Apply for Australian Partner Visa – Infos, Instructions, and Tips

Are you applying for an Australian partner visa, or planning to sponsor your spouse or partner for it? Or, are you going through the process of visa application currently? If yes, then there may be many queries going on in your mind, like what makes a good partner visa application? What documents do I need? How to impress the immigration officer? So, to give you a starting point, here are our top tips you can follow before you apply for an Australian visa.

But before we jump into the main section, let us run through what you need to know about the Australian partner visa.

Table of Contents

What you need to know about the Australian partner visa

An Australian visa is meant for the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident, or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia. The initial visa you would need to apply for is a temporary or provisional one, after which you can go for a permanent visa. You can apply from either onshore or offshore in case of this visa.

There are 3 types and 5 subclasses of Australian partner visas, which include:

Partner Visa- Subclass 309 and 100
Partner Visa: Subclass 820 and 801
Prospective Marriage Visa: Subclass 300

After you are granted this visa, you can:

Stay in Australia
Work in Australia
Study in Australia at your own expense
Sponsor eligible family members to come to Australia (in case of Subclasses 801 and 100)
Apply for Australian citizenship if eligible (in case of Subclasses 801 and 100)
Attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program if you are eligible (in case of Subclasses 309 and 820)
Travel to and from Australia as many times as you want (in the case of Subclasses 309 and 820) and visit beautiful states as Sydney

Tips before you apply for an Australian partner visa

Start the partner visa application process early

Before you start applying for your Australian partner visa, you must be aware of the fact that the whole process takes a considerable time. To be in a haste can be a mistake. It is recommended that you start looking for the visa requirements at least a year before you apply for it. This will enable you to prepare yourself and gather all the needed documents and papers necessary to be submitted with the visa application.

Also, within this time you can gain skills, like proficiency in the English language, mandatory to apply for the partner visa. Furthermore, if you are applying for an onshore visa, then do not leave Australia until you are nearing the end of your current visa.

Read migration blogs and do research

Not only you should start early but also do all the needed research works to avoid any last-minute disappointment. There is more than one requirement for an Australian partner visa as set by the law. So, if you and/ or your partner fails to meet any of these requirements, the Department of Immigration may refuse your visa application.

So, to eliminate any chance of such refusal we suggest you invest time in researching the documents and certificates needed to be shown with your visa application to the Department. To ease up the task, you can seek assistance from a registered migration agent or visa lawyer, who can help you through all the necessary paper works.

Talk to your Australian partner

Remember that at the time of Australian partner visa application you will be required to confirm a list of important dates, including your marriage date, when you met for the first time, started dating, etc. Work out on these dates and, if possible, make a timeline for your reference. This information would be required throughout your visa application and during the interview, if conducted.

Prepare the application

Now comes perhaps the most crucial part of applying for the visa- preparing your application and documentation. While applying for your partner visa, you would need to forward a range of details, like id proof, passport copies, recent photographs, sponsorship details and papers, relationship proofs, medical certificates, language proficiency certificate, dependent application, and so on.

So, talk to your partner and make these documents available beforehand so that you can fill in the details without any error in your application. Here, you must make sure not to provide any misleading or false information. Cross-checking the facts before the final submission can also prove helpful.

Police check

As a part of your visa application, you will be required to have a police certificate for any country you have lived in for more than 12 months. So, if you need a police certificate of a country other than Australia, make sure to apply in well advance to avoid any last-minute haste.

However, if your actual police verification certificate does not come by the time you submit your application, you may attach a copy of the request form with it.

Include photos

It is a way to corroborate your genuine relationship with your spouse or de facto partner. You will need to attach photographs of you and your partner with your application. Do not overdo it and try to limit it to 18-20 photos. Also, make sure to include the photographs clicked at different social and family occasions.

If you are applying online, then you can create a separate Word doc to paste all your pictures with relevant

Apply online

To apply for your visa hassle-free, you can choose the online application mode. After you have gathered all the necessary documents and photographs, visit the official immigration site of Australia, open an ImmiAccount and complete the online form.

After you complete your online form and paid for it, you can upload all the supporting documents. To learn more about this section you can visit the official page of the Australian immigration online application. Here, remember to upload smaller files to ensure a smooth upload process.

Prepare for the partner visa interview

In certain cases, the Department may decide to interview the applicant and the partner. In such a situation, the foremost thing to do is not to panic. It doesn’t always mean that there is something wrong with your application if you receive an interview call.

Most questions you would face during an interview is related to your relationship with your partner, like

How long have been dating each other?
Where you first met?
When did you meet for the first time?
When is your anniversary?
How long have you been living together? Etc.

The best way to prepare for the interview is to talk to your partner, as we have already mentioned in the above section(s). Make sure that you and your partner’s responses match with each other. Keep in mind you are trying to convince the immigration officer about the genuineness of your relationship through your answers and documents.

During the interview, you might also be required to produce photos to prove your points. So, make them available beforehand.

Financial arrangements

There is a fee for applying for an Australian partner visa, like any other visa type. The current fee of Australian partner visa subclasses are:

Partner visa- Subclasses 820 and 801: AUD 7,850 for most applicants and AUD 1,310 for Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) holders.
Partner visa- Subclasses 309 and 100: From AUD 7,850
Prospective Marriage visa- Subclass 300: From AUD7,850

Apart from these fees, you can also be charged for card transactions, if you do it, police check, passport photos, medical assessments, and a few other miscellaneous.

Ask for assistance

At any point of your application, if you feel stuck, you can call the Department Of Home Affairs to seek assistance. You can also, clear your queries and doubts even before you start your visa application. This can help seek exact assistance directly from the officials, which can eliminate the chance of any wring information.

Seek migration expert help

The whole process of applying for an Australian partner visa can be cumbersome, even before you start your application. It is always better to explore the tips before you apply for an Australian visa. That being said, the list of tips we have provided is not an exhaustive one. There can be other queries you have regarding which you may need some expert tips.

So, to make sure don’t overlook any of this information, you can consult a registered migration agent or visa lawyer. The experts at Australia Visa Lawyer can provide you guidance on visa proceedings along with the essential tips you need to know before you begin with your application. Not only this, their experts will always be there until your application is granted.

Read Related Posts: