Can You Include Children on a Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa?

Yes. A Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa applicant can include eligible members of the family unit in the application. Home Affairs also allows a dependent child to be added after lodgement but before the Subclass 300 is decided, provided the child meets the requirements.

This is often confused with the Child Visa Subclass 101. A dependent child accompanying a parent on the Subclass 300 pathway may be able to be included in the 300 application instead of starting with a separate Child 101 strategy.

Where must the child be?

Home Affairs currently requires family members applying with the Subclass 300 applicant to be outside Australia. A child added after lodgement must also be outside Australia when added under the current 300 process.

How do you add a dependent child after lodgement?

Home Affairs instructs applicants to complete Form 1436 – Adding an additional applicant after lodgement, attach it to the Subclass 300 application in ImmiAccount and then notify the Partner Processing Enquiry channel.

What if the child is over 18?

Adult dependants face additional requirements. A family member aged 18 but not yet 23 generally needs to be dependent on the applicant or partner. A person aged 23 or older generally needs to be unable to earn a living because of physical or cognitive limitations and remain dependent. Form 47A and dependency evidence may be required.

What about the other biological parent?

For a child under 18, parental responsibility and consent to migration can be critical. Home Affairs may require consent from anyone with a legal right to decide where the child lives, or relevant court orders or other lawful authority permitting the child’s migration.

What happens to the child after the wedding?

Where the parent later moves from the 300 to the 820/801 Partner Visa pathway, the child’s position should be carried through correctly into the later family application. Do not assume that a child included on one stage automatically appears in every later application without the required information and documents.

Case example

A Subclass 300 applicant lodged alone and later needed to add a 12-year-old child from a previous relationship before the visa was decided. The child was outside Australia. The application was updated using Form 1436, together with the child’s identity, relationship, health and parental-consent documents, before the Department finalised the 300 application.

When might a Child Visa 101 still be relevant?

Child Visa strategy can become relevant where the child’s circumstances do not fit the family-unit pathway, where the parent already holds Australian permanent residence, or where timing and custody issues require a separate assessment. The correct pathway depends on the parent’s current visa status and the child’s circumstances.

See our Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa hub and Child Visa 101/802 guide.

General information only. Child inclusion can involve migration, parental responsibility, dependency and health/character requirements.