Migration Regulations 1994

The applicant meets the requirements of subclause (2), (3), (4) or (5).

An applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:

the applicant has not turned 18; and

the applicant was adopted overseas by a person who:

was, at the time of the adoption, an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen; and

had been residing overseas for more than 12 months at the time of the application; and

the Minister is satisfied that the residence overseas by the adoptive parent was not contrived to circumvent the requirements for entry to Australia of children for adoption; and

the adoptive parent has lawfully acquired full and permanent parental rights by the adoption.

An applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:

the applicant has not turned 18; and

the applicant is resident in an overseas country; and

either:

a person who is not in a married relationship or de facto relationship, and who is an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen has undertaken in writing to adopt the applicant; or

spouses or de facto partners, at least one of whom is an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen, have undertaken in writing to adopt the applicant; and

a competent authority in Australia:

has approved the prospective adoptive parent as a suitable adoptive parent for the applicant; or

has approved the prospective adoptive parent and the spouse or de facto partner of the prospective adoptive parent as suitable adoptive parents for the applicant.

An applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:

the applicant has not turned 18; and

the applicant is resident in an overseas country; and

a competent authority in the overseas country has allocated the applicant for prospective adoption by a person who is an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen, or such a person and that person’s spouse or de facto partner; and

either:

arrangements for the adoption are in accordance with the Adoption Convention; or

the adoption is of a kind that may be accorded recognition by section 7 of the Family Law (Bilateral Arrangements—Intercountry Adoption) Regulations 2023; and

a competent authority in Australia:

has approved the prospective adoptive parent as a suitable adoptive parent for the applicant; or

has approved the prospective adoptive parent and the spouse or de facto partner of the prospective adoptive parent as suitable adoptive parents for the applicant.

An applicant meets the requirements of this subclause if:

the applicant has not turned 18; and

the applicant was adopted in accordance with the Adoption Convention, in an Adoption Convention country, by a person who was an Australian citizen, a holder of a permanent visa or an eligible New Zealand citizen when the adoption took place, or by such a person and that person’s spouse or de facto partner.