Little Known facts about Australia Partner Visa

Yearning to meet your loved one in Australia? Then you should know a few things before applying for an Australian Partner Visa.

If you want to visit your Partner/Spouse in Australia, you need to lodge a Partner visa 309/100 application.  To acquire the Permanent Partner (Migrant) Visa (subclass 100), you first have to acquire a Temporary Partner (Provisional) Visa for Australia (subclass 309).

But before you apply, here are few things you might be unaware while applying. 

1. You don’t have to be married to visit your partner in Australia.
2. The necessity of a 12-month period of living together can be overlooked.
3. You can visit your partner during the processing time of the application.
4. You can add your child to the application after it is lodged.
5. You can apply for a de facto visa, even if you are still married (but separated) to someone else.
6. You can only attach 100 documents in your ImmiAccount.

1. You don’t have to be married to visit your partner in Australia.

If your partner is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, you don’t have to be legally married to your partner to lodge a Partner Visa for Australia. Then, this would generally require you to exhibit evidence of your living together for at least a period of 12 months before lodging.

2. The necessity of a 12-month period of living together can be overlooked.

You might have heard the rule that it is necessary for a couple to have proof of living together for at least 12-months before lodging for a Partner visa. Well, not anymore! It is recognized that, for certain reasons, a couple may have to live separately. Therefore, the one-year relationship norm does not ask the couple for a proof of having physically lived together, rather be in a de facto relationship for that period of time.

There are also other exemptions from the one-year relationship prerequisite, like:

• Convincing and unordinary circumstances, for example, there is a child born out of that relationship.
• If your relationship is recorded as a kind of relationship which is set in the regulations specified under a law of the state or territory and stated in the Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008.
• Your partner is an applicant for a permanent humanitarian visa
• Your partner is, or was the holder of a permanent humanitarian visa; prior to the humanitarian visa was permitted, the de facto relationship with your partner should’ve been declared to the Department at that time.

When submitting evidence of a de facto relationship, you may have to provide statements entailing the history of your relationship, financial statements encompassing details of financial commitments including bank statements, and any joint liabilities, social evidence proving that you and your partner are recognized as a couple in the society.

Also, this necessity of a 12-months living period can be overlooked if you’re married to an Australian citizen through a culturally arranged marriage, as the history and evidence shared by the couple will be little. In this case, you have to submit statements consisting of the initial arranged meetings, financial sharing, and social evidence.

3. You can visit your partner during the processing time of the application.

After lodging Temporary Partner Visa for Australia offshore, you can still visit your partner during the processing time. It doesn’t oblige you to stay in your country during that period. But, when your visa is ready and you’re still onshore, the Immigration Department will let you know and give you the notice to fly back before it’s granted, for, a Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 309) will not be granted unless you’re offshore.

4. You can add your child to the application after it is lodged.

During the processing time of the Partner visa application, if you decide to add your dependent child or stepchild to the application, the Australian Immigration law allows it. The child should first be granted a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445) after which he/she can visit or stay in Australia. Also, after the temporary Partner visa has been permitted to their parent, the child can be added to the permanent Partner visa application.

5. You can apply for a de facto visa, even if you are still married (but separated) to someone else.

If you’re married to someone else but have separated and are now in a relationship with someone new, you can still apply for a de facto Partner visa. 

If you are married to someone else then under Australian law, both of you are not allowed to marry each other. Nevertheless, Australian immigration law makes it possible for you to be in a de facto relationship with your partner and to have that relationship as evidence during application. So even if you or your partner are not divorced due to – disagreement on the financial settlement from the divorce or your previous husband/wife won’t agree to divorce or any other reasons, you (or your partner) might still be eligible to apply for a Partner Visa.

6. You can only attach 100 documents in your ImmiAccount.

If you are applying for your visa or citizenship for Australia, you can create an ImmiAccount which allows you to attach documents online, track your application’s process and access the ‘My Health Declarations’ service.

But while applying for a Partner/Spouse Visa, the documents you attach, to be presented as a proof of your relationship, are limited to only 100 documents. Another critical fact to remember is that you cannot remove an already attached document; therefore, you should always attach required documents first and then any recommended documents you want to provide.

If you are submitting numerous pages of the same document, then include all the pages in one file rather than loading each page as a separate file. And, if you are required to submit pictures as evidence of a relationship then consider printing and scanning multiple pictures into one. Also, if you have reached your limit and had more documents to attach, you will need to wait until your application has been allocated to a case officer. They will advise you of what additional information or documents you need to provide and how to do so.

If you have any queries or want to know more about Australia Partner Visa, we at Aussizz Group will always be available for any assistance. Come, visit us today!