Sponsored by the Australian government, the Partner Visa is a way for couples in a genuine and committed relationship to migrate together to Australia. To be eligible, you must be married or in a registered de facto relationship.
But what if you’re not married? Can you still apply for a Partner visa?
We tapped into the expertise of Charlene Tan, founder of Wayfinder Migration and expert migration agent, to share with us her expertise. Read on to learn more.
De facto relationships are:
you are not married to each other
you are committed to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
your relationship is genuine and continuing
you live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis
you are not related by family
Usually a de facto relationship must have existed for at least 12 months immediately before you apply for the visa. Time spent dating or in an online relationship might not count as being in a de facto relationship.
The 12-month requirement will not apply if you can show compelling and compassionate circumstances exist to grant the subclass 820 visa.
The 12-month requirement also will not apply if:
your partner holds or held a permanent humanitarian visa
your de facto relationship existed before we granted their visa
your de facto partner told us about the relationship before we granted their visa
It also will not apply if you:
are in a de facto relationship with a partner who is an applicant for a permanent humanitarian visa, or
you have registered your relationship with an Australian authority such as a registry of births, deaths and marriages
You might still be granted the temporary visa if your relationship has broken down or if your sponsor died.
Relevant evidence include proof that you have registered your relationship with an Australian births, deaths and marriages agency, joint bank account statements, joint lease, relationship witness statements
Yes and in fact, you need a partner sponsor to lodge a valid partner visa application.
Yes you do. This means that you’ll need to provide a different set of documents to support your de facto relationship claim to the Department.
From AUD7,850 for most applicants. From AUD1,310 for Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) holders. You pay for the temporary and the permanent visa at the same time.
25% of applications: 6 months
50% of applications: 9 months
75% of applications: 21 months
90% of applications: 34 months
Yes you surely can. And after you do, you will be able to access provisional Medicare and receive unlimited work rights when your briding visa comes into effect.
Yes you can as well. When you do so, you will have to wait until the grant of your visa before relocating.
I hope this helps for your planning purposes. Do remember this is accurate at the time of writing and should not be referred to as in-depth consultative advice.
If you have more questions about Partner Visas or visas in general, you may book a consultation with Charlene.
One Response
I appreciate when you explained that the evidence you need should prove that you are in a relationship with ana Australian. I wonder if this is the same with spouse visas as well, because I heard that my best friend plans to move there this year. She has a relationship with an Australian for the past two years, so I hope that can be proven by my best friend.