Significant changes to partner visa requirement could become effective this month.

The changes – impacting rules and likely costs for applicants and their sponsors - were passed into law in December 2018 and are likely to become operational this month – November 2021 (though a definite date is still to be announced).

Astra Australia Immigration is strongly advising eligible people looking to live in Australia on Partner Visas to act now and have their cases considered under the existing rules.

Sponsorship Application Requirement

The most immediate change will be a new requirement for the sponsor to lodge a separate application, first. The visa applicant will not be able to lodge their claim until the sponsorship application is considered and approved.

At present, we don’t know how long that process will take but, this is likely to impact applicants who are already in Australia with visas about to expire. In this instance, onshore Partner applicants would need to seek another visa to maintain their lawful status while the Sponsorship application is being processed. If they are unable to lodge another visa while in Australia, Partner applicants will need to depart Australia and wait for the Sponsorship application to be approved before submitting their application.

Possible Sponsorship Application Fee

Because of where this requirement sits in the Migration Act, it is possible this sponsorship application will attract a $420 fee, on top of the non-refundable $7850 fee facing the person seeking the partner visa.

English Language Requirement

The other new requirement will be the introduction of English language requirements. Applicants will need to provide evidence of Functional English or that they have made “reasonable efforts” to learn English by the time the permanent stage of their application is assessed.

It is important to note these language requirements do not apply to people who hold passports from New Zealand, Canada, the UK, USA or Ireland.

Conclusion

Careful planning and knowledgeable advice is more important than ever. We have more than 15 years’ experience managing cases impacted by legislative changes – contact us now to discuss how we can help.