Orphan Relative visa

This visa lets a child who is single come to Australia to live with a relative if their parents are dead, are unable to care for them or can’t be found.

With this visa you can

  • Stay in Australia indefinitely
  • Work and study in Australia
  • Enroll in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare
  • Sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
  • Apply for Australian citizenship, if eligible

Travel to and from Australia for 5 years

The child can travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date we grant this visa. This is as long as the travel facility on this visa remains valid.

If the child wants to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

  • they will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so they can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident
  • they might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If they become an Australian citizen, they won’t require a visa to enter Australia. They will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. See more about eligibility requirements and current processing times for Australian citizenship

How long you can stay

This is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day we grant the visa.

Cost

The visa costs AUD1,630 for the main applicant.

There is also a charge for each of the child’s dependent children who apply for the visa.

There might also be other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics. 

Processing times

We don’t provide processing times for this visa. Applications are subject to capping and queueing.

Your application might take longer to process if:

  • you do not fill it in correctly
  • you do not include all the documents we need or we need more information from you
  • it takes us time to verify your information

Eligibility

  • Have a sponsor
  • The child must be under 18 years old when they apply for the visa.
  • Have no parents who can care of them
  • Have consent to migrate to Australia
  • You must meet our health requirement.
  • You must meet our character requirement.
  • Have Paid back your debt to Australian Government
  • Best Interest of the child
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