When you are in love and in a relationship with an Australian Citizen/Permanent Resident you can apply for a visa based on your relationship. This is commonly known as a partner visa and there are 3 different categories. The one you apply for will depend on your individual circumstances.
If you are in love and don’t want to be apart and want to be together in Australia, you do have one of three options:
when applying from outside Australia. The subclass 300 visa is suitable when you are engaged to an Australian citizen, they have permanent residence or an eligible New Zealand citizen and you are living outside of Australia.
for applicants who are in Australia at the time of lodgement. Apply for the subclass 820/801 partner visa when you are already living in Australia. You must hold a valid substantive visa and either be in a married or a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. There are also ways to apply for this visa if you have a bridging visa.
for applicants who are not in Australia at the time of lodgement. The subclass 309/100 visas are the same as the same as the subclass 820/801 visas except you have to be living outside of Australia at the time of applying. The difference between the two is:
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When applying for a partner visa you must have a sponsor. They must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen willing to sponsor you. Sponsors need to meet the minimum requirements to become an approved sponsor. Only after the government approves them as a sponsor can you lodge your partner visa application.
To apply for a partner visa:
Apart from meeting partner visa sponsorship requirements, you must also meet our characterrequirements and healthrequirements.
To be eligible to sponsor your partner in Australia, you must:
Contact us for more information about your eligibility to sponsor your partner.
The average time it takes for partner visa approval is around two years as long as your application is accurate and fully completed.
When assessing you partner visa application, the Department of Home Affairs (DOHA) takes the following four areas of your relationship into account:
The DOHA assesses these areas to determine if your relationship is ongoing and genuine, and that you are living together (or temporarily separated) and are committed to sharing a life together with the exclusion of any other partners.
Receiving your 820 visa means you have reached stage one of the process. This is only a temporary visa and you must continue to collect evidence of your ongoing commitment to the relationship.
You must either be married or in a de facto relationship and meet the relationship requirements for a permanent partner visa.
If you are married, it must be legal under Australian law. Where you were married in another country and it is valid there, generally it is recognised as valid under Australian law. Please note, polygamous marriages are not recognised as legal in Australia.
You must hold a valid visa and the time of lodging your partner visa application and:
You must be in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months and living together for at least 12 months immediately prior to applying. This also applies to same sex couples.
The visa applicant must hold a valid visa at the time of lodging a partner application. You are in a de facto relationship if all of the following apply:
The statutory declaration form must be completed by witnesses who can confirm your relationship with your sponsor.
The statements from you and your sponsor must be written in the first person and must include how you met and how the relationship developed. It must be comprehensive to cover many points such as:
It is advisable to provide evidence to back up your statements.
When applying for a partner visa online, it is a good idea to have all the information about you, your sponsor, family members, etc, ready and on hand as you apply. The application requires a lot of information and having it handy will make it easier to complete the application.
Currently it costs $AU7,745 but it can increase at anytime without notice from the DOHA. This fee is payable at the time of making the application and is for both stages of the application process — the temporary and permanent visa application stages. This amount is non-refundable if, for any reason, your application is refused at any stage.
All applications must be lodged online through the DOHA website. It is important that you get the assistance of a migration advisor as there is so much information required. This will ensure you submit a decision-ready application and assist in receiving a successful outcome.
If for any reason you need to withdraw your application, you can do this online.
It is advisable to create a subclass 820 checklist or subclass 309 checklist before submitting your application to ensure you have all the information you need.
There are many areas that can be simplified such as evidence of:
It is important that all information submitted by both parties is true and accurate as the DOHA will check. If they find that anything is not true or accurate, your application may be refused or they will investigate further.
You must be the right age which is 18 plus or have a court order if under 18 years of age. But there is no other age limit.
If you break up with your partner then you are both under obligation to notify the DOHA your change in circumstances in writing.
You must declare your criminal record to DOHA as part of your application. Direct Migration Experts specialise in addressing these types of applications, so contact us for help.
When you hold a stage two permanent visa this is not a problem. But what caused your relationship to break down will determine whether your visa is cancelled or not.
If you get divorced during stage one of your visa, which is the two-year temporary visa, you must still be married to apply for the permanent visa. But every situation is unique and the are different circumstances that could involve children, for example, so it is essential to seek professional advice about your options moving forward.
No, at the present time there is no requirement for an English test when applying for a partner visa. However, Australian immigration policy often changes without notice so make sure you check with us before you apply.
Generally, no. But there are exceptions including where you live, cultural, religious and logistical reasons that may still allow you to apply for the partner visa. This depends on individual circumstances and will vary on a case-by-case basis, so it is important to talk to one of our immigration specialists at Direct Migration Experts.
Nature of commitment refers to you and your sponsor’s ability to demonstrate your intention of sharing your lives together over the long term to the exclusion of others. You must be able to provide evidence of this.
The following are the current average processing times for partner visa applications:
The processing time varies depending on the individual circumstances of the applicant and sponsor as well as the quality of the application submitted to the DOHA. Applications submitted with all the information required are often processed much faster.
To have your visa application processed quickly, the experienced registered migration specialists at Direct Migration Experts can help you.
Currently there is a temporary concession to allow applicants to remain in Australia while progressing their visa for the following family visa subclasses:
The Australian Government constantly adjusts its immigration policies to increase or decrease migration levels for different visa categories. This is what is known as migration planning levels.
The current migration program planning levels support the government’s immigration announcement as part of the 2020 Federal Budget. The current partner visa planning levels is just above 70,000 and they are processing these quickly to clear the backlog of applications.
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