Child Offshore Visa (Subclass 101)
This visa allows the child living outside Australia to come and live indefinitely with their parents in Australia. The visa can be applied in circumstances where the child is single, below 18 years of age or full-time student between 18-25 years old, or an 18 years above who is disabled and dependent on sponsoring parents.
Benefits:
It is a permanent residence visa that permits the child to travel, work, study and if eligible apply for Australian citizenship as well. The child is also allowed to sponsor relatives for permanent residence. For five years from visa grant, this child can travel to and from Australia frequently.
Who can be a sponsor for the child?
The child under Child Offshore Visa can be sponsored by a parent who is an Australian citizen, holder of an Australian permanent resident visa or an eligible citizen of New Zealand. The child can also be sponsored by a spouse, partner of the child’s parent or by the adoptive parent. An under 18 years old child can also be sponsored by a step-parent who is no longer a partner of the child’s parent but possesses a legal responsibility for the child’s care. One can still be a sponsor if in past they have entered Australia but are outside Australia while lodging visa application.
Responsibility of Parents:
For a child under 18 years of age, the visa can be granted only if you show the written consent by every person who has the legal power to decide where the child lives, consistent with any Australian child order and if the law of child home country allows the removal of the child. Measures for child’s protection have been created by the Australian immigration system which documents things that are necessary to grant this visa because if it’s against the best interests of a child less than 18 years old, then the visa will probably not be granted.
- The child and any other dependent family member who is included in the application despite whether they migrate or not must meet certain health requirements. Mostly, the results are valid only for 12 months.
- The children above 16 years of age must meet certain character requirements as well, for which when asked they need to provide police clearance from respective countries where they have lived for more than 12 months or moved in during last ten years after turning 16.
- As part of the application process, the child may be asked to provide biometrics.
- The child also should be devoid of any outstanding debts to the Australian government.
The processing time of Child Offshore Visa (Subclass 101) according to the Australian government department of Home Affairs is 19 months to 26 months.