Partner & Family Visas
Partner Visa (Apply in Australia) (Subclass 820 and 801)
Subclass 820 and 801 visas are types of visa let the de facto partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen live in Australia. The visas must be applied in Australia.
The applicants must be in Australia when they apply for their temporary visas and when their visa applications are decided.
Two steps:
The first step Temporary Partner Visa (Subclass 820), the second step Permanent Partner Visa (Subclass 801)
Temporary and permanent visa applications can be submitted at the same time, while under normal circumstances, the applicant will only be granted 820 visa first. Two years after the temporary visa is granted, the applicant can be granted 801 visa if he/she still maintain a real and lasting marriage with his/her partner and meet the corresponding conditions, which is so-called 2-year waiting period. Applicants are not required to pay an application fee when applying for a permanent visa. However, in some special circumstances, it is possible for the applicant to obtain a permanent residence visa directly. For example, when applying for the visa, the applicant and his/her sponsor have been married, or have maintained a de facto relationship for more than 3 years.
Eligibility:
- The applicant and sponsor must be married/de facto partners (including partners of different sex or same sex ), and such relationships must have existed before submitting the application.
- The visa has relatively loose requirements for applicants. Unlike other visa categories, there are no requirements for education, work experience, English, and asset proof
- Your relationship with your partner must be genuine and continuing.
- Spouses who are registered for marriage in an institution recognized by DHA or spouses who are registered for marriage in China meet the basic conditions for applying for this visa.
- For de facto relationship, your relationship with your partner must have existed for at least 12 months immediately before applying for the visa, and which must be proved by providing credible documents.
- Your sponsor must be an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen aged 18 or above.
- A sponsor can only sponsor twice in his or her lifetime, and the time lag is at least five years. If the sponsor obtains the Australian PR status through partner visa, then he or she needs to wait more than five years before sponsoring his or her partner to apply for this visa.