What Will Be the Changes to the Partner Visa Program By the End of 2021?
In July 2021, the Government announced some critical Partner visa changes that are rumored to come into effect as of November 2021. The introduction of these new proposals aims to act as measures to support partners who may be vulnerable in society, and in turn equip them with the necessary skills and opportunities required to utilise opportunities available to them.
Two Key Proposed Changes to the Partner Visa Program
1. Introduction of an English Language Requirement for permanent resident sponsors and partner visa applicants; and
2. A new sponsorship framework requiring pre-approval of a sponsor
English Language Requirement for Partner Visa
The current Partner visa program does not impose an English language requirement on visa applicants. However, this new requirement will apply to primary and secondary Partner visa applicants and sponsors once the new changes come into effect.
Requirement:
Permanent resident sponsors to meet the English language requirements as part of the sponsorship assessment
Partner visa applicants to meet the English language requirements at the second stage of their visa process (E.g., 2 years after lodging your provisional Partner visa)
To meet the English language requirement, a person may provide evidence of functional English skills or demonstrate that they have made a reasonable effort to learn English. Applicants may choose to do this by participating in the government-funded Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) which provides up to 510 hours of free English language classes.
Sponsorship Framework Requiring Pre-Approval Before Lodging the Partner Visa Application
The partner visa process will now be separated, requiring the sponsorship and visa application to be two separate processes. Sponsors will be subject to a sponsorship assessment and must be approved before a valid Partner visa applicant can be lodged.
The effect of this new framework means that visa applicants will be informed if the sponsor has any adverse information, such as a criminal history or a history of domestic violence before their visa application is lodged. This provides applicants with the opportunity to be better informed so that they may withdraw from the process.
Sponsors will also be subject to enforceable sponsorship obligations and a breach of these obligations may result in civil penalties or being barred from future sponsorship opportunities.
In a pre-approval stage, creating a two-step process is likely to increase the processing time for Partner visas. Onshore applicants (subclass 820) in particular may be adversely impacted as they will be restricted from lodging their application until their sponsor has been approved.
If you are the Partner visa applicant, it will affect you in the following ways:
Partner visa sponsorship application will be assessed separately from the visa application – this means that you will need to lodge the sponsorship application first and wait for the sponsorship application to be approved before you can lodge your visa application.
For those whose visa is expiring and those who are looking to lodge an onshore partner visa application – if you cannot lodge the visa application you will not be granted a bridging visa A to remain in Australia.
If you do not hold a Bridging visa A (BVA) you will have to leave Australia before your current visa expires and wait for the partner visa sponsorship application to be approved first before you can lodge your partner visa application. However, even if your sponsorship application is granted, due to border closure, you will need to request for travel exemption to enter Australia (which is not guaranteed to be approved).
For more information on these proposed reforms visit: Reforms to Partner Visa Programs 2021.
How Can Agape Henry Crux Help You
If you are looking to lodge a Partner visa, we advise lodging your application as soon as possible, in particular, those whose visa is expiring.
At Agape Henry Crux, our Accredited Specialist Immigration Lawyers and our team of immigration lawyers and migration agents are well trained to handle highly complex matters. You can book one of our lawyers or agents to seek professional advice by calling 02-72002700 or email us to book a time at info@ahclawyers.com.
We speak fluent English, Korean, Burmese, Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Indonesian, and Malay. If this isn’t your language, we can also help you arrange an interpreter.
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