Partner / Family Visa

Partner Visa 

The Australian Government has made available the Partner Visa option for those applicants wishing to live in Australia with their spouse or de-facto partner (including same sex), who must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. 

The Visa application can be submitted while overseas (Subclasses 309 and 100) or if already living in Australia (Subclasses 820 and 801) and the process includes a Provisional and a Permanent stage:

Provisional Partner Visa – Applicants are allowed to live with their de-facto partner or spouse in Australia for a period of 2 years.

Permanent Partner Visa – Applicants are granted permanent residence status and they can live with their de-facto partner or spouse in Australia indefinitely.

The Visa application is made for both stages in one process and the Visa cost includes the application fee for the Provisional and Permanent Partner Visas, but there are additional costs for the health and police certificates required, as well as for dependent children, step-children and each family member included in the application. 

However, when a couple is not married yet and cannot demonstrate a de-facto relationship, the Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) allows the fiancé to live in Australia for a period of 9 months, during which the couple can meet the Partner Visa requirements and apply for the Provisional and Permanent Partner Visas with a reduced fee, if eligible.

Processing Times: Vary (13 to 27 months, approx.)

Partner Visa requirements

In order to submit a valid Visa application, you must:

  1. meet the relationship requirements
  2. have a sponsor (usually the spouse, de-facto partner or fiancé)
  3. be at least 18 years old
  4. meet Australia’s health requirement
  5. meet the character requirement

These general requirements are the same for onshore, overseas and prospective marriage applicants.

In order to remain eligible and be able to move from the Provisional to the Permanent stage, the applicants must demonstrate they still meet the relationship requirements with the same spouse, de-facto partner or fiancé.

At Borderless Migration, we guide your through the Visa checklist, making sure you meet all the requirements and include all the evidence required by the Department of Home Affairs.
If you are interested in bringing your spouse or de-facto partner to live with you in Australia but you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident, please contact us or visit our Bankstown office, our team is ready to answer your questions and assess your specific circumstances