Partner Visa – Onshore Subclass 801 (Permanent)
Overview
-
Partner visa (Subclass 801) is a permanent visa. It is only available for holders of Partner visa Subclass 820 because it is the second and final stage of acquiring permanent residency through the initial Partner visa Subclass 820.
-
Subclass 801 visa is usually granted 2 years after the initial visa application but can be quicker in some cases (see Special Notes section below).
-
You may include your dependent children in your visa application so you can migrate to Australia together.
Eligibility
hold Partner visa (Subclass 820) or Dependent Child visa (Subclass 445)
continue to be in an ongoing relationship with your partner (the sponsor)
if your partner (the sponsor) has passed away, you have developed close business, cultural or personal ties in Australia
if your relationship breaks down:
- you or a dependent child of either party has suffered family violence; or
- you and your partner have shared custody of at least 1 child
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
Applicants must be in Australia at the time of application, but may be in or outside Australia at the time of visa grant.
Duration of Stay
This is a permanent visa that allows you to stay permanently in Australia. However, its travel facility expires after 5 years so you will need to apply for Resident Return Visa (Subclass 155 & 157) or Australian citizenship (if eligible) if you wish to travel overseas and back to Australia after the expiry date.
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 801 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 and live in Australia permanently
-
potentially bring your extended family members to Australia permanently on parent visa or visa intended for other relatives
-
access various government benefits, including but not limited to:
-
pension
-
unemployment and job-seeking benefits
-
concession cards for commuting
-
benefits associated with new-born baby
-
interest-free school loan
-
-
travel overseas and back to Australia without 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
-
apply for Australian citizenship when eligible
Application Fees
No additional application fee – you paid for both Subclass 820 visa (provisional) and Subclass 801 visa (permanent) when you lodged the initial partner visa application. 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: 12 months
-
90% of applications: 20 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.