Your partner visa is underway, and you already hold a Partner visa 309 or 820. Your child was not included in that application, and now you are not sure how they fit in.
The Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) is built for this family. It lets your child join you, or stay with you, while your permanent partner visa is still being decided.
Many families are told the dependent child visa Australia offers is for children of citizens or permanent residents. It is not. Those children use the Child visa 101 or 802 instead.
The 445 has its own rules. It is lodged on paper, it costs AUD 4,040, and after grant, your child must be added to your permanent partner visa application.
This guide covers who qualifies, each stage of the application, the documents and what can slow things down.
Not sure which visa your child needs? A MARA-registered agent (MARN 2518738) can check your family’s options. Book a consultation with The Migration.
What is the Dependent Child Visa Australia?
The Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) is a temporary visa for the dependent child of a parent who holds a temporary partner visa. It lets the child live, study and work here until the parent’s permanent partner visa is decided.
Most children are put on the parent’s partner visa form from the start. The 445 is for a child who was not, and whose parent now holds a Partner visa 309 or a Partner visa 820.
With this visa, your child can:
- move to or stay in Australia until the parent’s permanent partner visa is decided.
- travel to and from Australia while the visa is valid.
- work and study in Australia.
- enrol in Medicare once they have applied to join the parent’s permanent partner application.
Other families need a different visa. If you are an Australian citizen or permanent resident, see our child visa page for the 101 and 802. If you hold a student visa, see our guide to the student dependant visa.
Who Can Apply for a Dependent Child Visa?
A child can apply if they are the dependent child of a parent who holds a Partner visa 309, a Partner visa 820 or a Dependent Child visa 445. The child must also meet these requirements.
- The child is the parent’s biological child, adopted child or stepchild.
- The child is under 18, or over 18 and financially dependent on the parent, or over 18 and unable to work because of a disability. There is no fixed upper age.
- The child is not married, engaged or in a de facto relationship.
- The child is sponsored by the same person who sponsored the parent’s partner visa.
- A child in Australia does not hold a visa with a No Further Stay condition.
- The child meets the health requirement, and the character requirement from age 16.
- A child under 18 has the consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live.
The child can be in or outside Australia when the application is lodged and when it is decided. Our guide to what counts as a dependent child explains the dependency rules in more detail.
What Are the Stages of the Application Process?
A 445 moves through six stages, from checking who qualifies to joining the parent’s permanent stage. Follow them in order, because a missed step can make the form invalid.
1. Assessing eligibility
- Confirm the parent holds a 309 or 820, and the permanent stage has not yet been decided.
- Confirm the partner visa sponsor will also sponsor the child.
- For a child over 18, check the dependency evidence.
2. Gathering supporting documents
- Collect identity, relationship and consent documents (see the checklist below).
- Have non-English documents translated, and certify all copies.
3. Completing Form 918 and paying the charge
- Complete Form 918 Application for a subclass 445 (temporary) visa by a dependent child in English.
- Pay the AUD 4,040 charge before you post the application, and include proof of payment.
4. Sending the paper application to Perth
- By post: Department of Home Affairs, Child and Other Family Processing Centre, Locked Bag 7, Northbridge WA 6865.
- By courier: Wellington Central, 836 Wellington Street, West Perth WA 6005.
- You can’t apply online or in person. An application sent any other way is not valid.
5. Health checks, character checks and the decision
- You should receive an acknowledgement letter within about a month. Import the application into ImmiAccount after it arrives.
- Home Affairs will tell you when to book health examinations and whether biometrics are needed.
- A child who applied in Australia is granted a bridging visa while the application is processed.
- The decision comes in writing. A refusal letter explains the reasons and any review rights.
6. Joining the parent’s permanent partner application
- Once the 445 is granted, the child must lodge Form 1002 to be added to the parent’s permanent Partner visa 100 or 801 application.
- This must be done before the parent’s permanent visa is decided.
- For the 801, the child must be in Australia. For the 100, they can be in or outside Australia.
What Can Delay a Dependent Child Visa Application?
Most delays come from missing or unclear details. Home Affairs says a case can take longer when the form has errors, when documents are missing, or when facts take time to check.
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Book ConsultationCommon causes of delay
- Missing ID papers, or names that don’t match from one paper to the next.
- Weak evidence of the parent and child relationship.
- A missing consent form from the other parent of a child under 18.
- For a child over 18, thin evidence of financial dependency.
- A charge that was not covered in full at lodgement. Processing does not start until it is.
- A sponsor, or their partner, with a charge or conviction for a registrable offence. This triggers child safety checks.
- Not telling Home Affairs about a new address, passport or relationship status.
Use the Home Affairs processing time guide for the current timeframe.
What Documents Are on the Dependent Child Visa Checklist?
You need identity, relationship, consent and character documents, plus dependency evidence for a child over 18. Send certified copies, not originals.
Documents to include
- Four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm) of the child, certified.
- The child’s passport pages, a national identity card if they have one, and any change of name documents.
- Evidence of the relationship to the parent, such as a birth certificate or adoption certificate.
- For a child under 18, Form 1229 or a statutory declaration from anyone else with parental responsibility, or a court order.
- For a child aged 16 or over, Form 80 and police certificates from every country they have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years.
- For a child over 18, evidence of financial dependency, such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts.
- For a child over 18 with a disability, evidence from a qualified medical practitioner.
- Form 956 if a registered migration agent is helping you.
Where Can You Check Official Information?
Check the Home Affairs page before you lodge, and make sure anyone advising you is registered.
Department of Home Affairs
- The Home Affairs Dependent Child visa 445 page has the current eligibility rules, forms and addresses.
- The Visa Pricing Estimator shows the current charge.
Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority
- Only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person can give immigration assistance.
- You can check any agent’s registration on the MARA public register.
How The Migration Helps With a Dependent Child Visa
We make sure your child is on the right visa and joins your permanent stage in time.
- We confirm whether your child needs the 445, or can still be added directly to your partner visa application.
- We prepare Form 918, the sponsor details and the consent documents, and check the dependency evidence for children over 18.
- We lodge Form 1002 after grant, so your child is added to the permanent stage before it is decided.
- We track the application in ImmiAccount and respond to requests from Home Affairs.
Your case is handled by a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738), with 7+ years of practice in Australian partner and family visas. You can verify the registration on the MARA public register.
Conclusion
The Dependent Child visa 445 is for the child of a parent on a Partner visa 309 or 820. It is lodged on paper in Perth, it costs AUD 4,040, and it lasts until the parent’s permanent partner visa is decided.
The step most families miss comes after the grant. Your child must be added to your permanent partner application with Form 1002 before it is decided.
If you would like help with either step, talk to a MARA-registered migration agent (MARN 2518738) at The Migration. Book a consultation, or visit our Sydney office.
