ADOPTION VISA (SUBCLASS 102)
Adoption Visa: This visa allows an overseas adopted child to live with their adoptive parents in Australia.
AN ADOPTIVE PARENT MUST BE:
- An Australian citizen
- The holder of an Australian permanent resident visa
- An eligible New Zealand citizen
- The child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the visa is granted.
THIS VISA IS FOR CHILDREN:
- Outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the visa is granted
- Younger than 18 years old
- Already adopted or in the process of being adopted
- Sponsored by an adoptive parent or prospective adoptive parent
Features
Eligibility
The child must be adopted or be in the process of being adopted.
Length of stay
Permanently
Cost
From AUD 2,665
Eligibility
An adoptive parent will usually lodge the application for this visa on behalf of the child.
To be able to get the visa, the child must:
- be younger than 18 years of age
- be living outside Australia
- be either already adopted or in the process of being adopted by their sponsor
- meet health and character requirements
- if the child is under 18 years of age at the time of application, but will turn 18 before the application is decided, they will not be eligible for this visa.
The child must also be sponsored by an adoptive parent who is:
- an Australian citizen
- the holder of an Australian permanent resident visa, or
- an eligible New Zealand citizen
Best interests of the child
This visa will not usually be granted if it is against the best interests of a child younger than 18 years of age.
Health
You must meet certain health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months. This also applies to any member of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
Character
A child older than 16 years of age must meet certain character requirements. They must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country they have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after they turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.
Debts to the Australian government
The child must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.
About the Adoption visa
The Adoption visa (subclass 102) lets a child come to Australia to live with their adoptive parent. The child can already be adopted or be in the process of being adopted. The adoptive parent sponsors the child for this visa and usually applies on their behalf.
This is a permanent residence visa. If the adoption is through a state or territory adoption authority, you can lodge the application before the adoption is finalised.
Note: From 14 December 2015, the Department is unable to accept Adoption visa applications for children who have been adopted in Pakistan. This country is specified in a legislative instrument.
If you intend to adopt, or have adopted, a child from Pakistan, you will be unable to lodge a valid application for an Adoption visa for the child with the Department.
What this visa lets the child do
It allows the child to:
- travel to and stay in Australia indefinitely
- work and study in Australia
- enrol in Medicare, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses
- apply for Australian citizenship (if they are eligible)
- sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
- travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time they will need another visa to enter Australia
Guardianship of children adopted from overseas
If an adoption is not finalised or if it is not recognised by a state or territory adoption authority when the child enters Australia, the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection will be the guardian of the child. The guardianship powers are delegated to state and territory welfare authorities.
The minister stops being the guardian if any of the following occur:
- the child becomes an Australian citizen
- the child turns 18 years of age
- an Australian adoption order is made for the child
Location
The child must be outside Australia when the application is lodged and when the application is decided.
How long the visa lasts
This is a permanent residence visa.
Family
You might be able to include your child in the visa application. Any children included in the visa application must meet the requirements for including family members in your application.
The application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to you. Children who are included as members of your family unit must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements.
Your siblings will need to lodge their own application.
The child’s obligations
The child must comply with all Australian laws and all visa conditions. This includes:
- entering Australia by a set date
- not getting married or entering into a de facto relationship before arriving in Australia
You must tell us in writing if circumstances change in a way that could affect the child’s eligibility for a visa, or your eligibility to sponsor the child.
Sponsors
This information is for people wanting to sponsor a child for an Adoption visa (subclass 102).
It is usually the sponsoring parent who prepares the relevant documents and lodges the application.
Who can sponsor a child
To be a sponsoring parent, you must be:
- the child’s adoptive or prospective adoptive parent
- older than 18 years of age
You must also be:
- an Australian citizen
- a permanent Australian resident
- an eligible New Zealand citizen
You do not need to be in Australia to sponsor the child for this visa. You can sponsor the child for this visa if you have:
- entered Australia in the past but you are outside Australia when they apply
- been granted your Australian permanent resident visa but you have not yet entered Australia.
Sponsor obligations
We might ask for an assurance of support for the child so that welfare costs for some migrants are not borne by the Australian community.
Do not provide an assurance of support unless we ask for one and tell you what you need to do.
Sponsorship obligations
As the sponsoring parent you must agree to:
- be responsible for the cost to the Australian Government of the child living in Australia
- provide adequate accommodation and enough financial support to meet the child’s reasonable living needs for their first two years in Australia
- help the child settle in Australia
- support the child to attend any required English language classes
