Subclass 600: Visitor Visa
Sponsored Family Stream

Subclass 600 Visitor visa in the Sponsored Family stream is a short-term visa which allows visa holder to visit his/her parent, spouse, de facto partner, child, or sibling who is an Australian citizen, or Australian permanent resident. The visit must not related to business or medical treatment.

Stay Period

The length of visa validity, or whether the visa granted comes with multiple entries or single entry varies on a case-by-case basis.

For visa with multiple entries, the visa holder can leave and re-enter Australia on multiple occassions throughout the visa validity, and the maximum stay period for each entry will usually be specified.

Applicant who is parent/step-parent, usually retired, of a settled Australian citizen or settled Australian permanent resident might be granted a 18-month, 3-year or 5-year Subclass 600 Visitor visa to visit their children or grandchildren in Australia.

Apply from...

The applicant must be outside Australia to apply for and to be granted the Subclass 600 Visitor visa in the Sponsored Family stream.

To make a valid application for Subclass 600 visa in the Sponsored Family stream and/or be granted this visa, the following sets of general criteria must be met:

Be a genuine temporary visitor

The applicant must demonstrate genuine intends to visit Australia temporarily and this will be assessed based on:

the applicant’s purpose of visit;
the applicant’s previous compliance with visa conditions;
whether the applicant intend to comply with the conditions to which the Subclass 600 visa would be subject;
any other relevant matter.

Has adequate financial support

The applicant must has adequate financial capacity to support himself/herself or have access to adequate financial support throughout the applicant’s intended stay in Australia.

Be sponsored and has paid the security bond if asked

The applicant will need to be sponsored by their Australian relative who is a settled Australian citizen, or a settled Australian permanent resident of at least 18 years old. Security usually in the form of cash deposit or other forms of security might be requested. The security has to be lodged before visa can be granted.

The following persons can apply for this Subclass 600 visa in the Sponsored Family stream:

any person who met the eligibility criteria outlined in "Eligibility Criteria" tab on this page;
the member of family unit of the applicant, e.g.: spouse/de facto partner and children who are still dependent on the applicant or the spouse/de facto partner of applicant, must make a separate visa application.

The following are some of the conditions that might be attached to this visa:

Condition 8101 - No work

While in Australia, the visa holder must not engage in paid work that would take away job opportunity from Australians.

The following activities are not considered work:

unpaid short-term volunteer work;
doing remote online work in conjunction with short-term visit in Australia;
the visa holder is a student at a foreign university and will be undertaking activities such as unpaid internship in Australia that relates to the visa holder's study and will contribute to course credit;
observing how people work in an industry;
providing short-term domestic support or caregiving activities for family in Australia such as helping to take care newborn child of a family member.

If Subclass 600 Visitor visa holder is suffering financial hardship as a result of changes in the visa holder's circumstances after entering Australia, the visa holder might be able to apply for a new Subclass 600 Visitor visa with work rights (without Condition 8101) while in Australia provided all of the following apply:

the visa holder or immediate family member of the visa holder is likely to become a burden to the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or a public authority in Australia;
cannot leave Australia for reasons beyond the control of the visa holder or immediate family member of the visa holder;
the visa holder has compelling personal reasons to work in Australia.

Condition 8201 - Maximum 3 months study

While in Australia, the visa holder must not engage in any studies or training for more than 3 months.

Condition 8503 - No further stay

While in Australia, the visa holder will not be able to make a valid visa application for any substantive visa other than a protection visa.

Condition 8531 - Must leave before visa expiry

Visa holder must not remain in Australia after the end of the period of stay permitted by the visa.

If you would like to arrange your visit and holiday in Australia, please contact our office to discuss the best action plan.

Subclass 600 Visitor Visa (Sponsored Family Stream)