Australia has partner visas that enable spouses or de facto partners of Australian citizens or residents to live and work in Australia.
Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100)
You need to apply for this one outside of Australia (“offshore”).
The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 100). You only need lodge application for both your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. However, your visa application is processed in two stages.
When you apply for and are granted the first stage – the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) – you must be outside of Australia.
When the second stage – Partner visa (subclass 100) is granted you can be in or outside of Australia.
Applying for the subclass 309 visa
To qualify for this visa, you must be married to or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. And you must be in Australia when you apply.
Expect the processing time to take anything from 12 to 15 months. Delays can be reduced by ensuring your application and supporting documents provide all the required information.
Once granted, you are allowed to live, work and study in Australia until a decision in made on your permanent Partner visa.
Once the permanent partner visa is granted, you can stay in Australia indefinitely, work and study, travel freely to and from Australia for 5 years from the date the permanent partner visa was granted.
You are also in a position to look at applying for citizenship.
Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801)
You can apply for this visa in Australia.
These visas works in an almost identical way to the 309/100 visa. The main difference is that you must be in Australia when you submit your application and when the decision is granted.
The Partner visa (subclass 820) is the first stage towards a permanent Partner visa (subclass 801). You only need lodge application for both your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. However, your visa application is processed in two stages.
Applying for the subclass 820 visa
To qualify for this visa, you must be married to or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. And you must be in Australia when you apply.
Expect the processing time to take anything from 12 to 15 months. Delays can be reduced by ensuring your application and supporting documents provide all the required information. We can help you with this.
Once granted, you are allowed to live, work and study in Australia until a decision in made on your permanent Partner visa.
Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
Another partner visa is the Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300). This partner visa is for people who want to come to Australia to marry their prospective spouse. It is a temporary visa valid for 9 months.
Applying for the subclass 300
To qualify for this visa you need to be sponsored by your prospective spouse who must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen. Among other requirements like health and character checks, you will also need to show proof of your intent to marry.