Same Sex Partner Visas
Visa & Citizenship Lawyers are LGBTIQ+ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Intersex Queer/Questioning plus) friendly immigration lawyers who are a part of the community that you can trust.
We have placed an emphasis on creating an environment where our same-sex clients feel safe. We understand same-sex couples and are delighted to assist our same-sex clients in obtaining partner visas.
Australian immigration law provides that de-facto or married same-sex couples may apply for a partner visa.
An Australian citizen or permanent resident may be able to sponsor their non-Australian citizen partner for a temporary or permanent same-sex partner visa. A non-Australian citizen partner can be either the spouse or de-facto of the Australian sponsor.
Partner visa applications are truly extensive. The information below is a brief outline of the partner visa application process and what is required.
A spouse is a married partner, while de-facto is a non-married partner who meets the immigration law definition of de-facto.
The immigration law definition of what is a de-facto partner is detailed and is prescribed in the Migration Regulations.
The Main Partner Visas are:
- Offshore Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300)
- Offshore Partner (subclasses 309 and 100)
- Onshore Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801)
Two Applications
With a partner visa application, there are actually two applications. There is the partner visa application which is lodged by the visa applicant and there is also the sponsorship application which is lodged by the Australian citizen or permanent resident.
The 4 Pillars
Partner visa applications will be assessed against what’s known as ‘the 4 pillars’, which are:
- The social aspects of the relationship
- The joint financial aspects of the relationship
- The nature of the household
- The nature of commitment & development of the relationship
What Can Go Wrong?
Many partner visa application clients are unaware of the comprehensive detailed evidence that is required to support a partner visa application. Unfortunately, the Department of Home Affairs website does not include the policy which the Department assesses applications against (we have access to the Department’s policy).
Not supplying all of the required documents can lead to a very lengthy visa process, stress and possibly a visa refusal.
Why use Gay Immigration Lawyers?
At Gay Immigration Lawyers, we understand the importance of having your partner become a permanent resident and ultimately a citizen. Our goal is to get your partner visa application right for the first time which will save you:
- Money;
- Time; and
- A lot of worry.
When assisting clients with partner visa applications, the bulk of our work is in preparing a Statutory Declaration for the visa applicant and also a Statutory Declaration for the Australian sponsor. Our Statutory Declarations tie all of your evidence together and we aim for the Statutory Declarations to be between 14 – 17 pages each (this is not including attached evidence). Our most enthusiastic client to date managed a 52 page Statutory Declaration! A lot of time and effort goes into our Statutory Declarations.
We take care and pride in helping our partner visa clients achieve the visa result that they need.
The current Department of Home Affairs partner visa processing fee is $7,715. Our current standard partner visa application professional fees are $4,900 (plus GST if applicable).
For further information please email info@bentleyslaw.com.au or contact
03 9419 6066.