Most Australian skilled visa subclasses allow the primary applicant's family members to be included in the application as secondary applicants. Secondary applicants are granted the same visa subclass as the primary applicant and can live, work, and study in Australia alongside the primary holder. Family members can apply concurrently (at the same time as the primary applicant) or as a subsequent entrant (after the primary visa has been granted). Secondary applicants must meet health and character requirements in their own right — failure by a secondary applicant to meet these requirements can affect the primary applicant's visa grant. This page explains who qualifies as a secondary applicant, how concurrent and subsequent entrant applications work, and what rights secondary applicants hold once the visa is granted.

For current information on the specific visa subclass including secondary applicant requirements, refer to the DHA visa listing page for the relevant subclass.

• Migration Regulations 1994 — each skilled visa subclass includes criteria for secondary applicants in Schedule 2; "member of the family unit" and "dependent child" are defined terms
• Migration Regulations 1994, Schedule 2 — the secondary applicant criteria for each visa subclass set out who may be included and what requirements apply
• Migration Act 1958, s 48A and s 65 — the requirement that all criteria must be satisfied for a visa to be granted; failure of one applicant (including a secondary applicant) to meet criteria can affect the whole application depending on the visa's structure
• DHA: Member of family unit — definition of who is included in the family unit for visa purposes

Primary and secondary applicants — the distinction

For skilled visa purposes:

• The primary applicant is the person who meets the substantive visa criteria in their own right — the skilled worker with the relevant qualifications, skills assessment, nomination, or sponsorship
• Secondary applicants are members of the primary applicant's family unit who do not need to independently meet the skilled migration criteria — they benefit from the primary applicant's visa grant

Secondary applicants are granted the same visa subclass as the primary applicant and are subject to the same visa conditions. They hold the visa in their own right — they are not on a "dependent" visa distinct from the primary holder, but on the same subclass visa.

Who can be a secondary applicant

The definition of who can be a secondary applicant is set by the "member of the family unit" definition in the Migration Regulations. For most skilled temporary visa subclasses, secondary applicants include:

• The primary applicant's spouse — including a spouse in a registered or unregistered de facto relationship of at least 12 months; for information on what constitutes a de facto relationship, see the de facto relationship page
• Dependent children of the primary applicant or their spouse — children who are under 18 years of age, or adult children who are financially dependent on the primary applicant due to disability or other recognised reason

Parents, siblings, and other family members are not included as secondary applicants on skilled visa applications — they must apply for their own visas. Each visa subclass defines its own family unit inclusion rules, which should be confirmed on the DHA visa listing page for the specific subclass.

Concurrent applications — applying together

Secondary applicants can lodge their application at the same time as the primary applicant. This is called a concurrent application:

• All secondary applicants are listed in the same application as the primary applicant (or in separate applications that are linked at lodgement)
• Each secondary applicant pays a separate visa application charge (VAC) — the fee schedule specifies different amounts for secondary adult and secondary child applicants
• Health examinations and police certificates for secondary applicants are obtained and submitted alongside the primary applicant's documents
• If the primary applicant's visa is granted, secondary applicants are generally granted the same visa at the same time (subject to all requirements being met)

Subsequent entrants — joining later

A family member who is not included in the original application can apply to join the primary visa holder in Australia after the visa is granted. This is called a subsequent entrant application:

• The primary visa holder must still hold their visa and the visa must still be valid for a new grant to the subsequent entrant
• The subsequent entrant lodges a separate visa application under the same subclass as the primary holder
• The subsequent entrant must meet health, character, and other requirements in their own right
• The subsequent entrant is typically granted a visa with the same expiry date as the primary holder's visa — not a new independent period

The subsequent entrant process is useful where a family member's circumstances change after the primary visa is granted — for example, a new spouse or partner, or a child born after the primary visa was granted.

Health and character for secondary applicants

All secondary applicants must meet the health and character requirements applicable to the visa subclass, independently of the primary applicant:

• Health: secondary applicants must undergo the same migration health examination as the primary applicant; health conditions of a secondary applicant are assessed against PIC 4005 in their own right
• Character: secondary applicants over a certain age must provide police clearances and may be assessed against character requirements under PIC 4001
• A secondary applicant who fails to meet health or character requirements may result in the primary applicant's visa being refused — the primary applicant cannot generally "exclude" a family member who fails health or character requirements (subject to limited waiver provisions)

Work and study rights for secondary applicants

Secondary applicants on most Australian skilled visa subclasses hold the same work and study rights as the primary applicant:

• TSS 482: secondary applicants (spouse and dependent children) have full work rights — they can work for any employer without restriction, in any occupation. This is one of the most significant features of the 482 for families
• Skilled Independent 189, Skilled Nominated 190, Skilled Work Regional 491: secondary applicants hold the same permanent or temporary visa as the primary holder and have the same work and study rights
• Student visa 500: secondary applicants on a student visa have limited work rights that mirror the restrictions on the primary student visa holder

The visa conditions applicable to secondary applicants are those of the visa subclass itself — for a summary of Schedule 8 conditions and how they apply, see the Schedule 8 conditions page.

One common source of difficulty in secondary applicant applications is a family member with an existing health condition — because the family member must be included and cannot generally be excluded from the application, a secondary applicant's health issue can delay or complicate the primary applicant's visa. Applicants who have family members with health conditions should seek advice on whether a health waiver might apply before lodging. For TSS 482 applicants specifically, the unrestricted work rights for secondary applicants (spouse can work for any employer, in any occupation) is a significant benefit compared to the primary applicant who is restricted to their approved occupation and employer. For secondary applicant fees, health examination requirements, and the definition of "member of the family unit" for the specific visa subclass being applied for, refer to the DHA visa listing page for that subclass.