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Permanent Visa Options
Partner / Spouse Visa
Australian
citizens/permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens who are
over 18 years of age are able to sponsor their spouse’s application for
permanent residency. However, in certain situations, your spouse may not
be able to sponsor your application. These include if:
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he/she has sponsored 2
previous partners for migration before you;
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he/she has sponsored a
previous partner within the last 5 years; and
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was sponsored
himself/herself within the last 5 years.
If any of these apply to
your spouse, you should contact us to discuss your options.
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:
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you are married to an
Australian citizen/permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
If you were married overseas, your marriage must be validly recognized
under Australian law;
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you and your spouse have a
mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife 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
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you meet health and
character requirements.
All dependents included in
your application must also meet health and character requirements.
You may be asked to obtain an Assurance of Support (‘AOS’) prior to the
grant of your visa. An AOS allows the government to ask the person
providing the AOS to repay any welfare payments made to you within the
first 2 years of being granted your visa or entering Australia.
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 you lodged your application, the
Department will reassess your situation and will then issue a permanent
visa if all criteria are met.
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.
Spouse Visa applications may be lodged within Australia, or at the
relevant overseas post, depending on your situation.
A refusal of a Spouse Visa can be reviewed at the Migration Review
Tribunal (‘MRT’).
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