Partner Visa Lawyer Sydney

I am an Australian immigration lawyer based in Sydney, acting for couples across Australia and overseas. Partner visas are among the most demanding applications in the migration system, and they carry the highest stakes of any visa I handle: your life together.

I have practised exclusively in Australian immigration law for 27 years. I prepare partner visa applications, I fix ones that have gone wrong, and I run appeals when the Department says no.

The three partner pathways

Onshore: Subclass 820 and 801. If you are in Australia, you apply once and are assessed in two stages. The temporary Subclass 820 comes first. The permanent Subclass 801 stage opens two years from the date you applied, a timing fixed by the Migration Regulations, though couples in long standing relationships can sometimes move to permanent residence sooner.

Offshore: Subclass 309 and 100. If you are outside Australia, the same two stage structure applies through the Subclass 309 and the permanent Subclass 100. Where you must be when you apply, and when the visa can be granted, are fixed by law. I make sure you are on the right side of both.

Prospective Marriage: Subclass 300. For couples engaged to marry, the Subclass 300 lets your fiancé or fiancée come to Australia, marry you within the visa period, then apply for the onshore partner visa. It has its own criteria and its own traps, particularly around where the application must be made and when.

Relationship evidence: what the law actually asks

The Migration Regulations require the Department to consider your relationship across four aspects: your finances, the way you run your household, how your relationship is known socially, and your commitment to each other.

That is the legal test. Everything else, including the evidence lists you see online, is departmental policy about how officers apply it. I build your evidence to the legal test first, then meet the policy expectations on top of it.

De facto couples generally need to show the relationship existed for twelve months before applying. The Regulations allow exceptions, including where the relationship is registered under an Australian state or territory law, or where compelling and compassionate circumstances exist. Whether an exception applies to you is a legal question, and it must be answered before you lodge.

The traps that end partner visa applications

Applying onshore without holding a substantive visa can trigger the extra criteria in Schedule 3 of the Migration Regulations. Those criteria can only be waived where compelling reasons exist, and the argument must be made properly at the time it matters.

A refusal since your last visa can bar a new onshore application under section 48 of the Migration Act 1958. Sponsorship rules limit how many partners a person can sponsor and how often. Each of these is fixable in some cases and fatal in others. The difference is knowing which, before you apply.

The family violence provisions in the Migration Regulations can allow a partner visa to proceed even where a relationship has ended because of family violence. If that is your situation, get advice early and in confidence.

Processing times, honestly

Partner visa processing times change constantly and I will not pretend otherwise. The Department publishes its current global processing times, and I tell every client the same thing: the applications that move best are complete, consistent and properly evidenced from day one. What I control is the quality of what goes in. No lawyer controls the outcome, and you should not trust one who says they do.

Refused? Time limits apply now

If your partner visa has been refused, strict time limits apply to a review application at the Administrative Review Tribunal, and they are measured in days, not months. As a Visa Refusal Specialist I analyse the decision record, identify what went wrong and put the strongest lawful case at review. Do not wait.

Why a lawyer

I am an Australian legal practitioner, admitted in December 1993, and I have practised only immigration law since January 1999. I am a Member of the Migration Institute of Australia (MMIA) and a member of the Law Council of Australia. For more than 22 years I was also a registered migration agent, until dual regulation ended for unrestricted legal practitioners in March 2021. Today I am regulated as a lawyer, with a lawyer's duties to you.

I have appeared before the Administrative Review Tribunal in more than 300 matters and provided advocacy support in more than 200 Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia and Federal Court of Australia matters.

Talk to me before you lodge

A partner visa is a two person application about the most personal facts of your life. Get it right the first time. Book a consultation from $97 at myvisa.com.au/book or call 1300 558 472. I have offices in Haymarket, Parramatta, Milsons Point, Liverpool and Newcastle, and in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.

Partner visa questions I am asked every week

Do we need to be married?

No. The partner visa covers married couples and de facto couples, including same sex couples. Different evidence rules apply to each, and the de facto twelve month requirement has legal exceptions worth checking before you assume you fail it.

Can I work while the application is processed?

Onshore applicants are generally granted a bridging visa when they apply, and most bridging visas associated with partner applications carry work rights. Your own position depends on your visa history, so have it checked.

What if my partner visa was refused?

You may have review rights at the Administrative Review Tribunal, subject to strict time limits that start running from notification of the decision. Whether review or a fresh application is the better path is a legal judgement on your facts.

How much evidence is enough?

There is no fixed number of documents. The legal test is the four aspects set by the Migration Regulations, and the answer is different for every couple. Quality and consistency matter more than volume.

The information on this page is general only and is not legal advice. Immigration law changes frequently. Verify current requirements with the Department of Home Affairs or obtain advice on your own circumstances.