Personal Migration

There are a range of partner visas available for applicants who wish to migrate to Australia and be reunited with their Australian partner. De facto and same sex partners are eligible to apply under this scheme.

A special temporary visa is available for those intending to marry in Australia. This visa must be lodged and granted while the visa applicant is offshore, and will be granted on condition that the visa applicant marries his or her Australian partner within a specified timeframe. Once in Australia, the visa applicant may proceed to lodge the partner visa application

The temporary and permanent partner visa scheme is available for married and de facto couples, either whilst the visa applicant is in Australia or offshore. If the application is applied for while the visa applicant is in Australia, he or she is permitted to live in Australia with their Australian partner for the duration of visa processing. The visa applicant will also be granted full work rights.

Unless the relationship meets the definition of a ‘long term relationship’, the Department will initially grant a temporary partner visa before considering the grant of the permanent visa. Generally, temporary partner visa holders are invited to provide further supporting evidence of their continued relationship with their Australian partner after two years.

Partners visas fall within a rare category of visa which applicants may apply, even if they do not currently hold a valid Australian visa. Our specialised team listen to your circumstances and tailor a legal submission to accompany every visa application. We value the importance of reuniting and keeping partners and family together, and in believing so, ensure that each application is presented to best display on paper your relationship.

The parent visa scheme allows Australian permanent residents or citizens to sponsor their parents to Australia. Upon visa grant, the parents will be entitled to live in Australia on a permanent basis, and may be eligible to access certain governments benefits such as Medicare. A fundamental eligibility criteria is that each parent visa applicant must meet is the Balance of family test. Depending on where the visa applicant is at the time of lodgement, and depending on the visa subclass, parent applicants may be required to meet the age requirement. Broadly, there are two parent visa categories, contributory and non-contributory.

Contributory parents visa, although are processed within a few years, have significantly higher application fees. The non-contributory parent visas are subject to capping and queuing which means that it may be several years before the visa is granted.

A child visa allows an eligible Australian citizen or permanent resident parent to sponsor their child to live with them in Australia indefinitely. Generally, child applicants must be below 18 years of age, and evidence to demonstrate the parental relationship must be provided.

This is the most popular skilled migration visa which allows the visa applicant and their family to live and work anywhere in Australia on a permanent basis. Although applicants of the subclass 189 visa do not require an Australian family or employer to sponsor them, there are still a number of requirements which must be met, including obtaining a suitable skills assessment, meeting the English language requirement, and being under 45 years of age.

The subclass 190 visa is similar to the subclass 189 visa, with the exception of the additional requirement of an Australian State or Territory nomination. Each year, the States and Territories designate certain occupations which are in demand for each region, and offer visa applicants State or Territory nomination to encourage regional growth and to fulfill skill shortages. Although upon grant, the visa applicant and their family may live and work in Australian indefinitely, States or Territories may require visa applicants to live and/or work in the nominating state or territory for a specified minimum time.

The subclass 485 visa is a popular visa option for many international students age 35 years and under, who have recently graduated from an Australian educational institution and who are looking remain in Australian on a temporary basis. As this subclass allows full time employment, the aim of many subclass 485 visa holders is to gain sufficient work experience to accumulate further points to apply for a permanent visa in the future.

There are three streams under which to apply:

• The Post-Vocational Educational Work stream is for eligible international students with skills and qualifications which relate to an occupation on the Skilled Occupation List, and enables them to live, work and study in Australia for a further 18 months from the date of grant.
• The Post-Higher Education Work stream is for international students, who recently graduated with a higher education degree from an Australian education provider. This stream does not require a nomination of an occupation on the Skilled Occupation list, and depending on the qualifications held, may be granted for up to 2 to 3 years.
• The Second Post-Higher Education Work stream is for those who hold or held a 485 visa under the post-vocational or post-higher education stream, having completed a qualification in an eligible REGIONAL area, and have lived in the same regional area for at least 2 years. This stream allows applicants to apply for a second 485 visa to live, work and study for up to 2 years.

The subclass 489 is a visa option for is now closed to new applications. However, this visa is still available under the extended stay pathway for those who are holding a subclass 475, 487, 495 or 496 visa.

Do note that the Australian Government have placed a very restrictive quota to the number of subclass 489 visa to be granted in any fiscal year.

The subclass 600 visa permits visits to Australia for personal or business purposes for up to 3, 6 or 12 months. The visa costs from $195 AUD, however, depending on the country of passport, there may be cheaper visitor visas available.

Limited to certain passport holders, the 601 ETA allows personal or business visits. This visa permits entry on multiple occasions for up to a year, however, each stay may only be up to 3 months at a time.

You may only apply for this 601 ETA directly through the Australian ETA application.

Although the subclass 601 visa is free, there is an ETA application service fee attached of $20 AUD.

There are a number of European countries whose passport holders are entitled to apply for the subclass 651 free of charge. Upon entry into Australia, this visa enables visits for up to 3 months within a 12-month period, however, visa applicants must be outside of Australia at the time of lodgement and grant.