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Permanent Visa Options
Partner / De Facto Spouse Visa
Australian
citizens/permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens who are
over 18 years of age may sponsor their de facto spouse's application for
permanent residency. However, in certain situations, your spouse may not
be able to sponsor your application. These include if:
-
he/she has sponsored 2
previous partners for migration before you;
-
he/she has sponsored a
previous partner within the last 5 years; and
-
was sponsored
himself/herself within the last 5 years.
There are a number of
criteria that the Department will assess your relationship against in
order to grant your visa. You will need to prove that:
you have been living in a de facto spouse relationship with an
Australian citizen/permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
for at least 12 months preceding application;
-
you and your spouse have a
mutual commitment to a shared life together to the exclusion of all
others, and have a genuine and continuing relationship;
-
you and your spouse live
together, or if not, your separation is only temporary; and
-
you meet health and
character requirements.
All dependents included in
your application must also health and character requirements.
You may be asked to obtain an Assurance of Support (‘AOS') prior to the
grant of your visa. This document allows the government to ask the
person providing the AOS to repay them any social security benefits paid
to you within the first 2 years of being granted your visa, or entering
Australia.
De Facto Spouse Visas are generally issued through a 2 stage process.
Initially, if all requirements for the visa are met, a provisional visa
is granted. The provisional visa allows you to work, travel in and out
of Australia, and access Medicare. Two years after lodging your
application, and if all the visa requirements are met, the Department of
Immigration will reassess your situation and grant your permanent
resident visa.
If you can demonstrate that you have been in a spousal relationship with
your Australian spouse for either 5 years immediately prior to
application, or for 2 years prior to application (where you have
children of the relationship) you may be granted a permanent visa,
rather than a provisional visa.
De Facto Spouse Visa applications may be lodged in Australia, or at the
relevant overseas post.
Refusal of a De Facto Spouse Visa is reviewable at the Migration Review
Tribunal (‘MRT').
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