You can include family members in your 485 visa application.
You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply.
Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements.
You can add your children to the application until a decision on your application is made. You can’t add any other member of the family unit to your application during that period.
Your family can also apply to join you in Australia as a subsequent entrant after the visa is granted.
Latest 485 visa changes and updates:
- List of occupations and qualifications eligible for post-study work rights extension
- Extended Work Rights for Select Occupations and Qualifications (ended 1 July 2024)
- Extra 1 or 2-year visa for international graduates from regional institutions
- 485 Visa – Secondary applicants not excluded
- COVID-19 Concessions for Subclass 485 (Temporary Graduate) visas (ended)
- 485 Visa Processing Time
- 485 visa
Who can apply as a subsequent entrant
A subsequent entrant is a family member who applies for a 485 visa after your own 485 visa has been granted. Only members of your family unit can apply, which generally means:
- your spouse or de facto partner
- your dependent children (and their dependent children)
The family member applies in their own application, linked to your visa. If granted, their visa ends on the same day as yours, so a family member who applies late in your visa period only receives the time you have left.
Requirements for a 485 subsequent entrant
- You must still hold your 485 visa when your family member applies and when the decision is made.
- A genuine relationship: your partner must be your spouse or de facto partner, and children must meet the definition of a dependent child.
- Health and character: each applicant must meet the health and character requirements. Police certificates may be requested for applicants aged 16 or over.
- Health insurance: adequate health insurance must be held for the whole stay in Australia.
- Location: the rule above about all applicants being in Australia applies to a combined application. Check where your family member must be before lodging a separate subsequent entrant application.
Documents to prepare
- passport bio page for each applicant
- a copy of your 485 visa grant notice
- marriage certificate, or evidence of your de facto relationship (joint finances, shared address, social and household evidence)
- full birth certificates for children, showing both parents
- if a child’s other parent is not coming to Australia, that parent’s written consent or a relevant court order
- evidence of adequate health insurance
- police certificates and health examinations when requested
How to apply
- Confirm your 485 visa has enough time left to make the application worthwhile.
- Collect relationship, identity and health insurance documents.
- Lodge the subsequent entrant application online and pay the visa application charge for each applicant (see our visa fees page).
- Complete health examinations and provide biometrics or police certificates if asked.
- Once granted, your family member’s visa runs until your 485 visa ends.
Can my partner work and study on a 485 subsequent entrant visa?
Yes. Family members granted a 485 visa generally have the same rights as you, so they can work and study in Australia without a limit on hours while the visa is valid.
Will my family member’s visa last as long as mine?
No longer than yours. A subsequent entrant visa ends on the same day as your 485 visa, regardless of when it is granted.
Can my children go to school in Australia?
Yes, but some states charge school fees for children of temporary visa holders. See our page on school fees for dependants of visa holders.
What happens if my 485 visa is cancelled or expires?
Your family member’s visa depends on yours. If your visa ends, theirs ends too, so plan any next visa application for the whole family together.
Should I include my family in my original application instead?
If your family members are in Australia and eligible when you apply, including them in the combined application is usually simpler, as everyone is assessed together and their visas start at the same time.
Recent News
Can a Subclass 485 visa application be lodged if the main applicant is in Australia and their spouse is overseas?
Generally, no.
For a combined Subclass 485 visa application, all applicants included in the application must usually be in Australia at the time the application is lodged. This requirement applies to both the primary applicant and any secondary applicants, including spouses and dependent children.
There was previously a temporary concession that allowed certain family members to be outside Australia when the application was lodged. However, that concession ended in November 2023.
As a result, in most current cases, a spouse who is included as a secondary applicant on a Subclass 485 application must be in Australia when the application is submitted.
If the spouse is overseas, it may be necessary to consider alternative options, such as lodging the primary applicant’s Subclass 485 application first and exploring whether the spouse can be added later as a subsequent entrant, depending on the circumstances.
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