Onshore Partner Visa – Why?
Years ago we hardly ever saw an Onshore Partner Visa (also known as “Spouse Visa”). Years ago Tourist Visas from Philippines almost always came with Condition 8503’s preventing them from applying for practically anything onshore. So if you wanted to bring your Filipina lady…..wife or fiancee…..to Australia? You looked at offshore visas only. Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visas (aka fiancee visas) or Subclass 309 Partner Visas (spouse visas) for those who were already married.
Now? I can’t speak for other applications, but we haven’t seen an 8503 for quite a few years now. And probably about half of the spouse visa applications we see are onshore applications. Tourist visas now don’t necessarily need to end with Filipina girl on a return flight to Manila. It’s possible for her to marry, apply for an onshore partner visa and get to stick around on a bridging visa. And again, about half the clients who want partner visas are doing it this way. Why an Onshore Partner Visa? So the couple can be together in Australia earlier. Arrive on a tourist visa which takes a few weeks to be granted, and go straight from that to the Bridging Visa A which is issued automatically once the (ONSHORE ONLY!!) Partner Visa application is lodged and the tourist visa runs out.
Onshore Partner Visa – Good or Bad?
OK, it’s a leading title! Obviously onshore spouse visas are good, because they let you and other Australian Filipina couples get together and get to stay together. But they can have a bad side if treated without a great sense of responsibility and of urgency! The more responsibly they’re treated from the start, the less urgency……the less stress…..and the less that can go horribly wrong!
Why is this so?
Because they come with a deadline! The tourist visa will run out! And the partner visa must be lodged before that happens, or your poor little lady will find herself unlawfully inside Australia. What the Americans call an illegal alien! And you cannot let that happen. Apart from the risk of overstaying, there’s the risk of the lousy partner visa application being lodged because you never managed to get everything that we needed! “Surely not!”, I hear you say. “How could an enthusiastic Down Under Visa client not organise an onshore partner visa within three months?” Could such a thing happen? Ahhhhhhh, yeah! Far too frequently. As Jeremy said to a client earlier today, this is why we at DUV are ageing at twice the normal rate! We’ve just had a hard few weeks. Clients who left everything to the last minute. Did we lose any? No! Did we lose any sanity, and gain a few more wrinkles? Oh, yeah! And honestly there could have been some tragedies! And are the applications all as good as they could have been? Close, but honestly? No!
Partner Visas Onshore application – Key to Success
Success! You need to want this! This is your future happiness and the rock you’ll build the rest of your life on. It’s something you need to take very seriously, and not something for the last minute! Be prepared for some work, and especially for some changes and challenges.
Changes and Challenges?
Yes, changes and challenges. You will have to make some major changes, because whether you’re married or leading a de facto relationship they will be pretty dubious about your genuine spousal relationship if you onshore partner visa application shows you have nothing in place that ties the two of you together or shows a shared-life and a shared-future. Now, this is a BLOG article and not a “list of requirements”. If you’re not already our client, sign up and we will tell you all you need to know and we will guide you through. This is why you get little satisfaction in emailing me (or any other professional Migration Agent) and asking “What are my requirements?“ You don’t email a restaurant and ask for recipes either! The secret is to start in plenty of time, and take what we tell you very seriously! Saying “Oh, we can’t get that because…….” or “How can we do that when she’s not even working and earning?” or “Surely [insert excuse here] is enough?” We give you no useless tasks, and it’s not a 50% pass mark.
And strongly suggest that you avoid the word “impossible” like the plague! We promised we would give you expert guidance to the most minor degree, all with the objective of getting you through every hurdle and down to the finish line where you get your Aussie Partner Visa. Tough cases? We just work harder! There is an immense sense of satisfaction for us when we see a challenging (NOT “impossible”!) case through to the end, and we normally do this unless the client tosses in the towel and gives up too soon. Yes, we promised you our expertise! Did we promise to make this easy? Not that I recall! This is hard slog! Lots of work, and plenty of challenges. If you’re struck by a challenge? DON’T say “This is impossible!” and get annoyed. Work with us! The alternative is to give up and spend the rest of your life staring at the walls of your sad and empty bedroom! Knuckle down and work with us, and see how hard we will work for you!
They want to see evidence of:
- The social aspect of your relationship, ie you being seen as a committed couple by those around you and whether you act as a couple.
- The nature of your household, and that you act as a normal couple leading a shared life with shared commitments and responsibilities.
- The financial aspect of your relationship, and how you think and act as a couple leading a shared life rather than a couple of single people who don’t entirely trust each other.
- And the nature of your commitment to each other, and whether you need each other and care about each other and see your future together.
Everything we ask of you is for just that. It’s to show the Department staff that you have a genuine relationship and are deserving of a visa! It’s not “nonsense” or the vulgar equivalent. It’s not “too much”. It’s not “impossible”. We do know what we’re doing, and we’ve been doing this for a long time and we ask nothing of you that hasn’t been done many times before. Start early, be accurate and thorough, and be prepared to make some changes and to challenge your existing views on what you think you need to do, ie be prepared to listen and to be guided. We have a great formula and most importantly it works!
NB: This is a reposting of an edited article from 2019
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Just a timely reminder. My now ex-partner had their on-shore visa declined because the Department eventually discovered that they had lied on three Tourist Visa applications and the Partner Visa application. It took the Department almost two and a half years to discover the misinformation (13 months into the Bridging Visa and on our second review).
So never, never, never make a false declaration on any visa application or attempt to falsify documents. My ex-partner has returned to the Philippines and is now subject up to 5 years exclusion from applying for any other type of visa to Australia.
So how did they discover the false information? My ex-partner’s sister applied for a Tourist Visa and omitted some important information on their application. I’m guessing the Department has had a computer cross reference between the two applications and picked up some sort of inconsistency, then on further investigation discovered the false statements made. Needless to say the existing Partner Visa was rejected and the sister’s Tourist Visa was also declined.
Lessons learnt. Now with sophisticated computer analysis of every application not many will slip through the wire without notice or scrutiny. Please do yourself a favour and be completely honest with the information you provide to the Department and to the Registered Immigration agent handling your application.
I might add that I didn’t make any false statements in any of the applications. Unfortunately my ex-partner did. 🙁
Always helps to hear someone on the other side of the desk saying what we say every day to clients. We’re not always taken seriously, and many assume we’re making mountains out of molehills, and we’ve had times when a client has terminated our contract over our insistence that they get it rectified legally. What you say above? 100% right! Thank you! Everyone else? Please listen!
Thank you Jeff for publishing this. Nothing is worth lying about.
Unfortunately every visa that is declined or cancelled due to the applicant or their sponsor providing incorrect or misleading information only makes it more difficult for bona-fide applicants who really want to come to Australia to be with their partner, live here, study here, work here, seek medical treatment or just to simply visit Australia as a tourist.
It’s the bad actions of a few which potentially make it difficult for the many. 🙁
The rules and standards would always remain, however yes the actions of quite a few certainly leads to processing delays and increased suspicion of everyone. They must feel under attack. We insist on the highest standards, but there’s only so much we can do.