To be eligible to apply for an Adoption visa (subclass 102), the child must:
- have been or be in the process of being adopted through an inter country adoption or arrangement with the involvement of an Australian state or territory central authority, or
- have been or be in the process of being adopted through an inter country adoption between 2 countries (other than Australia) that are parties to the Hague Convention on the Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter country Adoption (the Hague Adoption Convention), or
- have been adopted through an expatriate adoption (with no Australian state or territory central authority being involved). The adoption must be by an Australian citizen, an eligible New Zealand citizen or the holder of an Australian permanent visa. They must have been living outside Australia for more than 12 months before lodging the visa application.