Bring Your Partner To Australia on a Spouse Visa

There is no visa in the Australian migration system called a spouse visa. The correct visa is the partner visa, administered by the Department of Home Affairs under the Migration Act 1958 (Cth). It covers married couples, de facto partners, and in some cases fiancés through the Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa. When people search for a spouse visa Australia, the partner visa is what they are looking for.

They refer to the same outcome but only one is the correct legal term. Partner visa is the term used in Australian migration law. Spouse visa is commonly used in everyday language and online searches. The relevant subclasses are 820/801 for applicants in Australia and 309/100 for applicants outside Australia.

You are not required to use a registered migration agent. The partner visa is, however, one of the most evidence-intensive applications in the Australian migration system. The Department of Home Affairs assesses every application on the quality and consistency of the evidence file, not on the strength of the relationship itself. Our migration agents prepare files that are complete and decision-ready from lodgement.

Applicants who lodge onshore using the Subclass 820 are generally issued a bridging visa at lodgement. A bridging visa allows the applicant to remain in Australia lawfully while the application is assessed. Work rights under a bridging visa depend on the conditions attached. We confirm your bridging visa conditions as part of preparing your application.

For most de facto partner visa Australia applications, the couple must have been in a genuine de facto relationship for at least 12 months before the application is lodged. This requirement does not apply if the couple has a dependent child together or depending on the State - if the relationship is registered with an Australian state or territory authority. Important State-Based Exception: Relationship registration for migration purposes is not available in Western Australia (WA) or the Northern Territory (NT). For the states where it is available (NSW, VIC, QLD, SA, TAS, and ACT), strict and differing residency requirements apply to at least one (and sometimes both) partners.

Yes. The partner visa applies equally to same-sex and opposite-sex couples. The eligibility criteria, evidence requirements, and assessment process are identical regardless of the gender or sexual orientation of either party.