Bringing your family
Inviting your family to live – An international student who enters Australia with a student visa to pursue an academic course of 12 months or longer duration is allowed to bring close family members as dependents. Australian immigration rules allow spouses, unmarried children of less than 18 years to be eligible for dependent student visas.
A student visa would usually allow you to bring close family members as dependents on your student visa. The work rights granted for the dependent partner will depend on the course of study of the student. If the student is studying a bachelor’s degree, the dependent partner can work up to 40 hours per fortnight. If the student is studying a master’s degree or a doctorate degree, the partner will have full and unlimited work rights.
Travelling with School Age Children
If your children are travelling with you as dependents on your student visa, you will have to pay fees for them to go to any Australian school. School fees are A$18,600 per year, per child.
Travelling with Children over the age of 18
Children over the age of 18 are no longer classed as dependents in Australia unless they have been in continuous education. So, if your family member is over 18, and not an eligible dependent, they will need to have their own visa in order to travel to Australia with you.
