Offshore Child Visa – Subclass 101

The Child visa (subclass 101) is a permanent pathway for a child living overseas to join their Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen parent and settle in Australia for good.

It's the offshore counterpart to the onshore subclass 802 — the key difference is where the child is when the application is made and decided.

Who Can Apply

The child generally needs to be:

• under 18 years of age; or
• 18 to 25 and a full-time student who is financially dependent on their parent; or
• 18 or over with a disability preventing full-time work;

and must be outside Australia both when the application is lodged and when the visa is decided. Adopted children need to have been adopted before turning 18 to qualify under this pathway. The sponsoring parent needs to be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.

What the Visa Allows

Once granted, the subclass 101 provides permanent residence, which generally means the child can:

• live in Australia permanently;
• work and study without restriction;
• enrol in Medicare; and
• later sponsor eligible family members or apply for citizenship, subject to meeting the relevant requirements at that time.

The visa itself is generally valid for five years from grant as a travel facility — after that, a further application (typically a Resident Return Visa) is needed to keep travelling in and out of Australia as a permanent resident.

Evidence You'll Need

You'll need to show the parent-child relationship clearly (birth certificate, adoption papers, or other relevant evidence), along with identity and character documentation and evidence of the child's dependency where relevant. Applications are lodged on paper, non-English documents need translation, and supporting documents generally need to be certified.

How I Can Help

I can assist with:

• assessing your child's eligibility for the offshore pathway;
• preparing relationship, adoption and dependency evidence;
• managing the paper application process from overseas; and
• advising on next steps once the visa is granted, including travel facility timing.

Important Information

The information on this page is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute migration advice for your individual circumstances.

Visa requirements and processing arrangements can change. Meeting the general requirements described above does not guarantee that a visa application will be approved.

Professional advice should be obtained based on your individual circumstances before lodging an application.