Assurance of Support
Some Family Migration applicants are subject to an Assurance of Support (AoS), which includes payment of a bond. Other applicants may be subject to an AoS if assessed as being at risk of becoming a charge on Australia's social welfare budget.

Capping visa classes
A number of visa classes have been 'capped'. This means that once the limit for the number of visas to be granted in a visa class has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that year.

Priority processing
In general, a high priority is given to child and partner applications. Parent applications are given a low priority.

Partner migration is migration to Australia as the spouse, prospective spouse (fiance(e)) or interdependent partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Visa categories available under 'Partner Migration' include:
> Spouse visa
> Prospective Marriage (Fiance(e)) visa
> Interdependency visa.

Spouse
 

Those who can apply under the spouse category are people who are married or in a de facto relationship with their sponsor.

(If applying on the basis of a de facto relationship, you should have been in the relationship for at least 12 months at the time you apply).

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
 

Prospective marriage (fiance(e))
Those who can apply under the prospective marriage (fiance(e)) category must be outside Australia, be engaged to their sponsor, and plan to marry.

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Interdependent partner
Those who can apply under the interdependent partner category must be aged at least 18 years old and in an interdependent relationship with their sponsor. The sponsor must be aged at least 18 years old and an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
 

Child migration is migration to Australia as the dependent child, orphan relative or adopted child of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Visa categories available under 'Child Migration' include:
> Child;
> Orphan Relative;
> Adoption;
> Dependent Child (temporary).

Child
The Child category is for the natural child, adopted child or stepchild of a sponsor. The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Where a child was adopted after the sponsor became a permanent resident, they should apply under the Adopted Child category.

Note that a child can only be granted a permanent Child visa on the basis of a step relationship in circumstances where the child's natural or adopted parent is no longer a spouse of the step parent and that step parent has been granted legal responsibility for the child by a court.
 

Orphan Relative
The Orphan Relative category is for a child under 18 years of age who has no parent to care for them. The sponsor must be a relative who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
 

Adoption
The Adoption category is for a child under 18 years of age who has been adopted or be in the process of being adopted by their sponsor.

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

The adoption must be supported by a State or Territory welfare authority, unless the adoptive parent has been resident overseas for a period of at least 12 months at the time of the migration application, and they can demonstrate that their residence overseas was not contrived to deliberately bypass the requirements concerning entry of adopted children.

Dependent Child (temporary)
The Dependent Child (temporary) category is for the natural child, adopted child or stepchild of the holder of a provisional Partner visa.

The Dependent Child visa is a provisional visa which enables the dependent child of a holder of a provisional Partner visa to travel to or remain in Australia for the same period as their parent.

Once this visa has been granted, the holder can apply to be added to their parent's permanent Partner visa application.
 

Parents can migrate to Australia if they have a child in Australia who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizens. Visa categories available under 'Parent Migration' include:

> Parent
> Contributory Parent

Parent
To apply as a parent, you must be sponsored by your child, who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.

All parent applicants must meet threshold criteria including balance of family test, sponsorship requirements, health and character. A parent can only be granted a Parent visa when applying within Australia if they are aged (parents of any age can apply from outside Australia).

An aged parent is one who is old enough to be granted an Australian aged pension. For male applicants the qualifying age for the Australian age pension is 65 and for female applicants the qualifying age is gradually being increased from 60 to 65.
 

Contributory Parent
The threshold requirements for the Contributory Parent visa categories are substantially similar to the Parent visa categories. Both categories will have the same first Visa Application Charge which is payable at the time of application. The key differences are the level of the second Visa Application Charge (payable before a visa is granted) and the level and duration of the Assurance of Support bond.
 

Other Family migration is migration to Australia as an aged dependent relative, remaining relative or carer of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Visa categories available under 'Other Family Migration' include:
> Aged Dependent Relative
> Remaining Relative
> Carer.

In all cases, you must be sponsored by your relative in Australia who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
 

Aged Dependent Relative
Those who can apply under the aged dependent relative category are people who are single, widowed or divorced aged person and who are dependent on a relative* who lives in Australia.

Remaining Relative
Those who can apply under the remaining relative category are people who are the brother, sister or child (or step-relatives to the same degree) of a person in Australia, who, if they did not migrate to Australia would otherwise be left on their own overseas.