Purpose
The purpose of the subclass 116 Carers Visa is to recognise the kinship ties and bonds of mutual dependency and support within families on the principle of union of families.
This visa lets the carer of the Australian relative apply for a permanent visa.
Visa Cost
| First Instalment | ||
| Item | Component | Amount |
| 1 | Base Application Charge | $1 880 |
| 2 | Additional Applicant charge for an applicant who is at least 18 | $940 |
| 3 | Additional Applicant charge for an applicant who is less than 18 | $470 |
| Second Instalment | ||
| Item | Applicant | Amount |
| 1 | Applicant: (a) who is a carer; and (b) in relation to whom the Minister has determined that the second instalment of the visa application charge should not be paid because the Minister is satisfied that payment of the instalment has caused, or is likely to cause, severe financial hardship to the applicant or to the person of whom the applicant is a carer. | Nil |
| 2 | Any other applicant | $2,065 |
Location of the Applicant
Applicant must be outside Australia at the time of application.
Criteria to be fulfilled at the time of the application
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- The applicant claims to be the carer of an Australian relative.
Who is an Australian relative?
Australian relative of an applicant is a relative who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
Who is a Carer?
An applicant for a subclass 116 Carer visa is a carer of a person who is an Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand Citizen who is usually resident in Australia.
The applicant is a relative of the Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand Citizen who is usually resident in Australia and provides a certificate signed by the health service provider specified by the Minister with an opinion stating the following:
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- The concerned Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand Citizen has a medical condition that is causing them physical, intellectual, or sensory impairment of the ability to attend to the practical aspects of daily life.
- The certificate should include the impairment rating as per impairment tables within subsection 23(1) of the Social Security Act 1991. The rating mentioned should be equal to or exceed 30 as per legislative instrument made by the minister.
- Medical condition will continue for 2 years and the concerned Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand Citizen will need direct assistance of the carer in attending to the practical aspects of life.
- This assistance cannot reasonably be provided by any other relative who is an Australian citizen, Australian Permanent Resident, or an eligible New Zealand Citizen or obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing, or community services in Australia.
Who is a relative?
In case of subclass 116, a relative is defined as a grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew, or a step-grandparent, step-grandchild, step-aunt, step-uncle, step-niece, or step-nephew, spouse or a de facto partner, child, parent, brother, sister, stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister or an Australian Citizen, Australian Permanent Resident, or an Eligible New Zealand Citizen.
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- or by their cohabiting spouse or de facto partner who has turned 18 years of age and is a settled Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, and eligible New Zealand Citizen and usually resident in Australia.
An Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen will be considered settled if they are lawfully resident in Australia for a reasonable period.
As per policy a sponsor will be considered settled (reasonable period) in the following 3 cases.
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- If the sponsor has been lawfully resident for 2 years at the time of the visa application discounting short trips outside Australia for 4 months.
- If the sponsor is currently in Australia but has been outside Australia for more than 4 months immediately before the visa application, they must provide documentary evidence such as evidence of house ownership/ lease, evidence of ongoing employment in Australia etc.
- If the sponsor is not in Australia for 2 years immediately before the visa application, they need to provide documentary evidence to establish the settled requirement. Evidence such as house ownership in Australia and children studying in Australian schools can be provided as evidence.
A person who has never entered Australia could not be found to be usually resident in Australia as they have never established their physical presence in Australia.
Under policy, it may be accepted that the sponsor is usually resident in Australia in the absence of information that suggests otherwise if the sponsor:
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- holds a permanent visa and
- is residing in or has previously resided in Australia.
Further Criteria to be satisfied at the time of the grant
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- The applicant continues to remain the carer of the sponsoring Australian relative.
- The sponsorship needs to be approved by the minister and still in force.
- The applicants must satisfy the character criteria.
- The applicant should not have anu outstanding commonwealth debts or should have made appropriate arrangements to pay those debts.
- Applicants must take medical assessment and satisfy the health criteria.
- No bogus documents should have been provided in the current application and in the last 3 years before the application, applicant’s visa should not have been cancelled due to bogus documents, misleading or false information.
- In the last 10 years, applicant should not have their visa refused for failing to satisfy the minister of their identity.
- Applicant must hold a valid passport.
- Applicant should not have been deported due to character concerns.
Location at the time of grant of Visa
Applicant must be outside Australia at the time of the grant of their subclass 114 visa.
Visa period
The applicant is granted a permanent visa for 5 years from the date of grant.
Visa Conditions
Holder must enter Australia before the date specified by the minister. Condition 8504: Condition 8504 may be imposed stating the holder must not enter Australia before the date specified by the minister.
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- Condition 8515: Condition 8504 may be imposed stating that holder must not marry pr enter a de facto relationship before entering Australia.
