Family Migration (Parent / Child / Partner Overview)
Family Migration is one of the longest-standing and broadest permanent-residence pathways in Australia’s migration system.
It serves a key policy objective — allowing Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens to bring family members to Australia for long-term reunion within a lawful framework.
Unlike skilled migration or employer-sponsored visas, the logic of family migration does not turn on the applicant’s occupation, age or English proficiency, but on the family relationship itself. That does not, however, mean the process is simpler.
In practice, family-stream visas face a number of common challenges: the non-contributory queue for Parent Visas now sits at around 29–30 years, the contributory pathway carries an application charge approaching AUD 47,000 per parent, Partner Visas require a complete evidentiary chain for the de facto relationship, and Child Visas come with strict age, dependence and custody requirements.
In Australia, the legal basis for family migration is the Migration Act 1958 (Cth) and the Migration Regulations 1994.
Family-stream visas fall into several main branches: Parent Visas, Child Visas, Partner / Prospective Marriage Visas, and a number of less common categories covering more distant family relationships (remaining relative, carer, aged dependent relative).
This page serves as the overview for family migration. It briefly introduces the visa categories, who is an eligible sponsor, the Assurance of Support (AoS) requirement, the Balance of Family test, and the choice between onshore and offshore variants.
For detailed information on the three principal pathways — Parent, Child and Partner — please refer to the dedicated sub-pages.
Family-Stream Visa Categories
Family migration is not a single visa but a cluster of visas covering a range of family relationships. Based on the relationship between the applicant and the sponsor, the most common categories include:
| Parent Visas | covering non-contributory (Subclass 103), Contributory Temporary (173), Contributory Permanent (143), onshore Aged Parent (804), and Contributory Aged Parent Temporary and Permanent (884 / 864); |
|---|---|
| Child Visas | covering offshore Child (Subclass 101), onshore Child (802) and Orphan Relative (117 / 837); |
| Partner Visas | covering Prospective Marriage (Subclass 300), offshore Partner Temporary and Permanent (309 / 100), and onshore Partner Temporary and Permanent (820 / 801); |
| Remaining Relative Visa | Subclass 115 / 835, for applicants who have no near relatives left in their country of origin and whose near relatives are all in Australia; |
| Carer Visa | Subclass 116 / 836, for those providing long-term medical or daily care to an Australian relative; |
| Aged Dependent Relative Visa | Subclass 114 / 838, for elderly, single relatives who have long been financially dependent on an Australian relative. |
Each category has its own eligibility criteria, ceilings and processing times.
In practice, many clients initially assume there is only one visa they can apply for; on a full assessment, however, a more suitable or more achievable alternative pathway can often be identified.
Who is an Eligible Sponsor
The core mechanism of a family-stream visa is sponsorship. The sponsor must commit to financial, family and accommodation support for the applicant.
The eligibility criteria vary slightly between visa categories, but the basic requirements are usually as follows:
- the sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen;
- the sponsor generally needs a reasonable long-term residence arrangement in Australia (in Parent Visa and Partner Visa categories in particular, there are residence-duration requirements for the sponsor);
- the sponsor must meet the statutory minimum age (most family-stream visas require the sponsor to be 18 or over; in particular Partner-sponsorship circumstances the age requirement is adjusted);
- the sponsor must satisfy a character check, including no serious criminal record and no family-violence related convictions;
- the sponsor must satisfy the sponsorship limits — in Partner Visa cases, for example, a sponsor can usually sponsor a maximum of two partners in their lifetime, with at least 5 years between the two sponsorships.
The sponsorship reforms that took effect from 2024 have further strengthened sponsor obligations.
In Partner Visa cases in particular, the sponsor must first be approved as a sponsor before the main visa application can formally proceed.
That change in process makes sponsor screening (including character and family-violence background) a front-loaded step.
Sponsor Character and Family-Violence Screening
In the 2024 reforms to Australia’s migration law, the sponsor screening mechanism was one of the most significant changes to the Partner Visa process.
After the reform, the sponsor must be approved as a sponsor before the main visa application proceeds, and the scope of screening has been clearly broadened. Common elements of sponsor screening include:
- no serious criminal record shown in a National Police Check;
- no family-violence related convictions, no protection-order history and no pattern of repeated breaches;
- the sponsor’s place of residence, employment status, and ability to meet support obligations during the sponsorship period;
- whether the sponsor has previously sponsored other applicants and whether any breaches arose during the sponsorship period.
If the sponsor has a serious criminal record (particularly involving family violence, sexual offences, or offences against children), the sponsorship application may be refused.
Similar screening mechanisms are being progressively strengthened in Parent Visa and Child Visa cases as well.
Balance of Family Test
The Balance of Family test is a statutory requirement specific to the Parent Visa. Its purpose is to ensure the Parent Visa is used by applicants with genuinely strong family ties to Australia. The core requirements are:
- at least half of the applicant’s children must be Australian citizens, permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens, usually residing in Australia; or
- the number of children in Australia is equal to or greater than the number of children resident in any other single country.
“Children” here includes biological, step- and adopted children, regardless of their current age. Even where the children are adult and independent, they still count for the test.
In practice, this test commonly “catches” families where only one child is in Australia while several other children remain spread across the country of origin.
If the Balance of Family test cannot be met, the currently available alternatives are relatively limited.
In consultation, clients often consider: waiting for other children to obtain PR before lodgement, switching to the longer-stay Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa, or assessing the possibility of other relative-based categories.
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Assurance of Support
Assurance of Support (AoS) is one of the core conditions for the Contributory Parent Visa stream (Subclasses 143 / 173 / 864 / 884).
The purpose of the AoS is to ensure that the visa holder will not become a burden on Australia’s social security system in the first 10 years after arrival. Key points on AoS include the following:
- AoS is a financial undertaking process assessed by Centrelink, separate from the visa sponsorship itself;
- the person providing the AoS (the assurer) can be the sponsor or another eligible Australian citizen / permanent resident — but their household income must meet the statutory threshold;
- AoS is a 10-year financial commitment: during that 10-year period, if the visa holder claims and receives certain Centrelink benefits (such as particular allowances), the assurer must repay the amounts paid;
- AoS generally requires a bond, with the amount varying by visa category and household structure — for example, the single-applicant bond for the Contributory Parent Visa is around AUD 10,000;
- the financial test for AoS is strict and requires documents such as tax returns, income evidence and employment verification.
In practice, preparation for AoS usually needs to be planned well before the visa application, including assessing the assurer’s income eligibility, combining multiple assurers, and confirming the source of bond funds.
Queue Times — Contributory vs Non-Contributory
The Parent Visa is one of the family-stream categories with the largest variation in waiting times.
Understanding the difference between contributory and non-contributory streams is one of the key judgements in any Parent Visa strategy. The basic framework is:
- Non-contributory (Subclass 103 / 804): lower application charges (in the low thousands of AUD) but a very limited ceiling — the queue is currently around 29–30 years or more, which means many parents who lodge in their 40s or 50s may not realistically see the visa decided within their expected lifetime;
- Contributory (Subclass 143 / 173 / 864 / 884): very high application charges (the second instalment for the permanent stream is approximately AUD 47,000 per applicant, plus the AoS bond), but processing time is typically reduced to around 6–7 years;
- the contributory temporary streams (173 / 884) allow the applicant to obtain 2 years of temporary residence after paying the first instalment and then transition to permanent residence on payment of the second instalment — this “staged” pathway helps spread the cost.
This 5–6 figure AUD difference is often described by clients as “buying time with money”.
The actual choice, however, depends not only on the capacity to fund the application but also on the family’s age profile, health status, the need to access Medicare quickly, and other comprehensive considerations.
It is worth noting that the family-stream visa ceilings, application charges and processing times announced each year in the Australian Federal Budget can be adjusted, and current figures should be confirmed before lodgement.
Offshore vs Onshore Variants and Bridging Visa Implications
Most family-stream visas come in both an offshore and an onshore version. The two differ in application eligibility, in-process status protection, and bridging-visa arrangements in important ways.
Taking the Partner Visa as an example:
- Offshore Partner Visa (Subclass 309 / 100): the applicant must be outside Australia at the time of application; at grant, the applicant is also generally outside Australia (except in particular circumstances);
- Onshore Partner Visa (Subclass 820 / 801): the applicant must be in Australia at the time of application and must hold a substantive visa; once lodged, the applicant generally automatically receives a Bridging Visa A (BVA), which allows lawful stay during processing.
Similarly, the Parent Visa has Subclass 103 (offshore non-contributory) and Subclass 804 (onshore non-contributory aged); the Child Visa has Subclass 101 (offshore) and Subclass 802 (onshore); the Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) is offshore only.
For onshore Partner Visa applicants, the BVA is one of the most important transitional safeguards. The BVA remains in effect until the main visa is decided and carries work rights, but ceases on departure.
To preserve a right to re-enter Australia before departure, a Bridging Visa B (BVB) must be applied for. This detail is often under-estimated in practice, particularly where family visits or urgent overseas travel are involved.
Common Documentation Pitfalls
In family-stream visa applications, the quality of document preparation directly affects processing times and the likelihood of grant. In past matters, the following types of documentary issues have been the most common:
- Incomplete relationship evidence: Partner Visa applications require evidence across four pillars — financial, social, household and commitment. Many applicants provide only wedding photographs and a marriage certificate, missing key materials such as joint accounts, joint leases, joint insurance, social-media joint photos and records of contact between the two families;
- Notarisation and translation issues: documents issued in the country of origin — such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce certificates and household-register pages — must be translated by NAATI-accredited translators or completed under embassy / Apostille (Hague) authentication;
- Incomplete Balance of Family documents for Parent Visas: all children (biological, step- and adopted, regardless of age) must be listed for the test, and omissions can skew the result;
- Missing character evidence: applicants and sponsors must provide police clearance certificates from the country of origin and any country of long-term prior residence;
- Insufficient financial evidence: Contributory Parent Visas require AoS financial evidence, including continuous tax records for the assurer;
- Health-examination validity: health-examination results are generally valid for 12 months, and for family-stream visas with long processing times these can expire and need re-examination.
We recommend a full document-checklist review before lodgement, and where necessary an early conversation with the legal team about which pieces of evidence need to be strengthened and which documents need re-notarisation or re-translation.
How We Can Help
Family-stream visa matters generally involve coordination across multiple parties: the applicant, the sponsor, family members on both sides, and at times minor children, elderly parents or clients with complex health profiles.
The NS Legal migration team’s role in these matters is to help untangle relationships, plan the pathway, and reduce the risk of refusal.
We will generally begin by assessing, together with the client: the current family structure, the sponsor’s eligibility, the applicant’s health and character profile, available funds, and the migration intentions of other family members.
Based on this overall picture, we will judge which visa category is best prioritised, whether an alternative pathway should be prepared in parallel, and what a sensible timeline for AoS and document preparation looks like.
In practice, we are typically able to assist clients to:
- assess the viability of a family-stream visa, including Balance of Family test modelling and the cost-time trade-off between contributory and non-contributory streams;
- complete sponsor eligibility checks, including the compliance assessment of prior sponsorship history, character and family-violence screening;
- assist in preparing the four-pillar relationship evidence chain for a Partner Visa — financial, social, household and commitment;
- prepare Parent Visa applications, including Balance of Family documents, AoS coordination and the source-of-funds explanation for the bond;
- prepare Child Visa applications, particularly in matters involving adoption, sole custody and cross-border custody arrangements;
- assist offshore and onshore applicants with strategic choices between visa categories, including BVA / BVB transitional arrangements;
- respond to requests for further information (s 56) and to plan review or appeal pathways after a refusal.
Our goal is, within what the law allows, to identify the most stable and most executable pathway for family reunion, and to help clients manage expectations and advance the matter at key milestones over what is often a multi-year processing period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why are the queues for family-stream visas so long?
This is a function of the annual family-stream visa ceilings and the policy positioning of the program. Australia’s annual ceiling for family-stream visas is relatively fixed, while the number of applicants substantially exceeds the ceiling — particularly for Parent Visas. The 29–30 year non-contributory queue is a policy outcome rather than a per-case delay. The contributory stream trades a much higher application charge and an AoS financial commitment for a much shorter processing time (around 6–7 years), but at a significantly higher cost.
After sponsoring one partner, how long before I can sponsor another?
Under the statutory sponsorship limit, a sponsor can usually sponsor a maximum of two partners in their lifetime, with at least 5 years between the two sponsorships. Exceptional circumstances (such as the death of a former partner, a family-violence background or child-care responsibilities) may support a waiver, but adequate supporting evidence is required.
If I do not pass the Balance of Family test, can I still apply for a Parent Visa?
Generally, not directly for a permanent Parent Visa. The alternatives to consider include:
- waiting for other children to obtain PR before lodgement
- applying for the Subclass 870 Sponsored Parent (Temporary) Visa (which allows stays of up to 10 years but does not lead to PR)
- or, where the criteria are met, assessing other relative-based categories
We recommend a complete review of the family structure with the legal team before deciding the pathway.
What is the main difference between onshore and offshore applications?
The key difference is the applicant’s location at the time of application and the resulting bridging-visa arrangements. An onshore application generally carries a BVA, allowing lawful stay during processing; an offshore application requires the applicant to wait outside Australia for the decision, with no right to be in Australia during that period (unless a separate valid visa is held). The convenience of an onshore application is significant, but some categories (such as the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa) are offshore-only.
Roughly how long does a Partner Visa take to be granted?
Partner Visa processing times vary by applicant nationality, the completeness of relationship evidence, Departmental workload and other factors. Current public data indicates that the temporary Partner Visa (820 / 309) is generally decided within 12–24 months, and the permanent stage (801 / 100) is generally assessed around 2 years after the temporary stage is granted. Where evidence is strong, the relationship is genuine and the character profile is clean, processing times typically sit at the lower end of these ranges.
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