5th February 2012

MIA numbers: 327
MARN numbers:
0208366, 9790598

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Spouse and Prospective spouse visas

Partner visas to Australia

Register now, and you will access your own Client Area.

You can then speak to a real live person about the spouse visa !

We do not give automated assessments, and you will be able to post messages in the 'online communication' section, and your assigned consultant will reply with a day.

Our staff worked as decision-makers on spouse visas at the Department of Immigration visa office!

The main types of Partner or Spouse Visa are: -

Spouse: This is for people who are married before applying.

If you are married, then you apply for the spouse visa. The 'spouse' is the Australian husband or wife, and the 'applicant' is the person needing the visa to enter Australia.

The sponsor can be an Australian citizen, an Australian Permanent Resident, or an 'eligible New Zealand citizen'.

An application can take between 2 or 8 months to process at the DIAC visa office - the time depends greatly on the individual circumstances.

To a case officer, an Australian spouse visa application is just a pile of papers - one of many files on their desk!

So rather than a tick-box affair, the application should show that the couple are in a genuine spousal relationship. This means showing evidence that family and friends are aware of the relationship, showing details of communication when apart, and 'evidence' of living together also.

All of this must be VERY clearly shown, and explained to the case officer. The sad fact is that there are many people who 'fake' an relationship just to get an Australian partner visa. So case officers always have to treat Australian spouse visa applications suspiciously, and cautiously, doing a lot of background checks.

When you get the visa, you have a two year provisional permanent resident visa. After 2 years, you lodge another application to show that you are still together - and then can get the full PR Australian spouse visa. (or 'Australian visa for my wife' or 'Australian visa for my husband')

At ASA, we are the spouse visa experts, and we have a 100% success rate!

Prospective Spouse: If you are not married yet, but plan to marry within a year or so, this can be the option for you.

You lodge the visa application, which can take 2 - 7 months or so. When the visa is granted, you then have 9 months in which to register the marriage (i.e. get married, sign the papers!) in Australia. This is also known as the Australian fiance or fiancee visa.

When you marry in Australia, you then get the two year provisional spouse visa, as above, and then the full Australian PR partner visa after that.

De-facto: This is for couples who have clear paper evidence that they have lived together for 12 months or more. This can be a variety of such evidence of couples who need an Australian partner visa for 'common law' spouses.

Other than that, the process is the same as the Australian spouse visa mentioned above.

This is also the 'interdependent visa'. This is for same-sex couples, NOT for couples who just live together - that is the de-facto option above.

The interdependent visa is for same-sex Australian visas - and the couple must have also lived together for 12 months - with clear paper evidence of cohabitation. The applicant can then also get the two year provisional spouse visa.

If a couple, in the spouse visa (or de-facto visa) example have either: -

been married for over 5 years, or have evidence of living together as de-facto spouses for over 5 years
have been married for over 2 years AND have a child - or have lived together for over 2 years and have a child

Then they may apply for the full Permanent Resident visa right away - no need to have the two year provisional period.

Frequent questions from clients about the Australian marriage visa, or Australian partner visa are related to being outside of Australia, or needing to get to Australia within a certain timeframe, and the travel restrictions involved.

To get answers about this, simply register in your Client Area to speak to an experienced Australian partner visa consultant.

You can then speak about issues such as 'how to sponsor my wife to Australia', or 'how to sponsor my husband to Australia'. Visas for a wife or visas for a husband are highly unique for each situation.

ASA fully guide you on what information you need to get together, and then what to send to our Australian office, for your MARA agent to compile and then lodge, so the Australian fiance visa application, or the Australian marriage visa application is clearly defined, exactly as the case officer wants to see it.

At times, the case officer will make an interview for the Australian spouse visa. If you are with ASA, then because we are representing your Australian spouse visa, they must first contact us and your MARA agent, before any contact is made to you.

Sponsorship - family

Remaining Relative

Child Visa

Spouse and Prospective spouse visas

Interdependency Visas