The application process and processing times for the Australian Offshore Partner visa 309/100, Prospective Marriage Visa 300, and Onshore Partner Visa 820/801 can be very long. To be eligible for a Partner Visa you must be legally married to, or in a de facto relationship (common law), with an Australian citizen or permanent resident.

Sponsorship approval will be required for Partner Visa applications

Sponsors for family visas will be required to be approved before visa applicants can lodged an application. This will affect any visa applicatant who wishes to apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa,  Partner Visa or Parent Visa. The recent legislative changes have not yet come into effect, however, when the changes do come into effect, it will require that any Australian Citizen/ PR spouse or Australian Citizen/ PR de facto partner of a visa applicant must be approved before the visa applicant can lodge a Prospective Marriage Visas, Partner Visas onshore or offshore.

Key Terms: How to become an Australian Citizen - Permanent Residency (PR) - Work Visa - Citizenship by conferral and decent - Am I eligible to be an Australian Citizen 

The new subclass 482 TSS visa has replaced the subclass 457 visa.

This is the 10 Things you need to know about the 482 visa.

Tougher vetting imposed by Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has led migration to plummet to its lowest since 2007. As reported by the Department of Home Affairs, actual intake fell from 183,608 in 2016-2017 to a staggering 162,417 for the 2017-2018 financial year. This is attributed to a 46 per cent increase in visas being refused and an additional 17 per cent rise in application withdrawals due to the greater scrutiny, according to The Australian. Even though the government is not required to fulfil the current migration cap of 190,000, nearly every previous year they have.