To be eligible to apply for a Global Special Humanitarian visa (subclass 202) through the Special Humanitarian Program you must be:
- outside Australia (offshore)
- living outside your home country
- subject to substantial discrimination in your home country amounting to a gross violation of your human rights
- proposed by an Australian citizen or
Permanent resident, an
Eligible New Zealand citizen, or an organisation based in Australia.
Apply
Apply for the
Global Special Humanitarian (subclass 202) visa.
Proposer obligations
Before you arrive
If the application is approved, you and your proposer are responsible for arranging and paying for your travel to Australia.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) may be able to assist you under their prepaid migration travel program. For more information see
Travel Assistance for Migration to Australia
The Australian Government will pay for the medical and x-ray examinations needed for your visa.
When you arrive
Your proposer is expected to help you settle in Australia. Your proposer must meet you at the airport and help you with:
- your immediate accommodation needs
- finding permanent accommodation
- services and service providers such as:
- Australia's public healthcare scheme, Medicare
- Australia's social security agency, Centrelink
- banks
- public transport
- translating and interpreting services
- health care
- education
- employment
- childcare.
SHP visa applications, which are accompanied by a form 681, are processed in the following order:
Priority 1 (Split / Immediate Family)
The proposer is an immediate family member (partner or dependent child, or, if the proposer is under 18 years of age, the proposer's parent) and one of the following:
- They were granted a Class XB visa
- They are an Australian citizen who held a Protection or Resolution of Status visa
- They met the split-family criteria, this means the applicant:
- was a member of the immediate family of the proposer when we granted the proposer their visa
- the proposer told us about the relationship before we granted the proposer their visa
- the application was made within 5 years of us granting the proposer their visa.
Priority 2 – Close family
The applicant is proposed by a close family member who does not hold a Protection (XA-866) or Resolution of Status (CD-851) visa (partners, children, parents and siblings who do not otherwise meet the 'split family' definition).
Priority 3 – Extended Family
The applicant is proposed by an extended family member who does not hold a Protection (XA-866) or Resolution of Status visa (CD-851) (grandparents, grandchildren, cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews).
Priority 4
The applicant is proposed by a friend or distant relative who does not hold a Protection (XA-866) or Resolution of Status (CD-851) visa or by a community organisation.
Priority 5
The applicant is proposed by a person granted a Protection (XA-866) or Resolution of Status (CD-851) visa. If these proposers become Australian citizens, then applications they propose become priority 1, 2, 3 or 4 according to their relationship.
A person who arrived in Australia as an unauthorised maritime arrival (UMA) on or after 13 August 2012 cannot propose family members under the Humanitarian Program. This is in line with the Migration Regulations 1994.
