Back to Migration

Family Visas

Australian family reunification relies on four primary pathways, each requiring sponsorship from an Australian citizen or permanent resident. The Partner Visa is a two-stage process (temporary to permanent) that demands extensive evidence of a genuine, shared life; the Parent Visa offers either a high-cost “contributory” route for faster residency or a temporary 10-year stay without a permanent pathway; the Carer Visa provides a permanent home for relatives needed to support family members with critical medical needs that cannot be met locally; and the Child Visa ensures dependent children—including students up to age 25 to join their parents indefinitely. These pathways prioritise household unity

Get Started

Parent Visa

Australia offers several visa options for families who wish to bring their parents to live in the country on a permanent basis. There are six main parent visa subclasses that applicants may be eligible for, including subclasses 173, 870, 804, 103, 884, and 143.

For parents who are looking for a temporary stay with their children in Australia, the Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa (subclass 870) provides two choices, allowing parents to live in Australia for either three or five years at a time. This visa enables families to reunite for extended periods without applying immediately for a permanent parent visa.

Partner Visa

If you are an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen, you may be able to sponsor your partner to join you in Australia through a Partner visa, commonly known as the Australian Spouse visa. This visa allows couples to live together in Australia, with a pathway to permanent residency.

Depending on your circumstances, there are different visa options available to help your partner travel to Australia, remain in the country, and eventually live and work there permanently.

Our team offers end-to-end support across all partner visa categories, including the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300), as well as onshore and offshore Spouse and De Facto Partner visas (subclasses 820 & 801 and 309 & 100).

Not sure which visa is right for you?

We can help assess your situation and guide you to the best pathway

Book a consultation

Frequently Asked Questions

To be eligible as a spouse applicant for a Partner visa in Australia, you must demonstrate that you and your partner are committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others, that your relationship is genuine and continuing, that you either live with your spouse or do not live apart on a permanent basis, and that your marriage is valid under Australian law.

The processing time for a spouse visa can sometimes be quite lengthy. Approximately 50% of applications are processed in 23 months and 90% of applications in 29 months.

The timeframe for allocation and assessment of applications, including applications in line with government policy priorities, will vary depending on a range of factors such as the overall application lodgement rate and the total number of applications on-hand.

Other circumstances that affect processing timeframes include application completeness, applicant responses to requests for additional information, and the length of time required to perform necessary checks on supporting information.

If you apply for your partner visa while you are in Australia, you will be issued a bridging visa until your partner visa has finished processing. You must be in Australia when the Department makes a decision on your visa application. If you applied for your Partner visa offshore, you will not be granted a bridging visa for the interim processing period and must comply by the conditions of your current visa.

The cost of an Australian Parent visa depends on the length of time you are applying for. Currently, a three-year Temporary Parent visa has departmental fees of $5,000 in comparison to the five-year option costing $10,000 for the Temporary Sponsored (subclass 870) visa. Contributory Parent visa applications are generally around $50,000 per parent, and Non-Contributory Parent Visas are around $4,000 per parent (but have extremely long processing times). 

Your parents must maintain adequate health insurance for the whole of their stay in Australia. This will be a condition attached to their visa. 

Need more help?

Our team is more than happy to answer anyfurther questions you might have.

0499 215 029

Contact Us