There are 3 types of family visas available under Australian family visa categories
Partnership categories
A partner visa allows spouses and de-facto partners (including same-sex) to be sponsored by their partner who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. A Partner Visa is initially granted as a temporary visa where a permanent visa will be granted after two years, provided the relationship remains genuine and ongoing.
A Prospective Marriage visa is a temporary visa that is now issued for 15 months vs usual 9 months, as a result of the Covid pandemic. Fiancés of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens are able to enter Australia to marry their fiancé within the visa validity period and must apply for an Australian Partner Visa if they want to stay in Australia with their spouse.
Dependent Child categories
Dependent children are usually included in their parent’s visa applications, however, occasionally children apply to immigrate separately. There are temporary and permanent visa options available under Child visa categories.
Biological children, stepchildren and adopted children of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens may be eligible for a Child visa, provided they meet the criteria under the relevant visa category.
Parent categories
The Parent visa enables Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to sponsor their parents to migrate to Australia permanently or stay in Australia for a period of 3 or 5 years, with the maximum cumulative stay of 10 years.
Parent visas can be temporary and permanent.
Applications for parent visas are subject to capping and queueing and some visas can take up to 30 months to be processed. Faster processing applies to contributory visas with higher application fees.
