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 To find out more about how our Relationship Evidence Course can help your partner visa.
please click this link: https://www.visamakersonline.com.au/offers/Vp2fFBod/checkout
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 If you require assistance with your travel exemption request for Australia please email me directly on [email protected] 🇦🇺
Hi everyone ,
Hope you are all well and staying safe. (especially if you are over in Victoria). Well finally the sun has returned to Perth and Spring is just around the corner. It has been a long winter in many ways with so many couples suffering due to the restrictions to enter Australia. Let's hope a vaccine is found as soon as possible, it looks optimistic with the vaccine developments at Oxford University in the UK. Anyway, today I wanted to try and provide you some information to help you bring your partner to Australia. A typical scenario is that the Aussie sponsor is located in Australia but their partner is still overseas. Due to COVID bringing your partner here has become far more problematic than before. However, hope is not lost as it may be possible for your partner to obtain an exemption from the travel restrictions. So how do I get the exemption to travel to Australia Andrew you many ask, well let's break it down for you. Firstly, if your partner currently holds a Partner visa (ie 309 or 100, 820 or 801) they can come to Australia. They do not need to request an exemption to travel to Australia’s due to the travel restrictions. They would meet the exemption requirements due to being an immediate family member of an Australian citizen or permanent resident. Please note though that ‘Immediate family members’ of Australian citizens and permanent residents comprise spouses, de facto partners, dependent children and legal guardians. No other family relationship is exempt. Sorry Gran!! This is great news for those who already have the Partner visa. However, still problems can arise in trying to get flights back that do not break the bank, whether the state you want to travel to has restrictions in place (eg a g2g pass will be required for Western Australia) and whether or not the country in which your partner is located allows them to leave easily. Please note for those wanting to enter Western Australia a g2g pass app is available to download) Click here to download now g2g pass app download) The Australian Border Force have stated that Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa holders can’t come to Australia at the moment. However, we have seen recent cases of the visa and exemption being granted, so watch this space. Ok so if you do not hold the Partner Visa as yet what can you do next. So if your Partner holds another type of temporary visa eg a visitor visa they will need to apply for an ‘Request for a travel exemption’ and provide proof of your relationship. Please note to be able to travel your partner will require both a valid visa and approval of the exemption request. It is super important to provide as much relationship evidence that you can with the exemption request. For example, marriage certificate, de-facto or civil partnership registration, shared financial commitments, joint residency or relevant birth certificates for yourself, partner and children. Almost to the same level as with a Partner Visa. The Australian Border Force are rejecting a large number of requests at the moment so it is super important to provide as much relationship evidence as possible. In good news though it seems Immigration may be getting through the backlog of Partner visa applications as we have had notice of a large number of visa grants, some in only 3 months. Hope this helps you on your journey to be together with your partner in Australia. If you require assistance with your ‘exemption application’ or Partner Visa (820/801, 309/100) please email me directly on [email protected] Happy to help. To Your Visa Success Andrew Andrew EP McAuley (MARN: 1278335) 
Partner Visa Refused? - 3 Common Reasons
Applying for any visas for Australia during Covid-19 can be a stressful experience. This is especially so for those applying for Partner Visas. There seems to be so many pressures on relationships at this time, adding a Partner visa application to the mix can be very stressful for both parties. I wanted to try and help you avoid a possible visa refusal by outlining some of the most common reasons for Partner Visa refusals. 1.Lack Of Relationship Evidence This really is the big one. Clearly, a Partner Visa’s success is based around proving to Immigration with evidence that you are in a spousal or de-facto relationship. Essentially Immigration will be assessing your application for evidence of a mutual commitment to a shared life as a couple to the exclusion of all others, that the relationship between you is genuine and continuing and that you live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. To make this assessment they will analyse 4 key aspects of your relationship, namely:
Typically couples have strong evidence of the social aspects (friends are a wonderful thing) but can be lacking in Financial and Household evidence. In many cases it is worth waiting until you have strong enough evidence before applying. It is a very expensive visa in which to obtain a refusal as there is no refund should the Partner visa be refused. You will generally have the right for a visa refusal appeal however, this again can be expensive and your life is placed on hold for potentially 1 to 2 years. The appeal to visa refusal process can be a long and stressful time for couples. To find out the current AAT partner visa processing time, please click the link below: AAT partner visa processing time So as you can see the average calendar days from lodgement to finalisation for the AAT partner visa processing time is currently 679 days (ie 1 Year 10 Months and 1 Week). So the bottom line you need to make a judgment on whether you feel you have sufficient relationship evidence to be able to proceed to avoid your Partner Visa being refused. 2. Inconsistencies in your application Partner visas applications typically provide to Immigration a vast amount of information regarding your relationship. This can include your own relationship evidence, statements from friends and family, information in the visa and sponsorship applications and any forms you may provide (eg Form 80). Anyway as you can see you need to be sure that your application does not contain any notable inconsistencies. For example, if you state the start of your relationship as 2 different dates in the visa and sponsorship application or potentially a friend provides inconsistent information in their form 888 to that which was stated in the application. Genuine mistakes are generally not an issue (eg typos), however any significant inconsistencies may indicate to Immigration that your relationship is not genuine. In addition any information that is deemed to be misleading could be a reason for Immigration to refuse your application. (Google: PIC 4020 - the Sledgehammer clause). 3. Not meeting Schedule 3 (Partner Visa) Many Partner Visa (820/801) applicants get caught by Schedule 3 and have their visas refused based on this criteria. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) deals with a large number of Schedule 3 cases. So what exactly is Schedule 3 criteria you may ask… Schedule 3 specifies additional criteria for visa applicants who are in Australia and at time of application are an unlawful non-citizen (ie those with no visa) or those who hold only a bridging visa. The objective of Schedule 3 is to encourage non-citizens who have a legitimate basis for remaining in Australia to apply for a further visa before their current substantive visa ceases. Schedule 3 comprises 5 separate criteria: 3001, 3002, 3003, 3004 to 3005. Also please note the parts of Schedule 3 may be different from one visa subclass to another. I have summaried the 5 elements below but be aware this does not cover every detail. 3001 - Can be met if the visa application was validly made within 28 days after the relevant day. (typically the ‘relevant day is the last day the applicant held a substantive visa). 3002 - Can be met if the visa application was validly made within 12 months after the relevant day. 3003 - Only relevant for those here back in 1994. 3004 - There are a number of elements that need to be met. However, the main elements are that the applicant is not the holder of a substantive visa because of factors beyond the applicant's control, there are compelling reasons for granting the visa and they have compiled substantially with conditions of their last substantive visa. 3005 - If any time in past the visa applicant met/passed the Schedule 3 provisions they cannot meet the Schedule 3 clauses again for a second time. Please note for Partner visa 820/801 failure of any part of criteria 3001, 3003 or 3004 results in failure of the Schedule 3 criteria. For some visas (eg Partner Visa 820/801) there is a Schedule 3 waiver available if “compelling reasons” for waiving Schedule 3 can be established. So for those lodging Partner visas onshore and do not hold a visa or a bridging visa Schedule 3 can be a huge problem. If you require assistance to try and meet the Schedule 3 criteria or need help with a Schedule 3 waiver please contact us on the details below. There we go, there are 3 common reasons why Immigration could refuse a Partner Visa. We hope this article helps you on your journey to getting your Partner Visa granted and you will be able to sit back on the beach with a pina colada and not have to think about visas again. If you have any questions about Partner Visas or for any other visa please call Andrew McAuley (Registered Migration Agent on 0416 468 333 or email [email protected]. Alternatively please complete the form below and we will be in touch as soon as possible with you. |
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