Include dependent family members in your Australia visa application

(prHWY.com) February 12, 2013 - Melbourne, Australia -- National Visas (www.nationalvisas.com.au) - If you are about to lodge your application for an Australia visa, you may be interested to know that you can include your dependent family members in your application for Australia visa. This normally includes your children and spouse or de facto partner. In some cases you can also include your parent and other dependent relatives.

If you did not include your partner in your application for a skilled migration visa, in some circumstances you can include them after your visa has already been lodged, but before a decision has been made.

However, if your Australia visa application was for a nominated or sponsored provisional visa (subclass 489); you cannot add your partner to it post lodgement. National visas can provide you advice on how to manage your specific case.

If you wish to bring your partner with you, you must prove that you are in a genuine relationship, as defined by the Department of Immigration. You can be either legally married to your partner, or you may also prove that you are in a de facto relationship and show evidence that your relationship has been going on for at least 12 months before the application was lodged.

In some cases (particularly with de facto partners), you will also need to provide proof that your relationship is a genuine and continuing one. You can do this by providing evidence in four main categories; financial, nature of your household, social context of your relationship, and the nature of your commitment to each other.

If you wish to bring your children with you and you have already lodged your application for Australia visa, then you need to follow the same process as including your partner. To make sure that the child falls under the category of being a dependent, he or she should be below 18 years old. If the child is over 18 but cannot support himself with his basic needs like food and shelter, he may also be considered a dependent in some cases.

To include your child in your visa application, you must be able to prove that the child meets the legal definition as your dependent child. In some cases (for example step children and adoption) this can be quite complex. You should seek the advice of one of National Visas migration professionals to ensure you are making accurate decisions based on the Australian legal requirements.

In some limited cases other dependent relatives may also be included in your application for Australia visa (such as an aged dependent relative).

To know more about how you can apply for the different Australia visas, and to ensure that you meet the legal requirements for your family members ask for the help of National Visas.

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