How to arrive and

Other visas

There are a number of other visas that are relevant to prospective immigrants to Australia. They are only relevant under certain circumstances to a minority of people who immigrate to Australia or don’t receive much exposure. They are included here for completeness.

Child visas
Whether you want to bring your own children with you to Australia or plan to adopt a child from another country, you must apply for a visa for them too. There are three types of visas in the ‘child migration’ category: 1) the orphan relative visa, 2) the adoption visa and 3) the dependent child visa. The child visa is valid for natural, step and adopted children of their sponsors. The sponsor is required to be an Australian or qualified New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
In order for your child to be eligible for a child visa, he or she must be 25 years or younger. If your child is 18 years old or older, then he or she must be dependent on you (and/or your spouse), and must be a full-time student. However, the age requirement is exempt if your child has a disability, which precludes him or her from working. Your child cannot be married or currently engaged, and if he or she is 18 or older, can never have been married in order to be eligible for the child visa.
For your child to obtain a child visa, you must first have the permission of all those individuals who have some form of custody of your child. This permission can be granted through a court order or by a legal statement from the individuals. For divorced people with children this may become a thorny issue.
1) You may also apply for child migration under the orphan relative visa. Children who are eligible for the orphan relative visa have to be sponsored by a relative. Eligible relatives include grandparent(s), the orphan’s sibling(s), aunt, uncle, niece or nephew as well as stepfamily members. The relative must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident or an eligible citizen of New Zealand.

The orphan is eligible for a visa if he or she is not married or in a common-law relationship.

To obtain an orphan visa, you must first have the permission of all those individuals who have some form of custody over the child. This permission may be granted through a court order or by a legal statement from the individuals. Lastly, it must be considered in the best interest of the child that you bring him or her to Australia and there must be no evidence that proves otherwise.
2) The adoption visa is specifically for children who have already been adopted or who are currently going through the adoption process. The child must be younger than 18 at the time of application, and if he/she will turn 18 during the process, then he/she will not be eligible for this particular visa. Australia’s state or territory adoption authority will first need to approve the adoption before the application can proceed. The only exclusion is if you (the adoptive parent) has lived in another country for the year previous to filing the application. However, you must prove why you lived overseas, for example so that you didn’t move away from Australia simply to evade any adoption visa requirements.
3) Lastly, there is the Dependent Child Temporary visa. Those children under 18 applying in this category will be the children (natural, adopted or step) of a parent with a Temporary Visa. However, the child applying has to have the same sponsor as his/her parent. The Dependent Child Temporary visa has the same requirements as previous visas, which are: your child cannot be married or currently engaged, or if he or she is 18 or older, can never have been married in order to be eligible for the child visa. Lastly, for your child to obtain a child visa, you must first have the permission of all those individuals who have some form of custody of your child. This permission can be granted through a court order or by a legal statement from the individuals.
DIBP has a relevant booklet called Booklet 2 ‘Child Migration’ at http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1128.pdf

Other family visas
If you don’t fit in any of the previous categories, you may fall into the other family visa classification. This category includes 1) the remaining aged dependent relative visa, 2) the remaining relative visa and 3) the carer visa.
1) If you are an aged individual (age 65 for men and between 60 and 65 for women) and are financially dependent on a relative living in Australia, you may be eligible for the Aged Dependent Relative Visa. You must also meet several other requirements besides your age in order to be eligible for the Aged Dependent Visa. First, you have to be eligible for the aged pension that is offered in Australia and also have to be be single, widowed or divorced. Lastly, you should have been dependent financially on your relative for a period of three years or more before filing the application. You will have to be able to prove this with documentation. Your relative(s) may be a son or daughter, your parent(s), your brother, your sister, your grandparent or grandchild, your aunt, uncle, nephew or niece of a step-relative.
2)You may also perhaps qualify for the Remaining Relative Visa. The remaining relative visa is for relatives who are alone overseas and they wish to join their family in Australia. In order to qualify for the remaining relative visa, you shouldn’t have family outside of Australia and you need to be a sibling or offspring of an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Your sponsor is required to be at least 18 years old.
3) If you have a relative living in Australia who needs your help and you want to assist them in their daily life then you may qualify for the Carer Visa. The Carer Visa allows individuals with relatives in Australia (citizens or permanent residents) who have medical conditions that require extensive and continuous care both physically and emotionally. You will be eligible for the carer visa if you can give your relative help that he/she cannot find elsewhere, i.e. a hospital or through nursing. If your relative will need your help for at least two years then you’ll want to consider the Carer Visa. Once you have determined that you indeed want to apply for the Carer Visa, your relative will need to schedule an appointment with Health Services Australia for a medical examination. Your relative will need to inform Health Services Australia as to the need for the exam and request a letter be sent to you, letting you know that the health exam has been completed. It is extremely important that Health Services Australia (http://www.healthoz.com.au) send you this letter because you have to send it to DIBP with your application. Your application will be denied if this required letter does not accompany it.

Special migration
This information is about migrating to Australia under the Special Migration program. Detailed information is set out in Booklet 8, Special Migration. http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books8.htm You must read the booklet before completing an application for migration.
- Close Ties category
To be eligible under the Close Ties category, you must be living in Australia and be seeking to remain in Australia as a permanent resident. You must have spent at least nine out of your first 18 years in Australia as a permanent resident, have maintained close business, cultural or personal ties with Australia and are under the age of 45 at the time of lodging your application or you are a former member of the Australian Defence Forces. See: http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/special/close_ties.htm
- Former Resident category
To be eligible under the Former Resident category, you must be living outside Australia and be seeking to return to Australia as a permanent resident. You be a former Australian permanent resident who spent at least 9 of your first 18 years in Australia, be under 45 at time of application, and have maintained close links with Australia; or you have at any time prior to 19/1/81 completed 3 months service in the Australian Armed Forces, including national service prior to 1964, or been discharged as medically unfit by way of that service before completing the 3 months service. See: http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/special/former_residents.htm
- Distinguished Talent Category
The Distinguished Talent program is designed to attract persons who want to settle permanently in Australia and are able to demonstrate they have an internationally-recognised record of exceptional and outstanding achievement in a profession, the arts, sport or research and academia. See: http://www.immi.gov.au/migration/special/distinguished_talent.htm