Partner Visa
You may be eligible for a partner visa if you meet the following criteria:
- You are married or in a de-facto relationship with an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- You and your partner have met in person and known to each other since you both reached age of 18
- Meet relationship requirement:
– For de-facto relationship you must be at least 12 months in a relationship before the application or your relationship are registered under a law of a State or Territory
- Your relationship is genuine and continuing
- The following aspects of the relationship are taken into consideration when a partner visa application is being assessed:
– Financial– Social– Nature of household– Nature of commitment
If you are in Australia and hold a substantive visa you can consider a Partner (Residence) Visa Subclass 820/801
You must be in Australia at time of application and at time of decision.
While your application is processed you will be granted a bridging visa A with full work rights and access to Medicare.
Please note if you are not a holder of a substantive visa you still may be eligible to apply for a Partner Visa in certain circumstances.
No further stay
You cannot apply for this visa if you already hold another visa that has a ‘No further stay’ condition. In some limited circumstances you may apply for a waiver of “no further stay” condition.
If you are outside of Australia you can consider a Partner (Migrant) Visa Subclass 309/100
You must to be outside Australia at time of application and at time of decision.
If you are a partner of a New Zealand citizen living in Australia you may be eligible for a special category temporary visa based on your relationship.
You can include members of the family unit in your application when you apply (in case of this visa that would be your dependent children)
You are required to include details of all your family members in your application form whether they are migrating or not.
Family members who apply for the visa must meet our health and character requirements. Family members who are not coming to Australia might also have to meet our health and character requirements.
Partner Visa Applications Work in Stages
- A provisional visa is granted first if the length of your relationship, at time of application, is less than three years. Your visa will be issued with full work right, multiple re-entry facility and access to Medicare.
- Two years from the date of visa lodgement, there is the requirement of a second application where further processing for permanent residency is conducted
As partner visa applications are the most used category of visa, attract a very high refusal rate and come with a high government fee, it is best to be fully prepared and submit the best possible application. The Department will conduct comprehensive searches to cross-check your information and you may be requested to explain the reason for any inconsistencies. However, the Department is not obliged to make any requests and may simply refuse your application.
Understanding how to navigate through these requirements may seem straight forward but it can be in these situations where a carefully prepared application can fall apart, that includes cases where false or misleading information was provided to the Department, or either a sponsor or visa applicant fails to meet character test.
We strongly recommend to discuss your matter with a migration agent or a migration lawyer before you apply for a Partner Visa.