Child Offshore Visa (Subclass 101)

It can be applied, if the child is:

• Sponsored by a parent or an eligible sponsor under the Child visa requirements
• Single
• Under 18 years of age, or
• A full-time student aged 18 to 25 and financially dependent on the parent, or
• Aged 18 or over and unable to work due to disability and financially dependent on the parent

Whether a child qualifies depends on the visa definition of a dependent child and the supporting evidence provided with the application.

Who Can Sponsor The Child?

The child is generally sponsored by their parent. The sponsoring parent must usually be:

• An Australian citizen, or
• The holder of an Australian permanent visa, or
• An eligible New Zealand citizen

In some cases involving a step-child, additional evidence may be required to show the step-parent relationship and parental responsibility.

You do not need to be in Australia at the time of application for the child to apply for Subclass 101. However, this is an offshore visa, so the child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the visa is decided. If the child is in Australia, the relevant onshore pathway is usually Child Visa (Subclass 802).

Parental responsibility

This visa can only be granted for a child under 18 years of age if the application shows that the sponsoring parent has the legal right to decide where the child lives, or that the required consent has been provided. Evidence may include:

• Consent from any person who can legally decide where the child lives
• A court order permitting the child’s permanent removal from the home country
• A death certificate or other official document if one parent has died
• A valid Australian child order issued by the Family Court

It is important to provide the correct parental responsibility documents, as these are a key part of the assessment for a child under 18.

Other basic requirements

Australia applies Measures for the Protection of Children to child visa applications. These measures help ensure children are protected in migration processes and can involve checks relevant to the child’s welfare and best interests.

Other requirements are: 

• The child must meet health requirements
• A child aged 16 or over may need to meet character requirements and provide police clearances where required
• The child must not have any outstanding debt to the Australian Government, or arrangements must be made to repay that debt
• The child may be asked to provide biometrics as part of the application process
• In some cases, an Assurance of Support may be requested if required by the Department

What this visa lets you do

This is a permanent residence visa. It allows the child to: 

• Travel to and stay in Australia indefinitely
• Work and study in Australia
• Enrol in Medicare, Australia’s public healthcare scheme
• Apply for Australian citizenship if eligible
• Sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence, subject to migration rules
• Travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the visa is granted; after that, another travel facility may be needed for re-entry as a permanent resident

All applications must be supported by the correct forms and documents. Child visa applications are paper-based, using Form 47CH and Form 40CH. From July 2025, applicants for Child visa subclasses including 101 can import their paper application into ImmiAccount for online management after lodgement.