Visitor Visa: Meeting PIC 4011 & GTE

Can you apply for a Partner Visa, then apply for a Visitor (Subclass 600) Visa?

A Partner Visa allows you to stay permanently in Australia. On the contrary, a Visitor Visa (“Subclass 600 visa”) only allows you to stay temporarily in Australia.

What if you have applied for a Partner Visa which has not yet been determined, and want to apply for a Subclass 600 visa for the purposes of visiting your spouse or de factor partner in Australia? How can you demonstrate that you genuinely intend to stay temporarily in Australia when you apply for a Subclass 600 visa?

CASE STUDY

In the case of 1412140 [2014] MRTA 2537, the visa applicant applied for a partner visa offshore. Thereafter, she applied for a Subclass 600 visa, as she intended to visit her spouse in Australia in the meantime. The delegate of the Minister for Immigration refused her application for Subclass 600 visa. The delegate formed the view that the visa applicant was seeking to commence a permanent stay in Australia with the visitor visa and intended to remain in Australia. The Visitor visa Subclass 600 was refused on that basis.

However, upon her application for review to the Migration Review Tribunal (“Tribunal”), the Tribunal remitted her application for Visitor visa Subclass 600 to the delegate of the Minister for Immigration for reconsideration. The Tribunal acknowledges that the visa applicant clearly wishes to migrate permanently to Australia. Nonetheless, the Tribunal accept that the visa applicant has a genuine intention to stay temporarily in Australia, and that she wishes to come to Australia to see her husband, before returning to her parents in her home country to await the processing of her Partner visa Subclass 309 visa. A partner visa applied offshore which has not yet been determined cannot be granted unless the visa applicant is offshore at the time of visa grant. Neither the visa applicant nor her husband wishes to jeopardise the outcome of the partner visa application. This will act as a strong incentive for the visa applicant to abide by the conditions of any Subclass 600 visa issued to her and return to her home country at the expiry of her permitted stay.

POLICY CONSIDERATION

Further to the above, we note that the Department’s Procedures Advice Manual (PAM3) includes the following:

that applying for a Partner visa is a legitimate visa pathway; that it is acceptable for a person to apply for a Subclass 600 visa in order to be with their partner to maintain an established relationship; that the possible eventual intention of the applicant to stay permanently in Australia should not be grounds to refuse the Subclass 600 visa; and that delegates should consider the applicant’s current intentions and whether the applicant is attempting to circumvent proper migration channels

OTHER CRITERIA NOT TO BE NEGLECTED IN YOUR APPLICATION FOR VISITOR VISA SUBCLASS 600

Other than the criterion for genuine temporary stay, you are also required to have adequate means or access to adequate means to support yourself during your intended stay in Australia. Furthermore, your intention to visit Australia must be to visit an Australian Citizen, or Australia permanent resident, who is a parent, spouse, de facto partner, child, brother or sister of yours, or for any other purpose that is not business or medical treatment related.

HOW CAN AGAPE HENRY CRUX HELP

Are you having any issue in applying for a Visitor Visa?

At Agape Henry Crux, our Immigration Lawyers are well trained to handle such complex issues so book one of our lawyers to seek professional opinion now by calling (02)-7200 2700 or email our receptionist to book in a time at info@ahclawyers.com