Fiancé(e) visa: Applicants who are engaged to be married can apply outside Australia to live in Australia temporarily (for a maximum of nine months). During this time the applicant must get married and obtain the spouse visa, or leave the country. After a further two years, if the relationship is still ongoing, a permanent residence visa can be granted.

Spouse visa: Applicants who are married or have been in a de-facto relationship for a minimum of 12 months who can demonstrate that their relationship is ‘genuine and continuing’ can apply for a provisional (temporary) visa which will allow them to stay with their partner in Australia for two years. At the end of this period, if the relationship is still ongoing, a permanent residence visa is granted.

Interdependency visa: Applicants who have been in a same sex relationship for a minimum of 12 months who can demonstrate that their relationship is ‘genuine and continuing’ can also qualify for temporary and permanent residence in the same way as the Spouse visa above.

Applicants require a sponsor in Australia, which means either an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. There may be situations where permanent residence is granted directly i.e. there is no period of temporary residence, such as when a couple is in a long term relationship and has a child or children.

Parent Migration

There are two broad categories of visas - the ‘Parent’ visa and the ‘Contributory Parent’ visa. The major differences between these two categories are the waiting time after the visa application is made, and the application fees.

The Parent visa involves waiting times of up to 10 years before the visa is approved; the Contributory Parent visa has a waiting period of 12 months before a provisional visa is approved, enabling the applicant to enter Australia and make an application for the permanent visa within two years. The Contributory Parent visa application fee is significantly higher.

Child Migration

This category includes Child, Orphan Relative, and Adoption visas.

For Child migration, a child must be sponsored by a parent who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The child must be aged under 25, but if 18 or over, must be:

• a full-time student; and
• fully dependent on the sponsoring parent.

If the child is 18 or over, the only exception to this rule is where the child has a disability that prevents them from working.

Applicants for an Orphan Relative visa must be under 18 and have no parent to care for them. They can be sponsored by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who is their brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.

Applicants for an Adoption visa must be under 18. They can be sponsored by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who has adopted, or is in the process of adopting, the child through Australian government inter-country arrangements or Hague Convention adoption procedures, or privately overseas. The application must be made outside Australia.

Other family

This category includes Aged Dependent Relative, Last Remaining Relative and Carer visas.

The Aged Dependent Relative visa requires an applicant to:

• be old enough to receive an Australian pension;
• be single; and
• be dependent upon a relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who is their brother, sister, grandparent, uncle, aunt, nephew or niece.

The Last Remaining Relative visa requires an applicant to:

• have no other relatives in their country of residence or Australia (including the applicant’s spouse) apart from those eligible to sponsor (below); and
• be sponsored by an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen who is their brother, sister, or child, and resident in Australia;

The Carer visa requires an applicant to:

• be willing to provide personal care to a relative who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen, which cannot be reasonably obtained from another relative, or a health or medical service in Australia; and
• provide this care for a period of at least two years.