# applying for Australian partner visas



## Jac (Feb 19, 2012)

Hi all. Thanks for taking the time to help!
My partner will be applying for a partners visa to Australia. She currently lives in Norway and will be coming to live with me. Can she come to Australia on a 'visitors visa' and we apply for the 'partner visa' when she arrives in Australia? 
Would it be better to apply while she is still living in Norway and wait for the application to be processed before she comes?


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## dusty_springfield (May 19, 2011)

Hi Jac,

She definitely can apply for the tourist visa, but her tourist visa must have no "NO FURTHER STAY" condition, then she can apply for onshore partner visa. For the 2nd query, I'm a bit confused, you mean "it'd be better if applying partner visa offshore"? 

Cheers


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## Jac (Feb 19, 2012)

Thanks kindly for your help dusty. Yes that is what I mean. Is it better for her to apply offshore? 
Will she have to leave after the 3 months travel visa has expired if we are still waiting for partner visa to be granted?
Can she work straight after we have lodged the application for partner visa?


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## Jac (Feb 19, 2012)

How long is the estimated waiting time for the partner visa application to be processed? 
Does it take longer if you apply offshore (out of Australia)?

Cheers!


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## Vyktoria (Aug 18, 2011)

Jac said:


> Thanks kindly for your help dusty. Yes that is what I mean. Is it better for her to apply offshore?
> Will she have to leave after the 3 months travel visa has expired if we are still waiting for partner visa to be granted?
> Can she work straight after we have lodged the application for partner visa?


When you apply for a Partner Visa while on a different visa, you'll be given a Bridging Visa so she won't be in the country illegally. As for working, once the Bridging Visa is granted, she will have the same restrictions as the visa she was on directly before the Bridging Visa.

And to answer your second question on the next reply, generally the processing time is faster when applying offshore.

Good luck! And might I suggest looking at Booklet 1 for more information.

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1127.pdf


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## daniellejean (Feb 28, 2012)

dusty_springfield said:


> Hi Jac,
> 
> She definitely can apply for the tourist visa, but her tourist visa must have no "NO FURTHER STAY" condition, then she can apply for onshore partner visa.  For the 2nd query, I'm a bit confused, you mean "it'd be better if applying partner visa offshore"?
> 
> Cheers


I'm a little confused here, you say her Tourist visa MUST have a 'NFS" condition then she can apply onshore. If she has a NFS condition, then she CAN'T apply for another visa onshore surely? No Further Stay means she cannot stay any longer after her tourist visa expires.


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## whatnext (Aug 3, 2011)

I think a slight misunderstanding. Dusty's post says must have no No further stay.


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## Leanne (Oct 10, 2011)

If you can wait a little longer before being together it is cheaper to apply off shore and easier too. You don't want to run the risk of her visa being rejected since her intentions of coming to Australia as a tourist suddenly changed. If you have all the necessary proof of the relationship then it can be just as quick to apply off shore. I applied via Berlin without including medicals or police checks and it took 3 months. Had I supplied medicals and police checks at the start then It would have been so much quicker. 

Why run the risk if it is not necessary?


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## sbjapan (Jul 19, 2010)

*I was offshore*

Jac,

I applied offshore on April 23 and was granted a visa on July 20th - 3 months. I did not have the medical or the police reports, as my Case Officer (Hong Kong) had to give me forms for each before I could apply for them. I had already applied for my US FBI Clearance, as I knew I would need it, and that the individual must apply.

The only thing that really delayed my application at all was that I was traveling on business when the CO wanted to interview me, and then I had to wait nearly a full month until she had another slot. Otherwise, I think everything would have gone faster.

If you have clear evidence of your de facto status, and I do mean CLEAR, then it IS cheaper, as someone pointed out, and probably faster to apply offshore.

I've just sent in my 2nd Stage Paperwork, so if you want to talk more about the process, feel free to contact me.

Susan (US citizen, who worked in Hong Kong)


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## Mona Lisa (Feb 9, 2013)

Jac, it is absolutely possible to come on visitors visa and do everything from here(it's granted for 1 yr with leaving contry every 3 months- you just need to read the fine print). I have done it myself so don't listen to ppl who have no idea what's they talking about. Get her here, open joined bank account, save receipts, movie tixs, put her name on electricity bill or smth. Then 2-3 weeks before visitors visa expires complete docs for partner visa. Trick is that you need to proof 12 months 'dating period' unless you get pregnant. that's the list immigration asked me to provide. 

PART 1 – THE APPLICANT 
You should complete and bring to the appointment:
q	A completed and signed*Form 47SP - Application for migration to Australia by a partner
q	A completed and signed*Form 80 - Personal particulars for character assessment
q	An original*Australian Federal Police certificate or evidence that you have applied for this certificate.
q	An original*overseas police penal certificate for any country you have lived in for at least 12 months (either consecutively or cumulatively) in the last 10 years or evidence that you have applied for this certificate. See Form 47P*for further details
q	2*recent passport-sized photographs:
·	taken within the past 6 months
·	head and shoulders only
·	facing the camera, against a plain background and
·	print your name on the back of each photograph.
q	A certified copy of your current passport or travel document, and of all your passports or travel documents, including the one used when you arrived in Australia (including copies of the page with your details and all other used pages).
q	If you have changed your name, a certified copy of evidence of the name change (example: deed poll)
q	If you have served in the armed forces of any country, certified copies of your military service records or discharge papers

PART 2 – CHARGES
q	The visa application charge. See Form 990i - Charges*for the current charge.
Don't underestimate time to get police checks- its a pain.


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## Miss Swan (May 28, 2012)

Mona Lisa said:


> Jac, it is absolutely possible to come on visitors visa and do everything from here(it's granted for 1 yr with leaving contry every 3 months- you just need to read the fine print).


The story goes like this: applying for partner visa while one holds a tourist visa used to be frowned upon by DIAC because a tourist visa is meant for visiting and travelling, not used as a ticket for would-be migrants to come to OZ without going through official channels. BUT there has been such an influx of tourist-to-partner-visa applicants that DIAC has (I believe) sighed and closed an eye to this unusual way of staying indefinitely with our partners 

The 1st question to answer is,* do you have sufficient evidence to put together a complete application within these 3 months of your partner's stay? *No matter how long your tourist visa is (could be 6 months, could be a year), it doesn't matter because each trip only allows one to stay for 3 months and that's the only time you get to put the entire application together, unless the partner can afford another flight ticket to re-enter after 3 months.

My experience was, I did it within 2 months but it was a lot of stress and panic trying to get everything together. I'd say the more time consuming parts were the medicals (booking + taking + waiting for results to be mailed in), getting stat decs (friends & family had to think of what to write and put aside time to get them notarised), getting documents certified/notarised and the police certificates.

daniellejean, when the tourist visa expires, the bridging visa (given once application is submitted) kicks in.

And with regards to work, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe all tourist visas come with no work condition. DIAC has relaxed its rules so anyone who submits their application can start applying for jobs once he/she is on a bridging visa (which means the tourist visa has to expire first).

As for which method - offshore vs onshore - is better, there are pros and cons to weigh. Offshore is the 'recommended' official method, it is for sure significantly cheaper than onshore. The only down side to it is the partners have to be apart from each other till the visa is approved.

Onshore helps for partners who miss each other terribly and will fight against all odds (and costs) to be together. That's the major plus side. Otherwise, onshore is more expensive and has terribly long waiting times. The waiting times have passed the 13 month mark.

Hope my 2 cents' worth helps!


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## louiseb (Dec 22, 2012)

MissSwan is right in thinking that The visitors visa DOES NOT allow your partner to work in australia, the only good side about applying onshore is that your both together and remain together, offshore obviously means you will be apart for quite some time. once a bridging visa is granted you will still have the same restrictions as she did with the visitors visa. 
I believe your best bet is to contact a Migrant agent and seek a little help, im sure if Mark Northam our Mod see,s this he will help you, he is a highly skilled Agent and his advice is up to date. 

Good luck 
Louise


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Excellent post by Miss Swan! Jac hasn't signed on here in almost 12 months so not sure if he's still interested, but if you're going to go the visitor visa -> onshore partner visa application route, you really have to plan ahead and have everything in place, plus not get caught at the airport with lots of items showing an intent to stay in Australia beyond the 3-month, etc visitor visa stay and/or find work (!)

Best,

Mark Northam


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