Partner Visas

The relationship:

One of the key aspects of a partner visa application is to demonstrate that your relationship is genuine. You can either be in a de facto marital relationship or a de jure marital relationship with your eligible partner. The definition of these terms in migration law are: 

A de facto relationship is when: the couple is not married to each other, they have the exclusivity of one another, the relationship is ongoing and genuine, they live together, or if they live apart, this living arrangement is only on provisional grounds, and they are not family related.

A de jure marital relationship is when: you are married to your partner, your marriage must be legally valid in Australia, the couple have the exclusivity of one another, the relationship is ongoing and genuine and the couple live together, or if they live apart, this living arrangement is only on provisional grounds.

Long term relationship:

There are certain cases in which the process can be considered as a first stage, where the visa applicant will successfully be granted a permanent visa. In most cases this occurs when the duration of the relationship has a minimum of 3 years or 2 years if the couple has a dependent child.

There are different types of partner visas for those who are in a relationship with a Permanent Resident in Australia, an Australian Citizen, or an eligible New Zealand Citizen.

These visas allow you to live, work and study in Australia.

 

Subclass 820 Partner (temporary) – Onshore applications & Subclass 801 Partner (Permanent)

This is a 2-stage process:

Subclass 820: This visa allows you (the applicant) to stay temporarily with your de facto or spouse partner in Australia. You can include your dependent child/children. You and your dependent child/children must be inside of Australia when you apply for this visa and when the decision is made. This is a first stage process. After 24 months of lodging this visa, you may be eligible to apply for subclass 801 (the 2º stage), that allows you to stay permanently in Australia.

Some of the basic eligibility requirements for subclass 820 are:

  • Be 18 years old or older.
  • Be in a genuine de facto relationship or be the spouse of an Australia Citizen, or Australia Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. 
  • Be sponsored by your partner and your partner must meet the character requirements. Please note there are certain sponsorship limitations.
  • Meet the health and character requirements.

Partner (Permanent)

Subclass 801

This visa will let you stay in Australia indefinitely and apply for a citizenship if eligible. This is the 2º stage of the process, when you lodge the 1º stage you are already paying for the visa fee, so you do not have any visa fee to be paid at this stage. Once you receive the decision of the 1º stage (subclass 820) and after 24 months has passed since you lodged the visa application, you are eligible to apply for this visa. In most cases, you will need to demonstrate that your de facto or de jure relationship with your partner is still ongoing and genuine. You can include any dependent child/children. You and your dependent child/children can be inside or outside of Australia when you apply for this visa and when the decision is made.

Subclass 309 Partner (Provisional) – Offshore applications & Subclass 100 Partner (Migrant)

This is a 2-stage process:

Subclass 309: This visa allows you (the applicant) to stay provisionally with your de facto or spouse partner in Australia. You can include your dependent child/children. You and your dependent child/children must be outside of Australia when you apply for this visa. This is a temporary visa, until the visa subclass 100 decision is made. After 24 months of lodging this visa, you may be eligible to apply for subclass 100 (the 2º stage), that allows you to stay permanently in Australia.

Some of the basic eligibility requirements for subclass 309 are:

  • Be 18 years old or older.
  • Be in a genuine de facto relationship or be the spouse of an Australia Citizen, or Australia Permanent Resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. 
  • Be sponsored by your partner and your partner must meet the character requirements. Please note there are certain sponsorship limitations.
  • Meet the health and character requirements.

Partner (Migrant)

Subclass 100

This visa will let you stay in Australia indefinitely and apply for a citizenship if eligible. This is the 2º stage of the process, when you lodge the 1º stage you are already paying for the visa fee, so you do not have any visa fee to be paid at this stage. Once you receive the decision of the 1º stage (subclass 309) and after 24 months has passed since you lodged the visa application, you are eligible to apply for this visa. In most cases, you will need to demonstrate that your de facto or de jure relationship with your partner is still ongoing and genuine. You can include any dependent child/children. You and your dependent child/children can be inside or outside of Australia when you apply for this visa and when the decision is made.

Prospective Marriage Visa offshore applications

Subclass 300

Also commonly called the ‘fiancé visa’, it allows you (the applicant) to travel and stay in Australia for between 9 – 15 months from the date of visa grant, to marry your partner before the visa expiry date.

You can include your dependent child/children. This visa allows you to study and work in Australia.

You and your dependent child/children must be outside of Australia when you apply for this visa. After marrying your partner, you may lodge another partner visa.

Our intent is to provide you only with a general overview information of these visa subclasses and/or any other migration matter. This information may not be up to date with migration regulations and legislations as migration law is very dynamic. If you intend to apply for this visa, we strongly recommend you schedule a migration consultation to discuss any applicable factors under your specific circumstances.