We get it, falling in love with a foreigner is exotic. The accent is different, they have cool traditions that your family doesn’t celebrate, and the food is delicious. It’s all beautifully different. There are so many things to love.
But now that the Visitor Visa has run out or you are living in different countries, keeping up a relationship through gifs and memes on WhatsApp – what are the visa options for making sure that you and your love can continue this love affair, till forever?
The most common is the Partner Visa (Subclass 820/801 in Australia, or Subclass 309/100 outside of Australia). This requires that you are in a de facto relationship with your significant other for at least 12 months, prior to your lodging your application. Being de facto does not mean that you must live together, however it does mean that you should share your lives with one another. Sharing your life under law, falls under four key criteria – social, household, financial and exclusivity. Yes, the relationship should be exclusive. That is, you must be in a genuine and ongoing relationship, to the exclusion of all others. For the other elements, you can share evidence or a statement that provides a clear picture of what that looks like for your relationship. This doesn’t mean that everything is split down the middle, it means that you both offer something to the relationship – and this looks different for every relationship.
The other option is for those that have met in person and perhaps have not been together for a period of 12 months, but you are engaged to be married. This is the Subclass 300, Prospective Marriage visa. The visa applicant must be outside of Australia to lodge this application. As the name suggests, there must be an intention to marry upon grant of the visa. Evidence for this application usually includes pictures of your engagement ceremony or party, and a notice of intention to marry amongst other items that show you have met in person and continue to be in a relationship despite living apart. Once this visa is granted, the next step is to move forward to the Subclass 820/801 visa process.
Each of the pathways for partner migration have expensive Government lodgement fees (approximately $8000), so you want to ensure that you get it right the first time around. If you would like assistance with a partner visa, our immigration lawyers have prepared and lodged many, many, many successful partner visa applications for couples in many different relationships, all over the world. We are the people that you want to have to support you through what can be a very stressful time.
If you need help, please reach out to hello@passagemigration.consulting with your name and bit about your love <3
Otherwise, good luck, stay safe and love fiercely.
Rachael is our Legal Practice Director, Youtube Host and Creator of Passage Migration Consulting.
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