What Is Australia's Orphan Relative Visa (Subclass 837)? 2026 Requirements
How the onshore Orphan Relative visa (subclass 837) works in 2026: who can sponsor, who qualifies, and when PR starts.
The Orphan Relative visa (subclass 837) is an onshore, one-step permanent visa for a child under 18 who has no parent able to care for them, and who is sponsored by an eligible relative already settled in Australia. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official Orphan Relative visa (subclass 837) page, as at the August 2026 version, the child must be under 18, single, and with no parent to care for them; must have a relative who is a settled Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident; and must be in Australia, but not in immigration clearance, both when the application is made and when it is decided.
Two things follow from that for anyone comparing permanent pathways for a child. First, this is permanent on grant: the child becomes a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted, for citizenship purposes. Second, the published eligibility criteria contain no points test, no occupation list, no skills assessment and no employer nomination — the assessment turns entirely on the child's circumstances, the sponsor, and the standard health, character and immigration-history requirements.
What makes a child an "orphan relative" for this visa?
The core test is not about whether both parents have died. Under the eligibility criteria, the department will not grant the visa unless the child has no parent who can care for them, and that can be because both parents are deceased, are permanently incapable of caring for the child, or cannot be found.
The page is equally explicit about the limit: the visa will not be granted if the child's parents are capable of caring for them but do not want to. A parent's unwillingness is not the same as a parent's inability, and only the latter counts.
The child must also be under 18 when they apply. Because the age criterion is fixed at the time of application, timing matters: once a child turns 18, this pathway is closed.
Who can act as sponsor?
The child must be sponsored by an eligible sibling or step-sibling, grandparent or step-grandparent, aunt, uncle, step-aunt or step-uncle. That sponsor must themselves be a settled Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident.
Sponsorship is assessed separately from the visa. The department must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted, and the sponsor's own history can end the application:
- If the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner (if any) have a pending registrable offence charge, the department will refuse the sponsorship and the visa application.
- If the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner (if any) have a registrable offence conviction, the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.
Does the child have to be in Australia?
Yes, at two separate points. The child must be in Australia when the application is made and when the department makes the decision. In addition, the child must not be in immigration clearance at either of those moments.
There is one hard exclusion: the child cannot validly apply if they are in Australia on another visa that carries a no further stay condition. Checking the current visa's conditions before lodging is therefore part of deciding whether 837 is available at all.
What visa status does the child need to hold?
The child might not be able to get this visa if any of the following apply:
- they do not currently hold a substantive visa;
- they have not applied for an Orphan Relative visa within 12 months of the previous substantive visa ceasing;
- the substantive visa they hold or last held was a subclass 771 Transit visa.
If the child has had a visa cancelled or a previous application refused, that immigration history is taken into account and they might not be eligible. The official page notes that in some circumstances a child may still apply for a permanent visa after a cancellation or refusal, and refers to the department's material on limitations on applications in Australia.
Do health, character and debts matter?
Yes. The child, and any of their dependent children who apply with them, must meet the health requirement; dependent children who are not applying might also have to meet it. If the child is aged 16 or older, they must meet the character requirement, and the department might ask other dependent children who apply to meet it too.
Separately, if the child owes the Australian Government money, it must be paid back, or there must be a formal arrangement to pay it back.
What about consent, and the best interests of the child?
The department will grant the visa to a child under 18 only if one of the following applies:
- the child has the written consent of everyone who can legally decide where they live;
- the laws of the child's home country allow them to leave their home country; or
- the grant is consistent with any Australian child order about the child.
Even where the listed criteria are met, the visa might not be granted if doing so would not be in the best interests of an applicant under 18.
What does the child get, and when does permanent residence start?
The visa is permanent and lets the child stay in Australia indefinitely. With it, the child can work and study in Australia in line with Australian law, enrol in Medicare, sponsor relatives to come to Australia, attend free English classes through the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, and apply for Australian citizenship if eligible.
| What the visa gives the child | Detail published on the official page |
|---|---|
| Length of stay | Permanent — stay in Australia indefinitely |
| Permanent residence start date | The day the visa is granted, for citizenship purposes |
| Travel facility | Travel to and from Australia as many times as they want for 5 years from the date of grant, while that facility remains valid |
| After the 5-year travel facility | Apply for and be granted a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155/157) to re-enter as a permanent resident, or consider Australian citizenship |
| Visa evidence | Digitally linked to the passport; no label. A grant notification letter carries the visa grant number |
Each sibling who also wants to apply needs a separate application. The child's own dependent children, however, can be included on their application when they apply, or at any time before the department decides it. Those dependent children must meet the health requirement.
How does 837 sit next to the skilled and employer routes?
For a sponsor weighing options, the practical distinction is in what the assessment looks at, not in how permanent the outcome is:
| Assessment factor | Applies to subclass 837? |
|---|---|
| Points test | Not part of the published criteria |
| Occupation list or skills assessment | Not part of the published criteria |
| Employer nomination or sponsorship by a business | Not required; sponsorship is by an eligible relative |
| Age limit | Under 18 at the time of application |
| Where the application is lodged | In Australia, and the child must still be in Australia at decision |
That combination — permanent on grant, no points or employer, but an under-18 age cut-off and an onshore lodgement requirement — is what makes 837 a narrow category rather than a general alternative to the skilled migration program.
What does it cost?
The official page does not publish a dollar figure in its cost text; it directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out the cost of the visa. The estimator does not cover the other costs that may arise, and the page lists health checks, police certificates and biometrics as possible additional costs.
One concession is documented: from 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. The department charges the lower cost during the application process and recognises eligible applicants by a valid passport from a specified country — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu or Vanuatu. Family members are also eligible for the lower cost, based on the passport of the primary applicant.
What happens after lodgement?
The department says applicants should receive an acknowledgement of the application, along with advice about any associated bridging visa, within approximately one month after lodgement. If the department needs more information it will make contact using the authorised method; otherwise the next contact is the outcome.
An application might take longer to process if it is not filled in correctly, does not include all required documents or the department needs more information, verification takes time, or full payment is not made at initial lodgement. The department cannot process an application if the correct visa application charge is not paid; if that happens it will let the applicant know and may return the application. For an indication of timeframes, the official page points to the department's visa processing time guide tool, which shows times for recently decided applications and is a guide only, not specific to any one application.
Once granted, the child and any dependent children granted the visa must obey all Australian laws.
This article describes published criteria in general terms; it is not advice on any particular child's circumstances, and whether the criteria are met in a given case depends on the facts and on the official requirements as they stand at the time of lodgement.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I sponsor my nephew or niece under subclass 837?
Aunts, uncles, step-aunts and step-uncles are listed as eligible sponsors, along with siblings, step-siblings, grandparents and step-grandparents. You must also be a settled Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or an Australian permanent resident, and the department must approve the sponsorship before the visa can be granted.
Do both parents have to be dead?
No. The criteria are met if both parents are deceased, permanently incapable of caring for the child, or cannot be found. The visa will not be granted where the parents are capable of caring for the child but do not want to.
Can the child apply from outside Australia?
No. The child must be in Australia when the application is made and when the department decides it, and must not be in immigration clearance at either point. The child also cannot validly apply while in Australia on a visa with a no further stay condition.
When does the child become a permanent resident?
For citizenship purposes, the child becomes a permanent resident on the day the visa is granted. Travel to and from Australia is then available for 5 years from the grant date, after which a Resident Return visa is needed to re-enter as a permanent resident, unless the child becomes an Australian citizen.
Does the child need a job offer, skills assessment or points score?
None of those appear in the published eligibility criteria for subclass 837. The criteria instead cover the child's age, the absence of a parent able to care for them, the sponsor, the onshore lodgement requirement, consent and best interests, health and character, government debt, and immigration history.
Can I include the child's siblings or their own children in one application?
Each sibling who wants to apply needs a separate application. The child's dependent children can be included on the child's application at the time of lodgement or any time before a decision is made, and must meet the health requirement.
Will the sponsor's criminal record affect the application?
It can. A pending registrable offence charge against the sponsor and/or their spouse or de facto partner means the sponsorship and visa application will be refused. A registrable offence conviction means the sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances.