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Australia Immigration: Changes in Partner and Prospective Marriage Visas
Important changes were introduced to the Partners and Prospective Marriage visa applications for Australia immigration effective November 18, 2017. The changes were mooted at the national conference of the Migration Institute of Australia (MIA).
Partner Visas
A Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) lets the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, live in Australia. The applicant initially receives a temporary visa (subclass 820) until the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) is processed.
Prospective Marriage Visas (PMV)
A Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) lets people come to Australia to marry their fiancé. Once an applicant is granted this visa, he/she must get married and apply for a Partner visa before the PMV expires. The PMV allows the holder to travel to and stay in Australia for up to nine months.
Changes to Partner Visas and PMV
The following changes have been introduced to Partner Visas and PMV effective November 18, 2017:
- All applications for Partner visas and PMV have to be lodged online.
- The paper applications received after November 17, 2017, will be considered invalid.
- Incomplete or poorly documented applications with insufficient information may be rejected without notice or the applicant may be requested to share more information.
- If a natural justice letter has been sent to the applicant, follow up or reminders will not be sent.
- For applications lodged before November 18, 2017, the applicant will be given only one opportunity to provide additional information or respond to a natural justice letter.
These changes were introduced by the Australian Government in order to tackle the delay in the processing time of visa applications caused by incomplete and inadequate visa applications. The government aims to free departmental resources to address the processing backlog and improve the current processing times.
The Australian Department of Immigration has also made it clear that it will prioritize well documented and low-risk applications in 2017-18.
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To explore your Australian immigration options, please contact us.
