Partner Visas
Partner visas provide the opportunity for individuals who are the partners or spouses of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents, or Eligible New Zealand citizens to either enter Australia or, if they are already onshore, to continue living in Australia with their partners.
Obtaining the permanent Partner visa is a two-stage process.
To be eligible for a permanent partner visa, you first will be granted a temporary or provisional partner visa. You apply for both the temporary and permanent visas at the same time and pay only one fee.
The specific subclasses of these visas depend on your location of applicant at the time of application lodgement.
Applicant needs to be offshore at time of application, however can be either in Australia or offshore at the time of decision of the prospective partner 309 visa.
If it is a combined application, you can be in or outside Australia when a decision is made on the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100).
If you are granted the temporary Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), you can enter and join your partner in Australia.
Applicants are already in Australia when they make an application for the Partner visas.
Onshore applicants are also granted with a Bridging visa to enable them to remain lawful whilst their application is being processed and before their Temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) is granted
The temporary and provisional Partner visas (subclass 820 and 309) are categorized as temporary visas. While they do not have a fixed expiration date, their validity extends from the date of grant until a decision is reached regarding your permanent Partner visa applications (subclass 100 or 801).
Generally, you become eligible for assessment for the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100 or 801) approximately two years after submitting your initial application. For this second-stage assessment, you will be required to provide additional documents.
The Partner (Migrant) (subclass 100) and Partner Residence (subclass 801) are permanent visas which allow indefinite stay in Australia.