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
