Spousal migration is a form of family reunion immigration in Australia. Spouses emigrate generally in two steps: you will first be granted a spouse's stay visa; if the spouse relationship continues and other conditionalities are met, you will be granted a permanent residence visa in about two years. Applicants can apply outside Australia (309 / 100 visa) or Australia (820 / 801 visa). A spouse relationship can be marriage or cohabitation (de facto marriage).
Spousal immigrants are favored by many immigrant applicants because of their lower threshold and faster trial time than other forms of immigration. Nevertheless, the Immigration Board is very strict with this kind of application. Here, the editor summarizes the Australian spouse immigration visa application for your reference.
If you apply for a spouse to emigrate before marriage
In order to apply for a spouse visa, the applicant needs to certify a secured relationship between the applicant and the guarantor, which usually means marriage. But this is not a necessary condition. The most common exception is in the state of de facto marriage, that is, cohabitation.
A 300-category visa for prospective spouses, designed for overseas spouse applicants who are about to marry in Australia. Once the visa is approved, the applicant will be granted a temporary residence visa for nine months, but the applicant must register with the guarantor in Australia within these nine months before applying for a spouse visa.
If you apply for an overseas spouse, there is no mandatory requirement to marry before the application date. As long as the marriage is completed during the trial, the conditions can be satisfied. If a 300-category visa application is submitted and the marriage is completed during the visa process, you can apply to the Immigration Service for a spouse visa replacement.
Note: in the case of a domestic spouse application, the above exception does not apply. If the applicant fails to prove that he was married before the application date, the application will be rejected.
[法] de facto marital relation
A de facto marriage proves that the applicant and the guarantor live together for at least 12 months. Evidence required:
- a. Cohabitation relationship: the correspondence record of the same address, the common lease contract or the joint purchase contract.
- b. Economic Relations: joint accounts, co-ownership of assets, beneficiaries of pensions.
- c. Social relationship: social recognition of such a relationship, as with friends or relatives.
Note: if you are married, the above information also needs to be provided, but does not meet the requirement of 'living together for at least 12 months'.
Exceptions to the 12-month rule of de facto marriage
In general, the application for a spouse visa requires evidence of cohabitation for at least 12 months, with the following three exceptions:
- a. Registered a de facto marriage in the state of goverment (that is, de facto).
- b. The applicant and guarantor have shared children.
- c. The de facto relationship between the applicant and the guarantor is not permitted in the applicant's country.
How to avoid a two-year waiting period
Typically, applicants can only get a two-year temporary spouse visa during which they can work full-time or travel. Two years after obtaining a temporary visa, it is necessary to provide evidence that it is still in this relationship and to provide up-to-date non-criminal proof to obtain a permanent visa, which is known as the waiting period.
In exceptional circumstances, the applicant can obtain a permanent residence visa directly without a two-year waiting period. The prerequisites are:
- a. When applying for a visa, the applicant and guarantor are married or have a de facto marital relationship for more than 3 years.
- B. At the time of visa application, the applicant and guarantor have been married, or have a de facto marital relationship for more than 2 years, and have children.
- However, unless the applicant applies to obtain a permanent residence visa directly, the Immigration Service will only grant a temporary visa.
If the application includes the non-biological child of the guaranto
If the applicant has a child with his predecessor, who is not the biological child of the guarantor, the entire trial will be complicated.
If children are under 18 years of age, they are usually considered independent and dependent on their parents. The child may then be included in the application for a spouse visa, but the consent of the other parent is required.
If the applicant does not intend to include children under the age of 18 in a spouse's visa application, the child will still have to pass a medical examination and have no criminal certificate. But if the applicant does not have custody, the situation will become more difficult.
Domestic application
You can apply for a spouse visa both at home and abroad and, in the case of a domestic application, you need to hold a substantive visa, not a bridge visa, and the visa is not subject to a'no further stay clause'. The advantages and disadvantages of domestic applications are as follows:
superiority
- a. Bridge visa: when an applicant submits an application within the territory of the country, during the process of hearing (which may take up to 20 months), the applicant may be granted a bridge visa allowing him to stay in Australia.
- b. Right to work: cross-bridge visa allows applicants to work in Australia.
- c. Health insurance: basic free Australian health insurance is available while waiting for a spouse visa.
inferior strength or position
- a. Processing time: domestic applications can take as long as 20 to 24 months, while overseas applications will be much faster.
- b. Exit restrictions: if you apply inside the country, you will not be allowed to leave Australia if you hold a bridge visa. However, if there is a reasonable reason to leave the country, it is necessary to apply for a bridge to sign B before leaving the country.
Duplicate guarantee
If others have been previously guaranteed, or have been guaranteed, there will be the following warranty restrictions:
- a. If you have previously guaranteed others, you have to wait five years before you can guarantee again. Each person can only be eligible to guarantee twice in his or her life.
- b. If previously guaranteed, it takes five years to guarantee others.
- c. If the PR, was previously obtained by paying parents to emigrate, it would take five years to guarantee the needs of others.
If you can provide a strong reason, you can waive the waiting period mentioned above.
Health exemption
When applying for a spouse visa, all family members included in the application need a medical examination.
Usually, when applying for a permanent or temporary visa, there is a rule that 'one person does not pass and the whole family is refused', which means that if one person fails a medical examination, the entire application will be rejected.
However, this rule does not apply when applying for a spouse visa. This means that even if a person fails, the application can still be approved, but the need to meet the condition that the cost of curing the disease is not excessive. Financial conditions, health care policies and family affordability can be used as evidence in visa applications.
You can still apply for a spouse visa with a history of refusing to sign a visa.
Normally, if you have a history of visa rejection since your last entry and have held a bridge visa, you cannot apply for other visas within the country. But if the last time a spouse visa was refused, the rule does not apply when applying for a spouse visa. This means that if an applicant was previously denied a 457 or 485 visa, he or she could apply for a spouse visa without leaving the country. But there must be reasons to convince people.
Authenticity of information
Match the Australian Immigration Service has traditionally cracked down on fraudulent materials, and section 4020 of the Immigration Act provides applicants with false passports, identity cards, qualifications, work, marriage and family membership materials, or false and misleading information. The Immigration Service will not only refuse to apply, but will also prohibit applicants and deputy applicants from applying for any visa with clause 4020, including a spouse visa, for the next three or 10 years.
