Form 47A Explained: Who Needs It and the Dependency Test
Form 47A is needed for every adult family unit member on someone else's Australian visa application. What it's for, how it differs from Form 47PA, the Australian Values Statement, and the actual age test for claiming an adult child as a dependant. Figures as at September 2026.
Read the full guide, with official sources →
Watch
Chapters
- 0:00 You need your own Form 47A
- 0:14 One Form 47A per person
- 0:27 Form 47PA: the applicant's own form
- 0:42 Signing the Values Statement
- 1:03 18 to 23: reliant on the parent
- 1:24 From 23: only a physical or
- 1:35 Must also be unmarried
- 1:55 Parent visas: no ImmiAccount
- 2:05 Mistake: one form for everyone
- 2:16 Under 18? That's Form 40CH
- 2:27 Where to read more
Transcript
If you're an adult family member included in someone else's Australian visa application, you need your own Form 47A — even if you're not the one migrating.
Form 47A collects the details of anyone in the family unit aged 18 or over who isn't the main applicant. It's one form per person — a single 47A doesn't cover more than one dependant.
It's easy to confuse with Form 47PA. Form 47PA is the parent visa applicant's own form, about their own circumstances. Form 47A is for a dependent family member attached to someone else's application.
Form 47A includes an Australian Values Statement. It has to be signed if that family member is applying to migrate to Australia.
Two situations don't need the statement signed: the person isn't actually seeking to migrate at all, or they're being added to an application that was lodged before 15 October 2007.
If the family member is an adult child, the Department's dependency test has age bands. Under 18, no test applies. From 18 up to age 23, they must be substantially reliant on the parent for basic needs like food, clothing and shelter, or unable to earn a living due to a physical or cognitive limitation.
From 23 onward, general financial reliance on its own isn't enough. The only basis is being unable to earn a living because of a physical or cognitive limitation.
In every case, the child must also be unmarried, not engaged to be married, and not in a de facto relationship.
Form 47A itself is free. Where the main application is in ImmiAccount, each completed 47A is uploaded as a supporting document — one per dependant.
Parent visa applications have no ImmiAccount lodgement path, so their 47A forms go into the paper application bundle instead.
The most common mistake is assuming one combined family form covers everyone. Every family unit member aged 18 or over needs their own separate 47A.
And it's separate again from Form 40CH and Form 47CH, which are for children the main applicant is bringing in under 18 — a different pair of forms entirely.
The full guide, with the official sources, is on migratio.com.au. The link is in the description.
Short versions
- One form per adult, even if they're not migrating (0:31)
- The Form 47A dependency test most people get wrong (0:34)
- The signature that gets Form 47A sent back (0:31)
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