September 30, 2021

Upcoming Changes to Australian Partner Visa

The government has announced that it will implement later this year reforms to strengthen the partner visa programs later this year.

These include:

introduction of an English language requirement for permanent resident sponsors and partner visa applicants;

and

a framework that requires disclosure by the intended sponsor of information relating to domestic and family violence and other serious offences

What does it mean?

1. English language requirement

This is a new requirement added to the partner visa, as previously the English language requirement was not needed. The sponsor and the applicant will have to prove the functional level of English and have made reasonable efforts to learn the language.

The Adult Migration English Program (AMEP) enables applicants to complete 500 hours of free English language classes. The exception for this condition will apply to passport holders of English-speaking countries: Australia, Canada, UK, New Zealand, USA, and Ireland.

2. Applying the sponsorship requires new sponsors pre-approval

This means that the Partner visa application will be split into two steps, requiring the sponsor to lodge their application first. Once approved, the Partner visa application can be lodged.

Under the existing framework, both the sponsor and visa applicant can lodge their applications at the same time. These changes will also include legal obligations on sponsors.

For partner applications lodged while the visa applicant is in Australia, Immigration’s current processing is 23 – 30 months but with professional advice and assistance this timeframe could be reduced.

If you need help with your Partner Visa, contact E-Help Consultant; our migration team has the expertise to help with all aspects of your application.