Preparing Yourself for the Australia Partner Visa Application

Being in a romantic relationship with someone who has a different nationality or is living in another country can be a challenge for anyone. If your partner is in Australia and you live overseas, it can be a burden to your relationship to be in a long distance commitment. So it's only natural that the both of you would want to live and stay together.

Australia makes it possible for partners of their citizens and residents to reside in the country either temporarily or permanently. There are different subclasses for Australia partner visa with different requirements and policies. If you are planning to apply for this type of visa, you can do your research by yourself or better yet, hire a registered migration agent who will assist you on your visa application.

You can apply for a partner visa if you are married to an Australian citizen, resident, or a qualified New Zealand citizen. If you are in a de facto relationship for at least one whole year prior to your application, you can do so, as well. One of the major requirements for lodging an application with immigration is evidence of your genuine relationship.

The evidence could be a simple piece of paper where you and your partner make a statement or declaration about the history and other important information about your relationship. The more proof you have, the better it will be for immigration to assess and grant your visa. History could include when and where you first met, how the relationship developed, phone and email accounts, joint financial accounts, a similar mailing address, proof that you're living together, and many more. You can get a full detail of the kinds of documents and evidence are accepted by downloading Booklet 1, Partner Migration, through the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) website at www.immi.gov.au. Or you can also ask your migration agent about it.

Now when you've lodged your partner visa application, two things can either happen. One is migration outright accepts your evidences or two, they might need more proof or information by going through a process of interviews for you and your partner. There are about 20,000 cases filed to immigration in any given time but the DIAC will only interview a small fraction, with most cases being decided upon without an interview. So how will you know if you and your partner will most likely be interviewed?

You will most likely get a call or asked for a personal interview if you and your partner are not of similar age, for example you are 25 and your partner is 45; if you come from different backgrounds or cultures; if you do not speak English; if you or your partner have been married before; if you or your partner have applied for the Australia partner visa before and failed; lacking proof of your relationship; and inconsistent information.

If you think you will definitely get that call for an interview, you and your partner can prepare by knowing what kind of questions will most likely be asked. Questions will be based on the history and condition of your relationship, and personal information about each other.

The best way to have your visa application granted is to prepare the necessary requirements and equip you with the knowledge about the whole application process.

If you need some assistance in processing your visa application, you can seek help from Move Migration; a migration specialist company located at Suite 8, 281 Pacific Highway North Sydney NSW 2060 Australia. They can help you break down the immigration process into simple stages. Visit Move Migration's website at www.movemigration.com to learn more about their services.

About the Author:

Michael Ma is working as migration agent assistant at Move Migration is a boutique immigration specialist in Australia consists of professional migration agents. With their exceptional service and expertise in migration processes, they have enjoyed a high success rate on helping their clients with any migration application processes in Australia.

The Different Australia Partner Visa Subclasses Simplified

Before you lodge your applications for your Partner Visas, there are a few things you need to know and do. First, your partner must either be: an Australian citizen, and Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen. Second, you must read the Partner Migration information booklet before you start processing your application, so you are better equipped with the knowledge needed to be able to apply successfully. The booklet contains the basic requirements needed, your rights and obligations, sponsorships, costs, how to provide that your relationship is genuine, health and character, and the entire application process. The booklet can easily be downloaded for free from the Australian Government Department of Immigration and Citizenship official website.

You can apply for the Offshore Temporary Partner Visa, which is subclass 309, if you are currently in a relationship or are married to an Australian citizen/resident and you are outside the country when the visa application was lodged. You must also be outside the country when it is granted. Once you have your subclass 309 visa, you can enter the country temporarily, until the duration of your visa. After two years, if you are still in the relationship and living in Australia, you can then apply for the Onshore Temporary Visa, which is subclass 801.

However, there are exceptions to the rule when you apply for the Offshore Partner Visa. You won't have to wait for two years before you can apply for the Offshore Permanent Visa, which is subclass 100, if you comply with the following conditions: If you have been married or in the relationship for three years or more; a minimum of two years if there is a dependent child; or if your partner was granted a Protection or Permanent Visa under the humanitarian program and you were already together or married before the visa was granted to your partner. If you meet any of these requirements, then you can apply for the Offshore Permanent Visa.

The Onshore Temporary Visa, which is subclass 820, can be processed if you are already in Australia with your partner. For example, you are on a student or tourist visa when you filed your application. Once you have this visa granted, you can apply for the Onshore Permanent Visa after two years and you're still together.

If you are still about to get married and you are outside the country, you can apply for the Prospective Marriage Partner Visa, which is subclass 300. This will allow you to enter and leave the country within 9 months. You can then apply for the Onshore Temporary Visa once you get married.

About the Author:

Michael Ma is working as a migration agent assistant at Move Migration, a migration agency aiming to help out people who plan to move to Australia with the help of their expert migration agent. Learn the steps and process of Australia partner visa and other type of visas; and how to make it easier with his informative and very helpful articles.