Apply for a Partner Visa Outside Australia Subclass 309/100

Apply for a Partner Visa Outside Australia Subclass 309/100

Offshore applicants who want to migrate to Australia based on their de facto relationship or marriage with an eligible sponsor, should apply for a partner visa outside Australia 309/100.

How to get an offshore partner visa for Australia?

To get a partner visa outside Australia applicants must meet the following requirements:

  • Be above 18 years old when applying for partner visa 309/100,
  • Have a sponsor (your de facto partner or spouse) who meets sponsorship requirements,
  • Meet health and character requirements,
  • Provide relevant and sufficient evidence that your relationship is genuine and continuing,
  • Be outside Australia when you apply for a partner visa for Australia and when you are granted the visa.

What are the sponsorship requirements when applying for a Partner visa outside Australia?

The sponsor must meet the following requirements for the sponsorship application:

  • Be above 18 years old when sponsoring the applicant for a partner visa 309/100,
  • Be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen,
  • Meet character requirements.

What are the relationship requirements when applying for a Partner visa outside Australia?

Spouses must enclose the following evidence for their offshore partner visa for Australia that:

  • They are committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others,
  • They are living together or do not live apart on a permanent basis, and
  • They are married under Australian law or that their marriage is valid under Australian law.

For de facto partners it is important that:

  • They are committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others,
  • They are living together or do not live apart on a permanent basis, and
  • They are not related by family.

How long can I stay in Australia on an offshore partner visa for Australia?

When you apply for a partner visa outside Australia you apply for a combined partner visa 309/100.

The application goes in 2 stages. Partner visa 309 is a temporary partner visa, while partner visa 100 is a permanent partner visa.

You apply for a partner visa 309 in stage 1. For a partner visa 100 you apply in stage 2, two years after you submitted the application for partner visa 309.

You might be eligible to skip stage 2 and get a permanent partner visa for Australia in one application. Please, check if you meet the requirements for this option.

What rights do I have with an offshore partner visa for Australia?

With partner visa 309 or partner visa 100 you:

  • Have unlimited work rights,
  • Can study in Australia under the same rights as Australian citizens,
  • Enter and leave Australia as many times as you want during validity of a partner visa 309 or during the first 5 years since the partner visa 100 grant. After that, you will need Return resident visa if you are not an Australian citizen at that time,
  • Enrol into Australian public health system – Medicare,
  • Attend free English language classes for up to 510 hours.

You can also include your dependent family members in your partner visa application. Or, they can apply for a different visa option for Australia to join you. Though it is important to check if they meet the requirements first.

Processing time for offshore partner visa for Australia 

Processing time for Partner visa 309 is currently between 17-23 months, but there are really no rules. It depends on different factors – circumstances of individual cases, processing centre etc.

These days an offshore partner visa for Australia can be approved within a couple of months to even two years, there is no consistency.

While waiting, it often happens that the applicants are separated from sponsors. It depends to a great extent on their current life circumstances. In some cases the applicant can apply for a tourist visa for Australia. In this way the applicant can wait for an offshore partner visa for Australia with the sponsor and avoid separation.

If that is the case, then the applicant must leave Australia to have the visa granted. This is the biggest disadvantage of applying for a partner visa outside Australia.

Yet, for some couples, an offshore partner visa for Australia is their only visa option. There is no reason not to apply for it because of this law stating that a partner visa can be granted only outside Australia.

But, an offshore partner visa for Australia is usually processed faster. Onshore partner visa for Australia is usually processed within 2 years. Still, the most difficult wait is when partners are separated.

Apply for a Partner Visa Outside Australia Subclass 309/100

New law for offshore partner visa Australia

Some people entered Australia before or during the COVID-19 global pandemic. They already applied for a partner visa outside Australia. But, now they are unable to leave Australia to have their visa granted outside Australia.

Australian government has recently announced the introduction of a new law. This law targets exactly the applicants who lodged applications for a partner visa outside Australia. This law will allow the applicants for partner visa 309 to be granted the visa even if they are in Australia.

The new law is still not effective, but it is expected to start from early 2021 and be valid until 31 December 2021.

Costs of applying for a partner visa outside Australia

Visa application charge for Partner visa 309 is $7,715 AUD for the main applicant. It covers the costs of both temporary and permanent partner visa.

Extra costs apply for every family member included in your partner visa application.

Besides these, there can be other costs included. Extra costs apply for medical examination, biometric data collection (if required), registered migration agent services, etc.

How we can help

If you want to apply for an offshore partner visa for Australia or any other visa for Australia, you can contact us on (Viber) phone number +61423706205 or send email to info@baxvel.com.

You can also book a consultation with our registered migration agent to discuss your visa options for Australia.

If you paid the consultation fee, we will give you a discount and reduce the payment of our full service for the price of consultations.

For updated information, check the website of the Department of Home Affairs.

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