Australian Temporary & Permanent Partner Visa Types

Overview

Under the Partner Visa Stream an applicant can be sponsored by their Australian spouse, de facto or interdependent partner who must be either an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, aged over 18 years.

  • Marriage
  • Prospective marriage
  • Defacto Relationship
What is Partner Visa?

Partner Visas are often also referred as de facto visas in Australia are usually provided to the partners and spouses of permanent Australian Citizens, residents or those who are eligible New Zealand Citizens living in Australia. A partner visa can be obtained both for hetero sexual and/or same sex couples without much hassle.

There are two stages of obtaining a partner visa in Australia, wherein first a person gets a provisional partner visa, which is categorized in Subclass 820 for onshore and Subclass 309 for offshore applicants. Once the applicant qualifies for the provisional partner visa they had to stay in the country for a certain period of time. Couples are assessed again for meeting the criteria of permanent partner visa, which is further classified into two categories; Subclass 801 Visa for those having subclass 820 visa and subclass 100 visa for the subclass 309 visa holders.

Validity

Once a temporary Partner Visa is granted it is valid for the whole waiting period until the Immigration Department comes to a decision over your permanent Partner Visa application. Once you are approved for the permanent Partner Visa, you can stay in Australia for good.

How it works

You have to send in an application for a temporary and permanent visa which you can do by completing an application and lodging it with the right bodies so it can be made to undergo an assessment. If after the assessment you do meet the criteria for this Australian visa, the temporary Partner Visa may just be given to you. This visa is valid until you are handed a Permanent visa that is usually given a couple of years after the application is lodged. If it happens that all requirements given are still met after two years, then that permanent Partner Visa is yours.

You can be eligible for a permanent visa minus the stipulated waiting period should you be able to show proof that you and your partner have been married or in a relationship for a total of 3 years or perhaps more than that.

The permanent visa may also be yours without having to wait in the event that you and your partner have been involved or married for 2+ years and a child (dependent) from you and your partner is present. If your partner has a permanent visa by way of the Australian humanitarian program or was given a protection visa then the 2-year waiting period is waived.

 

Different Types of Partner Visas

Australian Immigration policy provides various types of partner visas and spouse visa that an applicant can apply for basis their requirement and the criteria they must be fulfilling to obtain one. So, in case anyone is willing to sponsor a partner to Australia, below are the 3 types of partner visa options they can explore:

CURRENTLY, THERE ARE 3 TYPES OF PARTNER VISAS AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA

  • Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)
  • Partner Visa Offshore (Subclasses 309 and 100)
  • Partner Visa Onshore (Subclass 820/801)

STAGES

  • Stage 1 : Temporary Partner visa
  • Stage 2: Permanent Partner Visa

Both temporary and permanent partner visa allows work, study and you may eligible for Medicare.

General Requirements

  • You are not within Australia when you apply for this Australian Visa.
  • You must not be in Australia when your Partner visa granted.
  • Abide by all legal criteria stipulated under Australian law.
  • Still meet legal criteria two years after the temporary visa is handed to you
  • Pay for the visa costs and application process.
  • Health examinations are par for the course and you may have to foot the bill for the medical check-up.
  • Police checks may also be necessary and you may have to pay for this to be processed in your own country.
Partner Visa Australia Requirements
  • You may be within Australia when you apply for this Australian Visa
  • You may be outside Australia when your Partner visa granted
  • Abide by all legal criteria stipulated under Australian law.
  • Still meet legal criteria two years after the temporary visa is handed to you
  • Pay for the visa costs and application process.
  • Health examinations are par for the course and you may have to foot the bill for the medical check-up.
  • Police checks may also be necessary and you may have to pay for this to be processed in your own country.

Individual Requirements

This visa lets you come to Australia to marry your prospective spouse and then apply for a Partner visa .For those who are engaged to an Australian citizen or a permanent Australian resident or a person who is eligible to be a citizen of New Zealand the subclass 300 prospective marriage visa is the best choice. This visa is also called a fiancé visa and to obtain this the other partner must be living outside of Australia at the time of application. Partner Visa Offshore (Subclasses 309 and 100)

  • Partner visa 309
  • Partner visa 100

Partner Visa 309 and 100 . You can apply Overseas. Allows the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia. You apply for the temporary and the permanent partner visas together partner Visa Onshore (Subclass 820/801)

The most popular de facto partner visa options are subclass 820 and subclass 801, both of these are an onshore partner visa programs. As for the offshore partner visa, one can obtain subclass 309 and subclass 100. For those who are in a long term de facto relationship with the permanent resident of Australia or New Zealand citizen then these two are the most feasible options to look for.

 

 

 

There are two types of provisional partner visas that include, subclass 820 visa, which is meant for people living in Australia and subclass 309, which meant for those who are living outside Australia.

Both the provisional visas are granted for a specified period or until they are superseded by the permanent partner visa. These visas can only be applied if the applicant is in de facto relationship with their partner living in Australia.

 

Permanent Partner Visas

After 2 years of the provisional partner visa application, the immigration department again assess the application of the applicant to see whether they meet the criteria to get a permanent partner visa or not. In order to become eligible for the assessment of visa application for permanent partner visa after living for two years with provisional visa, the person must confirm that he/she is still in de facto relationship with their partner.

Those who have acquired subclass 820 provisional partner visa are usually granted subclass 801 permanent partner visa, whereas subclass 309 provisional partner visa holders are granted subclass 100 permanent partner visa, provided that authorities are satisfied with their claim of living with their partner in de facto relationship.

After receiving permanent partner visa the Australian residency of the applicant becomes unconditional and they are allowed to live in Australia indefinitely whether they stay in de facto relationship with their partner or not.

This visa is for a person who is not a New Zealand citizen but is a member of a family unit of a New Zealand citizen. It lets you live and work in Australia for five years. For people whose partner is a New Zealand citizen, a subclass 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship Visa is an ideal choice. Though its a tenure based Visa with 5 years validity, it can be renewed easily.

Partner Visa Processing Time

Though there is no fixed time mentioned anywhere about how long will it take to get your partner visa application will get processed, but on an average it takes anywhere between 16 months to 24 months to get the application processed. In most of the cases the department responds to the application only after the published dates that you find on their websites get elapsed. However, the processing time for any partner visa application depends on a number of factors that include:

Complete list of supported documents is attached with the application or not

  • How promptly the applicant is responding to the queries for additional information
  • How long the information and background check formalities will take with regard to the information that you have provided
  • The time that will take to gather information from additional sources which are outside the purview of immigration department like health, national security, background, character, etc.
  • How many places are available with the authorities for partner migration programme
  • The final decision will be made on the basis of the authenticity of all the information and documents that the applicant has shared with the application

It is recommended to apply for the partner visa in advance to your intended travel or migration time so that you get ample visa processing time. Also, do not make travel arrangements, like ticket booking, lodging, etc. until you get positive results for your application.

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