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
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:
- 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!
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!
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Dear Sir,
Please advice how to apply for a parent visa 65 aged in Melbourne
Please use the assessment form on the website, and we can see if we can help you.
Hello sir,
I got a subclass 600 offshore australian visa through an agent..They give me visa grand number I downloaded it from veno sites..But at the time boarding they told me it’s not valid.they told our visa didn’t link with passport.what we will do..Do you no what’s the problem occurs it..
I don’t know your situation, but none of it sounds right. A visa grant is linked to your passport. Unless your passport details were wrong or you used a different password, it should be correct. I don’t understand what you meant about “downloaded it from veno sites”. When a visa is granted, they will email the applicant (or their agent) with a visa grant letter. The visa at this point is already activated. You don’t need to download anything. Maybe you were scammed. I don’t know.
Hi there,
we have applied for a student visa (subclass 500) 2 months ago where my wife was a primary applicant (onshore) and I was offshore applicant (Because of condition 8503 on my previous 485 temporary graduate visa). I returned to Australia immediately after applying for a student visa. Now 2 months later, my wife’s visa is granted but DIBP did not issue my visa, there is neither grant letter nor refusal letter. I am wondering if I have to be outside Australia on the day of visa grant. Can I contact DIBP directly on this matter?
Thanks and Regards,
Alex
Sorry, but I’ve had no experience with student visas
We have applied for an offshore partner visa in July 2017.
At the time I was working in PNG I am Australian Citizen and my wife of 6 years is Philippine citizen.
We have supplied all relevant documentation and police and medical certificates from both countries. PNG and Australia.
So far we have not had approval or any indication of status of application.
Today 04/07/2018 my wife received an email saying her PNG police clearance has expired so we will need to get another Police Certificate.
My contract in PNG ran out in October 2017 so we moved to Australia.
My wife is on a tourist visa for Australia and we leave every 3 months.
She has also notified Immigration that we are no longer in PNG and she has provided her Philippine address.
This is getting insane as we can get no feedback what our status is.
Nothing insane about it. It’s just how it works. They gave no assurances of sending progress reports. I mean, what application for anything at all gives progress reports? They don’t. They contact you if they need to ask something of you (as they did asking for the updated police clearance), and they update you when they’ve made a decision. They also indicate that the average processing time is far longer than 12 months. Seriously, no news is generally good news. They will finalise it when they’re ready, and you will hear from them. You just need to be patient.
I am Pakistani passport holder how can get ETA visa Australia?
We deal with visa applications from Philippines for Australian Filipina couples. I don’t get involved with tourist visa applications from Pakistan, sorry.
Hi there,
I am applying for wife partner visa application. I am a resident in australia. And currently living in australia. Though my wife is in india. She never came to australia before. I wanted to lodge her visa application from here. But i m confused with her application subclass?please advise.
This is more than a question to ask on a comments section, Mohit. Get yourself a Registered Migration Agent who specialises in partner visas from India.
Hi Jeff, I have applied for offshore partner visa (Feb 2019) and then my wife came to Australia on tourist visa. Then I applied onshore partner visa (Aug 2019). Now the immigration has asked my wife to leave Australia as they want to take a decision on offshore application. Could you please let me know if I get positive result on my offshore visa I can seek a refund for onshore application? And if so can you help, we can work on % of refund basis.
Thanks
Ankush
Sorry, I wouldn’t get involved in already submitted applications. And I don’t manage applications from India either.
Sir,
My daughter has completed my MBBS from MCI recognized medical college in India. I want to pursue my further studies in Australia and want to work there. Please guide me
You will see from our website that we only manage applications from Philippines, and we don’t manage work visas.