To be eligible for the refugee visas you must:
- be outside Australia (offshore)
- be subject to persecution in your home country
- meet the ‘compelling reasons’ criterion
- meet health, character and national security requirements
There are 4 refugee visa subclasses and we will consider your application against each of them.
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Refugee (subclass 200)
For people who the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has referred to Australia for resettlement. -
In-country Special Humanitarian (subclass 201)
For people who are still living in their country and have been unable to leave. Australia’s Offshore Humanitarian Program is designed primarily to assist people who have left their home country because of persecution and severe human rights abuses, and who have no options for return or for resettlement in another country. This visa subclass is predominantly used for Afghan Locally Engaged Employees who were employed with the Australian Government in Afghanistan. -
Emergency Rescue (subclass 203)
For people who the UNHCR has referred to Australia for emergency resettlement. This visa is reserved for a few applicants annually whose life or liberty is in immediate danger. -
Woman at Risk (subclass 204)
For women who do not have the protection of a partner or a relative and are in danger of victimisation. Most Woman at Risk visas are granted to those referred by the UNHCR or proposed by a close family member in Australia. - To satisfy the criteria for a Woman at Risk visa, women must not be living with a male person who is over 18 years of age.
- Women who are granted a Woman at Risk visa may not be eligible to propose or sponsor a spouse or de-facto partner under the humanitarian program (subclass 202 or 204) or the family program (subclass 820 or 309) for five years.
- If the application includes a child under 18, the child’s other parent or guardian must agree to their migration or the law of the child’s home country must permit it.
The visa pages have information about how the Australian Government will help you:
- prepare for travel to Australia
- prepare for life in Australia
- settle in the Australian community.
Priority processing
The Australian Government has established policy to guide decisions on which applications ought generally to be given priority. This policy includes those who are outside their home country and are:
- assessed as refugees by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and referred to Australia for resettlement
- proposed by an immediate family member (for example, spouses and minor aged children) who has a Refugee category visa (subclasses 200,201,203 or 204); or
Alternatively, the policy also includes members of identified minority groups (such as women and girls, ethnic minorities and LGBTQI+) who are referred by the UNHCR or proposed by a family member in Australia.
Because of the limited number of resettlement places available each year and the high demand for them, we accept applicants in the most compelling circumstances only.
Rejoin your split family
If your immediate family members are already in Australia they may help bring you to Australia by 'proposing' your visa application.
We call this a 'split family' application. We give split family applications special consideration.
An immediate family member may include your:
- spouse or de facto partner (including same-sex partner)
- dependent child or stepchild
- parent or step-parent if you are younger than 18
Your immediate family members in Australia are only eligible to propose your split family application if they hold:
- Refugee visa (subclass 200, 201, 203, 204)
They must also:
- have been a member of your immediate family when we granted their visa
- have told us about your relationship before we granted their visa
- still be a member of your family
- propose your visa application within 5 years of us granting their visa
Unauthorised maritime arrivals who arrived in Australia on or after 13 August 2012 cannot propose applications for family members.
Your proposer will need to complete a Form 681 Refugee and Special Humanitarian Proposal for you to submit along with your own Form 842 Application for an Offshore Humanitarian visa .
We process applications under 'split family' for the same visa subclass the proposer holds.
