Australian Permanent Residence:

Family Reunion

Family members of Australian citizens, Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens can gain permanent resident status with this program. The process can be unforgiving for unwary applicants.

Overview

The meaning of "family:"

The spouse of an eligible Australian citizen or permanent resident
A child, adopted child, parent, brother or sister of an Australian citizen or permanent resident
A grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew of an Australian citizen or permanent resident

These relationships are defined to include step-relatives. Other relatives, such as cousins, must seek to migrate permanently to Australia under the skilled migration program. For example, they could apply for the Individual Skilled-Independent Migration to Australia ("Points Test") or Business Skills Migration to Australia visa categories.

Categories of visas available to people within Australia are generally similar to those available outside Australia. In some circumstances, people who may be eligible to apply for a particular visa from outside Australia are unable to apply for the equivalent on-shore visa.

Spouse

The husband or wife partner of a sponsor must establish that (among other criterion): they have a mutual commitment to a shared life as husband and wife to the exclusion of all others; their relationship is genuine and continuing; and they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Applicants for visas as spouses of Australian citizens or permanent residents are, if successful, given a two-year* temporary (probationary) visa before they are eligible for a permanent spouse visa.

If the marital relationship ends before the grant of the permanent visa, that visa will be refused (limited exceptions apply). Should Immigration become aware that the relationship has broken down, the temporary visa may be Cancelled.

Interviewing by Immigration is common.

"At the interview, the exact words of the Immigration Case Officer were, "There is nothing I can really add to this. I don't see any reason of not issuing you with your visa today." You can imagine that this sounded like music to our ears!" -
Read what our clients have to say...»

Note: during the 2003-2004 Migration Program year 3,866 Partner visas were refused and 36,370 [including Spouse, Fiancé and Interdependent] granted (statistics provided by DIAC).

[* The two-year probationary requirement can be waived in very limited circumstances (i.e., long-term relationship of at least five-years duration or not less than two-years if there is a dependent child (other than a step-child) of both the applicant and eligible Australian sponsor partner)].

De Facto Spouses

Applicants are required to meet the same requirements as other spouses, subject to an additional requirement that the relationship has existed for a period of at least 12 months immediately before application. This strict requirement is subject to an exception where the applicant can establish compelling and compassionate circumstances for the grant of the visa, and does not apply to applicants for certain humanitarian-based visas.

Interdependency

This visa class applies to same-sex relationships. Similar requirements apply as de facto spouses (refer above).

Note: During the 2003-2004 Migration Program year 56 Interdependent visas were refused and 640 granted (statistics provided by DIAC).

Prospective Spouse (fiancé)

A prospective spouse intending to marry the sponsor in Australia, who has personally met the sponsor. Application made outside Australia.

Note: During the 2003-2004 Migration Program year 1,237 Fiancé visas were refused and 5,030 granted (statistics provided by DIAC).

Parent

A parent can apply if their child is the sponsor who has been resident in Australia for two years (limited exceptions apply), and who meets the balance of family test. Age restrictions can apply.

An applicant meets the balance of family test if the number of the applicant parent's children lawfully resident in Australia is equal to or greater than the number not so resident; or is greater than the greatest number of children of the parent who are resident in any single overseas country.

Note: During the 2005-2006 Migration Program year 536 Parent visas were refused and 4,930 granted (statistics provided by DIAC).

Child and Aged Relatives

Applicants who must be dependent on an eligible Australian relative sponsor are:

Children 18 or over and parents who are less than the age set for eligibility for the age pension under social security legislation. They must be wholly or substantially dependent on the Australian relative for financial, psychological or physical support
Children under 18 must be wholly or substantially in the daily care and control of the Australian parent

Remaining Relatives

An applicant and the spouse (if any) of the applicant must have: no overseas near-relative residing in the country in which they reside; and had no contact with such a relative -- wherever they reside -- during a reasonable period preceding the application. Together they must have three or fewer overseas near-relatives.

Overseas near-relative means a parent, brother, sister or non-dependent child of the applicant or their spouse, including step-relatives of the same degrees (for instance, step-parent, step-brother/sister). A very strict test also applies as to the meaning of contact with relatives in another country.

Orphan

An applicant must be unmarried, under age 18, related to an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and able to establish that either parent cannot care for them because each of them is either dead, permanently incapacitated or of unknown whereabouts.

Care Givers

This category requires that the applicant is a relative of an eligible Australian sponsor who has a certified medical condition; because of the medical condition the person has and will continue to have for at least two years, a need for direct assistance in attending to the practical needs of daily life.

Under this category, a sponsor may also be a resident requiring assistance in caring for another person. In this case, the sponsor has a permanent or long-term need for assistance in providing the direct care, and the assistance cannot reasonably be obtained from any other relative already resident in Australia; or from welfare, hospital, nursing or community services in Australia. The applicant must be willing and able to provide to the resident substantial and continuing assistance of the kind needed.

Do it Right the First Time

A person who falls within one of the degrees of relationship to an Australian citizen or permanent resident is not automatically eligible to migrate to Australia. Eligibility for preferential family visas are closely scrutinised and highly regulated. The classes of people eligible are narrowly defined.

A large percentage of migration applications are unsuccessful. For example, offshore migration requests for 1998 - 1999 resulted in 31,525 visas refused with only 52,798 visas granted the same year (statistics provided by DIAC: family, skilled, business programs).

For the 2003-2004 Family Migration program 8,734 family visas were refused (not including skilled and business).

The obligations on sponsors can be heavy, too, as they can include the payment of substantial sums as bonds, which can be forfeited in certain circumstances - for example, if the visa holder relies on the Medicare or Social Security systems in Australia within the first two years of their arrival.

It is necessary to carefully examine each individual's circumstances in order to determine whether they are eligible to apply for a particular visa and their prospects of success in that application. Professional guidance is strongly recommended for this category.

Avoid taking unnecessary risks, and save time and expense by working with Beyderwellen & Company. Complete our Online Australian Immigration Assessment Form to discover how you can migrate to Australia: Get more in-depth answers and start to move forward today.

View our sample Client Case Studies to see how our clients have successfully migrated to Australia.

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Having my permanent residence to Australia approved in 3-days was an exceptional result. For this result brought about by the skill of Beyderwellen & Company I will always be grateful. Thank you.