858 Visa Family Members: Including Your Spouse and Children as Secondary Applicants

One of the most practically significant advantages of the 858 visa is what it does for your family. Unlike employer-sponsored visas where dependants are tied to your employment status, or bridging arrangements where dependant work rights are limited, the 858 grants immediate and unconditional permanent residency to every approved family member on the date of grant — not a temporary or provisional status, but full PR from day one.

Here is exactly how the family inclusion process works, what it costs, and what your family members will receive.

Who Qualifies as a Secondary Applicant

The 858 visa allows you to include the following family members as secondary applicants on your application:

• Your spouse or de facto partner (including same-sex partners)
• Dependent children under 23 years of age (in most circumstances)
• Other dependent relatives who are unable to work to support themselves due to a physical or cognitive condition

A de facto partner relationship must have been in existence for at least 12 months at the time of the application, or you must be registered under a prescribed Australian law or state/territory law as partners.

"Dependent child" means a child who is under 18, or a child aged 18 to 22 who is a full-time student and financially dependent on the primary applicant, or a child of any age who is unable to work due to a disability. The financial dependency test is applied to children over 18 — if a child has their own income and is not financially dependent on you, they will not qualify as a secondary applicant.

Secondary Applicants Do Not Need Their Own Exceptional Achievement

This is a point worth stating clearly because it confuses some applicants. Secondary applicants — your spouse and children — do not need to meet the "internationally recognised record of exceptional achievement" standard. They do not need to demonstrate they can attract the income threshold. They do not need their own nominator.

Their eligibility rides on yours. If you are granted the 858 visa, your included family members receive permanent residency as part of the same application, provided they individually meet the health and character requirements.

Your spouse can be a stay-at-home parent, a primary school teacher, or someone taking a career break — none of this affects their eligibility as a secondary applicant on your 858 application.

Health and Character Requirements for Family Members

Each family member included in your application must individually meet the health and character requirements.

Health assessment: Every applicant, including secondary applicants, must undergo a medical examination by a panel physician approved by the Department. The examination typically covers a physical examination, blood tests, chest X-ray (for adults and some older children), and review of medical history.

For a family of four (two adults, two children), expect roughly $1,600 AUD in total health examination costs — approximately $400 per person, though this varies by location and the specific tests required.

Character requirement: Adults (generally 16 and over) must provide police clearance certificates from every country they have lived in for 12 months or more in the last 10 years. This includes your current country of residence and any prior countries if the 12-month threshold is met.

For countries with fast police clearance processes, this is straightforward. For countries with slower bureaucracies — some require 6 to 8 weeks or longer — this should be initiated early in the application process, well before the 60-day window after receiving your invitation.

English Language Requirements for Secondary Applicants

Secondary applicants aged 18 or older must demonstrate "functional English" — broadly equivalent to an IELTS score of 4.5 overall (or equivalent in other recognised tests).

If a secondary applicant does not meet this standard, the application can still proceed, but an additional charge — the second instalment of the Visa Application Charge (VAC2) — applies. This charge is approximately $4,890 AUD per adult secondary applicant who lacks functional English.

In practice, this means:

• If your spouse has functional English: no additional charge
• If your spouse lacks functional English: an additional ~$4,890 applies

Children under 18 are not subject to the English language requirement.

Visa Application Charges for the Family

The visa application fees (as of 1 July 2025) for a 858 application are:

• Primary applicant: $4,985 AUD
• Secondary applicant (partner or adult dependent, 18 or over): $2,495 AUD
• Secondary applicant (dependent child under 18): $1,250 AUD
• English VAC2 (if secondary adult lacks functional English): approximately $4,890 AUD per person

For a family of four — primary applicant, partner, and two children under 18 — the base visa application fees are approximately $9,985 AUD before health checks and police clearances.

Can Family Members Be Added Later?

Secondary applicants ideally join the application at the same time as the primary applicant. However, the Department does allow family members to be added after the initial application is lodged in some circumstances.

The most common scenario is where a child is born after the application is lodged. The Department has processes for adding newly born children. Similarly, if your relationship circumstances change — for example, you marry or enter a de facto relationship after lodging — there may be pathways to add a partner, though timing and complexity vary.

If you know that family members will be part of the application, including them from the outset is significantly simpler than adding them later. It also means they receive PR on the same date as you, rather than potentially waiting for a separate addition process.

Life After Grant: What Family Members Get

When the 858 visa is granted, every approved secondary applicant receives the same rights as the primary applicant:

• Permanent residency from the date of grant, with full freedom to live and work anywhere in Australia
• Full work rights — your spouse can work for any employer, change jobs at will, and work in any industry. They are not tied to your employer or your sector.
• Medicare access — immediate access to Australia's public health system for all family members
• Education — children are entitled to enrol in government schools at domestic student rates
• Travel facility — a 5-year travel facility that allows you to leave and re-enter Australia freely
• Pathway to citizenship — after meeting a 4-year residency requirement (1 year of permanent residency preceded by 3 years of physical presence in Australia), all family members can apply for Australian citizenship

The 5-year travel facility is important to note. After it expires, if any family member travels outside Australia, they will need a Resident Return Visa (RRV) to re-enter as a permanent resident. To qualify for a 5-year RRV, you generally need to demonstrate 2 years of physical residence in Australia within the preceding 5 years.

Offshore Versus Onshore Applications with Family

If you are applying from outside Australia (offshore), the 858 does not allow your family to enter Australia while the application is processed. You would need to enter on visitor visas for any preparatory trips.

If you are currently in Australia on a valid visa, lodging an 858 application while onshore means you and your family members will be issued bridging visas that let you remain in Australia lawfully while the application is processed. Bridging visa conditions vary — it is worth confirming work rights for your partner under the bridging visa arrangement, as they differ from the substantive visa.

For a complete overview of the 858 application process — including the family inclusion strategy, cost projections by family size, and the evidence package for the full application — the Australia Global Talent Visa (858) Guide covers all secondary applicant scenarios in detail.

Including your family in the 858 application is straightforward once you understand the requirements. The key is starting the health checks and police clearances early, confirming English language status for your partner, and making sure every family member's documentation is ready before the 60-day application window opens.

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