Dr Visa Migration

Australian Partner Visa Documents

One of the most common questions we receive from our partner visa clients is: What documents do we need to prepare for our Australian Partner Visa application?

In this article, we will outline what documentation you need for lodging a partner visa, and also address the common follow up question, which is: Why do we need to prepare them?

Australian Partner Visa Document Checklist

Australian Partner Visa Documents

The first place you should look for what documents you need (besides booking a consultation with an RMA) is the Department (of Home Affairs) website.

More specifically:

Let’s see what they have to say.

Identity Documents

For your identity documents you will need to provide, mainly, a birth certificate that shows the names of both parents on it.

In place of that you can also provide your:

  •  Family book / household book.
  • Government-issued ID.
  •  Court-issued identity document.
  • Family census register.

If you have them, you’ll also need to provide your:

  • Current passport.
  •  National ID card.
  •  Any change of name proofs, including marriage certificates, divorce certificates, change of name documents, and documents showing prior names.

We usually instruct clients to provide as many identity documents as possible, as this is one area where it usually doesn’t hurt to give everything to the Department.

Relationship Documents

“Relationship Documents” are documents that demonstrate to the Department that your relationship is genuine.

In our Comprehensive Guide to Australian Partner Visas we call this “Documented Love” under the four pillars section.

The objective of these documents is to show the Department that you and your partner:

  •  Have a mutual commitment to each other to the exclusion of all others.
  • Have a relationship that is genuine and continuing.
  • Live together or not permanently apart.
  • Are not related by family.

You will be required to produce statutory declarations outlining your relationship story, namely:

  • How, when and where you met and progressed your relationship.
  • Relationship milestones and development.
  • What you do together.
  • Plans for the future.

Tip: If you are in a de facto (common law) relationship, you will also need to show that you have lived together for at least 12 months.

You will also have to cover other matters around the four pillars of a relationship. While there are too many document types to list here, we’ll broadly go over what you need for each pillar.

Financial Aspects

You and your partner need to demonstrate that you have intertwined financial lives – for example, joint assets and liabilities.

Nature of the Household

You and your partner need to show how your household (home life) is run, be in with shared bills, shared housework or parenting commitments.

Social Aspects

You and your partner need to show how you present yourself socially to others. This can be done through photographs and statutory declarations or affidavits from people you both know.

Nature of Commitment

You and your partner need to show how you are committed to each other. The most obvious document here is a marriage or relationship certificate, but other proof such as combined personal affairs or message/chat transcripts is usually required as well.

Other Relationships

This one should be obvious, but you both must show that you are not in any other relationships at the time you lodge your application – so if one (or both) partners is going through a divorce or separation, those must first be finalised.

Tip: There is also the matter of timeline for those leaving a prior relationship – this is where an RMA can really help you solidify your case by clearly outlining to the case officer exactly what your relationship timeline looks.

Character Documents

You will need national police clearances from every country that you have lived in for at least 12 months in the last 10 years since turning 16, including Australia.

If your origin country has military service you’ll need discharge papers as well.

You’ll also need to fill in the dreaded Form 80.

Tell Us You’re Getting Help

Even the Department recommends that you get professional help!

If you are using a Registered Migration Agent, you’ll need to also provide Form 956 to let the Department know – though to be fair, an RMA will probably help fill in this (and everything else) for you.

Dependents

If you are attaching any dependents to your application there are some extra documents you must provide.

For all dependents, you must show:

  • Identity documents.
  • Police clearances if they are over 16.
  • Adoption/parental documents.
  • Proof of education enrolment.
  • Consent from all legal guardians (usually both parents) that the children can migrate. This can be a statutory declaration, Form 1229 or your country’s equivalent.

If the dependent is over 18, you must also demonstrate proof of dependency, i.e., that they are still studying in school. This is usually done through Form 47a.

All your non-English documents also need to be translated into English by a NAATI-accredited translator. Tip: If your documents are in Thai, we can do this for you.

As you can see, an Australian Partner Visa application has a lot of forms and documents. That’s why we (and almost everyone else) recommends that you use an RMA – they’ll help you put all the documents together in a logical fashion, and help you with all those forms. If you’d like to work with us, just contact us here!

Australian Partner Visa Document Tips and Tricks from the Dr Visa Team

Australian Partner Visa Documents

One of the big no-nos of Australian visas is false/misleading documents or information. It’s one thing to “produce” evidence that is a normal and natural part of your relationship anyway – for example, getting married or taking couple’s selfies at a social gathering – it’s another to create a “bogus” document to deceive the Department with. Australia takes false documents very, very seriously – there have been cases in the media where the Department finds out about a falsified document years later and retroactively revokes all granted visas all the way up to and including Australian citizenship. False documents also trigger Public Interest Criteria 4020, which is essentially a 3-10 year ban on applying for visas to Australia.

The documents for lodging your partner visa onshore or offshore (inside or outside of Australia) are fairly similar, but there may be other considerations such as dependents, visa conditions and bridging visa timing that you need to be aware of. If you are unsure, the best thing is to speak with a Registered Migration Agent who can help you get this right the first time.

There are also other documents not mentioned on the Department’s website such as the sponsor’s documents, passport photos, CVs and academic transcripts, travel and address histories and health examination results that you may need. These will usually be specific to your case and we (or any other RMA) will need to properly understand your background and relationship before recommending exactly what you need.

It is beneficial if you are able to present your case to the Department in a logical manner. You cannot upload a jumble of documents and expect the Department’s case officers to try to assemble it for you – it must, and should, make perfect logical sense to them and be a “no brainer” for them to assess your case.

To further the tip above, you should be structuring your four pillars/relationship documents in such a way that the case officer can understand it. Remember – this person has never met you or your partner before, and you have to paint a clear picture for them of exactly what your life as a committed couple looks like. This is where the services of an RMA can be really beneficial – we know how to present cases to the Department so that they are “decision ready” and so that all the questions that case officers usually have are clearly addressed and answered, without confusion.

In Closing

There is a lot of documentation to prepare when it comes to Australian Partner Visas. And we’ll say it again – this is where a Registered Migration Agent will help – we’ll save you time and money by letting you know where you need more – or less – evidence and documentation.

We can also help with other things like national police checks from various countries and translations (for Thai) – we offer a one-stop service for all our clients.

Plus if there are “special circumstances” in your relationship like children from past relationships, prior visa refusals or your relationship is simply complex, we can help untangle it all and present it clearly to the Department for a (hopefully) favourable decision.

If you’d like help with your Australian Partner visa, just book a consultation with one of our RMAs here or contact us here.

Disclaimer

This guide contains only general information about partner visas and should not be treated as advice regarding your immigration matter, and does not create an agent-client relationship between CP International and yourself.

Have questions about your Australian visa application or status? Want to apply to study, work or live in Australia? Get in touch with the Dr Visa Team at:
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May is a Senior Consultant and Case Manager at our Bangkok office. She helps our clients work out the best way to live, study and work in Australia. Her speciality is helping craft study and migration plans for young students who are interested in eventually becoming Australian permanent residents or citizens.