Can Siblings Apply Together for the Australian Child Visa 101 in 2026?
No. Two siblings cannot be covered by a single Child visa (Subclass 101) application. The Australian Department of Home Affairs states on its Child visa (Subclass 101) official page that if the child has siblings who also want to apply, separate applications must be submitted for each sibling. The group that can travel inside one application is a different one: the child's own dependent children, not their brothers and sisters.
What exactly does the Department say about siblings?
The rule is short and direct: submit separate applications for each sibling. There is no "family package" option described for this visa. Each sibling is their own main applicant, with their own eligibility to satisfy, their own forms, their own visa application charge, and their own decision letter.
That structure shows up everywhere else on the page. The visa application charge is described as applying to the main applicant, with an additional charge for each of the child's dependent children who apply — siblings are not listed as people who can be added to someone else's application. The outcome is also individual: the Department issues a visa grant number, a start date, conditions, and a first-entry date for each granted child.
Why does each child end up with a separate file?
Because almost every criterion on the official page is assessed against one named child, and two siblings rarely sit in the same position.
A child must be dependent on a parent who is an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen, or an Australian permanent visa holder, and must be that parent's biological child, adopted child, or stepchild — and a stepchild must be the child of the step-parent's former partner and be aged under 18, with the step-parent also holding an Australian parenting order in force or guardianship or custody of the child; an adopted child must have been adopted before turning 18 by a parent who was not an Australian citizen, permanent visa holder or eligible New Zealand citizen at the time of the adoption. Age then splits the evidence three ways: under 18; 18 to under 25 and studying full time (enrolled in a full-time course leading to a professional, trade or vocational qualification, attending classes, not working full time, and financially dependent on the parent more than any other person); or 18 or over with a disability, meaning they have totally or partially lost their bodily or mental functions and cannot work full time.
Two siblings are often in different bands. One may need school records and consent to migrate; the other may need enrolment evidence, bank statements, money transfers or rent receipts to show dependency. Character documents also start at different times — children over 16 must provide police certificates from every country where they spent 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16, plus Form 80. One paper form cannot carry two children's separate evidence, which is consistent with the Department requiring one application per sibling.
Who can be included in a single Subclass 101 application?
The child's own dependent children. They can be included when the child applies, or at any time before the Department decides the application.
Inclusion is not automatic, though. Dependent children who apply must meet the health requirement, and family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet it. Each dependent child under 18 needs identity documents, travel documents, proof of their relationship to the child (such as a birth certificate), and character documents where applicable. Four recent passport-size photos (45mm x 35mm) are required for the child and for any dependent child included.
The cut-off is the decision itself: dependants cannot be added to this visa after a decision has been made. For a sibling who is not a dependent child of the applicant child, the route is their own application, not a late addition.
Can the two applications be lodged together?
Both are paper applications sent to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth, so in practice the paperwork for two siblings may travel in the same envelope — but the Department treats them as two applications, and nothing on the official page turns them into one.
Each application needs two completed forms: Form 47CH (Application for migration to Australia by a child) and Form 40CH (Sponsorship for a child to migrate to Australia). The forms must be completed in English. The application charge must be paid before posting, the application should include evidence of payment, and the Department does not process applications that are not paid correctly — it will notify you and may return the application. Applications submitted to any other office, in person, or in another way are not valid.
Addresses given on the page are Locked Bag 7, NORTHBRIDGE WA 6865 for post with correct prepaid postage, and Wellington Central, 836 Wellington Street, WEST PERTH WA 6005 for courier. Only certified copies should be sent, never originals.
Does each sibling need their own sponsor?
Sponsorship is a requirement for every child, so yes — each application needs a sponsor, and sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted.
The sponsor must be an eligible parent, or that parent's spouse or de facto partner. The rules around offences are strict and apply to the sponsor and their spouse or de facto partner: if either has a pending registrable offence charge, the Department will refuse the sponsorship and the visa application; if either has a registrable offence conviction, sponsorship can be approved only in very limited circumstances. Separately, a child under 18 will only be granted the visa if everyone who can legally decide where they live has given written consent, or the home country's laws allow them to leave, or the grant is consistent with any Australian child order.
What does it cost when there are two children?
Two applications means the main applicant charge applies twice, because each sibling is the main applicant on their own form.
The official page does not present the charge as a fixed figure you can quote from the visa listing; it directs applicants to the Visa Pricing Estimator to work out what the visa might cost, and notes the estimator does not include the other costs. Those other costs can include health exams, police certificates and biometrics. There is also a charge for each of the child's own dependent children who apply for the visa.
One concession is worth checking if it applies to your family: from 1 July 2026, a lower visa application cost applies to eligible Pacific Island and Timor-Leste citizens who lodge a valid application. Eligibility is recognised through a valid passport from one of the specified countries — the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. Family members are also eligible for the lower cost, and the Department bases this on the passport of the primary applicant. If the application is refused, the fee is not refunded.
Will both applications be decided at the same time?
There is no guarantee of that, and you should plan on two separate timelines.
The Department publishes a visa processing time guide tool showing processing times for recently decided applications, but describes it as a guide only and not specific to any individual application. It also states it cannot provide progress updates within global visa processing times — it will contact you if it needs anything more. Applications can take longer if they are not filled in correctly, if documents are missing or more information is needed, if verification takes time, or if full payment was not made at initial lodgement. You should receive an acknowledgement within approximately one month of lodgement.
Practically, that means one sibling can be granted while the other is still waiting, and each child's travel plans need to be arranged around their own grant letter. Do not arrange for a child to migrate until you have been told in writing that the visa is granted.
What happens after the visa is granted?
Each granted child gets their own travel facility and their own first-entry deadline.
Travel to and from Australia is allowed as many times as they want for five years from the date the visa is granted, as long as that travel facility remains valid. After the initial five years, a Resident Return visa (subclasses 155 and 157) is needed to re-enter Australia as a permanent resident, or the child might consider Australian citizenship, which removes the need for a visa to re-enter. The end date of a travel facility can be checked in VEVO.
The child must also enter Australia before the date in their grant letter; the first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant. The visa itself is permanent, and it is digitally linked to the passport rather than issued as a label.
This article explains how the published rules read and is general information only — it is not personalised advice for your family's circumstances, and the current official page remains the reference for what applies to each child.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can two siblings be included on one Child visa (Subclass 101) application?
No. The Department of Home Affairs states that separate applications must be submitted for each sibling who wants to apply. Each sibling is assessed as their own main applicant, with their own charge and their own decision.
Can I add a sibling to my child's application after lodging it?
No, siblings are not listed as people who can be added to someone else's application. The only people who can be added to a Subclass 101 application at any time before a decision are the child's own dependent children.
Can my child's own baby be included in their application?
Yes. A child's dependent children can be included when the child applies or at any time before the Department decides the application, and they must meet the health requirement. Dependants cannot be added after a decision has been made.
Do both children need their own sponsor and forms?
Yes. Each application needs Form 47CH and Form 40CH, and each child must be sponsored by an eligible parent or that parent's spouse or de facto partner. Sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted, and pending registrable offence charges lead to refusal of both the sponsorship and the visa application.
Will my two children's applications be decided together?
Not necessarily. Each application is processed and decided on its own, and the Department's processing time guide is described as a guide only, not specific to any application. One child can be granted while the other is still in the queue.
Do siblings share one visa application charge?
No. The charge is described as applying to the main applicant, and each sibling is the main applicant of their own application. Additional charges apply for a child's own dependent children, and separate costs can arise for health exams, police certificates and biometrics.
Does each child have to meet the health and character requirements separately?
Yes. Each child and any dependants applying with them must meet the health requirement, and children aged 16 or over must meet the character requirement, which includes police certificates and Form 80. Family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet the health requirement.