Understanding Your Visa

Posted on: 14 January 2020

The Australian family visa aims to unite Australian citizens and permanent residents with children, parents, spouses or close family that live outside the country. The excerpt below discusses the types of family visas and eligibility criteria, and how you can improve your chances of getting the visa.

Types of Family Visas

There are various types of family visas.

A partner visa enables Australian citizens and permanent residents to invite their fiancés, spouses or de facto partners to live and work in the country. Typically, the applicant will have to apply for a temporary visa before applying for a permanent visa. 

A prospective marriage visa is designed for people engaged to Australian citizens and permanent residents. Once you have this visa, the marriage must occur within nine months. If you wish to become a permanent resident, you can apply for a partner visa. 

A dependent visa allows Australian citizens, permanent residents or people with a student or work visa to invite dependent family members into the country. This visa is categorised as follows:

• Child visa: This allows permanent residents and Australian citizens to invite children below 25 years to live with them in the country.
• Dependent student visa: People studying in Australia can bring along dependent parents, spouses or children below 18 years to live with them as they study.
• Dependent work visa: If you have a business or migrant worker visa, you can bring in spouses, dependent family members and children below 25 years; people with a temporary work visa can only bring in their spouses and unmarried children below 18 years. 

Eligible New Zealand citizens can also apply for the Australian family visa. 

Applying for a Family Visa

Ask an experienced and licenced immigration lawyer to help you apply for your family visa. The lawyer will evaluate your situation and advise on a suitable visa. Further, he or she will help you organise relevant documents. The lawyer will also guide you on how to apply to be a permanent resident or Australian citizen. 

Below are a few tips for how you can improve your chances of approval:

• The immigration department might revoke your right to apply for an Australian visa if they realise you used fake documents during registration.
• Your sponsor must provide sufficient evidence showing that he or she can support you in Australia.
• Submit a police clearance certificate to prove that you do not have a criminal record in your native country.
• Ensure you meet deadlines required to take tests and submit documents. 

Applying for an Australian family visa can be easy with the above tips. Choose an appropriate family visa, work with an immigration attorney and observe the recommended application tips.