Will the Australian Immigration system allow me to bring my family with me?

Publish Date: Feb 25, 2016

Immigrating to a new country can be hard - this is compounded if you are travelling alone. Weeks can become longer and months can feel as if a year has past.

The Australian immigration system does allow family members to travel with someone. For instance, some categories of visas allow immediate family members to travel and live with you in Australia.

The family stream migration pathway

There are several ways a family member can follow you to Australia and live legally in the country.

For one, you could sponsor a family member through the family stream migration program. This is a major part of the Australian immigration system - making up 32 per cent of total places -  and is indicative of the importance this country puts on family cohesion.

In 2013-2014, the family stream consisted over 60,000 visas - consisting of over 47,500 partner visa, 3,850 child visas, nearly 9,000 parent visas and over 580 other visa types.

What categories are there?

Unlike general skilled immigration, family stream migrants are not required to pass a skills or language test and are instead selected on the type of family relationship they have with their sponsor in Australia.

There are four main categories within family stream migration, these consist of partner, child, parent and other family visa types.

Each category has its own number of visa types, for instance, within the family category, there are two visa types:

• A visa for a spouse or de facto partner (which includes same-sex marriage partners)
• A visa for a fiance who is currently residing overseas but has the intention to marry their sponsor

Another visa that is part of family stream migration is the child category. Within this group, there are three types of visas:

• A child visa - for a dependent child
• An adoption visa - for a non-Australian adopted child
• An orphan relative visa - for a child who is no older than 18 years of age and who is without suitable care from either parent

Both these visas require a series of applications and checks to ensure that everything is correct and all the prerequisites have been satisfied.

For instance, a couple who are applying for a partner visa must show that they have a mutual commitment to a single shared life and are within an exclusive relationship. 

Some of these requirements may also involve a substantial amount of paperwork, that if incorrect, could damage your migration chances.

To ensure you application is the best it can be, make sure you seek the advice of an experienced immigration lawyer. Talk to Craddock Murray Neumann Lawyers today.