ADOPTION VISA (SUBCLASS 102)

Adoption Visa: An overseas adopted child may live with their adoptive parents in Australia under this visa.

AN ADOPTIVE PARENT MUST BE:

  • An Australian citizen
  • The holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
  • An eligible New Zealand citizen
  • When the application is lodged and when the visa is granted, the child must be outside Australia.

THIS VISA IS FOR CHILDREN WITH BELOW ELIGIBILITY CRITEREA:

  • When the application is lodged and when the visa is granted outside of Australia

  • Under the age of 18

  • Adopted or in the process of adoption

  • Sponsored by an adoptive parent or prospective adoptive parent

Features

This visa allows a child who is adopted outside Australia to come to Australia to live with their adoptive parents.

Eligibility

The child must be adopted or be in the process of being adopted.

Length of stay

Permanently

Cost

From AUD 2,665

Highlights

  • Younger than 18 years of age

  • Living outside of Australia

  • Having already been adopted or in the process of being adopted

  • Health and character requirements must be met

  • Applicants under 18 years of age will not be eligible for this visa if they turn 18 before their application is decided.

  • an Australian citizen

  • the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa, or

  • an eligible New Zealand citizen

Key Eligibility requirements

Best interests of the child

If the visa is against the best interests of a child under 18, it will not usually be granted.

Health

There are certain health requirements you must meet. Results are usually valid for 12 months. You must include all members of your family unit in your application, regardless of whether they are migrating.

Character

Children older than 16 must meet certain character requirements. When they turn 16, they must provide a police certificate from each country they have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years. You should not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.

Debts to the Australian government

A child must not owe any outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts.

A brief overview of the adoption visa

A child can come to Australia to live with their adoptive parents under the Adoption visa (subclass 102). Adoption has already been completed or is in the process of being completed. Adoptive parents usually sponsor the child for this visa and apply on their behalf.

This is a visa for permanent residence. You can file an application before the adoption is finalized if the adoption is processed through an adoption authority in a state or territory.

The Department is no longer accepting adoption visa applications for children who have been adopted in Pakistan as of 14 December 2015. Legislative instruments specify this country.

Adopting or adopting a child from Pakistan will not allow you to apply for an Adoption visa for the child.

 

What this visa lets the child do

It allows the child to:

  • Indefinitely travel to and stay in Australia

  • Study and work in Australia

  • Become a Medicare member, Australia’s national health insurance scheme

  • If eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

  • Sponsoring eligible relatives for permanent residency

  • From the date the visa is granted, they can travel to and from Australia for five years – after that time, they will need to obtain a new visa.

Guardianship of children adopted from overseas

When a child enters Australia without a finalized adoption or without recognition by a state or territory adoption authority, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection is the guardian. State and territory welfare authorities are delegated guardianship powers.

If any of the following occurs, the minister stops being the guardian:

  • the child becomes an Australian citizen
  • the child turns 18 years of age
  • an Australian adoption order is made for the child
Location

The child must be outside Australia at the time of lodgment of application and it’s decision.

 

How long the visa lasts

This is a permanent residence visa.

 

Family

You may be able to include your child in the visa application. Children included in the visa application must meet the requirements for including family members.

Documentary evidence of their relationship to you must be included with the application. Children who are included in your family unit must meet requirements for their health and character.

Siblings must apply separately.

 

The child’s obligations

The child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions. This includes:

  • entering Australia by a set date
  • not getting married or entering into a de facto relationship before arriving in Australia

You must notify us in writing if circumstances change in a way that could affect the child’s eligibility for a visa, or your eligibility to sponsor the child.

Sponsors

The following information is for people who wish to sponsor a child for an Adoption visa (subclass 102). The application documents are usually prepared by the sponsoring parent.

 

Who can sponsor a child

To be a sponsoring parent, you must be:

  • the child’s adoptive or prospective adoptive parent
  • older than 18 years of age

You must also be:

  • an Australian citizen
  • a permanent Australian resident
  • an eligible New Zealand citizen

You do not need to be in Australia to sponsor the child for this visa. You can sponsor the child for this visa if you have:

  • entered Australia in the past but you are outside Australia when they apply
  • been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but you have not yet entered Australia.
Sponsor obligations

In order not to burden the Australian community with welfare costs, we might ask for an assurance of support for the child.

You should not provide an assurance of support unless we ask for one and tell you what to do.

 

Sponsorship obligations

As the sponsoring parent you must agree to:

  • be responsible to pay the cost to the Australian Government of the child’s living expenses in Australia

  • To provide adequate accommodation and financial support for the child’s first two years in Australia

  • Provide assistance to the child in settling in Australia

  • Provide support for the child’s English language classes if they are required

The above list is not exhaustive. It should not be construed as immigration advice, but as general information only.

Contact us if you would like to know more about this visa or need immigration advice.