Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115)
Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115)
Features
This visa allows someone outside Australia whose only near relatives are living in Australia to live in Australia as a permanent resident.
Eligibility
- Your (and your partner’s) relatives in Australia must be your only near relatives.
- You must have someone who will provide an assurance of support.
Length of stay
Permanently
Cost
From AUD 6,415
Processing time
Current estimated processing time for Remaining Relative and Aged Dependent Relative visa applications that meet the criteria to be queued is approximately 50 years.
Who could get this visa
- You might be eligible for this visa if:
- your (and your partner’s) only near relatives live in Australia
- an eligible near relative or their partner will sponsor you and all family members included as applicants in your application
- you have someone who will provide an assurance of support
- you and your family members meet health and character requirements.
You should not apply for this visa unless you believe you are likely to be successful, because the visa application charge will not usually be refunded if your application is refused or withdrawn.
Who is your near relative
Your near relative is your parent or your partner’s parent (including biological and step-parent), brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister; child (including stepchild) who has turned 18 and is not a dependent child; or child (including stepchild) who has not yet turned 18 years of age and is not in your or your partner’s daily care and control.
We do not consider how much contact you have with near relatives when we make a decision about whether you are a remaining relative.
Who is your sponsor
Your sponsor must be your parent, brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister or one of their partners. They must agree to give you support, accommodation and financial assistance for your first two years of residency in Australia. This agreement includes any family members included as applicants in your application.
- Your sponsor must be:
- 18 years of age or older; and
- settled in Australia
- an Australian citizen
- an Australian permanent resident or
- an eligible New Zealand citizen .
When you might not be eligible for this visa
- Do not apply for this visa if:
- you or your partner have any near relatives, who are usually living outside Australia, or are only living in Australia on a temporary visa, Bridging visa or unlawfully.
- your sponsor (or their partner) was the holder of, or sponsored someone else for, a Remaining Relative visa (subclass 835 or subclass 115), Preferential Family visa (subclass 104) or Family visa (subclass 806).
Health
You must meet certain health requirements. The results are usually valid for 12 months. Do not arrange a health examination until we ask you to.
This also applies to all the members of your family unit included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
Character
You must meet certain character requirements. You must be prepared to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age. Do not arrange for police certificates until we ask you to.
This also applies to all members of your family unit listed in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
Sign the Australian Values Statement
If you are 18 years of age or older, you must sign an Australian Values Statement to confirm that you will respect the Australian way of life and obey Australian laws. The statement is included in the visa application form. You must have read, or had explained to you, the Life in Australia book before you sign the statement.
Debts to the Australian Government
You must have no outstanding debts to the Australian Government or have arranged to repay any outstanding debts to the Australian Government before this visa can be granted.
About this visa
The Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115) is a permanent visa for people who want to live in Australia to be with their only near relatives.
Your application must be made outside Australia and you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
What you can do
- This is a permanent visa. It allows you and your family to:
- stay in Australia indefinitely as an Australian permanent resident
- apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)
- travel to and from Australia as a permanent resident for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time you will need to apply for another visa if you want to return to Australia.
See information, including eligibility for government services and benefits, Australian permanent residence information.
You will not be able to sponsor any other relatives for a Remaining Relative visa.
Your application must be made outside Australia and you must be outside Australia when the visa is granted.
This is a permanent residence visa.
- You can include the following people in your visa application at the time of lodgement:
- your partner
- your child/step-child or your partner’s child/step-child.
For detailed information regarding who you can include in your application see including family members in your application..
The application must include documentary evidence of their relationship to you.
Members of your family unit must be able to show that they meet health and character requirements.
A person or organisation must give you an assurance of support. They can be your sponsor or another person. Up to three people can provide an assurance of support for you.
An assurance of support is a legal commitment to provide you with financial support so you do not have to rely on social security payments.
The assurance covers you and the family members included in your application.
- An assurer must:
- lodge a bond for each applicant older than 18 years of age, which is:
- AUD5000 — for the main applicant
- AUD2000 — for each adult family member included in your application.
- repay any recoverable social security payments you receive in the first two years of living in Australia.
If the assurer is an organisation, a larger bond is required for each application.
The bond is refunded two years after your first entry to Australia once your visa has been granted. Any debts to the government are deducted from the bond and only the balance is refunded.
We will tell you how and when to lodge an assurance of support after your application has been assessed and is released from the queue for final processing.
More information about the assurance of support and how much you need to pay is at the Department of Human Services.
Who can sponsor a child
You can sponsor a family member for this visa if you are their near relative. This means you are their brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister or parent. Your partner can be the sponsor, provided you live together.
- To be a sponsor, you must be:
- 18 years of age or older
- settled in Australia
- an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
You must also agree in writing to provide support, accommodation and financial assistance for your relative and any accompanying family members for their first two years in Australia.
When you might not be able to sponsor a family member
- Neither you nor your partner can sponsor someone for this visa if:
- you have ever been granted or successfully sponsored someone for any of the following visas:
- Preferential Family visa (subclass 104) (now closed to new applicants)
- Remaining Relative visa (subclass 115)
- Family visa (subclass 806)(now closed to new applicants)
- Remaining Relative visa (subclass 835).
How to sponsor
Complete the following form and lodge it with the visa application: Form 40 – Sponsorship for migration to Australia (251 kB pdf).
Change of sponsor
Your relative can change their sponsor before we make a decision about their application. The new sponsor will have to lodge their own completed: Form 40 – Sponsorship for migration to Australia (251 kB pdf)
Assurance of support
- If you have also provided an assurance of support, you must support your relative and their family for two years after they arrive in Australia by:
- providing financial support so they do not have to rely on any government forms of income support
- repaying the Australian Government for any social security payments
- paying a refundable bond before the visa is granted.
Report changes in circumstances
You can use Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) for free to check your visa details and entitlements.
Sponsorship obligations
- For two years after your relative(s) is granted this visa and arrives in Australia, you must continue to help them and their accompanying family members settle in Australia by providing:
- support
- accommodation
- financial assistance.
