The price of assisting your fiancé, de facto or married partner to obtain an Australian residence visa is getting costlier. The Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) has announced an increase in visa application charges (VAC) for partner visas. The 50% VAC increase will be effective 1 January 2015. Here are the numbers:
- Offshore provisional and permanent partner visas - currently $3085 increased to $4630.00
- Prospective marriage visa - currently $3085 increased to $4630.00
- Onshore temporary and permanent partner visas - currently $4575 increased to $6865.00
This move is expected to provide DIBP with an additional A$373.6 million over four years, for the purpose of funding whole-of-government policy priorities.
At the same time DIBP has announced a planned increase in the intake of refugees for the year 2017-18.
What Do We Think
- The significant increase of 50% in the VAC is in effect a punishment for Australian citizens and permanent residents who have partners from overseas
- There is no promise of better service or shorter process times to go with the increase in fees. Rather it is 50% higher fees at the same level of service. From the date of application partner visas currently take approximately 1 year to be granted
- Bringing a partner in to Australia to start a family and contributing to the planned population growth will be more difficult financially
(net overseas migration currently contributes to 60% of Australia’s population growth)
Source: DIBP Fact sheet 15 - population growth
- The VAC increase is similar to what Skilled Migration applicants experienced in July 2013 when fees were changed to charge per person instead of per family application. Read our previous article here
What Can You Do
- If you intend to apply for a partner visa, submit your visa application before 1 January 2015 to avoid the VAC increase
- If you need information about your current situation and to find out which visa is best for you to bring your partner into Australia, contact a Registered Migration Agent now
Source:
DIBP Website
http://www.immi.gov.au/News/Pages/increase-in-partner-vac.aspx
https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/15population.htm
SBS Website
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/12/15/govt-cash-visas-foreign-love
This information is accurate on the 16 December 2014. DIBP will change requirements in an ongoing manner and all current requirements must be established prior to lodging an application.
Do You Need Help?
At Work Visa Lawyers we are experienced in assisting applicants with the Family Migration Stream which includes Partner Visa applications. We can also assist with Skilled Migration visa applications for candidates looking for other options.
If you require further information regarding an application or your Australian visa options you can contact us through:
(08) 7225 5091 or +61 8 7225 5091
or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
