How Do I Apply for the Orphan Relative Visa (Subclass 117) Step by Step in 2026?

You apply for the Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) on paper, from outside Australia: check the child's passport and who is allowed to help, gather the documents, send Form 47CH and Form 40CH together with the visa application charge already paid to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, then wait for the written acknowledgement. The steps below follow the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117) official page as of August 2026. This is general information drawn from that published guidance, not advice for any individual case or a substitute for professional advice, so the department's current published requirements remain the reference point.

Does the child meet the basic conditions before anything else?

The department's overview sets three baseline conditions: the child must be under 18, single, and with no parent able to care for them; they must have a relative who is a settled Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident; and they must be outside Australia both when the application is made and when the department decides it.

That last condition runs through the whole process rather than sitting only at the start. A child who is in Australia at lodgement, or at the moment of decision, does not fit the visa's framework, and the decision-maker can only grant the visa while the child remains outside the country.

It is a permanent visa. Once granted, the child can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study under Australian law, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives, and later apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.

What do you check before you start the paperwork?

Start with the child's passport: the department asks you to check that it is valid before applying. If someone will act on the child's behalf, the department also asks to be told who that person is.

Not everyone is allowed to be paid to help. If you appoint someone to give immigration assistance, that person must be a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Anyone at all can be appointed purely to receive documents about the visa matter. The relevant appointments are made on Form 956 (registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person) and Form 956A (authorised recipient), and the written notification or completed forms go with the paper application.

Which documents does the department expect you to gather?

Identity and name records

Provide the pages of the child's current passport showing the photo, personal details, and the passport issue and expiry dates. Add a national identity card if they have one, plus proof of change of name where that applies — either change of name documents from an Australian Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages or the relevant overseas authority, or documents showing other names the child has been known by.

Photographs

Provide four recent photos of the child, and of any other dependant included in the application. Each photo must be 45mm x 35mm, less than six months old, good quality colour (laser copies are not accepted), showing a full-face view against a plain light-coloured background. Untinted prescription glasses are acceptable, and a head covering worn for religious reasons may show only the face.

Travel documents

Provide a certified copy of the passport or travel document the child will use to enter Australia, and of any passports the child has held since then.

Evidence that no parent can care for the child

This is the evidence at the centre of the visa. Provide a death certificate or other official document, or evidence such as a medical report showing why the parents are unable to care for the child. Where the parents cannot be found, provide evidence of how long they have been missing and what efforts have been made to contact or find them.

Evidence of the relationship to the relative

Provide evidence linking the child to the relative in Australia, such as a birth certificate, a marriage certificate, an adoption certificate, or an officially issued and maintained family status certificate or family book.

Character documents

Children over 16 must provide police certificates from every country they have spent 12 months or more in during the last 10 years, counted from when they turned 16. For Australia, only National Police Certificates applied for under Code 33 – Immigration/Citizenship are accepted; these are issued by the Australian Federal Police, and standard disclosure certificates or certificates from state and territory police are not accepted. Police certificates are valid for 12 months from the issue date. Anyone in the application who served in the armed forces of any country must provide military service records or discharge papers, and children over 16 must also complete Form 80.

Documents for dependants under 18

For each dependant under 18 applying with the child, provide identity documents, proof of the child's relationship to them (such as a birth certificate), and character documents where they apply.

How do you actually lodge it, and where does it go?

There is no online or in-person route. Applications must be on paper, and the department states that an application submitted at any other office or in any other way is not valid and cannot be considered further; applications for this visa cannot be submitted in person.

Complete Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia) and send them together. Both forms must be completed in English.

You must pay the application charge before posting the application. The department will not process the application until it is paid, and the package should include evidence of payment along with the supporting documentation.

Send certified copies only, and keep a copy of the completed application and supporting documents for your own records. If any of the steps are incomplete, the application may be invalid; the department does not process invalid applications, and will notify you and return the application if requested.

What happens after the application is sent?

The department advises when it has received the application and documents, and you should receive an acknowledgement within approximately one month after lodgement. Within normal processing times it does not provide progress updates, and it will contact you if anything further is needed.

Once the acknowledgement letter arrives, the paper application can be imported into ImmiAccount using the application ID, the date of birth, and the identity document number (passport, ImmiCard or Titre de Voyage). Importing gives access to online services such as attaching documents, viewing messages and status, updating details, applying for a Bridging Visa and withdrawing the application. Applications made outside Australia on or after 1 April 2020 can be imported.

Other points that follow lodgement: do not arrange travel until the department advises in writing that the visa has been granted; wait to be told when to arrange health examinations; biometrics may be requested; missing documents should be provided as soon as possible; and the child's dependent children can be added any time before a decision is made. If an answer on the form turns out to be wrong, notify the department as soon as possible using Form 1023. Changes to the child's phone number, address or passport, changes to relationship status, the birth of a child, or a wish to withdraw must also be reported.

How does the decision arrive, and what does a grant include?

The child must be outside Australia when the decision is made in order for the visa to be granted. The decision comes in writing, and the department advises keeping a copy of it.

If the visa is granted, the notification covers the visa grant number, the date the visa starts, the visa conditions, and the date by which the child must have entered Australia — the first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of grant. If the visa is refused, the notification explains why and states whether there is a right to a review of the decision; the application fee is not refunded on refusal.

The visa is digitally linked to the passport rather than issued as a label, and the grant notification letter carries the visa grant number used to access the digital visa record. Travel to and from Australia is available for five years from the date of grant; after that, a Resident Return visa is needed to re-enter as a permanent resident, or Australian citizenship removes the need for a visa to enter.

What does it cost?

The official page directs applicants to its Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the charge for their circumstances, and notes a separate charge for each dependent child included in the application. Health checks, police certificates and biometrics may add further costs, which the estimator does not cover.

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 one of the specified countries — Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu — and family members are also eligible, based on the primary applicant's passport.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can the child apply for subclass 117 while inside Australia?

No. The child must be outside Australia when the application is made and when the department decides it. The department can only grant the visa while the child remains outside Australia.

Is there any way to lodge this visa online or in person?

No. Subclass 117 is paper-only, and the department states that applications cannot be submitted in person. An application sent to any office other than the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, or submitted in another way, is not a valid application.

Do I have to pay before I post the application?

Yes. The application charge must be paid before posting, the department will not process the application until payment is made, and evidence of payment should be included with the forms and supporting documents.

How many photos are needed, and how strict are the rules?

Four recent photos are needed for the child and for any other dependant included. Each must be 45mm x 35mm, less than six months old, good quality colour rather than a laser copy, and show a full-face view against a plain light-coloured background.

When will I hear something after lodging?

You should receive an acknowledgement of the application within approximately one month after lodgement. Within normal processing times the department does not give progress updates, and it will contact you only if it needs more information or once there is an outcome.

What happens if the application is incomplete or invalid?

The department does not process invalid applications. It will notify you if this is the case and, if requested, return the application, so the missing step has to be fixed before it can be considered.

Is the fee refunded if the visa is refused?

No. The department states that the application fee is not refunded when an application is refused, and the refusal notice will explain the reason and whether there is a right to a review of the decision.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Orphan Relative visa (subclass 117)
• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Certified copies of documents
• Australian Federal Police — National Police Checks