Can I Add My Child to My 801 Partner Visa in 2026?

Updated 2026-10-11 · General information, not migration advice · Run by the Arrivau team

Yes, but only inside one window and by one route. According to the Australian Department of Home Affairs' Partner visa (Permanent) (Subclass 801) official page, as at October 2026, you can add a dependent child to your permanent Partner visa application before a decision is made on it, but only if the child holds a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) and is in Australia, and only by completing Form 1002 and attaching it to your ImmiAccount. Once the 801 visa is granted, no family member can be added at all.

This is general information about how the published rules read, not advice tailored to your circumstances, and it is not a substitute for professional migration or legal advice. Where your family situation is unusual, confirm the current wording on the Department's own pages before you act on it.

Can a child be added to an 801 application at all?

Yes, but the timing is strict. The Department's page states that you can add a dependent child to your application before a decision is made on your permanent visa application. There is no option to add a child afterwards.

The same page also draws a line between the two Partner visa stages. A dependent child can be included in your application when you apply for the temporary Partner visa (subclass 820). Separately, a dependent child who does not hold a subclass 820 visa can be added at the permanent stage, before the 801 is decided.

Why does the child need a subclass 445 visa first?

Because the 801 route for a child runs through the 445 visa, not directly through your own application. The official page says that to include a dependent child in your permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) application after your subclass 820 visa was granted, your child must first apply for a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445).

Suppose an applicant holds an 820 visa and has a child abroad who never held an 820 visa. On the published rules, the child cannot simply be listed on the permanent application. The child needs to hold a subclass 445 visa first, and only then does the Form 1002 step open up.

What has to be true at the moment you add the child?

Four conditions appear on the Department's page, and they all need to hold at the same time:

The child is your dependent child and does not hold a subclass 820 visa.
The child holds a subclass 445 visa.
The child is in Australia.
No decision has yet been made on your permanent Partner visa application.

On top of that, the child must meet the health requirement, and must meet the character requirement if they are 16 years old or older. If the child is outside Australia, the published route does not apply.

How do you actually add the child with Form 1002?

The Department sets this out as a short sequence. Do it in this order:

Check that your child holds a subclass 445 visa.
Check that your child is in Australia.
Log in to your ImmiAccount.
Complete Form 1002 — Application by a subclass 445 dependent child for a permanent partner visa.
Attach the completed form to your ImmiAccount.
Tell the Department you have attached it, using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.
Wait for the decision on your permanent visa application.

Attaching the form is not the last step. The Department asks you to notify it through the enquiry form after the attachment, so both parts are needed.

What documents does the child need?

For every family member who holds a subclass 820 or 445 visa, the Department asks for copies of the passport, documents that show changes to their situation, and police certificates where applicable for dependents aged 16 or older. That means the child's paperwork is not limited to the Form 1002 itself.

Two practical points from the same guidance are worth building into how you prepare. Documents that are not in English need to be translated, with accredited translators used for translations done in Australia and full translator details in English for translations done overseas. Everything should be scanned or photographed in colour and be clear enough to read, and you can attach up to 100 documents for each person on the application, a limit that cannot be increased.

If a police certificate is needed, note that the Department accepts only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police, and treats police certificates as valid for 12 months from the issue date.

What if the child was already included in your 820 application?

Then the 445 and Form 1002 route is not what the page describes for them. The 445 requirement is framed around a dependent child who does not hold a subclass 820 visa. A child who was included at the temporary stage continues through as a family member already on the application, and at the permanent stage you provide the family member documents listed above rather than a new Form 1002.

Where the two paths differ is worth being clear about before you spend money and time on a 445 application: adding a child at the 820 stage is done by including them in that application, while adding a child later is done through the 445 visa plus Form 1002, before decision.

What if your baby is born while the 801 is still undecided?

Tell the Department. The birth of a child is listed among the changes you must report, and the page directs applicants who have a baby after applying to the Department's "You had a baby" change-of-situation information. After you have updated your details in ImmiAccount, you notify the Department using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.

The page does not say that a newborn is automatically covered by your 801 application. For the baby's own visa position, the Department's "You had a baby" page is the place the official guidance points to.

What happens if the 801 is granted before the child is added?

The rule is blunt: you cannot add any family members after the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) is granted. At that point the window described above has closed, and the question stops being about your Partner visa application.

What the 801 visa does offer afterwards is set out separately on the same page. Holders can sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia, and the visa includes a travel facility allowing travel to and from Australia for 5 years from the grant date, after which a Resident Return visa is needed to re-enter as a permanent resident.

How long do you have, and when is the permanent stage considered?

The deadline is the decision itself, not a fixed number of months. The Department says you become eligible for consideration of the permanent Partner visa two years after you applied for the temporary and permanent Partner visas together, and that the processing time for the permanent visa starts from that date of eligibility.

Published processing times are described as a guideline only, based on how long recently decided applications took, and the Department states they do not guarantee your application will be decided within the current standard timeframe. Applications can also take longer if they are incomplete or if information needs verifying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add my child to my subclass 801 application?

Yes, if no decision has been made on your permanent application yet. Your child must hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) and be in Australia, and you must complete Form 1002 and attach it to your ImmiAccount. You cannot add any family member after the 801 visa is granted.

Does my child have to be in Australia to be added?

Yes. The Department's page states the child must hold a subclass 445 visa and be in Australia when added to the permanent Partner visa application. A child outside Australia does not meet the published conditions for this route.

Do I need Form 1002 for a child who already holds a subclass 820 visa?

The Form 1002 route is described for a dependent child who does not hold a subclass 820 visa and who holds a subclass 445 visa instead. For family members who already hold an 820 or 445 visa, the requirement is to provide their passport, documents showing changes to their situation, and police certificates where applicable if they are 16 or older.

Will my child need health and police checks?

The child must meet the health requirement, and must meet the character requirement if they are 16 years old or older, which is where police certificates come in. Only complete disclosure National Police Certificates issued by the Australian Federal Police are accepted, and they are treated as valid for 12 months from issue.

What if I have a baby before the 801 is decided?

You need to tell the Department, since the birth of a child is a change of situation you must report. Update your details in ImmiAccount using the Department's "You had a baby" guidance, then notify the Department through the Partner Processing Enquiry Form.

Can I add my partner's child, or another relative, to the 801 application?

The published rule covers a dependent child; the Department's pages do not describe a route for adding other relatives at either the 820 or the 801 stage. The same page confirms that no family member of any kind can be added once the permanent visa is granted.