Fact Sheet 29 - Overview of Family Stream Migration

Australia's Migration Program

The Migration Program has two main components – the skilled stream and the family stream.

The family stream had grown steadily from 32 040 visas in 1998-99 to 56 366 visas in 2008-09.

The 2008-09 family stream contained 34 399 spouse visas, 689 interdependent visas, 7010 prospective marriage visas, 3238 child visas (including adoption), 8500 parent visas and 2530 preferential and other family visas (including orphan relatives).

The planning level for the family stream in 2009-10 is set at 60 300 visas, which represents 35.7 per cent of the total Migration Program (the overall planning level for 2009-10 is set at 168 700).

Family stream categories

Family stream migrants are selected on the basis of their family relationship with their sponsor in Australia. There is no test for skills or language ability as for skilled stream migrants.

The family stream has four main categories:

Partner

• Partner: the spouse or de facto partner (including same-sex partners) of the Australian sponsor
• Prospective Marriage: a fiancé overseas who plans to marry their Australian sponsor after travelling to Australia

See: Fact Sheet 30 Family Stream Migration – Partners.

Child

• Dependent child: the child or stepchild of the Australian sponsor
• Adopted child: a child adopted overseas
• Orphan relative: a child who is unmarried, not in a de facto relationship and is under 18 years at the time of application who cannot be cared for by either parent.

See:
Fact Sheet 36 Adopting Children from Overseas
Fact Sheet 33 Family Stream Migration – Child.

Parent

There are two visa categories for parents wishing to migrate to Australia:

• the parent category
• the contributory parent category.

The differences between the two categories are that:

• the contributory parent category has more visa places available each migration program year, and
• applicants for a contributory parent visa pay a substantially higher second visa application charge and a larger Assurance of Support (AoS) bond (with a longer AoS period).

See:
Fact Sheet 31 Family Stream Migration – Parent Category
Fact Sheet 39 Contributory Parent Category visas

Other family

• Aged Dependent Relative: single, widowed, divorced or formally separated person who is dependent on an Australian relative
• Remaining Relative: a person who has no near relatives outside Australia and is the brother, sister, child or step equivalent of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
• Carer: a person willing and able to give substantial, continuing assistance to an Australian relative or member of their family who has a medical condition that impairs their ability to attend to the practical aspects of daily life. The need for assistance must be likely to continue for at least two years.

See: Fact Sheet 32 Family Stream Migration – Other Family

Sponsorship

All family stream migrants, whether they apply in or outside Australia, must be sponsored by a close family relative, partner or fiancé (as applicable for the category).

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and are usually 18 years of age or older.

• Partner applicants must be sponsored by their partner (or a parent or guardian of their partner if their partner is under 18)
• Child applicants must be sponsored by a parent or relative, or that person's cohabiting partner
• Parent applicants are usually sponsored by their child or stepchild, but they may also be sponsored by their child's partner. If the child is under 18, certain other people are able to sponsor the applicant.
• Other family applicants must be sponsored by a relative.

Limitations on sponsorship

There are limits on the number of sponsorships people sponsoring a partner or fiancé may make and on the timeframe in which they may be made.

In addition, a person who entered Australia as a remaining relative or a person who previously sponsored a remaining relative cannot sponsor another person as a remaining relative. 

Permanent Contributory Parent visa holders who were granted their visa on or after 1 July 2009 may also be barred from sponsoring a partner or fiancé for a period of five years from the date of visa grant.

See: Fact Sheet 30 Family Stream Migration – Partners

Assurance of Support (AoS)

An AoS is a legal commitment by a person (not necessarily the sponsor) to repay to the Australian Government certain welfare payments paid to migrants during their respective AoS period.

Some family stream applicants are subject to a required (mandatory) AoS. Other applicants may be subject to a discretionary AoS if they are assessed as being at risk of becoming a charge on Australia's welfare system.
See: Fact Sheet 34 Assurance of Support

Health and character requirements

Like all migrants, family stream applicants are assessed on an individual basis and they must be assessed against Australia's health and character requirements.
See:
Fact Sheet 22 The Health Requirement
Fact Sheet 79 The Character Requirement

Capping visa classes

A number of visa classes in the family stream can be subject to capping. This means that when the number of visas set by the Minister for a class for that program year has been reached, no further visas can be granted in that class in that program year.
See: Fact Sheet 21 Managing the Migration Program

Limits on further applications

There are specific provisions under migration legislation limiting opportunities for unsuccessful applicants in Australia to apply again for a visa while still in Australia.

This ensures that people do not continue to make applications solely to delay their departure from Australia.

People who are unlawfully in Australia, or no longer hold a valid visa, and who have previously been refused a visa or had a visa cancelled, have the opportunity to make an application for a limited range of visas.

In the family stream categories, a person may be eligible to apply to remain in Australia as a permanent resident on grounds of being an orphan relative or a dependent child, provided that circumstances have changed since the refusal of their last application.

Under changes that commenced 14 September 2009, a person may be eligible to apply to remain in Australia as a permanent resident on grounds of being a spouse or de facto partner of an Australian, provided they meet certain specific criteria. They must not have had a visa cancelled or refused on character grounds or have had a Partner visa refused since their last entry to Australia, and they must provide with their application:

• a form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia completed and signed by an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who declares that they are the spouse or de facto partner of the applicant; and
• two statutory declarations from Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens supporting the existence of their relationship with their sponsor.

Processing priorities

Information on processing priorities is available on the department's website.
See: Fact Sheet 37 Processing Priorities

The Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme (IAAAS)

Information on IAAAS is available on the department's website.
See: Fact Sheet 63 Immigration Advice and Application Assistance Scheme

 

Further information is available on the department's web site.
See: www.immi.gov.au

The department also operates a national telephone service inquiry line.
Telephone: 131 881
Hours of operation: Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4 pm (recorded information available outside these hours) for the cost of a local call anywhere in Australia.

Fact Sheet 29. Produced by the National Communications Branch, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra.
Last Reviewed 24 September 2009.

© Commonwealth of Australia 2009.