Primary and secondary criteria
Overview
Australian visa criteria in the Migration Regulations 1994 (Cth) are divided into primary criteria (which the main applicant must satisfy) and secondary criteria (which secondary applicants — family members — must satisfy). A visa cannot be granted to a secondary applicant unless the primary applicant also meets the primary criteria (or the visa has already been granted to the primary applicant). This two-tier structure allows family members to be included in a single visa application.
Each visa subclass in Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations contains clauses divided into primary and secondary criteria. Primary criteria address the substantive eligibility of the main applicant — their skills, sponsorship, relationship status, or other basis for the visa. Secondary criteria address the eligibility of accompanying family members, and typically include health and character requirements applicable to all applicants.
Legal basis
- Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2 — each visa subclass contains numbered clauses, divided into "primary criteria" and "secondary criteria"
- Migration Regulations 1994, regulation 1.03 — definitions of "primary criteria" and "secondary criteria"
- Section 46 — validity of a visa application: a secondary application is not valid unless the primary application is also valid
How it works
The primary applicant
The primary applicant is the person on whose behalf the visa is being sought — for example, the skilled worker in a Subclass 189 application, the sponsored worker in a Subclass 482 application, or the sponsoring partner in a partner visa context. The primary applicant must satisfy the primary criteria set out in the relevant Schedule 2 clauses.
Primary criteria typically include:
- Skills or qualifications requirements (for skilled visas)
- Sponsorship or nomination requirements (for employer-sponsored visas)
- Relationship requirements (for partner, parent, or family visas)
- Health requirements (in the primary criteria clauses)
- Character requirements (in the primary criteria clauses)
Secondary applicants
Secondary applicants are the primary applicant's family members — typically a spouse or partner, and dependent children. Secondary applicants must satisfy the secondary criteria, which are less demanding than the primary criteria. Secondary criteria typically require:
- The applicant is a member of the family unit of the primary applicant
- The primary applicant has been granted (or will be granted) the visa
- Health requirements (for the secondary applicant themselves)
- Character requirements
- In some visa subclasses, the secondary applicant must not hold a visa of a certain type
Grant sequence
The visa cannot be granted to a secondary applicant unless the primary applicant satisfies (or has satisfied) the primary criteria. If the primary applicant is refused, secondary applicants will generally also be refused (because the primary criteria are not met). If the primary applicant is granted the visa first, secondary applicants may be granted separately after satisfying the secondary criteria.
Concurrent and separate applications
Secondary applicants usually lodge their application at the same time as the primary applicant (concurrent applications). In some visa subclasses, a secondary applicant may lodge a separate application after the primary applicant has already been granted the visa.