Australian Spouse Visa

An Australian Spouse visa entitles married and de facto (opposite and same-sex) partners of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens to enter and/or remain in Australia.

Applicants can apply for a Spouse visa from either inside or outside Australia and are required to meet specific requirements before the visa can be granted. An Australian Spouse visa is initially granted as a temporary visa. After two (2) years, the relationship is reassessed and if deemed genuine a permanent visa will be granted.

Australian Spouse Visa Basic Requirements

To be eligible to apply for a Spouse visa, the applicant must be either married to or in a de facto relationship with:

• an Australian citizen; or
• an Australian permanent resident; or
• an eligible New Zealand citizen.

All Spouse visa applicants must be sponsored by their partner who must be at least 18 years of age.

Marriage

To be eligible to apply for a Spouse visa as a married partner, the marriage must be legal under Australian law.

De facto

To be eligible to apply for a Spouse visa as a de facto partner, the applicant must have been in the relationship for at least 12 months and the applicant is required to demonstrate a genuine commitment to their partner. The definition of a de facto partner extends to opposite and same-sex couples.

Onshore Spouse visa applicants are required to hold a valid substantive visa and be in Australia at the time that the visa is granted.

Offshore Spouse visa applicants are required to be outside of Australia at the time that the visa is granted.

All Australian visa applicants are required to satisfy health and character requirements.

Australian Spouse Visa Entitlements

An application for an Australian Spouse visa is a two stage process. Initially a temporary Spouse visa will be granted and will be valid for two years from the date of application. After this time, the applicant's relationship with their partner must be continual and if assessed to be genuine, a permanent Spouse visa will be granted.

Successful applicants and holders of an Australian Spouse (Permanent) visa become permanent residents of Australia. Australian permanent residents are entitled to live, work and study in Australia on a permanent basis. Additional benefits of Australian permanent residence include access to government-subsidised healthcare (Medicare), certain social security benefits and the ability to apply for Australian citizenship.