This visa is for people whose only near relatives are usually resident in Australia and are Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens.
This visa requires you to be sponsored by an eligible relative (or your relative’s eligible spouse), in Australia.
Who is this visa for?
This visa is for you if both of these apply:
- you have a brother, sister, parent (or step-equivalent) who is an Australian citizen,
- Australian permanent resident or
- eligible New Zealand citizen usually resident in Australia
- you and your spouse have no brothers, sisters, children, parents (or step-equivalents) other than those in Australia.
Your spouse and other family members may be included in your application if they meet certain requirements.
What does this visa let me do?
If you are granted this visa you and your eligible family members can live in Australia as Australian permanent residents.
You can also:
- work and study in Australia
- receive subsidised healthcare through Medicare and the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS)
- access certain social security payments (subject to waiting periods)
- be eligible for Australian citizenship (subject to the residency eligibility criteria)
- sponsor people for permanent residence (subject to waiting periods and visa specific restrictions).
Eligible sponsor
You must be sponsored by an eligible sponsor. Your sponsor must be your brother, sister, parent (or step-equivalent) or their spouse, who are settled and usually resident in Australia and they must be either one of the following:
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen.
Assurance of Support
You must have a commitment by a person or an organisation prepared to provide you with an Assurance of Support.
Health
You must meet health requirements.
Character
You must meet character requirements.
Applicants under 18
If you are under 18 and were adopted overseas by an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, your adoptive parent must have spent 12 months living overseas before they are eligible to sponsor you.
Debts to the Australian Government
You must repay, or have made arrrangements to repay, any outstanding debts to the Australian Government, before a decision can be made on your application.
Australian Values Statement
If you are aged 18 years or over, you are required to sign an Australian values statement. The statement is included in your visa application form and all applicants aged 18 years and over will need to sign it to confirm that they will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. Before signing this statement you are required to have read, or had explained to you, material made available by the government on life in Australia which is contained in the Life in Australia book.