I hope that most regular Down Under Visa BLOG page readers (those interested in Australian partner visas for their lovely ladies from the Philippines) have read and understood the toughening-up that’s taken place in the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP) when it comes to the processing of your partner visa application or prospective marriage visa application both in the Australian offices and in the Manila Embassy.

November 2017 changes in Australian partner visa processing

We (Down Under Visa) received a letter a few days ago from one of the senior officers in the Australian Embassy in Manila about the issue of partner visa applications, and what they will no longer accept. It covered the same issues that we announced in our recent BLOG article.

In summary:

• Applications need to be “fully-loaded” when submitted, with all the supporting documentation included.
  • That means all relationship evidence and other documents right there at the time of application
  • And that means not thinking you can wait for the Department to send out endless reminder letters (known as Requests for Information, or RFI’s)
• And it means if the application is lodged “naked” (as the Department are calling it), they will not send an RFI letter. They will refuse the application immediately.
• And a refusal means you lose the Visa Application Charge, ie. the $7,000.00 you need to pay them.

We’ve long warned applicants not to assume they can slap together a last-minute partner visa application inside Australia, yet we still have enquirers who assume they can do just that. Sadly I can see a lot of refusals coming up very shortly if people try that one out.

Changes to PIC 4020 ie false statements and bogus documents

We had also announced the tougher stance they are now taking when there are false statements and bogus documents in a visa application. Note well that an omission of an important bit of information equates to a false statement too.

False statement and/or bogus documents will lead to a 10 year ban three year ban (*NOTE: November 2017 change from 3 years to 10 years was disallowed by the Senate in December 2017) from making any further visa applications

• This will apply to statements made in the current application AND on applications made in the last year
• This will apply to all applications granted, whether granted, refused or withdrawn.
  • That means no more dodging the issue by withdrawing the visa application
  • And it’s also retrospective. They will look at old applications from the applicant as well.

*Yes, the Senate disallowed the amendment to 10 years etc. It remains a serious matter. Please take it seriously!

So not only will an application need to be complete and decision-ready, it will need to be absolutely accurate. No room for mistakes and careless omissions of important information. Accuracy and last-minute rush-jobs simply do not go together.

No more paper application forms (47sp, 40SP) for partner visa applications

Yes, they’ve removed the paper application forms that we used to know so well before we changed over to electronic applications a few years back. If you lodge paper application forms, they’ll send them right back to you.

So thinking you can avoid the computer and send off a couple of forms that you did on the kitchen table, this won’t happen anymore. The application process has got even more serious, so you need to be 100% sure of what you’re doing.

So yes, back to what I said at the start. You need to be seriously crazy to be ill-prepared, under-skilled and to rush through a last-minute Australian partner visa application. Act in haste, and repent at leisure. At the best, enough leisure time to save up more money. At worst, maybe 3 years of repentance.