Subclass 820 / 801
Onshore partner visa
For applicants applying onshore in Australia.
Partners & families
Living with your loved ones shouldn’t be optional. Careful planning, strategy and expert guidance can help you bring your family from overseas to Australia.
Registered migration agent (MARN)
Qualified Education Agent Counsellor (QEAC)
Independent advice
Global executive experience
Registered migration agent (MARN)
Qualified Education Agent Counsellor (QEAC)
Independent advice
Global executive experience
How can I bring my partner or family to Australia?
Family migration is often one of the most important and emotionally significant parts of the migration process. Whether you are planning to bring a partner, child, parent, or another eligible relative to Australia, the right pathway will depend on your relationship, your current status, your long-term goals, and the practical realities of timing, cost, and eligibility.
Australia offers a range of partner, child, parent, and other family visa pathways, but they vary significantly in terms of requirements, processing times, and long-term outcomes. Home Affairs maintains separate visa categories for partners, children, parents, and other family members within the broader visa framework.
Understanding which option is realistic — and how it fits into your broader family plans — is often the first step in building a sound strategy.
What partner visa options are available in Australia?
Partner visas usually follow a two stage process, granting successful applicants a temporary visa first and a permanent one later. The Prospective Marriage visa allows a person to come to Australia, marry their prospective spouse, and then apply for a Partner visa.
The right structure depends on where the applicant is located, their current visa status, the nature and duration of the relationship, and whether there are timing or practical issues that need to be managed carefully.
Subclass 309 / 100
Offshore partner visa
For applicants applying offshore outside Australia.
Subclass 300
Prospective marriage visa
For people intending to come to Australia to marry their prospective spouse and then apply for a partner visa.
How do partner visas work in practice?
In most cases, partner migration is a staged process. A temporary stage is assessed first, followed later by the permanent stage, unless a direct permanent outcome is available in limited circumstances under the applicable framework.
01
Temporary stage
Assessed first, and if granted, allows the applicant to stay in Australia till a permanent visa is granted. Partners must remain in a genuine relationship to progress.
02
Permanent stage
Unless a direct permanent outcome is available, partners who continue meeting the relevant criteria are granted a permanent visa.
In practice, partner cases often turn on:
- Whether the relationship meets the legal definition
- The quality and consistency of the evidence
- Timing
- Current visa status
- Travel or bridging visa considerations
- Previous visa history or other complications
Partner applications are rarely just about filling out forms. The structure of the evidence and the way the relationship is presented can make a significant difference to how clearly the case is understood.
We help clients assess the right pathway, identify evidentiary strengths and gaps, and prepare applications in a way that is clear, structured, and credible from the outset.
Book a consultationCan I bring my children to Australia?
In many cases, yes.
The right pathway depends on the child’s circumstances, your visa position, and how the family structure is documented. Planning early can help avoid issues around dependency, consent, and timing.
Australia has child-related pathways including:
Subclass 802
Child visa
Commonly used where a child is sponsored by a parent who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.
Subclass 445
Dependent child visa
Generally relevant where a child needs to be included within a parent’s existing migration process.
Subclass 102
Adoption visa for a child adopted outside Australia
Usually applies where a child adopted overseas is being brought to Australia under the relevant migration framework.
We help families work through these questions carefully before taking formal steps.
What parent visa options are available in Australia?
Australia offers a number of parent pathways, including both temporary and permanent options.
The two common parent pathways are:
- The Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa - Temporary pathway
- Aged and contributory parent - Permanent or temporary-to-permanent
The key issue is usually not whether a parent visa exists, but which option is realistic and appropriate given age, location, urgency, cost, and long-term family priorities.
Subclass 804
Aged parent
Subclass 870
Sponsored parent (Temporary)
Subclass 884
Contributory parent
Subclass 864
Contributory parent
Will my parent be eligible for Medicare if they come to Australia on a parent visa?
Usually, no — at least not in the way many families expect while the application is still pending.
Although Medicare access can arise in some migration contexts, parent visas are different in practice. For many families using parent pathways strategically, the practical position is that the parent may remain lawfully in Australia while the application is being processed, but will often need to rely on private health insurance in the meantime.
One important exception is the Aged Dependent Relative pathway, which is a narrower and much more heavily regulated family category, which in some cases, might work for a single parent visa.
This is one of the reasons parent visa strategy should not be looked at only through the lens of the visa itself. Medicare, bridging status, travel, and private health insurance all need to be considered together as part of the broader plan. We have extensive experience in dealing with parent visas across all these categories.
Can I have my parents live with me lawfully in Australia?
In most cases, yes.
Where a person is in Australia and lodges the right kind of valid onshore application at the right time, a Bridging Visa A may allow them to remain lawfully in Australia while the substantive visa application is being processed.
In practical terms, this can be an important part of parent visa planning. It may allow a parent to remain in Australia for an extended period while a permanent parent application is pending. Travel also needs to be managed carefully, because a Bridging Visa A generally does not by itself provide a travel facility, which is possible with a bridging visa B, allowing them to travel overseas for a finite period of time.
Even where Medicare is not the practical outcome, many families are still comfortable with this structure because the parent can remain lawfully in Australia and maintain private health insurance while the matter progresses. For many people, that is still a much better practical outcome than prolonged separation.
This is an area where details matter. The timing of lodgement, the parent’s current visa, the category applied for, the validity of the application, and the broader family objective all need to be considered carefully. In the right case, strategic onshore planning can produce a very different practical outcome from a simple offshore wait.
Can I bring another relative to Australia?
In some cases, yes, but these pathways are narrower and more heavily regulated.
The Remaining Relative visa as a pathway for people moving to Australia to be with their only close family members, and the Aged Dependent Relative visa as a pathway for a single older person who relies on a relative in Australia for financial support.
Examples include:
•Subclass 835 – Remaining Relative
•Subclass 838 – Aged Dependent Relative
These pathways usually involve strict eligibility requirements and long time frames. Home Affairs currently estimates 22 years for new applications in the Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative categories; however, it might be possible to to remain lawfully in Australia while the application is decided with Medicare coverage on these visas, and in some limited circumstances, can be used to bring a dependent parent to Australia too.
Because of this, these visas should generally be approached with realistic expectations and careful planning.
What factors matter most in partner and family migration planning?
The right family pathway depends on more than the visa subclass.
Key considerations often include:
The nature of the relationship
Where the applicant is currently located
Sponsor’s citizenship or residency status
Age and dependency
Whether children are involved
Financial implications
Evidence requirements
Processing time
Long-term family settlement goals
Family migration often becomes difficult when people focus too quickly on a single visa name instead of stepping back and asking which overall structure makes the most sense.
That is where careful strategy matters.
How can we help with partner and family migration?
Partner and family cases are often deeply personal, but they still require structure, realism, and a clear understanding of what the law and current policy settings actually allow.
We help clients with:
•Assessing which family pathway may be available
•Comparing temporary and permanent options
•Understanding evidence requirements
•Planning around children, parents, and broader family considerations
•Preparing and lodging applications
•Making realistic decisions where the pathway is narrow, expensive, or subject to very long queues
The aim is not just to identify a visa. It is to help you understand what is possible, what is practical, and what fits your family’s priorities over the longer term.