The Australian Immigration Department realises the importance of family and has a range of family visas you can utilise to make it possible for their Partners to migrate to Australia or New Zealand.

A Partner visa allows the partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or New Zealand citizen to migrate to Australia to live and work. This also extends to de-facto and same-sex relationships.

There are two main types of Partner Visas, the prospective marriage (fiancée) visa or the standard Partner visa for applicant who are married or in an existing de-facto relationship.

Prospective marriage visa

The prospective marriage visa is available to people outside Australia who intend to marry their Australian sponsoring partner after they enter Australia. This visa is not available for people in Australia.

Prospective marriage visa applicants must:

• be at least 18 years of age
• have met their sponsor, in person, since they both turned 18
• be known to their sponsor
• be able to enter into a marriage that is valid under Australian law (that is, there must be no impediment to their marriage).

A prospective marriage visa is valid for nine months from the date of grant. A prospective marriage visa holder must enter Australia, marry their sponsoring partner and apply for a partner visa in Australia within the nine month period. The visa cannot be extended in Australia.

Partner visa

Partner visas are available to people who are married to, or in a de facto relationship with an Australian partner (the sponsor). The application can be made in or outside Australia.

Partner visa applicants must:

• have a mutual commitment to a shared life together, to the exclusion of all others
• have a genuine and continuing relationship
• live together or not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Married visa applicants must also show that their marriage is valid under Australian law.

De facto visa applicants must show that they are not related by family, and that their relationship has existed for at least 12 months immediately before lodging the application, this period may be waived if the relationship has been registered with the appropriate state or territory bodies.

A partner visa applicant submits one application form and pays one visa application charge but the Department assesses the application in two stages. A temporary partner visa is granted at first stage, and the permanent visa is granted at second stage.

Generally, the permanent partner visa is granted two years after the application is made, if the couple is still in a married or de facto relationship. If the couple is in a long term relationship when they lodge the application, the two year period does not apply.

Those exceptions being, where a permanent visa may be granted directly:

• Your relationship is longer than 5 years
• You and your partner have been in a de-facto relationship or married for more than 2 years and have children together.

In certain circumstances, it might be possible to grant the permanent partner visa sooner than two years, for example, if the relationship breaks down and the applicant has a dependent child or the applicant or dependent child has suffered family violence committed by the sponsor.

A partner visa applicant may be able to include certain dependent family members in their application. This however, will depend on where the applicant and family member is at the time of application and whether the visa applicant has been granted the temporary visa or not.

The temporary partner visa allows you unlimited rights to live and work within Australia and the chance to apply for a permanent partner visa two years after being granted your temporary visa with some exceptions.

All visas require good health and good character.

Sponsorship

All applicants for partner migration, whether they apply in or outside Australia, must be sponsored by their partner. If the partner is under 18 years of age and the application is made on the basis of a married relationship, the partner’s parent or guardian must sponsor the applicant.

The sponsor must be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen and be 18 years of age or older.

Ready Migration is an international migration company; our Australian offices are Gold Coast based.

No matter what your circumstances we can assess your eligibility for migration to Australia whether it be for a temporary or permanent stay. If you would like expert and affordable advice tailored to your individual circumstances, simply complete a No obligation Free Visa Assessment. One of our experienced, registered migration agents will be in touch with you to advise you of your options. Alternatively come to our Gold Coast or International based offices for a confidential chat.