Partner and Marriage Visas

Introduction

Partner category migration allows for the grant of a visa that permits married partners (ie. opposite-sex spouses) and de facto partners (including those in a same-sex relationship) of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens to enter and remain permanently in Australia. Initially, partners who meet the legal criteria for the grant of the visa are granted a temporary visa. Later, a permanent visa may be granted following an eligibility period or, if there is a longstanding relationship or children of the relationship, soon after grant of the temporary visa.

Partner category migration also allows for the temporary entry to Australia of fiancé(e)s (intended spouses) of Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens.

As the partner or fiancé(e) of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, you do not have an automatic right of permanent residence in Australia. If you wish to reside permanently in Australia you must first apply for a permanent visa and be assessed against the legal criteria for the grant of that visa. There are 2 types of partner category visas: Prospective Marriage visa and Partner visa. The type of visa for which you should apply depends on the type of relationship you are in.

PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE VISA

If you intend to apply for this visa, you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the visa is granted.

Prospective Marriage visa is a temporary visa that remains valid for 9 months from the date the visa is granted. If you are granted a Prospective Marriage visa, you must enter Australia and, after that entry, marry your intended spouse (your fiancé(e)) within the period that the visa is valid. You may then apply for a Partner visa when you are in Australia, but you will have to complete another application form and pay a Visa Application Charge. At each stage of the process, your relationship with your partner will be assessed.

Prospective Marriage Visa Eligibility Requirements

Eligibility requirements

To be eligible for a Prospective Marriage visa, you must:

be sponsored
be aged 18 years or over (or if you are aged 16 years or over but less than 18 years, you have an Australian court order allowing you to marry your intended spouse);
be of the opposite sex to your intended spouse;
have met (as adults) your intended spouse in person and know him or her. This must be the case even if:

it is an arranged marriage;
you and your sponsor met as children and the marriage was arranged before you turned 18 years of age; or
you met on the internet (exchanging photographs is not evidence of having met in person);

have no impediment to marrying your intended spouse, that is:

you are both free to marry;
you are both of marriageable age; and
the intended marriage is able to be recognised under Australian law;

genuinely intend to marry your intended spouse;
genuinely intend to live with your intended spouse as husband and wife; and
meet health and character requirements.

Your fiancè(e) in Australia can be aged under 18 years if they have an Australian court order allowing them to marry you. In these circumstances, their parent or guardian must be your sponsor and they must be an Australian citizen, a permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 years or over. In addition, if your fiancé(e) is aged under 18 years and is in Australia, you must be aged 18 years or over since, under Australian law, there is no provision for permission to be granted to allow an underage couple to marry.

PARTNER VISA

To be eligible to apply for a Partner visa, you must either be married to, or in a de facto relationship with, your partner at the time you apply. Persons applying in Australia for a Partner visa may not be immediately eligible to work or study in Australia, unless their previous visa allowed them to do so. Once you have been granted a temporary Partner visa, you will be able to work and study in Australia. However, you are not eligible for Austudy until you have been granted a permanent Partner visa (subclasses 100 or 801).

Partner Visa Stages and Eligibility

Processing stages for a Partner visa

Applying for a Partner visa is a 2-stage process.

You apply for a temporary and permanent visa at the one time on the same application

Note: Generally, you should be living with your partner in a spouse or de facto

Relationship at the time you apply for a Partner visa.

You are granted a temporary Partner visa if you meet all the initial criteria. This visa remains valid until a decision is made on your permanent visa application, which is generally 2 years after you initially applied for your Partner visa. If you continue to meet all legal requirements, you will be granted a permanent Partner visa.

Eligibility requirements

Married spouses (de jure)

To apply in Australia for a Partner visa on the basis of marriage, you must be legally married to your partner (in most cases, your sponsor). To apply outside Australia on the basis of marriage, you must either be legally married to your partner at time of application or intend to legally marry your partner in the near future (before a decision is made on the temporary Partner visa).

If you were married in a country other than Australia and that marriage is valid in that country, generally it will be recognised as valid under Australian law. There are some exceptions, such as same-sex, underage or polygamous marriages, which are not accepted in Australia.

To be eligible for a Partner visa on the basis of your marriage, you must:

be sponsored by an eligible person
be legally married to your partner (usually your sponsor);
show that you and your partner have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others;
show that you have a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner
show that you and your partner are living together or, if not, that any separation is only temporary; and
meet health and character requirements

De facto partners (not married but in a de facto relationship)

To apply for a Partner visa as a de facto partner, you and your partner must show that you have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application.

To be eligible for a Partner visa as a de facto partner, you must:

be sponsored by an eligible person (usually by your partner)
not be related by family;
together with your de facto partner, be aged at least 18 years at the time your application is made;
show that you and your partner have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others;
show that you have a genuine and continuing relationship with your partner
show that you and your partner have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application;
show that you and your partner have been in a de facto relationship for the entire 12 months immediately prior to lodging your application;
show that you and your partner are living together or, if not, that any separation is only temporary; and
meet health and character requirements

In assessing a claimed de facto relationship, the department looks at evidence of things such as living together full-time, sharing important financial and social commitments, and setting up a household separately from other people (for acceptable types of evidence