100 VISA

• You must be at least 18 years of age or more when you apply for this visa.
• You must be in a de facto relationship or married to an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen.
• For couples who are in a de facto relationship, the relationship must have existed for at least 12 months immediately before you apply for the visa.
• The 12-month requirement will not apply if you have registered your relationship with an Australian authority such as a registry of births, deaths and marriages
• Your partner is your sponsor.
  Meet health and character requirements.

The current average processing time for this visa is between 21 months to 32 months, but it can take a longer time processing if you don’t provide a strong application. It is important to ensure that you have provided all the documents required and fill out the application correctly so that your partner visa application can get approved by the Department of Home Affairs.

If you are granted a permanent partner visa (subclass 100), this visa will be valid for 5 years from the date of the grant. When you hold this visa, you can stay in Australia indefinitely, travel to and from Australia as many times during the 5 years of visa grant.

You can work and study in Australia and enrol in Australia’s public healthcare scheme such as Medicare.

You can also apply for Australian citizenship if you are eligible. You can also sponsor the other relatives for permanent residency if they are eligible.

Before your permanent partner visa expires, you need to extend this visa by applying for a Resident Return visa (subclass 155) so you can re-enter Australia as a permanent resident.

While you hold a temporary partner visa (subclass 309) The Department of Home Affairs may refuse your permanent partner visa application if you are unable to demonstrate that you and your partner are still in a genuine and continuing relationship.

That’s why it is important during the 2 years period that you and your partner gather all the documents required for this visa and continue to meet the relationship requirements.

1. When my temporary partner visa application is granted, can I directly fly to Australia?
   • Sure you can. And you can start living in Australia, apply for Medicare, study, and work.
   • But please kindly recheck the condition in your grant notification letter.
2. Is there any sponsorship limitation?
   • Yes, it is. The sponsor can only sponsor a maximum of 2 partners during their lifetime.
   • If the sponsor has previously sponsored another partner, they need to wait at least 5 years since the date of their first visa lodgement.
   • If your partner was granted the partner visa by themselves, they would need to wait at least 5 years since they lodged their previous visa.
3. What would happen if my sponsor died during my visa application process? Does that mean my visa got cancelled?
   • If your sponsor dies during the visa process, you may still be granted your visa.
   • Before that, you need to inform the Department regarding this information. You need to provide evidence which shows your relationship will continue if your partner is still alive and you have developed close business, cultural or personal ties in Australia.
4. What if my relationship has ended? What should I do with the application?
   • You need to notify the Department that you are no longer in a relationship with your partner.
   • As an applicant, usually, you will have 28 days to comment and provide additional information as to why your visa should be granted.
   • If you are the sponsor and would like to no longer want to sponsor your partner, you need to write the letter to the Department stating that you don’t want to sponsor your partner and would like to withdraw the application.
5. I got my partner visa refused, what should I do and will I get the refund from it?
   • There are many reasons causing a refusal but the most common one is insufficient documents.
   • If it is refused, unfortunately there’s no refund. You need to decide whether to appeal, or to apply again. When you appeal it, the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) will review your partner visa application again.
6. How much it will cost me to apply?
   • The visa fee for the main applicant is AUD 7,715. The fee for additional applicant over 18 years old is AUD 3,860 while the additional applicant under 18 years old is AUD 1,935.
7. Can I apply this visa inside Australia?
   • Unfortunately, no. This 309 visa is designed to apply from outside Australia. Therefore, you would need to be offshore when you apply and when the Department gives you the decision.
   • If you would like to apply for onshore, you may consider to apply the visa subclass 820.
8. Can I include my family members?
   • Yes, you can. Your family members would need to meet the character and health requirements as well.
9. How long is the processing time for this visa?
   • For the stage 1, which is the visa subclass 309, it may take between 17-25 months, while the permanent stage (subclass 100) can take between 17-23 months.
   • It depends on each person’s circumstances. If you don’t fill the information correctly, the processing time might be longer.