. List residence countries and dates so the applicable police certificate requirements can be checked. Follow the visa checklist and requests for health examinations. Disclose relevant history accurately; a certificate does not replace the character assessment. The effect of a family member’s health or character issue depends on the visa and applicable criteria, so a blanket statement that every issue automatically refuses the whole family is inappropriate.
Budget by person and payment stage
Use the official pricing estimator for the selected visa and actual applicants, then check instalments and any additional charges. Keep government charges separate from professional fees, translations, examinations, police certificates, insurance and relocation. Some routes involve an Assurance of Support, a legal agreement administered by Services Australia; its duration and financial obligations depend on the visa. Obtain a written service scope and an itemised estimate before committing funds.
Application steps and realistic timing
First establish the route, application location and sponsorship requirements. Gather and check evidence, lodge through the method specified for that subclass, and keep the receipt and submitted version. Track requests and deadlines, update changes in circumstances and review each grant’s conditions before booking the move. Use the processing guide for the exact visa and stage. Parent queues require their own published queue information. A generic month-by-month schedule cannot predict a family’s outcome.
Can one application cover three generations?
Not automatically. A partner, children and parents may require different eligibility assessments and separate applications. Subclass 870 does not allow other family members to be included in that visa application. Treat a shared relocation date as a family preference until every person’s immigration and travel position is confirmed.
Prepare for a PremierVisa consultation
Bring a family map, current visas, the status of the person in Australia, relationship documents and your intended timing. 卓越移民 Premier Visa can help organise route questions, document gaps and a preparation plan. Confirm the actual professional responsible for any individual legal advice and the agreed service scope.
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