One of the most requested types of visas is the partner visa. Many people are looking to bring their married spouse or their de facto partner to Australia. There are a number of partner visas that you can apply for, depending on your situation and conditions. These conditions include the location of your partner, whether you are engaged or married and whether you’re an Australian citizen, permanent resident, or you’re in Australia on another visa. The focus of this article will be on the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), which is a temporary visa for applicants who live outside of Australia. If you wish to become a sponsor and bring your partner to Australia, you must also meet the one-year relationship requirement.
Eligibility
To be able to apply for this visa, you should be 18 or older and be the partner of an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You should also meet certain health and character requirements. You may also be required to fill out certain forms and provide certain documents depending on your country of residence.
The one-year relationship requirement
This requirement simply means that if you wish to bring your partner to Australia, you must provide evidence of a relationship that’s at least 12 months long before you submit your visa application. The evidence that is required reflects some of the de facto relationship laws. As a couple, you must:
- Show your commitment to a shared life
- Show that your relationship is real and continuing
- Show that you live together as a couple and are not separated.
Usually, one of the common requirements is that the couple should be living together. If for any reason, you aren’t living with your partner, then you should provide solid evidence of your living situation.
What evidence can be used to show proof of the relationship?
Among the evidence that can be considered when showing the nature of a relationship is proof of shared financials, such as having a joint bank account and owning a property with your partner. Personal evidence such as sharing the responsibility of a child, knowing personal things about your partner, and statements from friends and acquaintances about the nature of your relationship is also required. There are also people who meet each other on the internet and start their relationships online. In those cases, your contact on the internet before physically meeting each other is usually not used as evidence for the one-year relationship requirement.
How to go from temporary to permanent visa?
Once your partner gets the partner visa 309 (temporary), they will be able to come to Australia and live until a decision is made on their permanent visa. During this period, your partner will be able to work and study in Australia. They can also go in and out of Australia and get government benefits such as Medicare. Your partner can also include dependent children or stepchildren in their application, but there will be additional costs for that.
What to do if your application is refused?
If you submitted an application within Australia and it was refused, you have the right to appeal to the Migration Review Tribunal for a review. The person who sponsors their partner also has the right to the review of the application if it was made outside of Australia.
Partner visa costs and processing times
Partner visas can be quite costly. Currently, the partner visa costs 7850$, and it’s the same regardless of whether you apply in Australia or outside the country. There can also be medical costs going up to 400$. The processing time for 90% of applications is around 32 months, but it could also take less than 12 months, so you should not get discouraged. If your partner is applying from their home country, then they should wait until their application is approved before they can come to Australia.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, migrating to another country is not an easy process, but if your heart is in it and you want to make it happen, then it is worth it. Especially when you get to be with the love of your life. Make sure to be very thorough with the documents you provide to fast-track your application.
