Partner Visa – Offshore Subclass 309 (Temporary)
Overview
-
While Subclass 309 visa is a temporary visa, it does provide a pathway to permanent residency through the permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 100) usually 2 years after the initial visa application but can be quicker in some cases (see Special Notes section below).
-
This might be the visa you need if you:
-
seek to remain in Australia long-term to live with your loved one who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen (sponsor),
-
still have matters to attend or commitments to fulfill in your home country
-
are not ready to fly to Australia in the near future or simply do not currently hold an Australian visa
-
-
You may include your dependent children in your visa application so you can migrate to Australia together.
Eligibility
Applicant
be at least 18 years of age
be in Australian at the time of visa application and decision (for both primary and secondary applicants)
have not had a visa cancelled or refused while in Australia (unless exempt)
be married to or in a de facto relationship with your spouse or de facto partner who is an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
- if married, the marriage must be valid under Australian law
- if in de facto relationship, the applicant and their partner have lived together for at least 12 months or the relationship is officially registered
Sponsor
be an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen
have not sponsored a person for partner visa in the last five years
have not sponsored more than one person for partner visa
have no significant criminal record (unless exempt)
Special Notes
You can be granted the permanent Partner visa (Subclass 801) immediately without having to wait for 2 years after the initial application if:
-
you and your partner have been in a relationship for at least 3 years; or
-
you and your partner have been in a relationship for at least 2 years and you have a dependent child together; or
-
you or your child have suffered from family violence from your partner
Location
Usually, applicants must be outside Australia at the time of application and visa grant.
However, COVID concessions allow you to be in Australia at the time of visa grant if:
-
your Subclass 309 visa is granted after 26 February 2021; and
-
the visa application was made during the concession period which commenced 1 February 2020 and is ongoing; and
-
you were in Australia at any time during that concession period
Duration of Stay
This visa is valid until a decision is made on your Subclass 100 visa application.
Tricks and Common Reasons for Refusal
There is an increasing number of refusals for partner visa applications over the last few years due primarily to the following reasons.
1 – Overall Tightening Scrutiny of Partner Visa Applications
In fact, it is not uncommon to pay someone as a sponsor to apply for partner visa based on falsified relationship. Such arranged deals have been, understandably, drawing enormous attention from the Immigration. Unfortunately, this has led to the Immigration paying closer attention to practically all categories of partner visa applications. As a result, a large number of genuine relationships are also adversely affected, raising red flags with Immigration where applicants are requested to provide endless additional information and/or documents to substantiate the genuineness nature of the relationship and their applications still end up getting rejected regardless. This is exactly what we do – assisting you put together a Subclass 820 visa application in the most convincing fashion from the Immigration’s perspective.
2 – Poorly Structured And/or Off-target Supporting Documentation/information
It has also been observed that partner visa applications, along with their supporting documentation, submitted by applicants themselves were usually not to-the-point, well-structured and prepared without proper professional guidance, thereby failing to address all the critical aspects the Immigration had hoped to see in the most organised manner. More specifically, ordinary people tend to oversimplify a partner visa application and believe providing an abundance of pictures, text messages would be sufficient to guarantee a successful result whereas, in reality, it is more about how to present them in a sensible, logical and, most importantly, convincing structure and manner so that Immigration officers are convinced of a genuine relationship almost immediately after they pick up an application. For this reason, we also assist you in structuring every supporting document which, in turn, boosts your chances of a successful outcome.
3 – Unfamiliarity with How the Australian Immigration Works and Its Mentality
In many cases, applicants prepare and submit their supporting documentation in a disorderly way, giving the Immigration a hard time digging through tons of paperwork to get things in the right order when picking up a new visa application. This will potentially lead to endless back-and-forth clarification and explanation, wasting both sides lots of time and can even result in a refusal of Subclass 820 visa.
This is common since applying for a visa, especially a permanent one, is the very first time to most applicants. For this reason, our team have developed our own system for labelling, coding, structuring and, where necessary, cross-referencing documentation so your application can be submitted in the most presentable and logical manner. Making your application stand out among all competitors has been our goal from day one.
4 – Careless Yet Costly Mistakes
Applying for migration is seen as a delicate work of art due to the staggering amount of attention, paperwork, and details involved. A seemingly minor/harmless error such as a typo in your résumé, a date entered wrong, or a tick in the wrong box in the lengthy visa application form can prove costly as the Immigration processes all visa applications strictly in accordance with migration law, in particular Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994. Even a small error can be regarded as failing to satisfy a visa requirement and therefore lead to a visa refusal. To minimise such incidents, our team pay extra attention while editing and drafting every client’s paperwork and always proofread and also conduct a final review of documentation before submission.
5 – Applications Not Being Decision-ready
Another common reason for refusal, even instant refusal, for Subclass 309 visa is submitting an application without all the required documentation. This happens when the application was prepared carelessly, or when the applicant was trying to rush an application for whatever reason (e.g. meeting a cut-off date of a major migration policy change which happens almost each and every year and often catches people off guard).
Even with 43 years of team experience, we handle each application cautiously and meticulously like our first to ensure nothing slips through the cracks. Should a sudden change of policy hit and impact you, we are more than capable of advising you how to salvage your application in terms of what documents are mandatory at the time of submission and what can wait so you are never in danger of a straight-up visa refusal upon submission.
Benefits
With this visa, you may:
-
migrate to Australia together with your dependant children
-
stay in Australia until the application is decided
-
potentially bring your extended family members to Australia permanently on parent visa or visa intended for other relatives
-
travel overseas and back to Australia without any limitations for any purposes (e.g. overseas holiday, visiting family and/or attending family matters in home country)
-
access Australia’s public health care scheme (Medicare) which essentially provides free medical consultations, operations and hospitalization for a wide range of medical conditions
-
work in Australia without any limitations
-
study in Australia without any limitations
-
attend free English language course provided by Australian government
Application Fees
You may include your dependent children in the application so your family can migrate to Australia together.
-
Primary Applicant: $8085 or $1350 (if you hold Prospective Marriage visa Subclass 300)
-
Each additional applicant aged 18 or over: $4045
-
Each additional applicant aged under 18: $2025
You only pay one fee which covers both Subclass 309 visa (provisional) and Subclass 100 visa (permanent). Please note: you may incur third-party charges, for example, for translation, police certificate and health exam.
Processing Time
Kindly note the processing time constantly varies. Please contact us for update.
-
75% of applications: 21 months
-
90% of applications: 31 months
Our Unbeatable Services - How Exactly We Make It Hassle-free
-
Let’s face it – visa applications are complex, especially when you are not an expert in Australian immigration law - that is Migration Act 1958 and Migration Regulations 1994.
-
Simply put – our visa and immigration legal services are truly unbeatable.
-
This is because our immigration lawyers and registered migration agents in Melbourne do all of the 40 Things in Our Exclusive 5-step Services for you to:
- give you a stress-free visa application journey;
- maximise your chances of a successful application outcome.
-
Can you find such detailed and specific services elsewhere? We guarantee you can’t.
-
This way, you know your money really is well-spent.