Advice For Obtaining A Partner Visa In Australia
If you are an Australian hoping to obtain a visa for a partner from another country, or you are someone from another country hoping your Australian partner can obtain a visa for you to join them there, it is possible to achieve that dream, but you should understand up front that it might not be easy!
In order to give you and your partner the best chances of securing your Australia partner visa we have assembled some advice designed to prepare you for the arduous process ahead of you, and to help you say and do all the right things that will convince the government to grant your wish.
Talk About Things– You clearly are in this together, so it’s vital for both of you to be on the same page before you begin this long and sometimes emotional journey. It’s essential that you open up to each other and discuss any previous relationships, medical conditions, and criminal convictions before attempting to acquire a partner visa. Make sure you have both worked out any past issues that might come between you or impede the process, it’s much better to have it all out in the open and ironed out now rather than having it come up and create conflict during an interview with an immigration official!
Your Immigration History – If one or both of you have a poor past immigration history like overstaying visas, cancellations, or refusals, it can delay or even completely derail the processing and bring up questions about the genuineness of your relationship. It’s much better that you be prepared to answer these difficult questions openly and explain your side of the story clearly. Be sure to present your old passports and visa documents if asked, again, coming clean is going to be in your best interests.
Confirm Places & Dates – Both of you may be required to confirm the dates, places, and circumstances of important events relating to your relationship, things like when and where you first met, started dating, moved in together, proposed, became engaged and/or married, etc. It may feel a bit invasive, but the reason behind this line of questioning is to make sure your relationship is legitimate and not some kind of visa acquisition scam, there are many such and the immigration officials are very wary of them!
Make A Timeline – Sit down and work out when and where all of these events took place and write up an exact timeline of your relationship to show the official. If there are some things you aren’t exactly sure of, that you don’t remember, or a date you don’t agree on, you need to pick something and stick with it, making it a firm memory you can both retell in the exact same way when asked to! This is information that will come up again and again during the course of your partner visa application, so you both have to be consistent!
It will take some work and a lot of smiling to get through the process, just remember that your most important asset is your genuine love for each other, having that on display will go a long way to winning that partner visa! Hold hands!