One of the wonderful things about moving to Australia is that you can bring with you the members of your family unit. This includes your spouse/partner and child or children.
In this article, I will give an overview on how you can bring your child/children here in Australia. There are different visas that can be used to fulfil this objective. However, instead of explaining all the various kinds of visas available that allow you to bring your child/children to Australia, I have chosen three real life scenarios which might be applicable to you. The first scenario is about bringing children from a previous marriage/relationship, the second scenario is about bringing a child with only one parent, and the third, is about bringing a new born child while your visa application is still in progress.
- 1. Bringing children from a previous marriage/relationship
Some people might have moved to Australia to live with their new partner or spouse and might have children from their previous relationship. Their children might have been left in the Philippines while they try and settle in their new life in Australia.
For example, Ivory (fictional name) has two children in the Philippines aged five and twelve. Ivory is a Permanent Resident currently living in Australia (holding a Partner visa as she was sponsored by her husband who is an Australian citizen).
Ivory can bring her two children by applying for a Child visa subclass 101. The usual documents required for this visa are proofs of relationship between the child and the sponsor, character requirements (police clearance) for the sponsor, and evidences of the sponsor’s custody of his/her child. Currently, the processing lead time for this visa is between eight to thirteen months. You can get more information about this visa from the link below:
http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/101-
- 2. Bringing a child who has only one parent
This example is applicable to single mums or single dads (currently living in Australia) and whose child or children live/s outside Australia.
In this scenario, Marge (fictional name) is on a 457 visa, who is currently working in Australia. Marge is set to apply for a PR visa (subclass 190) very soon and plans to include her daughter in her application. Marge does not have a husband and the father of her daughter left her even before the baby was born, therefore the father’s name was not included in Marge’s daughter’s birth certificate.
In this case, Marge can include her daughter on her 190 visa application as a dependent (secondary applicant). Marge should submit all the required documents set by the Department of Immigration and Border Protection for her PR visa application along with the proof of relationship with her daughter as well as documents that shows that Marge has a full custody of her daughter.
- 3. Bringing a new born child while your visa application is still in progress.
In this example, Cleve (fictional name) has lodged his PR visa application (a family application for a 189 visa with his wife and two children). When the visa was lodged, Cleve’s wife was pregnant. Because of this, Cleve’s wife cannot do her health and medical exam (this is a requirement for the visa application before the decision is made on the application). Cleve advised his Case Officer about this and his application was put on hold until the health and medical exam was done (which was done a month after Cleve’s wife gave birth).
Cleve then added his newborn daughter to his 189 visa application by providing his baby’s passport and birth certificate. Cleve’s 189 visa application process took longer because getting a new birth certificate and a passport for a new born can take a long time in the Philippines.
In summary, there are different ways of bringing children here in Australia depending on the applicant’s or sponsor’s circumstance. The Child visa 101 fits an Australian PR visa holder sponsor wanting to bring his/her child/ren who are still outside Australia. Parents who plan to apply for a PR visa can include their children as dependents on their PR visa application. A new born baby can be added as a dependent on a PR visa application that is still in progress.
This article is meant to give just an overview of bringing children here in Australia. It is recommended that you get a proper and legal immigration advice based on your unique scenario and requirements.