| As we are prohibited to give individual advice, please consider all information generic and seek professional help from Migration Agents for individual advice.Click here to find a list of Migration Agents that can help you lodge your application. |
In general, to be eligible as a de facto, you must be at least 18 years at time of application. You must not be related to your sponsor who must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen. You and your partner must have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application. There is a one year relationship requirement in the Migration Regulations for a de facto relationship. You must provide evidence that you have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others, your relationship is genuine and continuing, and that you live together, or do not live separately and apart, on a permanent basis. If you do not live together, you must be able to demonstrate a high level of proof that you are not living separately and apart permanently.
You and your de facto partner must have knowledge of each other’s personal circumstances, you must provide the financial aspects of your relationship, the nature of your household, the social aspects of your relationship, provided in statements or statutory declarations, by friends and acquaintances and the nature of your commitment, including duration of your relationship.
The one-year relationship requirement does not apply if you can establish that there are compelling and compassionate circumstances in your relationship for the grant of the visa. These would include a child from the relationship or if it is a same sex de facto relationship, cohabitation was not allowed by law in your country of residence. You may also request a waiver of this one-year relationship requirement.
(These are general instructions only, please contact a Migration Agent for advice on your personal situation).
Requirements for a Partner Visa (subclass 309)
When you have all the documents ready and all evidences are prepared, you or your Migration Agent can now lodge your Partner visa application. But before doing so, you must review what documents and evidences you have because if you lodge an incomplete application, it would be decided based on what you have provided the Department.
Below are the information and supporting documents (personal, health and character) that could be required to assist with the lodgement of your visa application with the Department:
- You have to complete Form 47SP Application for migration to Australia by a partner, to include details of your family members and all your dependent children- you and all your dependents must sign the form;
- Your sponsor must complete and sign Form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australia;
- If you have dependent children or other family members aged 18 years or over, whether or not they are migrating with you, they must complete Form 47A Details of child or other dependent family member aged 18 years or over;
- You have to pay the visa application charge which is currently AU$1735 or its equivalent in the currency of the country where you will apply;
- Your sponsor has to provide evidence that he is 18 years or older and is an Australian citizen, permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, such as a certified copy of his birth certificate, his Australian passport or foreign passport containing evidence of permanent residence in Australia;
- You must provide evidence of your sponsor’s employment like his Australian income and/or overseas tax assessment notice, certificate from his employer confirming length of his employment and annual salary, payslips, or if he is self-employed, business documents or a letter from his accountant;
- Your sponsor must provide a statement regarding any previous sponsorship or nomination of a spouse, partner, or fiancé;
- If you have a child under 18 years included in your application, your sponsor must provide an Australia National Police Check and police certificates from each country where he has lived for 12 months in the last 10 years;
- You must submit certified copies of your passport pages and all dependent children included in your application;
- You must submit a certified copy of your birth certificate showing both your parents’ names – if you do not have a birth certificate or unable to get one, you should provide a certified copy of your passport, a family book showing both your parents’ names, your baptism certificate, government-issued IDs or a document issued by a court that verifies your identity;
- You must submit four (4) recent passport-size photos of yourself and your dependent children who are included in the application;
- You must submit two (2) recent passport-size photos of your sponsor;
- If you or your partner/sponsor has been married before, you should provide certified copies of your marriage certificate(s);
- If you or your partner/sponsor has been permanently separated, divorced or widowed, you should provide a certified copy of the divorce paper or death certificate of the deceased partner;
- If you or your partner or anyone included in your application has changed his or her name by marriage or deed poll, you must submit a certified copy of evidence of the name change;
- You must submit certified copies of the birth certificates, showing names of both parents, for all children indicated in your application whether migrating or not;
- You must provide evidence that your relationship with your partner is genuine and continuing;
- You must provide at least two statutory declarations from Australian citizens or permanent residents who have personal knowledge of your partner relationship such as a relative and a friend, to support your claim that your relationship is genuine and continuing;
- You must include receipts for your medical examination from a Panel Doctor of the Australian Immigration Office;
- You must submit a police clearance as part of the character requirement.
- You and your partner must each provide written statements detailing the history of your relationship, how, where and when you met, when you decided to get married, significant events in your relationship, joint activities and your future plans together;
- If you are applying on marriage grounds, you will need to provide a certified copy of your marriage certificate. Every country has a different procedure in getting a marriage certificate. You must contact the government agency responsible for this so you may prepare your documents ahead of time. If you got married in Australia, your marriage certificate should be issued by a State and Territory registry office;
- If you are applying under de facto partner grounds, you will need to provide evidences that your relationship has existed for 12 months before you lodge your application;
Being the applicant, you or your Migration Agent should lodge your completed application form together with all the required supporting documents and visa application charge to the nearest Australian immigration office overseas either by post, courier or in person.
(These are general instructions only, please contact a Migration Agent for advice on your personal situation).
What happens after you lodge your application
Your application will be referred to a Case Officer of the Immigration office and he/she will check your form and the documents you submitted. Normally, an interview is no longer required except for cases where the Officer deems it necessary. If you are called to attend an interview, you must bring your passport or other personal identification and any outstanding documents with you.
If another person gives the Department information that could result to a visa refusal, the Department will give you an opportunity to comment on this. If you change your address, you should inform the Department in writing. You should also advise the Department if:
- you wish to add or change the person authorized to act on your behalf in connection with your visa application;
- the composition of your family changes as a result of birth, death or change in relationship status , married, divorced, entered a de facto relationship or separated;
- you or your family members intend to travel to or from Australia while your visa application is being processed;
- the circumstances of your sponsor or assurer has changed;
- your relationship with your partner/sponsor ends.
Any changes in your circumstances should be done in Form 929 Change of address and/or Passport Details and Form 1022 Notification of Changes in Circumstances and submitted to the Australian Immigration office where you lodged your application.
If your visa is granted, you will receive a letter from the Department providing your Visa Grant Number, the validity date of your visa, your visa conditions including a specified initial entry date, and full details of what you must do next. If your visa is refused, you will receive a letter advising the reasons for the refusal, your review rights, if eligible, and the time limit for lodging an appeal.
You should enter Australia by your initial entry date which can be found on your visa, because failure to do so, would result to cancellation of your Partner visa. If before your visa is granted you advise the Department that you will not have sufficient time to make the necessary travel arrangements, the Department may consider changing your initial entry date to a later date. But you may need to undergo new health and /or character checks.
(These are general instructions only, please contact a Migration Agent for advice on your personal situation).
