How to apply for a Carer visa: paper lodgement, step by step

You apply for a Carer visa in Australia by posting Form 47OF, the sponsor's Form 40 and proof of paying the A$2,720 first instalment to the Department of Home Affairs processing centre in Perth, once the relative's Bupa assessment has begun. The eight steps below follow the order the law sets: the medical assessment is sought first, the charge is paid in ImmiAccount second, and the whole package goes in one envelope last.

1. Check the three links. The relative's condition, the Bupa assessment, and care that is not reasonably available elsewhere. Also check where the carer must be: in Australia for a subclass 836, outside Australia for a subclass 116.
2. Start the Bupa assessment. The relative who needs care sends Bupa Medical Visa Services the Statement of Assistance and a medical report. Keep Bupa's letter confirming the assessment has begun, or the Carer Visa Assessment Certificate if it has already been issued.
3. The sponsor completes Form 40. The sponsor hands Form 40 and the sponsor's documents to the carer.
4. The carer completes Form 47OF. Part L is the carer part. Add a Form 47A for every family-unit member aged 18 or over.
5. Gather, translate and certify. Every document goes in as a certified copy, with 4 photos of each person.
6. Pay the first instalment in ImmiAccount. Use the Pre-Pay Paper Service and print the receipt.
7. Post or courier everything together. Send it to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre in Perth.
8. Import and follow up. After the acknowledgement letter, import the application into ImmiAccount. If you sent the Bupa letter instead of the certificate, send the certificate within 3 months.

How do you apply for a Carer visa?

You apply for a Carer visa in eight steps, starting with the relative's Bupa assessment and ending with the posted Form 47OF. The order matters, because the Department of Home Affairs does not accept a Carer application unless evidence that the assessment has begun travels with it, according to the subclass 836 Carer visa page.

The carer's location is fixed by law. Under Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), an 836 applicant must be in Australia, and not in immigration clearance, when applying (item 1123B(3)(b)), and a 116 applicant outside Australia (item 1123A(3)(aa)). The same rule applies again at decision.

Why is a Carer visa lodged on paper?

A Carer visa is lodged on paper because the legislative instrument IMMI 18/076 names Form 47OF as the only approved form and post or courier to Perth as the only way to lodge. IMMI 18/076 is made under regulation 2.07(5) and covers both Carer subclasses: the 116 (Class BO) and the 836 (Class BU).

There is no online Carer visa application, and it cannot be lodged in person. Since 23 July 2025, though, an acknowledged paper Carer application can be imported into ImmiAccount to manage it.

How do you fill in Form 47OF?

Form 47OF runs from Part A to Part R, and a carer answers every part except Parts J and K. The current version of Form 47OF, "Application for migration to Australia by other family members", carries the design date 07/26. Complete it in English, and write "N/A" where a question does not apply.

1. Part A, overview. Tick Class BU for an 836 or Class BO for a 116.
2. Part B, processing details. Other applications, refusals, cancellations and past visits.
3. Part C, your details. Question 24 needs a residential address; a post office box makes the application invalid.
4. Parts D to G, your family. Your partner, children under 18, family-unit members aged 18 or over (each with a Form 47A), then every parent, sibling and child.
5. Parts H and I, health and character. Attach court documents for any "yes".
6. Parts J and K. Skip both; they belong to the Aged Dependent Relative and Remaining Relative visas.
7. Part L, carer (questions 65 to 71). Name the relative who needs your care (Q65) and attach Bupa's letter or certificate (Q66). Describe the condition (Q67), and the assistance you will give and for how long (Q68). List the other relatives in Australia and whether any of them is reasonably able to help (Q69–70). Then list the welfare, health, nursing or community services approached, and whether long-term help is available from them (Q71).
8. Parts M to P. The document checklist, additional information, who helped, and where letters go.
9. Part Q, payment. Record the charge and the ImmiAccount receipt number (Q79).
10. Part R, signatures. The social security acknowledgement (over 16), the Australian Values Statement (18 or over), the biometrics consent (16 or over) and the declaration (over 18).

What does the carer send with a Carer visa application?

The carer sends eight things with a Carer visa application:

Some items are sent later, only when the Department asks: the visa health examination (before the queue date for an 836, after queue release for a 116), biometrics, and any missing documents.

What does the relative send?

The relative sends three things: Form 40, proof of status and relationship, and the medical and care evidence.

The obligations the relative takes on are set out on the page about who can sponsor a Carer visa, including the two-year support undertaking. The certificate itself comes from the Carer visa medical assessment run by Bupa Medical Visa Services, which should be started before anything else.

How are Carer visa documents translated and certified?

Carer visa documents are translated into English and every copy, including each translation, is certified, in three parts:

1. A translator in Australia must be accredited by NAATI, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. NAATI accredits translators; it does not translate documents itself.
2. A translator outside Australia needs no accreditation. Each translation must give, in English, the translator's full name, address and telephone number, and their qualifications and experience in the language.
3. Both the original-language document and the translation go in as certified copies. Police certificates are the exception: send them as originals, uncertified.

Translation fees sit outside the visa charges. As checked on 24 September 2026, Multicultural NSW, a NSW Government agency, asked for deposits of A$80 to A$105 for a standard document, such as a birth or marriage certificate, and A$213.00 to A$232.40 for the first 300 words of a non-standard document. Private NAATI translators set their own prices.

Do Carer visa applicants give biometrics?

Carer visa applicants give biometrics, a facial image and fingerprints, only when the Department asks in writing. Both Carer visa pages list biometrics among the possible later steps. The Migration Act 1958 (Cth) lets an officer require these "personal identifiers" (s 257A). In Form 47OF question 82, everyone aged 16 or over signs the consent in advance.

A 116 applicant outside Australia attends an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre run by VFS Global, or uses the Australian Immi App if the Department says they are eligible. The Department's biometrics page (updated 24 September 2026) warns that some applicants have to travel to another country to reach a centre. Centres charge a service fee, and the Department does not publish the amount.

An 836 applicant in Australia attends an appointment set by letter. Either way, bring the passport linked to the application.

What photos does a Carer visa need?

A Carer visa needs 4 recent photos, 45 mm × 35 mm, of every person included in the application. Each photo is less than 6 months old, in good-quality colour (not a laser copy), showing the full face against a plain, light background, with the person's name printed on the back.

Where do you post a Carer visa application?

You post a Carer visa application to the Child and Other Family Processing Centre, Department of Home Affairs, Locked Bag 7, Northbridge WA 6865. By courier, the address is Child and Other Family Processing Centre, Department of Home Affairs, Ground Floor, Wellington Central, 836 Wellington Street, West Perth WA 6005.

These are the addresses in IMMI 18/076. Form 47OF calls the office the Parent, Child and Other Family Processing Centre, but the address lines are the same. An application sent to any other office, or delivered in any other way, is not a valid application. Use the correct prepaid postage, and use registered post or a courier so the delivery can be tracked.

A 116 applicant outside Australia is encouraged to send the package to the sponsor to post.

Is there a Carer visa interview?

The Department's Carer visa pages list no interview step for either subclass, as checked on 24 September 2026. The steps after lodgement are an acknowledgement, and then written requests for health examinations, character checks, biometrics and any missing documents, which come before the queue date for an 836 and after queue release for a 116.

Which document guides go with a Carer visa application?

Ten document guides go with a Carer visa application:

1. Character. An 836 applicant sends the AFP and overseas police certificates for an Australian visa at lodgement.
2. Written statements. Other relatives' declarations, and any consent or separation statements, follow the rules for statutory declarations for a visa application.
3. The relationship chain. Which birth certificates link you to the relative is explained under proving you are a relative.
4. Someone to act for you. An agent, lawyer, family member or mail-only recipient is appointed on Form 956 and 956A.
5. Your own health check. The visa health examination comes when the Department asks, not at lodgement (before the queue date for an 836, after queue release for a 116), and is separate from the Bupa assessment.
6. Personal particulars. An 836 applicant sends Form 80 and Form 1221 with the application.
7. Copies. Every photocopy needs the certifier's details under the rules for certified copies.
8. Travel history. Dates of past visits and departures are checked against your international movement records, now requested online since Form 1359 was retired.
9. Family. A partner, children and any new baby are added under the rules for including your partner and children.
10. Payment and online access. Paying first and importing the paper application are explained in ImmiAccount for a Carer visa.

What happens after you post a Carer visa application?

After you post a Carer visa application, the Department acknowledges it in approximately 5 weeks and later assigns a queue date:

1. Acknowledgement. Approximately 5 weeks, according to the Department's Other Family visa queue page (as at 31 May 2026). If more than 3 weeks have passed with no acknowledgement, the Other Family Visa Processing Centre online form accepts a tracking number and asks the Department to investigate.
2. Import. Import the application into ImmiAccount using the details in the acknowledgement letter.
3. Bupa certificate. If you lodged with Bupa's letter, send the certificate within 3 months of applying. Without it at decision, the visa is not granted.
4. Initial assessment. The core criteria are checked, which takes an indicative 6 months to 2 years. An application that fails this stage is refused.
5. Queue. A queued application receives no updates until it is released.
6. Release and decision. As at 31 May 2026, Carer applications with queue dates up to 31 December 2023 had been released. For a new application, the Department estimates 12 years. After release come any health examinations and police certificates still needed (for a 116, all of them), biometrics, the A$2,065 second instalment per person, and the decision.

The queue, the cap and your likely year are explained on the page that answers how long does a Carer visa take.

Whether to lodge a Carer visa yourself or with a registered migration agent is weighed separately. Questions about your own family's situation can go through Contact Carer Visa Australia. Every other part of the visa, from eligibility to grant, is mapped from Carer Visa Australia.

Read next

Who can sponsor a Carer visa? The relative's side of the applicationThe sponsor signs Form 40 and promises two years of housing and money. Carer visa medical assessment: how the carer assessment works, step by stepSeven steps turn a doctor's report into the certificate the visa depends on. Carer visa processing time: the queue, the cap and your likely yearHow the cap and the queue decide the wait, and where your queue date sits. Do you need a migration agent for a Carer visa?Families can lodge alone, but paid help must come from agents or lawyers.