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Australian Partner Visa Updates as of 2019

Here is the latest update for the Australian partner visa changes. This is an important update that was introduced and we will be breaking it down in this article.

Are the Australian Partner Visa sponsorship changes in effect?

Legally, yes but they haven’t actually been implemented yet, weird, I know!

Changes are designed to protect visa applicants and create more accountability for sponsors to uphold their sponsorship requirements. There’s a particular focus on sponsors with criminal history and sponsors who’ve breached their sponsorship obligations.

So when are they going to be implemented? I don’t actually know yet.

What’s it going to look like when they are implemented?

This is a guess because we don’t actually have the regulations as yet. What we expect however is that sponsors will be required to provide police checks from all the countries that they’ve lived in for the last 10 years for a 12 month period or more at the time of applying for sponsorship.

And I would expect the sponsorship is going to need to be approved before the visa applicant can actually lodge their application.

How is that going to affect you when it is in effect or operational?

If implemented the way we expect, the biggest impact will be on couples who are applying from inside of Australia who have a visitor visa or potentially a working holiday visa or any other visa that allows you to apply for the Partner Visa from inside Australia. If you have an expiry date looming then there’s a chance that it could affect you.

How can you avoid these changes when they are implemented affecting you?

Lodge your application as soon as possible. It’s really important that you get one-on-one advice now to see if you are in a position to lodge and in turn avoid the impact of those changes.

Processing time

Processing times fluctuate. Sometimes from day to day, from week to week. Overall what we’re seeing is on average 18 months for unsure applications. Immigration website does advertise up to 20 months for Onshore application processing.

For offshore cases, we’re seeing on average maybe 15 months. The online advertised processing times are 18 months. The diversity or the change that we see in processing times, it comes down to a number of different things.

Where is that application going to be processed? Is it an onshore or offshore application? Is it a complex case? What Australian Embassy around the world is going to be processing it if it’s an offshore application?

So lots of things that could affect the processing times. Most importantly if you are wanting to keep on the shorter side of those, use an experienced migration agent who knows what they’re doing when it comes to Partner Visa processing.

If you are going to be looking at doing it on your own, look for some kind of support along the way to make sure that your case isn’t complex firstly and proves that you meet the legislative requirements.

Need more help? Freedom Migration is happy to lend a helping hand. For more information visit our Partner Visa FAQ and Partner Visa Pathways. Need some advice? Contact us.

IMPORTANT: Please note, this does not constitute Immigration advice. Always seek advice from a Registered Migration Agent before applying for an Australian Visa. Migration Law is constantly changing. This information is accurate only at the time of publication.

  • Lata says:

    Hi im going to tonga in janurary to ho do my hubbys papers but would like information on what i need to provide
    Etc marriage certificate??
    Pleass it would be good to know so that im prepared
    Email:latap14@icloud.com

    • Emma Drynan says:

      Hi Lata, this is a great time to get in contact before you go looking for documents, If you give our office a call on 07 3063 1200 we will be able to help you get a list together before you head off in January.

  • Adrian says:

    Thanks for this update. My partner for the last 6 years and I are living in Bangkok but next year plan to move to Australia, with me as the sponsor. I believe the sponsor needs a police record report for the previous 10 years or so in order to proceed with the sponsorship? If that is the case, should I ask for the police report from the police in Australia or Thailand? Many thanks.

  • Eric says:

    Hi I’m Eric I wanna ask I already started a process for partern visa and in my country the conflict start between politique so what could I do .

  • janine says:

    should my daughter, an Australian, sponsor her husband to move to Australia (he is English)?

    • Emma Drynan says:

      Hi Janine, that’s really a question for your daughter, if you would like to have some information about the process, give us a call 07 3063 1200 and we can have a chat with you about it.

  • Nancy oraga says:

    hi! I married to 50 years old Australian woman, I’m 33 years old. I met her once last march 2019 and get married in in my home country.Our Status can affect to get the visa? anyhow we have legal documents and shared property.

  • Eugenia says:

    Hi Emma. My partner and I live in Hong Kong. We have been in a relationship since July 2018 and we got engaged in August 2019. Our wedding is scheduled to be in May 2020 in Melbourne. I am an Australian Citizen and my Partner has lodge her Partner Visa (Subclass 309/100) Application in Oct 2019. The estimated processing time is 16-21 months. Given the Government’s incompetence in handling the political situation and Wuhan Flu from China, we are desperate to look for any possibilities to move back to Melbourne ASAP. Initially, we are thinking of applying for Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417) or Visitor Visa (Subclass 600) but we are worried that these visas require declaration that the applicant only intend to stay temporarily, which would be false because we have already applied for a Partner Visa. We also thought of applying for the ETA repeatedly every 3 months but saw a case where somebody was unable to get into Australia on the second ETA… We’re so desperate in Hong Kong now… any advices are greatly appreciate. Thanks so much in advance.

    • Emma Drynan says:

      Hey Eugenia, sorry to hear about your situation, I understand how stressful this Corona virus issue would be for you both. It’s best to give our office a call and we can do an assessment of other options in a visa planning session, please give us a call on 07 3063 1200.

  • About the Author Emma Drynan MARN0960361

    Emma is the founder and principal migration agent at Freedom Migration. She is extremely passionate about uniting partners and families with their loved ones overseas. It might be because she's a product of a partner visa family.

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