The Department of Immigration & Citizenship offers a variety of visa subclasses subject to different criteria, which are made available to family members of permanent residents, Australian citizens and eligible New Zealand citizens.

If you have family members (child, partner, parent, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, grandchild, uncle, niece, nephew or step relative) in Australia and you want to immigrate there, you can apply for one of the few Australian Family visas, but your Australian relative (Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen or permanent resident) must be your sponsor in all cases.

Apart being sponsored by a family member in Australia, the general requirement for most family visas are that you must meet the health and character criteria.

You are released from the usual required skills test for the Business and General skilled migrants and excessive knowledge of the English language.

Based on your current circumstances there are various types of permanent visas that you can apply for, including:

• Partner Visa
• Aged Parent or Contributory Aged Parent Visa
• Child or Dependent Child Visa
• Remaining Relative, Aged Dependant Relative, Carer Visa.
• Adoption Visa

Depending on the relation with your relative in Australia and the type of visa you wish to apply for you must lodge the appropriate supporting documents.

For example, if you apply for a Parent visa you must:

• pass the balance family test;
• be parent of a child that is Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident or New Zealand citizen;
• the child must have live in Australia at least 2 years as permanent resident, Australian citizen or eligible New Zealand citizen;
• the child must be your sponsor and be at least 18 years old;
• have approved Assurance of support.

In some cases, you can apply first for a temporary visa, and after receiving it and entering Australia, you can apply for permanent family visa.

Most Family visa applications can be lodged in or out of Australia.

To see all the Family Visa Options that may apply for your current situation, please visit the Department of Immigration & Citizenship’s family visas page.