In our 12 years operating, we have seen many people making mistakes that could have been avoided when applying for a Partner Visa in Australia that have cost the success of the application.
Applying for a Partner Visa in Australia
The 7 most common mistakes you should avoid when applying for a Partner Visa in Australia
1) Rushing into it
Sometimes people “speed things” up for the purposes of lodging a Partner Visa. Speeding things up doesn’t necessarily mean that your relationship is not genuine, or that your visa application will be refused, however, if there wasn’t a visa involved the couple would be taking things a bit more slowly?
We see a lot of couples rushing into moving in together, rushing into getting married or lodging the Partner Visa application and later regretting it and in a lot of cases it’s because the relationship was too new when they decided to do all those things, for the sake of getting a better visa for the applicant.
If you’re certain about the relationship and want to go for it, then go for it, but if you feel like it’s too soon, maybe think about it a bit longer. In the end, every couple and relationship is different and only you knows what works for you.
2) Lodging the application on the last minute
At the other end of the spectrum are those people who leave everything for the last minute: some people end up lodging their application on the last day possible and if you have a competent Registered Agent working for you, they will make it happen even if it’s on the last day, but if you’re working alone, the stress and the rush may lead you to make mistakes. So the general idea is: don’t do it!
Leaving it to the last minute is also not a good idea because you and your partner will need time to organize documents, your Migration Agent will also need time to check all your documents and lodge your application, observing relevant deadlines and ensuring that your application is lodged before your current visa expires.
3) Assuming you must register your relationship
To be able to apply for the Partner Visa in Australia, the couple is required to present evidence that they are married or that they are in a de-facto relationship. According to Australian law, a de-facto relationship is one where a couple has been living together for at least 12 months OR when the couple registers their relationship with an Australian State or Territory.
Emphasis on the OR: if you have been living together for 12 months at least, then you don’t have to register your relationship. You may want to do that, but you are not required to do so to meet the requirements of this visa.
4) Thinking you don’t qualify for a Partner visa in Australia because you don’t have a Lease Agreement with both names on it
There is no checklist your relationship has to follow. Some couples live with flatmates, others with parents, others own property so there is no requirement that you must have a lease agreement. What matters is if you are living together and if you are presenting documents that show good evidence of that.
5) Forgetting to lodge the Sponsorship component
A Partner Visa application consists of 2 parts lodged and we see a lot of couples who come for help too late after having to forget this part and having their visas refused. Don’t do it: if your partner visa is refused your visa application fee (which is very expensive!!) will not be refunded by the Department of Immigration and you may have even worse problems after a refusal, such as losing work rights or having to leave the country!
6) Thinking your previous visa will be “automatically” cancelled
This is not how it works! If when you lodge a Partner Visa application, your current visa is still valid for a while, it will remain valid until it expires.
This means you need to abide by its conditions: for example, if you have a student visa, you will still need to go to school and pay your fees, unless there is a way for you to work around this – in which case you should consult a Registered Agent as this is a complex issue.
When and only when your current visa expires, if you have lodged a Partner Visa while in Australia, then and only then, a Bridging Visa will come into effect.
In most cases that Bridging Visa has full rights.
7) Doing it alone!
The whole process of understanding the requirements, checking if you really qualify, organizing all the documents, proving accurate evidence of your relationship and applying for a Partner Visa in Australia involves several crucial details that might impact the final result of your application.
The Partner Visa is one of the most expensive visas in Australia and the least thing you would want is having it refused, right?
So choose to work with an experienced Registered Migration Agent to guide you: only someone who has worked in thousands of applications can know all subtleties of the legislation, what really applies and what doesn’t apply to you, and what is the best strategy for you.
We would love to be part of your visa journey and have worked on more than 5000 visa applications, so we would be delighted if you choose us to assist you!
If you are in a relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you qualify for a Free Assessment with one of our Registered Migration Agents. Get in touch now and book your Visa Action Plan with us!
Check out our YouTube video on that topic before applying for a Partner Visa in Australia
