Put the birth and visa dates beside each other
Use the child's birth record and each parent's actual grant or application record. Write down the birth country and date, visa subclass, lodgement date, decision date and status at birth. Keep pending applications separate from visas already held. If the parents hold different visas, record both.
These facts help you choose the right branch of Home Affairs: You had a child . The guide below is a starting point; that tool also covers less common situations. It does not ask you to send documents to MyAusVisa.
Being born in Australia is not the whole test
For a newborn born in Australia, Home Affairs says the child is an Australian citizen by birth if a parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident when the child was born. Check evidence of that parent's status at birth, rather than their status today. Australian citizens cannot be granted an Australian visa.
New Zealand parent? The citizenship-certificate instructions include children born in Australia on or after 1 July 2022 whose parent held a Special Category visa (SCV). Earlier births and some New Zealand-stream 189 histories have separate rules. Use the complete official evidence-of-citizenship instructions; do not assume that every child needs an SCV application.
Check citizenship evidence and New Zealand-parent exceptions · SCV family and newborn guidance →
Born outside Australia with an Australian citizen parent
The child could be eligible for citizenship by descent. It is an application route, not an automatic result from an overseas birth certificate. Check the parent's citizenship at birth and the full descent requirements. Home Affairs cannot grant a bridging visa for a citizenship-by-descent application.
Notify the pending application promptly
Form 1496i says a child born in or outside Australia after lodgement and before the visa application is decided is automatically included in that application. You still need to tell Home Affairs as soon as possible. This is not a visa grant or an exemption from the child's applicable requirements.
The form describes a completed Form 1022, a colour scan of the birth certificate and passport pages if the child has a passport. For an application in ImmiAccount, upload the documents there; otherwise contact the office deciding it. Check the newborn tool and your particular visa's instructions for extra evidence or a different channel after finalisation.
Form 1496i: newborn children in pending applications · Official Form 1022 PDF · Manage an application and requests →
Partner visa permanent stage pending
The current 801 step-by-step instructions have a separate newborn paragraph: update Home Affairs in ImmiAccount, then notify the team using the Partner Processing Enquiry Form. Follow the newborn instructions for your exact Partner or Prospective Marriage route. Do not copy the ordinary later-dependent-child 445/1002 steps onto every newborn case.
Partner 801: expand After you apply → Add family members · Partner Processing Enquiry Form
Keep Australian and overseas births separate
| Situation to check | Official next step |
|---|---|
| Born in Australia to temporary or provisional visa holders, after checking citizenship | Home Affairs assesses the visa status arising at birth, including relevant bridging visas. Notify the birth so the child's record and conditions can be checked. |
| Born overseas after a temporary visa grant | Check whether that visa permits a child to join, or whether another visa applies. For Student 500, new subsequent entrants are unavailable after grant from 2 October 2026. A parent's existing visa does not, by itself, give an overseas-born child travel permission. |
For a 500, 590, 476, 482, 485 or 494 case, the newborn tool directs specified finalised or non-ImmiAccount cases to the specialist newborn webform. Read the branch for your actual birth and application dates. The form is limited to those subclasses; use the newborn tool for other visas.
Specialist newborn notification form: check its scope · Official birth, visa-status and notification tool · Student family rules after 2 October →
Use the document list for the chosen channel
Make a private list of the birth certificate, child's passport if available, parent identification, application references and any requested consent evidence. Mark each as available, awaited or submitted. Home Affairs says to notify promptly even if the child does not yet have a passport; supply passport pages as soon as you can under its instructions.
Form 1229 needs the actual parental-responsibility facts
The official form explains when a non-accompanying parent or person who can lawfully decide where the child lives may need to consent. Sole responsibility needs its supporting evidence. Read the signature and certified-copy instructions rather than assuming one parent's permission is always enough. Form 1229 says it is not for under-18 RRV, ETA or eVisitor applicants.
Read the current Form 1229 instructions · Child visitor consent and documents → · Translations and upload preparation →
Adoption, surrogacy, disputed parentage or custody, a refused application, uncertain citizenship and urgent travel need the complete official instructions and appropriate qualified help for that situation.
A submission receipt is not a decision
- Save the documents actually sent, the submission date, reference and channel.
- Read each new request and its personal deadline. Record what remains outstanding.
- Check the child's own written status and conditions when Home Affairs has recorded the birth; use VEVO where applicable.
- Before travel, check the child's own passport and citizenship or visa record. Keep the travel question separate from the birth notification.
- If another visa application is planned, check how the child must be included in that application.
Our blank record helps organise these checks; it does not establish lawful status, citizenship, eligibility or permission to travel.
Read the current family rules alongside the birth instructions
If a parent's current or planned visa is Student 500, check Home Affairs' current family-member instructions as well as the birth-specific tool above. Do not use an older general family-information sheet alone to decide whether or how the child can be included. Record the birth date, application date and each parent's actual status, and ask Home Affairs or an authorised migration adviser about any uncertainty. This guide does not resolve how the family restrictions apply to an individual newborn's circumstances.
Current Home Affairs Student family-member instructions · Student family guidance →