Bringing family to Australia

From 19 November 2016 it will be more difficult to bring some family members to Australia as secondary applicants. Previously it was possible to bring dependent relatives, eg a brother or sister, if they were usually resident in the primary applicant’s household and dependent of the primary applicant. However the definition of Member of the Family Unit is changing from 19 November 2016 so that now only the spouse, de facto partner and children of the primary applicant or their partner can be included(other than for refugee, humanitarian and protection visas). These changes have also reduced the age limit for dependent children to 23 years old, unless they are incapacitated for work.

Applications seeking to bring extended family or older children therefore need to be lodged prior to 19 November 2016.