Carer visa requirements: check the three links in order

Carer visa requirements come down to three links that must hold in order: the relative's medical condition, a Bupa certificate that rates the impairment at 30 or more, and a relative who is willing and able to give care that is not reasonably available in Australia. The sponsor and the carer's own health, character and identity criteria come next, and an application that meets the core criteria is given a queue date, not a visa, according to the Department of Home Affairs' Other Family visas queue page.

Does your family pass the three-link check?

Your family passes the three-link check when each of these steps holds, in this order, for a subclass 116 or 836 Carer visa alike.

1. The relative and their condition. The Australian relative is a citizen usually resident in Australia, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and a medical condition impairs the daily life of that relative or of a member of their family unit.
2. The medical assessment. Bupa Medical Visa Services certifies the impairment at a rating of 30 or more and finds a need for direct help lasting at least 2 years.
3. The carer and the care. The carer is a relative, is willing and able to give substantial and continuing help, and that help is not reasonably available from anyone else in Australia.
4. After the links. An approved sponsor stands behind the application, and the carer meets their own public interest criteria.

The table sets out each criterion beside the law that creates it and the evidence that proves it.

The three links come from regulation 1.15AA of the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth), which defines who is a "carer". Clauses 116.221 and 836.221 make being a carer a criterion that must be met at the time of decision.

Does the relative's medical condition qualify?

The relative's medical condition qualifies when a certificate records that it is causing "physical, intellectual or sensory impairment of the ability of that person to attend to the practical aspects of daily life", in the words of regulation 1.15AA(1)(b)(ii). No condition is named or excluded in the law; what matters is its effect.

The person who needs care is either the Australian relative (the resident) or a member of the resident's family unit, such as their partner or dependent child (regulation 1.12). That person must also be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen.

The Department's pages say a family member "who lives with them", but the Regulations set no living-together test, and the law governs.

Is the impairment rated at 30 or more?

The impairment must be rated at 30 or more under the Impairment Tables, because instrument IMMI 17/126 sets the rating for regulation 1.15AA(1)(c) at 30. The relative who needs care is the person examined, and the carer's visa depends on the result.

Bupa Medical Visa Services is the only provider specified to carry out the assessment, under instrument LIN 24/040. The Minister must treat the opinion in its certificate on the medical questions as correct (regulation 1.15AA(3)). How the relative books, what the examination involves and what it costs are covered in the guide to the Carer visa medical assessment, which follows the process from referral to certificate.

The Department's pages say only that the certificate states the person "requires a certain amount of care". They do not mention the figure of 30.

Are you a relative who can give the care?

You can give the care under a Carer visa if you are a relative of the Australian resident under regulation 1.03 and are "willing and able to provide … substantial and continuing assistance of the kind needed" (regulation 1.15AA(1)(f)). Relatives include close relatives (a partner, child, parent, brother, sister and their step equivalents) and grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. Cousins and friends are not relatives for this visa.

The relationship is measured to the resident, not to the person who needs care: a brother qualifies to care for his sister's disabled child, because the sister is the resident.

Is other care not reasonably available?

Other care is not reasonably available when no other relative of the resident who is a citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen can reasonably provide it, and it cannot reasonably be obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in Australia (regulation 1.15AA(1)(e)). Relatives on temporary visas are not counted.

The Federal Court held in Nguyen v Minister for Immigration and Border Protection [2016] FCA 688 that relatives and services are looked at together. A family has to show that no suitable combination of the two meets the need, not just that no single source meets it.

Who must sponsor a Carer visa?

A Carer visa must be sponsored by the Australian relative aged 18 or over, or by that relative's cohabiting spouse or de facto partner, and the Minister must approve the sponsorship, which must still be in force at the decision (clauses 116.212, 116.222, 836.213 and 836.227). For an 836, the law also requires the sponsor to be settled and usually resident in Australia.

For a 116, clause 116.212 does not say "settled", but clause 116.322 requires a settled sponsor for any family member included in the application, and the Department asks for a settled sponsor in practice. Its glossary treats "settled" as usually at least 2 years of lawful residence. The duties the relative takes on when they sponsor a Carer visa, including the 2-year undertaking on Form 40, have their own guide.

An Assurance of Support is not a criterion in Parts 116 or 836 of the Regulations.

What other requirements for a Carer visa apply to the carer?

The carer must also meet six groups of criteria that clauses 116.223 and 836.223 attach to the grant, all tested at the time of decision.

1. Health. Public interest criterion (PIC) 4005, which has no waiver.
2. Character and security. PICs 4001, 4002 and 4003.
3. Debts to the Commonwealth. PIC 4004: no outstanding debt unless the Minister is satisfied that arrangements for payment are in place.
4. The values statement. PIC 4019, for an applicant aged 18 or over at the time of application.
5. Accurate information and identity. PIC 4020.
6. Settling in Australia. PICs 4009 (an intention to live permanently in Australia), 4010 (likely to become established without undue difficulty) and 4021 (a valid passport).

Family members who apply meet most of the same criteria (clauses 116.226 and 836.224). Family members who do not migrate still meet PICs 4001 to 4004, and PIC 4005 unless the Minister finds that unreasonable (clauses 116.226A and 836.224A).

Must every adult sign the Australian Values Statement?

Every adult who is included in a Carer visa application must sign the Australian Values Statement: the main applicant and each person who was 18 or over at the time of application. Public interest criterion 4019 requires this under clauses 116.223(b) and 836.223(b).

A Carer visa is permanent, so applicants sign the permanent-visa version approved in LIN 25/086. It lists the values of Australian society, and the applicant undertakes to obey Australian law and to make reasonable efforts to learn English.

On the paper application, the statement is question 81 of Form 47OF (design date 07/26). If a signature is missing, Form 1281 carries the same permanent-visa statement. Form 1282 is the temporary-visa version and is not the one to use. Before signing, applicants read the Life in Australia booklet, or have someone explain it to them. The Department's Australian values page publishes it in community languages.

The sponsor and the relative who needs care do not sign the values statement; the sponsor gives undertakings on Form 40 instead. Without the signature the visa is not granted, unless the Minister decides that compelling circumstances exist (PIC 4019(2)).

Is there an age limit or an English test for a Carer visa?

There is no age limit and no English test for a Carer visa: Parts 116 and 836 of Schedule 2 set neither. The sponsor must be 18 or over, and each applicant aged 18 or over undertakes, in the values statement, to make reasonable efforts to learn English.

An applicant under 18 must also meet PICs 4017 and 4018, which deal with custody and the child's best interests (clauses 116.229 and 836.226).

Does Carer visa eligibility differ for a 116 and an 836?

Carer visa eligibility is the same three links for a 116 and an 836; the two differ on where the carer must be, the 836's visa-status rule, the sponsor's "settled" test and one return criterion.

The onshore route, including the bridging visa that keeps the carer lawful while the application waits, is covered in the guide to applying from inside Australia. The offshore route, where the carer must stay outside Australia until the visa is granted, is covered in the guide to applying from outside Australia.

Which guide covers each Carer visa requirement?

Six guides cover the Carer visa requirements criterion by criterion, and each one sets out the law and the evidence for its link.

1. Who can be the carer. The fourteen kinds of relative, and why cousins are excluded, are explained in the guide to a Carer visa for a family member.
2. The condition. Dementia, autism, cancer and mental illness are worked through in the guide to which medical conditions qualify for a Carer visa.
3. The rating. Regulation 1.15AA, IMMI 17/126 and the Impairment Tables are set out in the guide to the Carer visa impairment rating.
4. Other care. The evidence that shows care is not reasonably available, with the Nguyen decision, has a guide of its own.
5. The carer's health. The health test without a waiver is explained in the guide to the PIC 4005 health requirement.
6. Accurate information. The 3-year and 10-year bars for false information and unproven identity are covered in the guide to PIC 4020.

What if one link in the chain fails?

If one link in the chain fails, the Carer visa is refused, because each requirement is a criterion for grant. The Department refuses an application that does not meet the core criteria it needs before it gives a queue date. The visa application charge is not refunded after a refusal, according to the Department's subclass 836 page.

The refusal grounds that come up most often, and the review that follows them, are set out in the guide to why Carer visas are refused. Whether to lodge a Carer visa yourself or use a registered migration agent or an Australian legal practitioner is weighed up in a guide of its own. To have your circumstances looked at, you can contact Carer Visa Australia through the enquiry form, and the full overview of both subclasses is on the Carer Visa Australia home page.

Read next

Proving care is not reasonably available for a Carer visaShow that no relative or service in Australia can reasonably provide the care. Carer visa impairment rating: regulation 1.15AA and the threshold of 30The Carer visa needs an impairment rating of 30, set by regulation 1.15AA. Carer visa for a family member: who counts as a relativeParents, siblings, grandparents, aunts, nieces and step-relatives can be carers; cousins cannot. 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.