The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) allows you to live in Australia if you are the spouse or de facto partner of:

• Australian Citizen
• Australian Permanent Resident
• Eligible New Zealand Citizen

You must be in a genuine and ongoing relationship.

This visa is processed in two stages. The Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is the first stage towards a Permanent Partner visa (subclass 100). You lodge only one application for your temporary and permanent visas and pay one application charge. Your application is processed in two stages, about two years apart.

You must be outside Australia when you apply and also when the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) is granted. You can be in or outside Australia when Partner visa (subclass 100) is granted.

When you are granted the Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) you can enter Australia and stay here until a decision is made about your permanent Partner visa, work in Australia, study in Australia, but with no access to government funding and enrol in Medicare.

When you are granted the Permanent Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 100), you will have access to indefinite stay in Australia, work and study in Australia, apply for Australian Citizenship (if you are eligible) and can enjoy may other privileges.

It is crucial that you must live with your partner and if there is any period of separation, it must be only temporary. In most cases, permanent residence cannot be granted less than two years from when you lodge your application however there can be some exceptional circumstances when you could be granted a permanent visa without having to fulfil the usual two-year waiting period.

Other necessary requirements are:

1. Health requirements: It applies to you and all dependent family members included in your application, whether they are migrating or not.
2. Character requirements: You need to provide a police certificate from each country you have lived in for 12 months or more during the past 10 years after you turned 16 years of age.
3. Debts to the Australian Government: There must not be any outstanding debts to the Australian Government.
4. Provide biometric: It is a scientific form of identification that you might be asked to provide.