For those who are desperately looking forward to reminiscing with their loved ones and spouses already residing in Australia, here’s a detailed enlistment of everything you must take into account before applying for a Partner Visa in the nation.

In case you wish to visit your common-law partner or spouse who is living currently in Australia, you need to be eligible to apply for a 309/100 Partner Visa application specific to the country. Procuring a Temporary Partner (Provisional) Visa with relevance to Australia (subclass 309) is absolutely mandatory before you receive a Permanent Partner (Migrant) Visa (subclass 100).

However, before you proceed with your application process, here are some valuable know-hows you should familiarize yourself with:

Marriage to your common-law partner is not a compulsion in order to pay them a visit to the nation

> It’s not necessary that you should be married by law to your common-law partner in order to be eligible to apply for your Australian Partner Visa, however, they would have to be an Australian PR (permanent resident)/citizen/NZ citizen. In this situation, you would be requested to display hardcore evidence of residing together with your partner for a minimum duration of 12 months before you proceed with the final application.

It’s possible to see through the compulsory requirement of having a minimum 12-month live-in situation

>  In case you were wondering if the aforementioned rule of cohabitation for 12 months at least was deemed compulsory, that’s not the case now! Australian authorities are aware of the fact that for certain unforeseen conditions, a couple might have to live apart from each other. Hence, the guideline requiring a minimum of a year’s relationship doesn’t make it necessary for a couple to cohabitate together in a physical mannerism and accepts the scenario of a de facto relationship instead, for that specified time duration. 

The following are some exemptions that lie eligible for the previously stated 1-year relationship requirement:

• Situations that are justifiable while also being completely unforeseen, like childbirth happening during the tenure of the relationship.

• Provided the relationship falls under the criteria of one of the relationships listed within the particular target state or territory’s law as well as under the  Acts Interpretation (Registered Relationships) Regulations 2008.

• Your common-law partner has proceeded with his/her application towards a permanent humanitarian visa.

• Your common-law partner is currently a holder of the aforementioned visa, or was previously a holder; prior to it being allowed, your de facto relationship with said partner should have been revealed to the Department authorities within that stipulated time period.

In order to properly justify the existence of your de facto relationship, you might be required to reproduce documentation that supports the prevalence of your relationship’s history, bank statements, and other relevant financial documentation supporting detailed records of there being some money-related commitments made in the past, any and all joint liabilities, as well as certain social proof of you and your common-law partner being recognized as an official couple in the area you reside in.

This 12-month mandatory cohabitation duration can also be ignored provided you’re married by law to a citizen of the country via a marriage that was arranged in a cultural manner because, in this format, the evidential proof and history shared by the two of you shall be lesser. For this purpose, documentation proof of the initially arranged meetings needs to be reproduced, along with some financial commitments plus social proof of acceptance.

While your application is being processed, you are permitted to pay a visit to your partner

> While your Temporary Australian Partner visa is being processed after applying for it overseas, you’re still permitted to pay a visit to your partner and are not bound by law to reside within the country you originally live in. However, in the situation that your visa gets officially prepared and you still happen to be overseas, the Australian Immigration department shall notify you regarding this and allow you to travel back to accept its grant. It must be noted that unless you’re overseas, your Temporary Partner Visa (subclass 309) will not be granted by law.

Once lodging of your Temporary Partner visa application takes place, your child/children can be added to it too

> As per the latest Australian Immigration laws, it’s permissible to add your child/children onto the visa application during the tenure that it’s undergoing its processing. The child shall be able to travel to Australia to pay a visit or simply reside within the nation provided he/she has officially been granted a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445). Another point to be noted is that after the grant of the temporary visa has taken place for the parent/s, the child can be added as a part of the permanent visa application.

You’re permitted to apply for a de facto visa even though you might be married (but separated officially) to somebody else

> As per Immigration laws prevalent in the nation, those who are married to someone else by previous periods and are now separated and happily in a relationship with somebody else is permitted to apply for a de facto Partner visa.

Australian law verifies that if your marriage to the previous person still prevails, you are not permitted to get remarried to the current partner. However, you’re still eligible to be a crucial part of a de facto relationship with said partner, while also having it be officially acknowledged for purposes of your application. So, this indicates that even if you haven’t been divorced from your previous partner yet (for many reasons like disagreeableness to undergo an official divorce or failure to settle for the money division via a divorce, or others), you as well as your current partner are still permitted and validated to apply for a Partner visa (de facto).

Your ImmiAccount permits the attachment of a maximum of 100 documents only

> For those candidates potentially interested in applying for Immigration or Citizenship within the Australian zone, an ImmiAccount allows them to officially attach and upload documents thanks to its format of being a valid online portal. It also enables you to keep a track of your applications’ processing period online while giving you exclusive access to the special ‘My Health Declarations’ service.

However, during your application process, it’s necessary to understand that the documents attached as solid proof of your impending relationship are limited to 100 only. Another important point to be noted is that removal/deletion of a previously attached document is not permitted; hence, follow the format of attaching compulsory and important documentation first followed by other suggested documents you feel might be important to be uploaded.

In case some of your documentation has a large number of pages, it’s best to upload all of them into one single file instead of uploading each of them individually. In case you are requested to upload pictures as solid relationship proof, kindly make sure to scan and upload multiple images together in a single file instead of individually. In the situation that you surpass the limit and are still left with more documents to upload, you will have to patiently wait until your profile is referred to an Australian case officer, who will then guide you as to how to proceed forward.