It's a fairly common pattern for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application for a young child to be rejected even when the parents' applications on the same trip are approved. Group members pointed to how the application was filed as a likely factor.
What group members said:- File the child's TRV as a paper-based application, ideally through a lawyer or consultant, rather than online. Members who did this for their kids reported success.
- The online system has known issues handling children's visitor visa applications — some members described it as effectively broken for this specific case, since the online portal can end up processing a child's visitor application as though it were a different, more complex visa type rather than a straightforward visitor visa.
If your child's TRV was refused while your own was approved, consider reapplying via a paper-based submission instead of the online portal, and review the refusal letter carefully for the officer's stated reason before resubmitting, since that will guide what additional documents or explanations to include.