Partner Visa Announcement - Sponsorship Requirements Changed - Commences 17th April 2019

As some readers may be aware, the Australian Government had previously proposed changes to the process in how we apply for Australian Partner visas. Specifically, with the introduction of the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2018, it was suggested that before a Partner visa could be applied in future, the Australian sponsor would need to first be approved as a 'family sponsor'.

Importantly, this was a key change to how Partner visas had been prepared and submitted for many many years where there was no such requirement, and both the sponsorship and visa could be submitted together. This often allowed us to submit applications in urgent situations, where for example, the visa applicant was currently inside Australia and their visa was expiring. By being able to submit applications quickly, we were able to secure a bridging visa for applicants allowing them to remain in the country lawfully until a decision had been made on the Partner visa.

This process is visually explained in the diagram below:

As things stood, the proposed changes were not yet 'in effect' and it was business as usual.

THIS HAS NOW CHANGED....

As of today, the 9th April 2019, we have received confirmation that provisions and requirements set out in the Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Act 2018 will come into effect on the 17th April 2019 bringing in a new age in the way Partner visas are prepared and submitted. 

To confirm, from the 17th April 2019 onwards, it will be a requirement that the sponsorship in relation to an Australian Partner visa be submitted separately and before the application of the Partner visa. Only once the Australian has been approved as a 'family sponsor' will their spouse/partner be eligible to apply for the Partner visa, and for those onshore at the time of lodgement, be eligible for the grant of a Bridging Visa. 

This process is visually explained in the diagram below:

Important Things to Consider

1. Practically speaking, only Partner visa applicants who are currently inside Australia and have a visa expiry date within the next 2-3 months or so, should consider applying for the visa prior to the 17th April 2019. Otherwise, unless you are confident that your relationship facts and evidence sufficiently demonstrate you are in a de-facto or married couple, rushing to apply for a Partner visa may lead to problems in future when assessed against 'time of application' criteria ('Time of Application' criteria is best explained in our free Webclass ? here)

2. As above, couples looking to apply for off-shore Partner visas (such as the 309/100 and PMV 300) should not, necessarily, be looking to rush into lodging an application unless they are confident they already meet the visa criteria. 

3. We do not yet know the specific criteria for the approval of a 'family sponsor' in relation to Partner visas post 17th April 2019, however we assume the criteria will be similar, if not identical, to how sponsors are currently assessed, except the difference being this is now done 'upfront' as opposed to when the partner visa is assessed as per the OLD Process pictured above (stay tuned). Importantly, this may require that sponsors provide police clearances from both Australia and countries lived in overseas with their sponsorship applications. As these clearances can take several weeks to be returned it may be advisable to start arranging these asap. 

4. We do not yet know how long it will take for family sponsor applications to be decided. Also, given that the DHA will be implementing this assessment process for the first time, we would encourage readers to take any processing estimates initially released by the DHA with a grain of salt as it is unlikely any accurate timeframe will be established until the DHA has received, and processed, enough sponsorship applications to provide accurate data and statistics on waiting times 

5. This does NOT IMPACT applications already submitted and pending with the DHA.

What Should I Do?

Our office will soon be getting in touch with all our pending Partner visa clients to advise and plan regarding the 17th April 2019 implementation date of these changes. Rest assured we are 'onto it'! 
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For those reading this who are not yet Salvo Migration clients and would like to discuss their Partner visa case, you can chat with our legal team, for free, on Facebook Messenger by clicking on the 'Lets Chat' button below. Otherwise, for those interested in commencing their matter with priority please leave an enquiry online here.