DO NOT MARRY UNTIL YOU TALK TO US. This may make it more difficult to get a spouse or partner visa for you or your partner to come to Australia. Marriage can help but only in certain circumstances. Talk to us first about your partner visa.
There are two main partner visa choices:
Partner visa (inside or outside Australia). You may qualify for this visa if you are married, de-facto or same sex partners or spouses. The criteria for the Australian partner visa or spouse visa are the same if you are inside or outside Australia. If you are outside Australia and especially if you have lived apart for a lot of the time this partner visa may NOT be suitable.
Criteria:
If married or your relationship is registered in Australia you must show evidence that you have a genuine marriage/de-facto relationship for a minimum of 6 months, longer is better. If you are in a de-facto relationship you must show at least 12 months relationship, again the longer the better. The evidence needed is crucial to succeed and we guide our clients carefully. If you have lived apart for some time you will need to show further information.
Evidence. We help you with these as they are crucial to success. Normally you will need a minimum of 6 months evidence of the relationship but in some cases, you will need 12 months to qualify. We guide you and we also help you with the statements you and your witnesses will need to write. These are important if you want to succeed.
You have been illegal in Australia? You want to apply for a partner visa in Australia? The rules about how to qualify become exceedingly difficult but we can assist you. There are important differences if you have been illegal. We can guide you about whether you should apply for the partner visa inside Australia or whether it is better for you to leave and apply outside. Immigration do NOT easily give partner or spouse visas inside Australia if an applicant has been illegal, ie. you have no visa.
Prospective Marriage visa (sometimes called fiance visa). You MUST NOT MARRY and you both must be single or divorced. You must apply outside Australia; this partner visa is not available if you are in Australia. We will guide you on the best partner visa.
Criteria: You must be able to show you genuinely intend to live together as a married couple after arriving in Australia. You must prove that you have been in a relationship for a reasonable period that genuinely appears as an engaged-type relationship. This is also ideal for arranged marriages.
Evidence: You must show evidence that you are in an engaged-type relationship and that you have made plans to marry.
Sponsor: The sponsor must be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident or an Eligible New Zealand citizen. A sponsor must NOT have sponsored someone else for at least 5 years and can only sponsor a maximum of 2 applicants in total. If the sponsor came to Australia on a partner visa, they cannot sponsor another for 5 years.
We are your application managers – we manage your application and other immigration matters linked to the application from the start to the decision. This includes keeping your immigration status legal if you have to travel overseas while you are waiting, managing any temporary visa while you wait if that is needed, guiding you with advice about Medicare and other matters related to the visa. We could be guiding you for at least 12 months to keep you from making an immigration mistake. If Immigration want more information about your application, we are there to manage that. If you think we will drop you after lodging the application, think again. Our work does not stop until you have the decision.
If you make a simple mistake you will be refused, and you do NOT get a refund – have an expert manage your visa application. We manage your application until you get the visa decision. Earlier immigration issues – does the applicant have an earlier problem with a visa, do they have a health problem, do they have children and are you an acceptable sponsor for the partner into Australia? Have you been sponsored into Australia or have you previously sponsored someone? Do you know the rules? Do you know what is needed if you are sponsoring a partner who has a child under 18 coming with them?
There are so many questions you must answer and get them right to be successful. You need to understand the benefits and challenges of each option.
