With the current Covid 19 Pandemic still in play Spouse Visas are one of the Visa types that are still able to be used to gain an exemption to enter Australia.
Since the Pandemic began Australians have been returning to Australia and bringing their partners with them.
At Taylor Hampton Solicitors, Emigrate-to-Australia we are working on Spouse cases all the time and have a very keen idea of the many and varied requirements for applications. We can assist people who are looking to apply as spouses both inside and outside Australia. This is dependent on an Exemption being gained.
The main types of Spouse application are the Spouse, De-facto and Fiancé Visas
The Australian De-facto Visa is for couples who are not married and one of the main requirements for this Visa is to have lived together for at least 12 months. There are some exemptions to this rule, but they are rare.
The Australian Spouse Visa is name of the class of Visas, but also generally the name for married couples who still need to show that they have a genuine and continuing commitment to each other. One of the main parts of this is showing that you are living together and have a shared life together. There are also some exemptions and other requirements
The Australian Fiancé Visa is a Visa for couples who have met and are looking to be married in the near future. One of the main requirements of this Visa is that the couple be married within 9 months of being granted the Visa. This is only available as an offshore Visa.
There are the Temporary and Permanent versions of the Spouse Visa.
The offshore (outside Australia) 309 Visa is the Temporary Visa that is applied for outside of Australia and you would need to be outside Australia when the Visa is granted. You can visit Australia in between though.
As a Temporary Visa it is given to applicants who can show that they have been living together for less than 3 years or 2 years if there is a child of the relationship. Once the 2 years have expired and the couple can show that they are still together they can apply for the Permanent Visa.
The Permanent Visa is the 100 Spouse this is given to applicants who can show that they have been living together for less than 3 years or 2 years if there is a child of the relationship. They then go onto a permanent Visa with a 5 years resident return component.
The Onshore 820 is a visa that is given to people who apply inside Australia but can only show that they have been living together for less than 3 years or 2 years if there is a child of the relationship. Once the 2 years have expired and the couple can show that they are still together they can apply for the Permanent Visa.
The Permanent Visa is the 801 Spouse this is given to applicants who can show that they have been living together for less than 3 years or 2 years if there is a child of the relationship. They then go onto a permanent Visa with a 5 years resident return component.
Both the 820 and 801 have long waiting periods and most people will be given a Bridging Visa A with work rights. This will happen once the visa that they were on when they applied expires. During this time if they are looking to exit Australia for any reason, they need to apply for the Bridging visa B prior to departing Australia on each occasion. This will then maintain the application and enable them to re-enter Australia.
You would need to check the current processing time as Covid-19 circumstances has seen an increase in these.
There are some main areas that you need to show when applying for a spouse Visa these are:
- Evidence of living together such as bills and other correspondence to your spouse and your shared address.
- Social Evidence such as cards and other social exchanges showing a couple interacting with family and Friends.
- Financial Commitments such as a joint bank account or purchase.
These main criteria and others make up the assessment criteria for Spouse cases.
If you are looking to make the move back to Australia as the Spouse of an Australian Permanent Resident or Citizen or Eligible New Zealand Citizen, please call Emigrate to Australia on 0207 4275290 or email enquiries@emigrate-to-australia.co.uk
