Grandparents’ Travel Exemption to Care for Grandchildren

**Great News for New Moms!

Grandparents Can Now Apply for Travel Exemptions to Help Care for Babies 👶🎉**

Recently, the Department of Home Affairs updated its travel-exemption rules, adding a new provision that allows grandparents to accompany Australian-citizen children into Australia. But the case we’re sharing today is not one of those.

In fact, we successfully handled several similar cases before the new rule even existed, so this type of approval is nothing new to us.

After Australia closed its borders, many parents—especially those born in the ’80s and ’90s (and even some from the ’70s!)—found themselves facing a major challenge:
After having a baby, both parents need to work, maternity leave is short, and the grandparents who could help are all overseas. So what can they do?

Today, our “Master of Travel Exemptions,” Judy, is sharing one of our success stories.

Travel Exemption Case Study

Mrs. Wang was expecting her baby in March. Her husband, a landscape designer, was extremely busy (though somehow still had time to make a baby 😄). Because the borders were closed and both families lived overseas, they had been planning since early pregnancy to bring her parents to Australia to help care for the newborn. We took on the case even before Mrs. Wang gave birth.

Technically, this type of situation did not meet any of the current travel-exemption criteria.
But our philosophy is simple: There is always a way.

We promised Mrs. Wang that we would keep submitting applications until the exemption was approved.

A quick note:
Many applicants also submit repeatedly, but without proper strategy. They may attach a stack of impressive-looking documents, but if they miss the key points, repeated submissions won’t help—they only waste time.

Our repeated submissions are different:
👉 Every submission is adjusted
👉 Every explanation letter is refined
👉 Every strategy is guided by past successful cases
👉 Every step moves closer in the right direction

That’s what truly helps a client.

This case was extremely challenging. After full communication, Mrs. Wang understood the difficulty but still trusted us to proceed. From the moment we took the case to final approval of the exemption and visitor visa, we submitted 13 applications.

Yes—13 submissions.
Why so many?
Because if the request doesn’t fall under the official criteria, you have to push the case forward.

Every time the Department responded—or didn’t respond—we reassessed. Many times, the application was simply refused with no explanation. Then our team would meet, analyze the possible reasons, interpret the officer’s thinking, and adjust our approach accordingly. (And yes, “guessing” also requires expertise!)

Many people ask what documents are required.
In truth, we didn’t provide a huge pile of materials.
Documents alone don’t solve the problem—
Identifying the key points does.

Outcome: A Heart-Warming Success 🎊

In the end, the baby’s grandmother was granted:
✔ A travel exemption
✔ A visitor visa

When Mrs. Wang received the approval, she burst into tears of relief.
For a new mom, this wasn’t just a visa approval—it was emotional support and timely help when she needed it most.

If you’re facing a similar situation, feel free to contact us.
Helping you is our responsibility.
As long as you don’t give up, we won’t give up.
And even if you do give up… we still won’t give up!
(Yes, the red scarf on our chest is fluttering proudly 😄)

Important Update for Families

If your child is overseas and needs to return to Australia accompanied by grandparents or other close relatives, take note of the new rules!

Updated Travel-Exemption Policy

Non-citizen / non-PR grandparents, maternal and paternal grandparents, uncles, and aunts may now apply to accompany an Australian-citizen or PR child returning to Australia.

Requirements

• Each child under 2 years old may be accompanied by one caregiver

• For families with multiple children over 2 years old, only one caregiver will be approved

• Additional caregivers may be considered if there is medical evidence

• In general, only close relatives (grandparents, uncles/aunts) are allowed to accompany the child