PARTNER VISA APPLICATION MADE OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA

The Subclass 309 temporary Partner visa allows you to live in Australia if you are legally married to or are the de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. The Partner Visa can also be granted to same sex couples.

The application has to be made outside Australia and you must be outside Australia when it is granted. It is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 100). You lodge only one application for your temporary and permanent visas. Your application is processed in two stages, roughly two years apart from one another. In some circumstances it can be granted even if the relationship has ended. Your partner must sponsor you. Your partner may not be able to sponsor you if they sponsored another person or had been sponsored within 5 years or if they have sponsored 2 people previously. There are some exemptions for compelling circumstances.

The Provisional Partner Visa (subclass 309) will allow you to:

• remain in Australia 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, Australia’s scheme for health-related care and expenses.
• Once you obtain the Permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) visa you can:
• stay in Australia indefinitely;
• work and study in Australia;
• apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible);
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence;
• receive some social security payments;
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted – after that time you will need another visa to enter Australia.
• You can include the following people in your visa application:
• your dependent children; and/or
• other dependent relatives.

The applicant and any dependant members must satisfy health and character requirements.