How to add a family member to your ImmiAccount application

Adding family members before lodgement

While an application is still being prepared and has not been submitted, family members who are applying with you are included within the application form itself. Most online visa forms ask whether other people are included in the application and then collect each person's details.

Each family member included at this stage becomes part of a combined application. The form asks questions for each person, including identity documents, travel history and health and character questions, and Home Affairs asks for the details of all family members even if they are not migrating. You can save the application and return to it before submitting, and go back through earlier pages to add another person before you submit.

Adding family members after lodgement with Form 1436

Once an application has been submitted (ImmiAccount shows statuses such as Received, Initial Assessment and Further Assessment while it is processed), a new applicant is added with Form 1436 (Adding an additional applicant after lodgement) rather than by editing the form.

What Form 1436 says about using it:

1. It can only be used before a decision is made on the original application, and only if the visa allows additional applicants to be added after lodgement — Home Affairs directs applicants to its website to check.
2. It is for a dependent child or partner (spouse or de facto) of the main applicant. Anyone else generally needs a separate visa application with the base application charge.
3. Part E records the Additional Applicant Charge (18 or over, or under 18) and any Subsequent Temporary Application Charge for the visa, from the Home Affairs fee tables. The total must be paid or the addition is not valid. Payment can be made in ImmiAccount under My Payments, and the form says to lodge within 30 days of paying online and attach the receipt.
4. Include documentary evidence about the person being added, using the document checklist for the original visa.
5. Send the form to the address in the original application form, the address in the acknowledgement letter or email for the original application, or the relevant Australian processing centre.

Under the Migration Regulations, regulation 2.08A covers adding a spouse, de facto partner or dependent child to most permanent visa applications that allow combined applications, while regulation 2.08B allows only dependent children to be added to listed temporary visas, such as the Partner (Provisional and Temporary), Prospective Marriage and skilled provisional visas.

Information needed for each family member

For a person added after lodgement, Form 1436 asks for:

• Name, date of birth and sex exactly as they appear in the passport
• Place of birth, and any other citizenships
• Passport details (number, country, nationality, dates of issue and expiry, issuing authority)
• Any national identity documents
• Relationship to the main applicant (dependent child or partner)
• Whether they are in or outside Australia
• Countries visited or lived in outside their country of passport for more than 3 consecutive months in the last 5 years
• Health questions (for example tuberculosis history and plans to work in health care or child care)
• Character questions (charges, convictions, court orders and other matters)

For a child under 18, Home Affairs asks for consent from anyone else who has a legal right to decide where the child lives — Form 1229 or a statutory declaration — unless a court order covers it. A child aged 18 or over generally needs to meet the definition of a dependent child for the visa.

Health and character requirements for added members

A person added after lodgement must meet the secondary criteria for the visa, both when the addition takes effect and at the time of decision (regulations 2.08A and 2.08B), which generally include health and character requirements. In practice:

• Health examinations: Home Affairs tells each applicant which health examinations they need. Results are valid for 12 months from the date the examinations were completed.
• Character checks: Home Affairs visa pages generally ask for police certificates from every country where the person spent a total of 12 months or more in the last 10 years since turning 16. For immigration purposes a police certificate is valid for 12 months from its issue date.
• Biometrics: depending on the visa and location, an added person may be asked to provide biometrics.

Notifying the Department about a newborn child

If a child is born to an applicant after a visa application has been made but before it is decided, regulation 2.08 of the Migration Regulations treats the child as having applied for a visa of the same class when born, combined with the parent's application — no Form 1436 is involved. The child must still meet the criteria at the time of decision. (Contributory parent newborns follow separate rules.)

The birth changes answers on the application, and section 104 of the Migration Act requires applicants to tell Home Affairs about such changes. Form 1022 (Notification of changes in circumstances) is the Home Affairs form for this; attach it, with the child's details and evidence of the birth, to the application in ImmiAccount or send it to the office handling the application.

Regulation 2.08 covers births before the decision only. A child born after the parent's visa is granted is not covered by it; Home Affairs' 'You had a child' page steps through whether the child needs a visa or may be an Australian citizen.

Document upload rules for family member evidence

Documents uploaded for family members follow the same ImmiAccount limits as the main applicant's. Home Affairs' ImmiAccount guidance sets out:

• A maximum file size of 5 MB for each attachment
• A maximum number of files that can be attached for each applicant, which Home Affairs says ranges from 30 to 60 depending on the application type
• Accepted file formats of JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, PDF and PNG; encrypted PDF files are not accepted
• Documents cannot be attached to finalised applications

In ImmiAccount you first select which applicant a document is for, so each person's documents sit against their own name. When uploading documents for multiple family members, use clear filenames that identify which person the document belongs to (for example, `passport-jane-doe.pdf` or `police-clearance-john-smith.pdf`). This helps both you and the case officer track documents across a multi-applicant file.

Common scenarios and timing considerations

Adding a spouse or partner after lodgement: Form 1436 can add a spouse or de facto partner to a permanent visa application that allows combined applications (regulation 2.08A). The temporary visas listed in regulation 2.08B allow only dependent children to be added. The partner must meet the secondary criteria, including health and character.

Adding a child who was not included initially: a dependent child left off the original application can be added with Form 1436 where the visa allows it, with any Additional Applicant Charge paid. The addition is taken to be made on the later of the date Home Affairs receives the request and the date the charge is paid.

Withdrawing a family member: under section 49 of the Migration Act an applicant withdraws a visa application by written notice. Home Affairs' Form 1446 (Withdrawal of a visa application) can be attached in ImmiAccount or sent to the processing centre. Each applicant generally gives their own notice; for an applicant under 18, a parent or guardian signs. The remaining applicants' applications continue to be considered.

Can I add a family member after I've lodged in ImmiAccount?

Sometimes. Form 1436 adds a partner or dependent child of the main applicant, only where the visa allows additional applicants after lodgement and only before a decision is made. Anyone else generally needs their own visa application.

Do I use Form 1436 for a baby born after lodgement?

No. Under regulation 2.08 of the Migration Regulations, a child born to an applicant after lodgement and before a decision is taken to have applied and is combined with the parent's application. The birth is notified to Home Affairs as a change in circumstances (Form 1022), and the child must meet the criteria at the time of decision.

Is there a charge for adding someone after lodgement?

Form 1436 collects the Additional Applicant Charge for the visa (with separate amounts for people 18 or over and under 18) and any Subsequent Temporary Application Charge, if they apply. The amounts are on the Home Affairs fees page for the visa, and the addition is not valid unless the total is paid.

How many documents can I upload for each family member?

Home Affairs says the number of files you can attach for each applicant ranges from 30 to 60, depending on the application type, and each file can be up to 5 MB.