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If you’re outside Australia apply for a (Subclass 309/100 Offshore Partner Visa)
If you’re an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or an eligible New Zealand citizen, and you have a partner who lives overseas, you’ll need to consider a Subclass 309/100 Offshore Partner Visa.
If you are not quite ready for a Partner Visa (i.e. you don’t have quite enough evidence, or you just like to get to know each other better) another alternative is a Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300).
The Subclass 309/100 Offshore Partner Visa has two stages
The first stage is the Subclass 309, the offshore Provisional Partner Visa. You are entitled to apply for the Subclass 100 Permanent Partner Visa two years from the date of application for the Subclass 309 Visa.
Eligibility
- You must apply for this visa when you are outside of Australia.
- You must be married or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
- If you are in a de facto relationship, you must be able to provide evidence of being in this relationship for at least 12 months, or your relationship is registered in a relevant state or territory of Australia.
- You must also demonstrate that:
- you have met each other in person and your relationship is genuine
- your relationship is exclusively between yourself and your partner
- if you do not live together (and it’s hard to do so if one of you is outside of Australia), that you do not live apart on a permanent basis.
Sponsorship requirements
Your sponsor must be:
- As stated above, an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident, or an eligible New Zealand citizen.
- Your sponsor must not have previously sponsored more than one partner, or have sponsored a partner within the last five years.
- Your sponsor must not have been convicted of certain “relevant offences” or have a significant criminal record. “Relevant offences” include violence offences, offences against women or children and sexual offences.
Health and character
The visa applicant must meet the health and character requirements of the visa. Essentially this means that you must meet “the character test” which means that you do not have a substantial criminal record, eg, a sentence or series of sentences amounting to more than 12 months in prison (whether or not the sentence is suspended, or shortened for whatever reason).
The health requirement is met if you do not have any significant mental or physical ailments, that will either prevent an Australian citizen gaining access to medical care or which costs in excess of $49,000 over a period of 10 years of your stay in Australia once your visa has been granted.
You can read more about health and character issues in our blog post here.
Visa costs
The visa application for this visa is $7,715.00
In addition to the Visa Application Charge, you should also budget for the following costs:
- Health and medical examinations – approximately $550 each
- Police certificates – approximately $50 each
- Biometrics (if required) – >$100
Visa grant
Once the visa is granted, you can travel to Australia immediately as a temporary resident of Australia. As stated above, two years after your visa application date, you may apply for the Subclass 100 Permanent Partner Visa, and once your application is lodged you may apply for Medicare.
Once the Permanent Partner Visa application is in process, there is generally no requirement for further health checks or police certificates.
Don’t risk your Partner Visa application being refused, use an experienced Registered Migration Agent or Immigration Lawyer skilled in Partner Visas.
If you are considering lodging a partner visa, we strongly advise that you book a visa consultation with one of our Partner Visa specialists.
If you want a perfect Partner Visa application with no hard work – talk to the AHWC Immigration Law Partner visa specialists today!
