190 Child Migration Consent in 2026: Form 1229, Statutory Declarations and Court Order Alternatives

For a Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190), consent for a child under 18 comes from every person who has a legal right to decide where that child lives and is not travelling to Australia with the child. That consent can be shown in three ways: a completed Form 1229 (Consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years), a statutory declaration giving consent for the child to migrate on this visa, or — as an alternative — an Australian court order allowing the child to migrate, or evidence that the laws of your home country allow the child to migrate. The wording above comes from the Australian Department of Home Affairs' official "Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190)" page; this article is general reference only and is not individual advice, so your own circumstances should be checked against the current official page or with a qualified practitioner.

Who has to give consent, and who does not?

The trigger on the official page is narrow, and it is worth reading it as two conditions that must both be true:

• the person has a legal right to decide where the child lives; and
• that person is not coming to Australia with the child.

Someone who is migrating with the child on the same application is not asked to consent to their own child's migration, because the condition is about the people left behind. A person who holds a legal right over where the child lives but is staying in another country is the one whose consent is required.

This is why the first practical step is not filling in a form at all, but establishing who holds that legal right for your child — which is exactly what the birth certificate or family book you must supply anyway is meant to show, since the page requires documents "showing the names of both parents."

Assume an applicant who is the sole migrating parent, with the other parent named on the child's birth certificate remaining overseas. On the wording of the official page, that other parent is a person with a legal right to decide where the child lives who is not coming to Australia, so consent from them is required — and it has to be documented in one of the three ways below.

What are the three ways to prove consent?

Route	What it is	When it fits
Form 1229	Consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years, completed by the non-migrating person	The person is willing and able to sign the department's own form
Statutory declaration	A statutory declaration giving consent for the child to migrate to Australia on this visa	The person is willing to consent but signs a declaration rather than the form
Court order / home-country law	An Australian court order that allows the child to migrate, or evidence that the laws of your home country allow the child to migrate	Consent cannot be obtained, or the child's migration is already authorised by a court or by law

The first two are alternative documents from the same person. The third is a different kind of proof entirely: instead of showing that someone agreed, it shows that Australian legal authority, or the law of the home country, permits the child to migrate. That distinction matters in practice — a court order route is not a "better version" of Form 1229, it is what you turn to when a signed consent is not available.

What must accompany the consent?

The consent document on its own is not the whole evidence set. The official page requires two further items alongside whichever consent route you use:

• an identity document showing the signature and photo of the person who completed the form or declaration, such as a passport or driver's licence; and
• adoption papers or other court documents, if applicable.

The identity document is what ties the signature on the consent to a real person, and it is also the item most often overlooked when a parent signs from another country. Treat it as part of the consent package rather than an afterthought.

When does a court order or home-country law become the answer?

Use this route when the person who holds the legal right cannot or will not provide a signed consent. The page offers two variants:

• an Australian court order that allows your child to migrate to Australia; or
• evidence that the laws of your home country allow the child to migrate.

Which one is realistic depends entirely on where the legal right was created and where the child currently lives. Because the official page states the category without listing what evidence satisfies "the laws of your home country allow them to migrate," the specific documents needed for that variant should be confirmed against the current official guidance before you lodge rather than guessed at.

What else does the child's document set need?

Beyond consent, the page requires, for every dependant aged 18 or younger applying with you:

• copies of birth certificates or the family book, showing the names of both parents of all dependent children; and
• copies of the adoption papers, if applicable.

One requirement the page explicitly removes: you do not have to prove that a dependant under 18 has functional English, so there is no English test or evidence for the child on this ground.

What happens if the child turns 18 while the application is being processed?

This is the sharpest timing trap in the whole area. The official page states that if your child is likely to turn 18 while the application is being processed, you will need to provide evidence that they are dependent on you, using the over-18 dependant rules. A child who turns 18 during processing and who is not dependent on you cannot satisfy the criteria for this visa.

The over-18 evidence described on the same page includes:

• proof of the relationship, such as a birth certificate or adoption papers;
• a completed Form 47a (Details of a child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over);
• proof of financial dependency, such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts.

So the consent question and the dependency question are decided by the child's age at different moments: consent applies while the child is 18 or younger, and dependency takes over the moment the child crosses 18 during processing.

Can a child be added after the application is lodged?

Yes. The page allows members of the family unit to be added after you apply but before a decision is made, using Form 1436 (Adding an additional applicant after lodgement), paid through ImmiAccount, with the form and supporting documents attached. Family members who apply must meet the health and character requirements — and even family members who are not coming to Australia must meet the character requirement, and might have to meet the health requirement.

Frequently asked questions

Does both parents' consent have to be on Form 1229?

Only people who hold a legal right to decide where the child lives and are not coming to Australia with the child need to give consent. A parent who is migrating with the child on the same application is not in that group, so no consent form is required from them.

Is a statutory declaration accepted instead of Form 1229?

Yes. The official page gives Form 1229 and a statutory declaration giving consent for the child to migrate on this visa as two alternative options from the consenting person. Whichever is used, it must be paired with an identity document showing that person's signature and photo.

What identity document is needed with the consent?

An identity document that shows both the signature and the photo of the person who completed the form or declaration, with a passport or driver's licence given as examples. A document showing only a name, or only a photo without a signature, does not match what the page asks for.

Does an under-18 child need to meet an English requirement?

No. The page states that you do not have to prove a dependant under 18 years of age has functional English. English evidence is an applicant-level requirement, not something added for young dependent children.

What if my child turns 18 before the visa is decided?

You will need to provide evidence that they are dependent on you, following the over-18 dependant rules, which include Form 47a and proof of financial dependency such as bank statements, money transfers and rent receipts. A child who turns 18 during processing and is not dependent on you cannot satisfy the criteria for this visa.

Can I add a child to the application after lodging it?

Yes, using Form 1436 (Adding an additional applicant after lodgement), with payment through ImmiAccount and the form plus supporting documents attached. Family members added this way must meet health and character requirements, and even those not coming to Australia must meet the character requirement.

Do adoption papers remove the need for consent?

Adoption papers are required in their own right where applicable, and the page also lists adoption papers or other court documents as items to include with the consent material. They do not by themselves switch off the consent requirement, which is tied to who holds a legal right to decide where the child lives and whether that person is migrating with the child.

References

• Australian Department of Home Affairs — Skilled Nominated visa (Subclass 190)