What Is the Australia Child Visa (Subclass 101) and Who Qualifies in 2026?

Plain-language guide · general information, not immigration advice

The Child visa (Subclass 101) is Australia's permanent visa for the dependent child of an Australian citizen, eligible New Zealand citizen, or Australian permanent visa holder. It is applied for from outside Australia, and once granted it lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely. The following is based on the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Child visa (Subclass 101) page and is general information only, not personalised legal or migration advice.

What does the Subclass 101 actually give the child?

It is a permanent visa, not a temporary one. The Home Affairs page lists the following for the holder:

stay in Australia indefinitely
work and study in Australia
enrol in Medicare, Australia's public healthcare scheme
sponsor relatives to come to Australia
attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program, if eligible
apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

One limit is worth understanding early: the visa's travel facility runs for 5 years from the date of grant. Travel to and from Australia is unlimited during that window. After it expires, the child needs a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155/157) to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident, or can consider Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to return. The current end date of the travel facility can be checked through VEVO.

The visa is digitally linked to the passport — there is no visa label.

Does the child have to be outside Australia to apply?

Yes. The Home Affairs page states the child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted. This is the point that most often decides whether 101 is the right path or whether another option should be considered first.

One alternative appears on the same page: if the child was born outside Australia and one parent was an Australian citizen at the time of the birth, the child may be able to apply for Australian citizenship by descent instead of a visa.

Which parent relationship, and which children, are covered?

The child must be dependent on a parent who is an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent visa holder. The qualifying relationships are:

biological child
adopted child
stepchild, but only from a former partner

The stepchild limit matters: a child does not meet the dependency requirement if the stepparent is the current spouse or de facto partner of the child's biological or adopted parent.

Adopted children carry an extra condition. The adoption must have happened before the child turned 18, and the adoptive parent must not have been an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder, or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption. Where the parent already held one of those statuses at the time, the child may instead fall under the Adoption visa (Subclass 102).

A stepchild must be the child of their step-parent's former partner and be under 18. The step-parent must also hold either an Australian parenting order in force saying the child is to live with and be looked after by them, or guardianship or custody of the child under Australian law or the law of another country.

What are the age rules?

The child must fall into one of three groups:

Situation	What the official page requires
Under 18	Meets the age criterion directly
Over 18 and under 25	Full-time student when applying and when the application is decided; cannot work full time; financially dependent on the parent more than on any other person
Over 18 with a disability	Must have totally or partially lost bodily or mental functions; cannot work full time

For the student route, "full-time student" means enrolled in a full-time course leading to a professional, trade, or vocational qualification and attending classes. Study should have started since turning 18, or within 6 months (or a reasonable time) of finishing school; any gap of more than 6 months between the final year of school and further study must be explained.

Does the child need to be single, and who sponsors them?

The child cannot be, or ever have been, married, engaged to be married, or in a de facto relationship.

The child must be sponsored by an eligible parent, or by that parent's spouse or de facto partner, and the sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted. The Home Affairs page is explicit about the sponsorship risk: if the sponsor, or their spouse or de facto partner, has a pending registrable offence charge, the sponsorship and visa application will be refused; if there is a registrable offence conviction, sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.

What else is checked before the visa is granted?

Beyond the family relationship, the page lists several standard and child-specific requirements:

Health: the child, and any dependants applying with them, must meet the health requirement; dependent children who are not applying may also need to.
Character: required if the child is aged 16 or over; other family members may also be asked.
Debt to the Australian Government: any money owed by the child or a family member must be repaid, or be subject to a formal repayment arrangement.
Australian values: children aged 18 or older must have read, or had explained to them, the Life in Australia booklet and sign the Australian Values Statement.
Consent to migrate: for a child under 18, the visa is granted only with the written consent of everyone who can legally decide where the child lives, or where the home country's laws allow the child to leave, or where it is consistent with any Australian child order about the child.
Best interests of the child: the visa might not be granted if granting it would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.

If the child has siblings who also want to apply, each sibling needs a separate application. The child's own dependent children can be included on the application when it is lodged, or at any time before a decision is made.

What does it cost, and how long does it take?

Use the Visa Pricing Estimator for subclass 101 to work out what this visa will cost, keeping in mind that it does not include those extra costs. There is a charge for each dependent child of the child who applies, and there may be separate costs for health exams, police certificates, and biometrics.

From 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Eligibility is recognised through a valid passport from a specified country held by the primary applicant, and family members are covered on the same basis. The listed countries are the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu.

On timing, the page points to the visa processing time guide tool, describing it as an indication based on recently decided applications and not specific to any one case. Applications may take longer if they are not filled in correctly, documents are missing, information takes time to verify, or full payment is not made at lodgement. The Department says you should receive an acknowledgement about one month after lodgement, and that the first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Child visa (Subclass 101) a permanent visa?

Yes. The Home Affairs page describes it as a permanent visa that lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, enrol in Medicare, and sponsor relatives. Travel to and from Australia is unlimited for 5 years from the grant date, after which a Resident Return visa or Australian citizenship is needed to re-enter as a permanent resident.

Can the child apply while inside Australia?

No. The official page states the child must be outside Australia when the application is submitted. A child born outside Australia to a parent who was an Australian citizen at the time of birth may instead consider Australian citizenship by descent.

Can a stepchild qualify for the Subclass 101?

Only in a narrow situation. The stepchild must be the child of their step-parent's former partner and under 18, and the step-parent must hold either an Australian parenting order in force, or guardianship or custody under Australian or foreign law. A child does not qualify if the stepparent is the current spouse or de facto partner of the child's biological or adopted parent.

Can an adult child still be included?

Yes, in two cases. A child over 18 and under 25 can qualify as a full-time student who cannot work full time and is financially dependent on the parent more than on anyone else. A child over 18 with a disability can qualify if they have totally or partially lost bodily or mental functions and cannot work full time.

Does the child need a sponsor, and can a sponsor be refused?

Yes. The child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or that parent's spouse or de facto partner, and sponsorship must be approved before the visa is granted. Sponsorship and the visa application will be refused if the sponsor or their partner has a pending registrable offence charge, and a conviction can be approved only in very limited circumstances.

Can an adopted child be granted this visa?

Yes, provided the adoption took place before the child turned 18 and the adoptive parent was not an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder, or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of adoption. If the parent already held one of those statuses at the time of adoption, the Adoption visa (Subclass 102) may be the relevant pathway instead.

Can the child's own children be included in the application?

Yes. The child's dependent children can be included when the application is lodged or at any time before a decision is made, and they must meet the health requirement. Siblings, by contrast, need separate applications each.