Major changes to the Australian partner visa process from 17 April 2019

[Will27]

https://www.interstaff.com.au/major-changes-partner-visa/

The Australian Governor-General yesterday proclaimed that the Partner Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) will commence on 17 April 2019. The changes may result in a more onerous and lengthier process to obtain a Partner Visa, and will particularly impact those lodging their application from within Australia.

The legislative amendment will allow the Department of Home Affairs to:

• Require the Australian citizen/permanent resident or New Zealand eligible citizen in the relationship to be approved as a sponsor through a separate Sponsorship application before a Partner Visa application can be made;
• Impose statutory obligations on approved Partner Visa sponsors;
• Provide civil penalties and administrative sanctions for the breach of sponsorship obligations;
• Require sponsors to consent to having details of their character history disclosed to the Partner Visa applicant in cases where the sponsor has a history of violence;
• And have the ability to refuse or cancel a Partner Sponsorship if the sponsor has a history of violence.

What the changes mean for Partner Visa applicants

As per our previous article announcing the changes, sponsors will be required to undertake mandatory police and character checks as part of their Sponsorship application. Now the separate Sponsorship application can be refused if the sponsor has a history of violence. In addition, waiting for the Sponsorship application to be approved by the Department before being able to apply for a Partner Visa may result in longer time-frames to migrate a partner. It is currently unclear how long processing times will take for Sponsorship applications. The new procedure will impact Partner Visa applicants in different ways, depending on whether the visa applicant intends to apply from overseas (‘offshore’) or from within Australia (‘onshore’).

Onshore Partner Visa Applications

The changes present challenges for thousands of people who currently enter Australia on short-term visas before submitting a Partner Visa application. The requirement for the sponsor to be approved first may make it more difficult for an applicant to submit a Partner Visa application onshore before their temporary visa expires and could result in the applicant needing to return to their home country to apply from overseas. The current processing time for onshore Partner Visa applications is 21 to 28 months.

Offshore Partner Visa Applications

Longer time-frames may result in a longer wait to be reunited with your partner in Australia if applying from overseas.The current processing time for offshore Partner Visa applications is 14 to 20 months.

Why the changes were initiated

According to the legislation, the purposes of the Amendment are to:

• strengthen the integrity of the program;
• place greater emphasis on the assessment of persons as family sponsors;
• improve the management of family violence in the delivery of the program;
• and facilitate a framework to approve sponsors before a visa application can be made, impose sponsorship obligations (with applicable sanctions) and allow the sharing of a sponsor’s personal information if a history of violence is present.

[rosst]

This is all about delay, delay, frustrate and hopefully piss the person off.  On the other hand the aspect of family violence disclosure is not a bad thing.  It is about time maximum processing times were introduced and a panel to approve any delay past those set times.

[reargunnerph3]

For my Thai wife to get Australian Permanent Residence it took 11 months and cost me at least A$8,500 to get it done in Thailand. The use of Australia's dodgy exchange rate drove the price up and once they got every bit of paperwork they asked for they just make you wait for a few months. I don't mind the security checks but <deleted> does it take 11 months? Now the wait can be 30 months or more.

[cranki]

Why people would want to move to that <deleted> of a country in the first place...

[madmen]

Thats a blow to Ozzies hoping to take their brides back to OZ after not being able to meet immigration criteria for retirement extensions here.

 

Better get used to it as Border control and Visa requirements gets tightened right across SEA . The good old days long gone

[ThaiBunny]

1 minute ago, madmen said:

Thats a blow to Ozzies hoping to take their brides back to OZ after not being able to meet immigration criteria for retirement extensions here.

In what sense is it a blow? All they're doing is making sure that hubby doesn't have a history of domestic violence

[madmen]

10 minutes ago, ThaiBunny said:

In what sense is it a blow? All they're doing is making sure that hubby doesn't have a history of domestic violence

Are we reading the same announcement?  Much longer waiting times both on and off shore. Since many or most ozzies dont qualify for 65k they will be forced out and need to apply from oz. If that's not a blow I don't know what is

Edited June 24, 2019 by madmen

[ThaiBunny]

7 hours ago, Will27 said:

Longer time-frames may result in a longer wait to be reunited with your partner in Australia if applying from overseas

If both spouses are in Thailand then there are no waiting times to be reunited. "In addition, waiting for the Sponsorship application to be approved by the Department before being able to apply for a Partner Visa may result in longer time-frames to migrate a partner. It is currently unclear how long processing times will take for Sponsorship applications.

Edited June 24, 2019 by ThaiBunny

[connda]

The nanny-state hard at works making it as difficult as possible to bring a foreign spouse into the country.  Now granted, sucks as it may, unlike Thailand at least you can apply to bring your spouse into the country with a path towards permanent residency and naturalization.  At least their is a path albeit one strewn with regulatory hoops.

[Jumbo1968]

I have an Ossie friend, he went to Trendy last week to get Ossie Visas for his Thai wife and son. He didn’t make an appointment, he didn’t use an Agent, they just turned up. The people in Trendy helped with his forms, paid the Visa fees and that was it.

He maintains he has done this a few times ??

[millymoopoo]

It's what we have grown to expect from Mr Potato head (he's just a throw back from the white Australia policy) and this right wing government (such a shame they sleazed their way back in with the help of other far right wing parties. They really do want to go back the the white Australia of 80 years ago, but they can't be open about that so they do it by stealth.

And sorry to say it's unlikely to get any better in the near future.!

FYI: Dutton, minister for homeland security - Mr Potato head, go google him, the resemblance is remarkable.

other far right wing parties - One nation/Palmer united.

[Russell17au]

38 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I have an Ossie friend, he went to Trendy last week to get Ossie Visas for his Thai wife and son. He didn’t make an appointment, he didn’t use an Agent, they just turned up. The people in Trendy helped with his forms, paid the Visa fees and that was it.

He maintains he has done this a few times ??

If he claims that is all it took and he walked out with a Tourist Visa (subclass 600) then he is a liar because it takes at least 2 weeks plus Trendy is only an application centre and it must go before the Australian Embassy for approval.

[GreasyFingers]

2 hours ago, cranki said:

Why people would want to move to that <deleted> of a country in the first place...

Because they are Thai.

[Jumbo1968]

Just now, Russell17au said:

If he claims that is all it took and he walked out with a Tourist Visa (subclass 600) then he is a liar because it takes at least 2 weeks plus Trendy is only an application centre and it must go before the Australian Embassy for approval.

No he was only applying for the Visas, 

[GreasyFingers]

42 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I have an Ossie friend, he went to Trendy last week to get Ossie Visas for his Thai wife and son. He didn’t make an appointment, he didn’t use an Agent, they just turned up. The people in Trendy helped with his forms, paid the Visa fees and that was it.

He maintains he has done this a few times ??

If he did not have an appointment that would have cost him an extra 687 baht. I would hate to think what their other fees are. Maybe you could ask him what he actually paid in fees.

[Jumbo1968]

4 minutes ago, GreasyFingers said:

If he did not have an appointment that would have cost him an extra 687 baht. I would hate to think what their other fees are. Maybe you could ask him what he actually paid in fees.

No more than 7000 baht I believe, he is not computer literate, doesn’t own one and doesn’t know how to use the internet.

in my case when I apply for a U.K. Visa for my partner you apply online and make an appointment, I just think it strange they can ‘walk in’ get assistance with their documents etc.

Were they fortunate there were appointments available ?

Edited June 24, 2019 by Jumbo1968
Mistake

[GreasyFingers]

5 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

No more than 7000 baht I believe, he is not computer literate, doesn’t own one and doesn’t know how to use the internet.

in my case when I apply for a U.K. Visa for my partner you apply online and make an appointment, I just think it strange they can ‘walk in’ get assistance with their documents etc.

Were they fortunate there were appointments available ?

Visa application fee $141.85. VFS are just a total rip off.

[StevieAus]

4 hours ago, reargunnerph3 said:

For my Thai wife to get Australian Permanent Residence it took 11 months and cost me at least A$8,500 to get it done in Thailand. The use of Australia's dodgy exchange rate drove the price up and once they got every bit of paperwork they asked for they just make you wait for a few months. I don't mind the security checks but <deleted> does it take 11 months? Now the wait can be 30 months or more.

Your lucky it only took 11 months we waited two years and that was about twelve years ago but the fees were cheaper and she was allowed to live in Aus on a bridging visa with no entitlements

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, cranki said:

Why people would want to move to that <deleted> of a country in the first place...

Yes we are fussy

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, madmen said:

Thats a blow to Ozzies hoping to take their brides back to OZ after not being able to meet immigration criteria for retirement extensions here.

 

Better get used to it as Border control and Visa requirements gets tightened right across SEA . The good old days long gone

Mate.....the days of a pensioner bringing the bride back easily has been over or years

[emptypockets]

6 hours ago, cranki said:

Why people would want to move to that <deleted> of a country in the first place...

Why could people afford to that...…..country...….obviously you cant