Dependent Visa Checklist

Overview

Most student visas allow you to bring your family members to Australia as your dependants if you are:

• Assessment level 1 or 2

Or

• Assessment level 3 or 4 and your course is longer than 12 months or you have been in Australia for 12 months or more

Your assessment level is determined by your course of study and your nationality.

Eligibility Criteria

• Spouse/sponsor should be holding a valid Australia student visa in subclass 500.
• It permits a student to study in a registered, full-time course. The Eligibility norms are that the applicant must be six years old and also must have been accepted for pursuing studies at an educational institution in Australia. Moreover, having health insurance is also mandatory.
• Length of stay is five years.
• It permits to study in the course and also Work part-time.

Definition of family members

Family members include your partner and you and your partner's dependent children.
A partner is your spouse (the person you are married to) or de facto partner (including same-sex partners). A de facto relationship applies if you have been living with a person for at least 12 months, and you have a genuine and exclusive relationship with them.
A dependent child is the child or stepchild, of yourself or your partner who:

• Is not married or engaged to be married or in a de facto relationship
• Has not turned 18

How to Apply for Dependent Family Members to Join You?

You can apply for eligible family members to come to Australia as dependants in one of two ways:

• By including them in your student visa application
• By applying for them to join you after you have started your course in Australia

Note:
You must declare all family members on your application, even if they do not plan to travel with you to Australia. If you do not do this, your family members will not be eligible to apply to join you after you have started your course in Australia.

Documents Required

If you are applying for your dependants to join you in Australia after you have started your course, you will need to provide the following:

• Form 919 Nomination of student dependants
• Form 157A Application for a student visa
• an original letter from the education provider stating:

a)       The course you are studying
b)       The duration of the course and your expected completion date
c)       If you are satisfying course requirements

• Evidence that you have enough money to support your dependants in Australia
• Evidence of your relationship with your dependants in the form of officially issued birth and marriage certificates
• Evidence of school enrolment for your school-aged dependants
• Evidence of health insurance for each dependent

Visa Fee & Processing Time

Partner visas will see an increase from $6865 to $7000 from July 1 2017.
Visa Processing Time: Depends on Embassy
Disclaimer: Visa fee is subjected to change by the embassy without prior notice