Applicant and Sponsor Eligibility

Certain circumstances must be met for adoptive or prospective adoptive parents to apply for this visa on behalf of the child.

Adoptive parents living in Australia

Your relevant Australian State or Territory Adoption Authority (STAA) must be involved in managing the adoption process with the overseas country where the child is living.

If you are considering adopting a child from overseas, you should contact the adoption authority in your state or territory.
See: State and Territory Adoption Authorities

Adoptive parents living overseas

The following circumstances apply for adoptive or prospective adoptive parents who are living overseas:

• you must have been living overseas for the 12 months prior to making an application for this visa
• your residence overseas was not solely to adopt a child
• the adoption was in accordance with the laws of the country in which the child lives
• the adoption gives you full and permanent parental rights (that is: the adoption severs the legal ties between the child and its birth parents).

or

You have adopted the child under an arrangement between two (2) Hague Convention countries other than Australia.

Privately arranged adoptions

Australian State and Territory Adoption Authorities do not generally support privately arranged adoptions, including the adoption of children who are relatives. They will not help applicants/sponsors to meet the visa requirements for granting a visa to an adopted child.

The concept of adoption does not exist in the laws of some countries.
Example: Many Islamic countries

An adoption order which does not grant full parental rights to the adoptive parents is not acceptable for the grant of an Adoption visa.

As adoptive or prospective adoptive parents, you need to ensure that any privately arranged adoption is lawful in the child’s home country.

There is no provision to grant a visa to a child who does not meet the circumstances for this visa even if an adoption, that is lawful in the child’s home country, has occurred.

Important: If you want to proceed with an adoption from overseas, which has not been arranged by your Australian State and Territory Adoption Authority, it is strongly recommended you first seek legal advice both in Australia and in the country where the child lives.

Sponsorship requirements

The applicant must have been adopted or be in the process of being adopted by the adoptive or prospective adoptive parent who must act as sponsor for the child. Sponsors must be aged 18 years or over, and be one of the following:

• an Australian citizen
• the holder of an Australian permanent visa
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.
  Note: A sponsor who is an eligible New Zealand citizen must also meet health and character requirements.

Age of child

The applicant must be under 18 years of age at the time their application is lodged. If the applicant 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.

Important: The applicant must be single and not any of the following:

• married
• in a de-facto relationship
• engaged to be married.

Health requirements

The applicant must meet health requirements.
See: Health requirements

Character requirements

Applicants who are 16 years of age or over must be of good character to enter or remain in Australia.
See: Character and penal clearance requirements

Best interests of the child

Where an applicant is under 18 years of age, they will need to satisfy the requirement that there is no compelling reason to believe that the grant of the visa would not be in the best interests of the applicant. In order to assess this requirement, sponsors of children under 18 years of age are required to submit either an Australian National Police Check or foreign police certificate/s, depending on the sponsor’s circumstances. If the sponsor has spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia since turning sixteen years of age, the sponsor must provide an Australian National Police Check. If the sponsor has not spent a total of 12 months or more in Australia since turning sixteen years of age, the sponsor must provide police certificates from each country in which they have spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning sixteen years of age. However, where an Australian state/territory adoption authority has approved the adoption, a National Police Check is obtained as part of the approval process and a further National Police Check is not required with the application.
See:
Stronger Measures for the Protection of Children
National Police Checks
Note: Sponsors required to submit a National Police Check must complete the National Police Check application form which is available from the Australian Federal Police website. Sponsors should use Code 33 at Question 1 on the form and include details of all names they have been known by. If an AFP Certificate is provided based on incorrect information, the department may request another certificate. Fingerprints are not required for National Police Checks.
See: Character Requirements Penal Clearance Certificates (233KB PDF file)

Reliance on social security

If the applicant, or their sponsor, is likely to become a high user of Australia's social security system, an Assurance of Support (AoS) from an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, may be required. If required, the department will advise how an Assurance of Support is obtained.
See: Assurance of Support

 

Before lodging an application, please read all related eligibility requirements.
See: Other eligibility