Australia offers a Family Sponsorship Program that allows Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible New Zealand citizens to sponsor their family members to come and live in Australia permanently. The program aims to reunite Australian families and to help eligible family members to migrate to Australia permanently.
Under this program, the following family members can be sponsored:
- Partner visas – for spouses, de facto partners, and same-sex partners
- Parent visas – for parents of Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens
- Child visas – for dependent children, orphaned relatives, and adopted children
- Other Family visas – for relatives such as siblings, grandparents, and adult children who are financially dependent on an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.
To sponsor a family member, the sponsor must meet certain eligibility criteria, including:
- Being an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen
- Being at least 18 years of age
- Meeting character requirements
- Being able to provide adequate financial support to the sponsored family member(s).