Immigration Service

Designed for overseas students ineligible for a permanent General Skilled Migration visa, this visa allows them to stay in Australia for 18 months to gain skilled work experience or improve English language skills. Permanent residence can be pursued upon meeting the pass mark on the General Skilled Migration points test.

The Last Remaining Relative category is for individuals who would otherwise be left on their own overseas if they did not migrate to Australia. Eligible applicants are siblings, sisters, brothers, children, or step-relatives of a person in Australia.

You must be sponsored by your relative in Australia, who must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen.

Partners of Australian citizens, permanent residents, or eligible New Zealand citizens can sponsor migration to Australia. Options include spouse visas for married or de facto relationships, leading to permanent residency in stages, and fiancée visas for temporary stays followed by permanent residency upon marriage in Australia.

Child migration to Australia encompasses dependent children, orphan relatives, or adopted children of an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder, or eligible New Zealand citizen. The Child category applies to natural children, adopted children, or stepchildren of a sponsor.
The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, holder of a permanent visa, or eligible New Zealand citizen. In cases where a child is overseas and was adopted after the sponsor became a permanent resident, they should apply under the Adopted Child category.

Note that a child can only be granted a permanent Child visa on the basis of a step relationship in circumstances where:

•   The child’s natural or adopted parent is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, or;
•   The parent is no longer a spouse of the step parent and that step parent has been granted legal responsibility for the child by a court.