February 11, 2017

Different Types Of Australia Partner & Spouse Visas

An increasing number of people are migrating to Australia every year for better job opportunities, higher studies and quality of life. First aim of immigrants moving to Australia is to settle down before they get their spouses or partners to Australia on a partner Visa; however, it’s not at all plain sailing as it might appear.

Applying for Australian partner visa calls for rigorous paper work and inadequate information often leads to rejection leaving applicants at their wits’ end. Let’s read on to understand what Australia Spouse/ Partner Visa is and the documentation required to successfully apply for one.

What’s Australia Spouse Or Partner Visa?

Australia spouse or partner visa allows spouse or de-facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia or an eligible New Zealand citizen to migrate to and live in Australia.

Australian partner visa requires you to be in a true and genuine relationship with your partner as well as a sponsorship from your partner for 2 years. If you are married you will need to provide evidence to ascertain that your marriage is valid according to the Australian law. Mostly furnishing your marriage certificate is enough though.

Whether you are applying as spouse or de-facto partner, you will be required to pass the health and character test as defined by the Australian migration law.

How to Prove De-Facto Relationship?

If you are applying as a de-facto partner, you need to be in a de-facto relationship for a period of at least 12 months. Proving a de-facto relationship is relatively difficult, but you can do so by the following means-

By demonstrating knowledge of personal circumstances of each other.
Joint ownership of major financial or real estate assets such as mortgages, property ownership or bank statements
Joint Travel
Providing evidence in the form of joint household accounts
Providing evidence in the form of statutory declarations from your family or social circle such as parents or other family members, relatives, friends etc.

Understanding Partner Visa Subclass 820 and 801

Visa subclass 820 allows you to live in Australia on Partner Visa. As discussed earlier, you will be required to be sponsored by your partner for a period of 2 years.

After 2 years, if you wish to apply for permanent residency in Australia, you can go for permanent residency visa subclass 801. Visa subclass 820 is also known as Partner Temporary Visa Onshore while 801 is also called Partner Permanent Visa Onshore. Understandably, you can apply for temporary visa 820 while you are living in Australia. You must already hold a student visa, visitor visa or a working holiday visa.

What if you live outside Australia and looking for a partner visa?

Partner Provisional Visa Subclass 309 and Partner Migrant Visa Subclass 100

If you are in a marital or de-facto relationship with a permanent resident of Australia, an Australian citizen or an eligible New Zealand citizen and you live outside Australia, you can apply for Visa subclass 309. Visa 309 is the pathway to Permanent Partner Visa subclass 100 which is known as Partner Migrant Visa.

In other words, you do not need to lodge separate applications for visa 309 and visa 100, as both are part of the same process, but are processed in 2 different stages.

While applying for Provisional visa subclass 309, you must be living outside Australia. On the other hand, you could be in or outside Australia while applying for Partner Migrant Visa Subclass 100.

What if you are engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident of Australia or an eligible New Zealand citizen ? Are you still eligible for an Australian visa? Read on to know.

Australia Fiancé(é) / Prospective Marriage Visa Subclass 300

If you are engaged to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen and live outside Australia, you can apply for Visa subclass 300. You must be living outside Australia at the time of applying and when the visa is granted. You must be of the opposite sex of your fiancé(é)

Your fiancé(é) will need to sponsor you. Both of you must have met in person as adults and must be of marriageable age at the time of applying for the visa. You must be genuinely intended to live with your partner as spouse after marriage and your marriage must be recognized under the Australian law. Since this visa is valid for 9 months, you will be required to marry your partner within 9 months of visa grant.

Why hiring a certified migration/visa consultant makes your life easy?

There is no one size fits all, when it comes to Partner/Spouse/Prospective Spouse Visa and a lot depends on your case or circumstances.

It’s recommended to consult a professional and certified migration and visa consultant, because the process involves loads of paperwork and intricate processes that follow. We have applied for thousands of visa applications on behalf of our clients and got them processed in record time.

If you have any questions about partner or spouse visa or looking to apply for one yourself, feel free to get in touch with us.