Australian Partners Visa 820/801 309/100

So you're considering of applying for an Australian Partners Visa and still in the process of  learning about it and gathering informations. 

We have applied for an Australian Partners Visa ourselves which took us 7mos for the first stage and I know the struggle and pressure just studying about it and knowing where to start so I have decided to help and discuss the things you need to know about the process of this application.

So heres the basic thing you need to know about it. 

1.The difference of offshore and onshore

They have a very similar rights and both has 2 stage process as well. But I’ll give you a brief information on each.

a. Onshore Application

• To apply onshore; You need to be
• In Australia when lodging the visa
• You need to be inside Australia as well when the decision is made.
• You will be granted a bridging visa to allow you to stay in Australia whilst waiting for the process.
• The bridging visa will allow you to work and study in Australia but unfortunately you are not entitled for a Government funding whilst studying in Australia.
• And bridging visa won’t allow you to travel overseas however;
• You can apply for a Bridging Visa B if you wish to travel which will cost you $145.

b. Offshore Application

• You will need to be outside Australia when lodging the visa
• You need to be overseas as well when the decision is made; and
• No bridging visa is granted.

2.The costs of the Visa

• The base application fee is $7160
• Additional applicants aged over 18 is $3585
• Additional applicants under 18 is $1795

That’s only the application fee and mind you that’s not including the following:

• Migration Agent or Lawyer fees if you decided to get one. Their fee usually costs between $1000 - $5000 depending on your application and how strong your case is. Medical Check it costs me about $500 to get mine done.
• Yours and your partners police check in Australia which will cost you almost $100 for both.
• Police checks from all the country you have lived for at least 12 months in the last 10 years including the sponsor.

So really, expect to spend a minimum of $8000-$10000.

It’s a lot of money involve so it’s really important to make sure that you know what you’re doing and making it right at the first time.

3.Processing times

If you have been studying about this visa lately then I’m pretty sure you got an idea of how long it usually takes before you get a visa grant or at least hear anything from immigration.

Offshore and onshore application have diff. estimated processing times.

At the moment offshore takes anytime between 19-33 months.

Whilst onshore takes in between 21 – 26months.

Please see up-to date processing time on immigration homeaffairs website.>> Offshore || Onshore

These said processing time I believe that this varies from a lot of factors like:

• The number of applicants
• The country you’re from
• The evidences you’ve submitted
• How strong your case is?

4.12 Month Living together rule.

I think this is where a lot of people gets confused. This 12-month living together rule only applies to those couple in a de-facto relationship. If you’re married, got your relationship registered or have kids; This 12-month living together rule doesn’t apply to you.

5.Evidence

This is very crucial and you have to be really honest, consistent and accurate.

If your relationship is genuine then I don’t think you’ll have a big issue with this one as you will only be needing to prove it to migration. You will be needing to prove your relationship in 4 different aspects.

• Financial Aspect – If you are sending money to your partner or vice versa, make sure to keep all the transaction records as you can use them as a proof.
• You need to prove the social aspect of the relationship – with this one you can use joint travels, joint flights & other bookings, photos with friends and family, Invitation letters and greeting cards addressing to both of you, and you can also ask some of your family and friends to write a detailed statement about your relationship.
• You also need to prove the Nature of household and;
• Nature of commitment

There’s plenty of proofs you can use such as; bank statements, joint bank accounts, joint properties etc.

But for the complete list of the things that you’ll need to submit just go to immigration home affairs website and click through the Partners Visa Page and it will show you everything that you need.

6. Long Distance Relationship

I know this is hard and can be really difficult to prove as well. If you don’t have much to show what you can use is the:

• travel documents you had when visiting each other;
• passport stamps
• flight and hotel bookings
• again, a detailed statement from family and friends
• conversations you had showing you’re talking in a regular basis
• Even phone logs
• And you can also write a detailed statement to why you’re not living together.

7. Health Restrictions

The government aims to ensure for the safety and well-being of the Australian community as to why they require all the applicants of this visa to provide a medical check.

This can be really difficult for those applicants that have; HIV, Cancer, Physical or Psychological Disabilities and other blood illnesses or other serious health issues.

If you have one of those all I can advise you is to seek for a professional help, a migration agent or lawyer to help and assist you with the application as this belongs in their expertise.

8. Character Issues

You need to be in good character and good standing as you will be proving Police checks from all the countries that you lived for more than 12 months in the past 10 years.

If you think you got something that will separate you from getting the visa, make sure to consult a migration agent or lawyer. They’re the only ones who have the best interest in helping you.

9. Applicants Onshore

You have to ensure that you hold the right visa before lodging the application. So make sure to check the conditions on your current visa before lodging the application.

I have mentioned the things you need to know prior to applying, Now I’m pretty sure some of you wonder how my application went. So, we applied January of 2018. I submitted most of the paper works within 2-4 weeks including mine and my partners police checks. Added more information after 3 months and then we went for a holiday June so I thought to add more evidence so I did after a week. And then 12 of July I got an email from immigration asking me to get my Health Check done. I was working away for 3 weeks so I have to wait for a while, 1st of August I got my medical done in Melbourne and then bang! 6th of August I got my visa grant! I think it was really amazing and I couldn’t be any happier. It was my birthday 8th of August so really, it’s like a birthday present type of thing. So, the whole process really went well and smooth for us, we got no issue at all and we were lucky to get it in just 7 months.

Really, I think the secret in a successful application is never underestimate the application process, it is time consuming. You have to know what you’re doing and whats need to be done, you have to be hands on with the application process. Never be complacent., even if you have submitted everything, you should be checking from time to time about changes that may have arisen or keep updating and adding more evidences. In regards to collecting the evidences, you have to be very organised. Put titles on every document; if it’s a birth certificate then write whoever's it is birth certificate. When collecting photos to submit, what you can do is compile them all in one document by using Microsoft word, put all the photos in one document and just put captions under every photo like: When was it taken, who is in the photo, what’s the event, or where it is. And if you’re thinking about doing this make sure that Photos with friends and families has a different document from yours and your partners photo or travels you had. Also always remember not to put too much in one file as the maximum file size is only 5MegaBytes.

I remember just submitting maybe 30-35 documents, and I don’t think that’s plenty. I know other applicants go crazy with this. But I don’t think it is about how much evidence you have submitted; It is how informative it is, you have to remember that they want to see that you and your partner has a genuine relationship. Just by doing all these processes already represents your relationship and so you’re already giving them an impression about your relationship so you better convince them.

That’s all, I guess. I hope you have learnt something from this  and if you’re about to go through the same process I do wish you the best and you can drop a comment or questions below and I’ll be happy to help.