Partner visa (apply overseas) (Subclass 309 and 100)

Basic Eligibility for Partner visa

You must be in a genuine relationship with your spouse or de facto partner who is:

• an Australian citizen
• Australian permanent resident
• eligible New Zealand citizen

Partner (Provisional) visa (Subclass 309)

The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) lets the de facto partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia temporarily. Getting this visa is the first step towards a permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100).

What can you do with the Partner (Provisional) visa?

With this visa you can:

• stay in Australia until the Department of Home Affairs decide your permanent Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) or the application is withdrawn
• work in Australia
• study in Australia (you will not receive government support)
• travel to and from Australia as many times as you want
• attend up to 510 hours of free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program
• enrol in Australia’s public health care scheme, Medicare

How long you can stay in Australia?

You can stay on the visa until the Department of Home Affairs decides your permanent visa (subclass 100) application or you withdraw the application.

For most applicants, this stay is from 15 to 24 months.

In some circumstances you might not stay on the subclass 309 visa at all. The Department of Home Affairs might grant you the permanent visa immediately after they grant the temporary subclass 309 visa.

Can family members be included?

Yes – You can include your members of the family unit in your application. You can:

• include them when you lodge your visa application
• add a dependent child after you lodge your application but before we decide on your temporary visa.

Family members who apply for the visa with you must meet the Department of Home Affairs health requirement, character requirement and be outside of Australia.

Where can you apply from?

When applying for this visa you must be outside of Australia.

Obligations

You and your family members must meet all visa conditions and obey Australian laws.

Where can you travel?

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want.

Important: You must make your first entry to Australia as the holder of this visa before the date specified in your visa grant letter. The first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant.

Visa label

Physical visa labels no longer exist. You will have your visa digitally linked to your passport. You won’t get a label in your physical passport.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Partner (provisional) visa (Subclass 309)?

Relationship requirement 

In most cases to fulfill the relationship requirement, you must be the spouse or de facto partner of an:

• Australian citizen
• Australian permanent resident or
• eligible New Zealand citizen

Your relationship can be with someone of the same or different sex.

Married applicants

To be a married applicant:

• you and your spouse must both be committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others
• your relationship with your spouse must be genuine and continuing
• you must live with your spouse or do not live apart on a permanent basis
• your marriage must be valid under Australian law

It’s important to see if your marriage is valid under Australian law as this can cause massive problems with your visa application.

De facto partners

To be a de facto partner, you must be in a de facto relationship. You and your partner are in a de facto relationship if all these apply:

• you are not married to each other
• you are committed to a shared life to the exclusion of all others
• your relationship is genuine and continuing
• you live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis
• you are not related by family

Usually, your de facto relationship must have existed for at least 12 months immediately before you apply for the visa. Time spent dating or in an online relationship might not count as being in a de facto relationship.

Have a sponsor

You must have a sponsor when you lodge your application and when you are on this visa.

The Department of Home Affairs must approve your sponsor. There are limitations on approval.

You can’t change your sponsor. The person who sponsors you when you apply for the visa must be same person who sponsors you for 2 years after the Department of Home Affairs grant your temporary 309 Partner visa.

Age requirement

Married applicants must usually, be 18 or older when they apply. This is because usually, you must be 18 or older to be married under Australian law. Applicants in de facto relationships must be 18 or older when they apply.

Health requirement

You, and any member of the family unit or dependent child who applies for the visa with you, must meet the Department of Home Affairs health requirement. Family members who don’t accompany you to Australia might also need to meet the health requirement.

Character requirement

You and any family members who apply for the visa with you must meet the Department of Home Affairs character requirement.

Debts to the Australian Government

If you or any family members (including those who don’t apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian government money, you or they must have paid it back or arranged to pay it back.

Have you had an application refused or visa cancelled in Australia?

You may not be eligible if you have had a visa application refused or visa cancelled while you were in Australia.

What happens once the Partner (provisional) visa (subclass 309) is granted?

How long can you stay?

You can stay until the Department of Home Affairs makes a decision about your permanent Partner visa (subclass 100) or you withdraw that application.

Working on this visa

You are protected by Australian workplace law. 

What happens if your relationship ends or your partner dies?

You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship ends or your partner dies. It’s important to discuss this with our team to plan out the next steps in the visa application process.

Do not get another visa

To get the permanent Partner visa (subclass 100), you must hold this subclass 309 visa. If you are granted any other visa, the new visa will replace your subclass 309 visa. This means you can’t be granted a permanent Partner visa (subclass 100).

Therefore, it’s important to discuss your immigration options with our team of registered migration agents.

Are you ready to apply for the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309)?

If you’ve read through all the above information and would like to apply for the subclass 309 visa, contact our team of registered migration agents today.

Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100)

The visa lets the de facto partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, live in Australia permanently. It is usually granted to people who hold a temporary Partner visa (subclass 309).

What can you do with this visa?

This visa allows you to:

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work in Australia
• study in Australia
• enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme, Medicare
• sponsor your relatives to come to Australia
• travel to and from Australia for 5 years
• if eligible, attend free English language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program
• if eligible, apply for Australian citizenship

Where can you travel to and from and for how long?

If you are outside Australia at the time of visa grant you must enter Australia before the date specified in your grant letter. The first entry date is generally set at 12 months from the date of visa grant.

You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want for 5 years from the date the Department of Home Affairs grants this visa. This is as long as the travel facility on this visa remains valid.

If you want to travel after the initial 5-year travel facility:

• you will need to apply for and be granted a Resident Return (RRV) so that you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.
• you might also want to consider Australian citizenship. If you become an Australian citizen, you do not require a visa to enter Australia. You will need to apply for an Australian passport and use it to leave and re-enter Australia. Our team can assist you with your Australian citizenship application as well.

How long you can stay in Australia?

The Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100) is a permanent visa. It lets you stay in Australia indefinitely.

You become a permanent resident on the day the Department of Home Affairs grant the visa.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day:

• the Department of Home Affairs grant the visa if you are in Australia
• you enter Australia on this visa if you are outside Australia

Can family be included on this visa?

When applying for the combined temporary and permanent visas, you can include members of your family unit on the application.

If you have a dependent child who does not hold a subclass 309 visa, you can add them to your application before the Department of Home Affairs make a decision on your permanent visa application.

The child must hold a Dependent Child visa (subclass 445). If you’re unsure on the subclass 445 visa, talk to our team to discuss your migration options.

Any family members included on the application must meet the Department of Home Affairs character and health requirements.

The visa obligations

You and your family members must obey all Australian laws whilst on the Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100).

Visa label

The Department of Home Affairs will digitally link your visa to your passport. There are no longer physical visa label’s and you won’t get a visa label in your passport.

What are the eligibility requirements for the Partner (migrant) visa (subclass 100)?

Have an existing visa

Usually, you must hold:

• a Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309), or
• a Dependent Child (subclass 445) visa

Usually, 2 years must have passed since you applied for the combined 309 and 100 visa for you to be assessed for the permanent visa. 

If you were in a long-term relationship or your sponsor held a specific visa before you applied, you might be granted the permanent visa within less than 2 years.

Relationship requirements 

You must continue to be the spouse or de facto partner of the same person who sponsored you for the temporary visa (subclass 309). 

The Department of Home Affairs must approve the sponsorship.

You must:

• be married or in a de facto relationship
• have a genuine and continuing relationship
• live together, or not live permanently separately and apart
• be mutually committed to a shared life excluding other partners

You might still be eligible for the permanent visa if your relationship breaks down or your partner dies before the Department of Home Affairs grant the permanent visa.

Debt with Australian Government

If you or any family members (including those who don’t apply for the visa with you) owe the Australian Government money, you or they must have paid it back or have an approved arrangement in place to pay it back

What can you do once the Partner (migrant) visa (subclass 100) has been granted?

Become an Australian citizen

After a certain time, you might be eligible for Australian citizenship.

For citizenship purposes, your permanent residency starts on the day:

• the Department of Home Affairs grant the visa, if you are in Australia
• you enter Australia on this visa, if you are outside Australia when we grant it

If you would like assistance becoming an Australian citizen, our team of registered migration agents and immigration lawyers can assist you.

Are you ready to apply for the Partner visa (Subclass 309 and 100)?

If you’ve read through the above information and would like to apply for either the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) or the Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100), contact our team of registered migration agents and immigration lawyers.

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