Partner Visa

Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass 300)

If you want to come to Australia to marry your prospective spouse, you can apply for this temporary visa which lasts for nine months. You must be outside Australia when you lodge your application and when the visa is granted. However you can have wedding in any country, in or outside Australia.

In order to apply for this visa you must fulfil certain factors, such as;

• You must intend to marry and live as husband or wife with your prospective spouse.
• You must be sponsored by your prospective spouse.
• You must know your prospective spouse and have met in person.
• Be the opposite sex to your prospective spouse (same-sex couples can apply for a Partner visa based on their de facto relationship) and you must meet age, health and character requirements.
• You must not have any outstanding debts to the Australian government.
• Your application must include proof that you plan to marry your prospective spouse within nine months of being granted the visa.
• You might be asked to provide biometrics.
• You may include your dependent children and other dependent relatives in your visa application (after fulfilling the required conditions).

It is important to know that this visa is valid for nine months. It cannot be extended and you cannot be granted another Prospective Marriage visa in Australia even if you have not yet married your sponsor but still intend to do so.

When you are granted this visa, you can:

• enter Australia before you marry your prospective spouse
• travel in and out of Australia as often as you want
• work in Australia, although some employers might not hire people with temporary visas
• study in Australia, but with no access to government funding for tertiary study
• apply for a Partner visa, in Australia, after your marriage.

It is important that you must be sponsored by your prospective spouse and you must have met your prospective spouse in person, as adults. They must be at least 18 years of age and either:

• an Australian citizen
• an Australian permanent resident
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.

There are some limitations on sponsorship. You cannot be a sponsor if you:

• were sponsored for a Partner or Prospective Spouse visa within the past five years
• have previously sponsored two people for migration to Australia and they were granted a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa
• have sponsored another person for migration to Australia within the past five years and they were granted a Partner or Prospective Marriage visa.
• Your sponsorship could still be approved if there are compelling circumstances affecting you.

As a sponsor, you must provide your agreement to accept responsibility for:

• all financial obligations to the Commonwealth incurred by your fiancé arising from their stay in Australia;
• your fiancé(e)'s compliance with all relevant legislation and awards in relation to any employment they enter into in Australia
• your fiancé(e)'s compliance with the conditions of their

Prospective Marriage visa.

Please note if you are a New Zealand citizen, you will automatically be issued with a Special Category visa (Subclass 444) when you arrive in Australia. This will override your Prospective Marriage visa. You need to inform the immigration officer at the border that you have a Prospective Marriage visa, to avoid getting it overridden by the SCV 444.

Partner (Provisional) and Partner (Migrant) visa- offshore

The Partner (Provisional) visa allows you to live in Australia if you are the spouse or de facto partner of:

• an Australian citizen
• a permanent resident
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.

You must be in a genuine and ongoing relationship.

This visa is processed in two stages. The Partner (Provisional) visa is the first stage towards a Permanent Partner visa. You lodge only one application for your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. Your application is processed in two stages, about two years apart. You must be outside Australia when you apply and also when the Partner (Provisional) visa is granted. You can be in or outside Australia when Partner (Migrant) visa is granted.

When you are granted the Partner (Provisional) visa you can enter Australia and stay here until a decision is made about your permanent Partner visa, work in Australia, study in Australia, but with no access to government funding and enrol in Medicare. When you are granted the Permanent Partner (Provisional) visa, you will have access to indefinite stay in Australia, work and study in Australia, apply for Australian Citizenship (if you are eligible) and can enjoy may other privileges.

It is crucial that you must live with your partner and if there is any period of separation, it must be only temporary. In most cases, permanent residence cannot be granted less than two years from when you lodge your application however there can be some exceptional circumstances when you could be granted a permanent visa without having to fulfil the usual two-year waiting period.

Other necessary requirements are:

• Health requirements: It applies to you and all dependent family members included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
• Character requirements: You need to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.
• Debts to the Australian Government: There must not be any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.
• Provide biometric: It is a scientific form of identification that you might be asked to provide.

Partner Visa (Onshore)

This visa facilitates you to immigrate to Australia on a permanent basis when you are married to or in a de facto relationship with an:

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• Prospective Marriage visa (Subclass

It is imperative that you must be in a genuine and ongoing relationship. This visa is processed in two stages. The first stage is to apply for the Temporary Partner Visa and the second stage is to apply for the Permanent Partner Visa. When you are granted the Temporary Partner Visa you can stay in Australia till the time immigration makes a decision about your Permanent Partner Visa application, you can work, study (without Government funding) and can also enrol in Medicare.

Once your Permanent Partner Visa is granted, you will have access to indefinite stay in Australia, work and study in Australia, apply for Australian Citizenship (if you are eligible) and can enjoy may other privileges.

It is crucial that you must live with your partner and if there is any period of separation, it must be only temporary. In most cases, permanent residence cannot be granted in less than two years from when you lodge your application however there can be some exceptional circumstances when you could be granted a permanent visa without having to fulfil the usual two-year waiting period.

You and anyone included in your application must be in Australia when the application is lodged and also to be granted. If you do not hold a substantive visa and have had a visa refused or cancelled since your last entry to Australia, you will be subject to section 48 of the Migration Act 1958 (the 'Act'). This section bars you from applying for another visa while in Australia, except for certain prescribed visa classes. However, from 14 September 2009 you may be eligible to apply for a Partner visa in Australia if you meet certain criteria.

• You must not have had a partner visa refused since you last entered Australia
• You must not have had a visa refused or cancelled on character grounds under section 501 of the Act
• You must provide with your application a form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia completed and signed by an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen who declares that they are your spouse or de facto partner
• You must provide with your application two statutory declarations from Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens (other than your partner) supporting the existence of your relationship with your partner. These declarations must be made not more than six weeks before the day the Partner visa application was made.

Other necessary requirements are:

If business does not have approved sponsorship then it is a three step process. Nomination Visa application Sponsorship

• Health requirements: It applies to you and any dependent family members included in your application.
• Character requirements: You need to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.
• Debts to the Australian Government: There must not be any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.
• Provide biometric: It is a scientific form of identification that you might be asked to provide.

Please note: Average processing time for this visa is 12 to 15 months, as per Department of Immigration and Border Protection.