Similar to the visa options for other family members, the Orphan Relative Visa also allows the applicant to lodge an application in Australia, except in immigration detention, or offshore. In order to meet the criteria, the applicant must:

• Be under the age of 18 years at the time of application
• Be sponsored by an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen who is either a sibling, grand parents or aunt/uncle, including step relatives, of the applicant and the sponsorship has been approved by the minister
• Provide evidence that either both the parents are deceased or their whereabouts are unknown and there is no other legal guardian to care for them
• Obtain permission from any other person/s who have the legal right to determine the place of residence of the child or provide permission for the child to leave the usual country of residence
• In the case of an onshore application, the applicant must either hold a substantive visa, other than the subclass 771 visa, or held a substantive visa within 12 months prior to the date of lodging this visa application
• Meet health and character criteria