Family Category Visas
Australian permanent and temporary residence visas are available through the family category visa stream. Family category visas for Australia are based around a demonstration of strong family ties to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Australian visas in the family category are divided into a number of different subclasses depending on the nature of the relationship between the applicant and the family member in Australia. All Australian family category visas require sponsorship. To be eligible to sponsor their family members the sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and must normally be lawfully resident in Australia at the time that the sponsorship application is lodged. In some cases the sponsor will also have to demonstrate that they are settled in Australia. This usually will require the sponsor to show that they have been lawfully resident in Australia for a period of 2 years. In certain circumstances this period may be reduced. 
Many of the visas available in the family category are subject to cap and queue provisions. This means that the Australian Immigration Department will issue a limited number of visas in certain subclasses each program year. Once the visas in a particular subclass have been exhausted for that program year no more visas will be granted. All remaining applications will wait, in strict order of receipt, for the new program year to arrive and the new annual allocation of visas to be issued. This may result in significant waiting periods for certain subclasses of visas in the family category. Some visa subclasses are subject to a mandatory assurance of support (AOS). The AOS is an undertaking by any other 3rd party who is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, the AOS does not have to be the sponsor and the AOS may be undertaken as a co share arrangement by up to 3 individual people. In certain instances the Australian Immigration Department may require applicants to provide a discretionary assurance of support if they feel that the sponsor may not be capable of meeting the financial needs of the applicant during the initial period of their residence in Australia. Main visas in the family category are:
Find out more about these visas by clicking on the appropriate visa subclass above.
