Australian Child Adoption Visa Subclass 102 Application Process

How to Apply For Child Visa Subclass 102 in Australia?

Adoption is a social goodwill work where an innocent child can get a new life in a civilized and legal society.

The Australian immigration system offers the adoption visa, alternatively called a Subclass 102 visa, which allows an Australian permanent resident, Australian citizen, or an entitled New Zealand citizen’s adopted or to-be-adopted children to live in Australia.

Generally, the adoptive parents are expected to lodge the application for their adopted child and be responsible for filling out the sponsorship requirements.

When a state or territory adoption authority adopts a child, they can put in the visa application before the adoption is finalised.

Criteria for Adoptive Parents –

The Australian immigration agency has set some rules for the individuals applying for their adopted children’s Subclass 102 visa to comply with. It includes the conditions that the prospective adoptive parents must follow, and they are as follows:

• They must be the children’s adoptive or to-be adoptive parents.
• They must be aged above 18 years and more.
• The applicant must be a permanent resident visa holder, an Australian citizen, or an appropriate New Zealand citizen.
• The applicant must have adopted the children according to the laws of their countries (without Australia).
• They must have adopted or followed the child adoption process and involved an Australian state or territory adoption.
• If the applicant has been living in Australia while they have applied for the Subclass 102 visa for their adopted children – only countries with a bilateral agreement with Australia or having signed The Hague Adoption Convention Agreement with Australia will be approved.

Read Also – Child Visa Subclass 101 Application Process

If the adoption isn’t confirmed or accepted by a state and territory adoption authority when the child enters Australia, the guardianship of the children will go to the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. They can delegate these powers to state and territory welfare establishments; however, the adopted or to-be-adopted children’s ministerial guardianship will discontinue under the following conditions:

• The children reach 18 years of age.
• The children receive Australian citizenship.
• The child receives an Australian adoption order.

The child, however, should be outside the Australian border during the application process and the decision of the Subclass 102 visa.

What if the adopted child has brothers and sisters?

It is possible that the child to be adopted has siblings who also want to apply, and the child visa subclass 102 application process has definite directions in this matter.

Each of the siblings will have to file an individual application. However, any dependent children on the to-be adopted child (aged less than 18 years) can apply together with their application or at any time before making the application.

What are the general requirements the children must satisfy?

Here are the general conditions the applicant must satisfy in their visa application (the immigration authority may ask for documents or pieces of evidence supporting their claim):

• The children must have sponsorship from an eligible parent, the parent’s spouse, or the de facto partner.
• Any dependent kid of the to-be adopted child has to pass the appropriate health requirements.
• The children themselves must meet the mentioned health requirements and should have settled any debts with the government of Australia.

The Department of Home Affairs can reject the application if they find out or decide that granting the visa isn’t in the child’s best interests. Moreover, both parents (having the power to decide where the child lives) must provide written consent, and the to-be adopted child’s home country’s laws must permit the child’s legal removal.

What are the processes for the child visa application?

One can complete the Child Visa Subclass 102 Application process on paper. It is essential to get it right the first time and avoid any unnecessary delay – because a rejected or cancelled application negatively impacts future applications. Here is the process in a nutshell:

• The children (to be adopted) must have their passports updated before application.
• During application, the applicant must provide genuine and supportive documents that back the claims made in the application.
• The department will let the applicant know when they have received the application and supporting documents. Relatedly, the applicant must only send certified copies, not original documents.
• The department will decide on granting the visa to a child outside Australia who complies with the visa conditions.

Final Words

The visa subclass 102 offers a permanent stay in Australia, so getting the application right in a single try is important. Hiring an experienced and skilled child visa lawyer in Perth is better for getting genuine and up-to-date info on the required extensive documents and sidestepping the lengthy and confusing process.