Congratulations!
What’s next? Well, if you are an Australian, you can carry on with your life as normal and enjoy your relationship for what it is!
If you are not an Australian, and you want to live with your Australian in Australia, the next step is to look at visas to come to, and remain in, Australia. You may be eligible for a visa in relation to your work. If this is not an option for you – that process is getting more and more challenging – and if your relationship is in a great place and you and your partner envisage that you will spend the rest of your lives together, a partner visa maybe your best option.
Depending on where you are based – overseas or in Australia – you will apply for either a subclass 309 visa or a subclass 820 visa respectively. The process is relatively identical and we are hearing that applications lodged overseas are being processed quicker than those being lodged onshore in Australia.
An important part of this application is to be able to demonstrate that you are either married to your Australian partner-sponsor or you are in a de facto relationship and have been for more than 12 months. You will be asked for lots of evidence to demonstrate your relationship and you may find this quite intrusive. Just remember, the Department of Home Affairs is simply looking for evidence that you are in a relationship. You should focus on your routine, who does the washing up, who cleans the bathroom, and other such mundane detail. The whole world has been in lockdown to one extent or another for the last 12 months so providing evidence may be a challenge. The Department does not expect have you to have a social life equivalent to the Kardashians, it simply wants to see have that the married or de facto relationship is a genuine one.
If you would like to know more about how to satisfy the Partner Visa criteria, please get in touch.
☎ +61 (0) 429 133 911
Disclaimer: Changes to the Australian migration program can occur without notice. The above information is not intended to be legal advice and is correct as of the date of publication.
