Offshore Visas? Onshore Visas?
Australian Migration Law is complicated. There are a huge number of visa types, all with their own rules. Fortunately we at Down Under Visa stick to Partner Visas (fiancee visas and spouse visas), Tourist Visas and Family Visas. And we know them inside and out.
Partner Visas are broken up into ONSHORE and OFFSHORE visas.
OFFSHORE means you must be offshore (ie. OUTSIDE Australia) to apply for them. And you must also be offshore (outside of Australia) for the visa to be granted.
So…..
If you have applied for one of the offshore partner visas, such as a Subclass 309 Partner Visa (spouse visa) or a Subclass 300 Prospective Marriage Visa (fiancee visa), you need to be:
- Outside Australia when we lodge the application
- Outside Australia when they make a decision (hopefully grant) the visa
- The applicant can't work until the visa is granted
- Visa applications usually take a LOT longer to be processed inside Australia
- The Government Visa Application Charge is a LOT higher
- The applicant needs to GET to Australia first, and they need a visa with no CONDITION 8503 on it! Yes, the dreaded NO FURTHER STAY! Nearly all tourist visas from countries like Philippines will have this Condition applied, so you'll be prevented from applying for an onshore visa and will need to leave anyway!
Does that mean you can't visit Australia during the application processing time? Not at all. If they are ready to finalise the application, they will contact us. We then contact you. When you return offshore (ie. leave Australia), they will finalise the visa application. Not a problem at all.
Just understand there are no exceptions. The applicant must leave the country, even if they go visit Bali or Fiji. They just need to leave the country.
ONSHORE means you must be onshore (ie. IN Australia) to apply for them. You also need to be onshore (in Australia) for the visa to be granted.
Being onshore also means you will qualify for a BRIDGING VISA so you can wait for the processing there in Australia, as long as the visa application is valid, ie. put together according to the Regulations.
Just bear in mind that:
All more reason to get professional advice from a Registered Migration Agent like Jeff Harvie from Down Under Visa!
Most of our clients (ie. 99%+) will get offshore visas. And we have ways of helping you to spend most of your waiting time together anyway.
Get a Free Partner Visa Assessment HERE!
Who are Down Under Visa? Who is Jeff Harvie?
Jeff Harvie and the Down Under Visa team have been doing this for a lot of years! Down Under Visa have brought thousands of couples to Australia from South East Asia over the years. Mostly from the Philippines, but we help increasing numbers of couples where the visa applicant is from China, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. And what this means is we see a lot of success....and we also see failures when people go it alone after talking to their mate, or their relative, or that minimal-care-no-responsibility Facebook group run by Steve and Maribeth based on their own visa application! One application, and they feel qualified to advise others! It's not even LEGAL to do that!
Want to bring your sweetheart to Australia from The Philippines, China, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia? Get a FREE VISA ASSESSMENT today! It will take you five minutes.
