A carer visa lets you move to Australia to care for a relative with a long-term medical condition. Registered migration agents in Brisbane explain the rules. Call us.
A carer visa lets you move to Australia permanently to care for a relative who has a long-term medical condition and needs ongoing help. It’s for situations where an Australian relative needs substantial and continuing care, and no one already in Australia can reasonably provide it. It’s a genuine family-reunion pathway, but it turns almost entirely on an independent medical assessment, which is where these applications succeed or fail. Our registered migration agents in Brisbane help families get the evidence right.
A carer visa is a permanent visa for someone who will provide care to an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen relative. There are two subclasses, depending on where you are when you apply.
Applying inside Australia: the Carer visa (subclass 836).
Applying outside Australia: the Carer visa (subclass 116).
Both are permanent visas. The person needing care must be your relative, or a member of their family unit, and they must have a medical condition that requires substantial and continuing help with daily activities.
Unlike most family visas, a carer visa doesn’t turn on a relationship alone. It turns on an independent assessment of the relative’s medical condition. A government-approved assessment service reviews the condition and confirms whether it produces an impairment that needs substantial and ongoing care, and how long that care is likely to be needed.
The visa also requires that the care can’t reasonably be provided by any other relative in Australia, or obtained from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in the relative’s local area. In plain terms, you have to show that you’re genuinely needed, not just willing to help. Building that evidence carefully is where we spend most of our time on these cases.
The relative who needs care is usually the sponsor, and they must be a settled Australian citizen, permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen. You, the carer, need to be a relative able to provide the care. There are health and character requirements for the applicant, as with other visas.
Because “relative” and “family unit” have specific meanings, and because the care-availability test is strict, it’s worth confirming eligibility before you commit. If a carer visa doesn’t fit, another family option such as an aged dependent relative visa or a remaining relative visa might.
A carer visa carries a government application charge, and processing times vary with the department’s workload and the complexity of the medical evidence. Because those figures shift, we’ll give you the current fee and a realistic timeframe for your situation in your consultation. What’s worth knowing now is that the medical assessment is the long pole in the process, and getting it moving early matters.
We check whether your relative’s condition and your relationship meet the carer visa rules before you lodge.
We guide the independent medical assessment so the evidence is complete and clear.
We build the case that care can’t reasonably be provided by others in Australia or through local services.
We prepare both the sponsor’s and the applicant’s side of the application.
We respond to requests from the department and keep the file moving.
If a carer visa isn’t the best fit, we tell you honestly and point you to a better family pathway.
Both are permanent carer visas. The 836 is for a carer who is already in Australia. The 116 is for a carer applying from outside Australia. The right one depends on where you are when you lodge.
You can apply to care for an Australian relative, or a member of their family unit, who has a long-term medical condition needing substantial and continuing care. The relationship and the relative’s status both need to qualify.
An independent, government-approved assessment service reviews the relative’s condition and confirms whether it produces an impairment needing ongoing care. This assessment is central to the application, so it needs to be thorough.
The visa requires that no other relative in Australia can reasonably provide the care, and that suitable care isn’t reasonably available from local services. If another relative could realistically help, that can affect the case. We assess this carefully with you.
The carer visa is a permanent visa, so once granted you can live, work and study in Australia. The point of the visa is caring for your relative, but it doesn’t stop you working.
No. This is a family visa for caring for a specific relative, not an employment or aged-care work visa. If you’re looking to work in aged care as an occupation, that’s a different pathway.
The visa is assessed on the condition and care needs at the time of application. Circumstances can be complex, so if things change during processing, talk to us so we can advise on your options.
Yes. The subclass 116 is lodged offshore, and we work with families remotely, including coordinating the medical assessment side of things.
