Having any Australian visa refused is bad. No question about it. Visa refusal is heart-breaking. But I can think of very few things worse than spending all that time……literally years!…..bringing your Filipina wife from Philippines to Australia, and getting down to the point of being entitled to a permanent partner visa….and then getting it refused! Australian Filipina couples nicely settled in Australia, possibly with kids and mortgages, and it all comes crashing down.
Now, the reality is that you remain on the Temporary Partner Visa, be that an offshore Subclass 309 or an onshore Subclass 820, until they make a decision on the Subclass 100 or Subclass 801. Whether it’s a visa grant or a visa refusal, the temporary visa ceases when they make their decision. If they grant it, the permanent partner visa takes the place of the temporary partner visa. If they refuse it, they also refuse the temporary visa.
Australian Permanent Partner Visas
This is obviously the goal for all Australian partner visa applicants. You want your Filipina wife or fiancée or partner to eventually have permanent residency in Australia. PR, as it’s sometimes called. It gives her the right to remain in Australia for the rest of her life. And she would have to do something pretty terrible for them to cancel it.
However, the risk is complacency. The Aussie’s worst habit, arguably. We live a fairly non-threatened life compared to many places in the world, and we generally go through life feeling bulletproof. I covered this last year in a BLOG article about the Permanent Partner Visa stage and what must be done for it, and I hope everyone has read and understood that. Great danger to assume you will just get this as a formality.
Yes, you have applied for the permanent partner visa at the same time as applying for the temporary partner visa. It’s a combined application. However, they will assess the permanent visa 2 years (approx. after the actual application) to see basically whether you both did the things that you said you would. They want to see if your genuine relationship has in fact been firmly in-place, or were you just telling stories!
Partner Visas – A Sad Story
I’ve had a couple of clients (to my knowledge) have their permanent partner visas refused. They did their own applications, and the impression I got was they were a little too relaxed about it. This is one of the reasons that we started offering to manage permanent applications. Plus, the Department (in their dubious wisdom) decided to stop informing clients when the permanent visa was ready to be finalized. A bit scary. And let me explain why.
As I said above, if the permanent partner visa is refused, the temporary one is refused at the same time. And that gives you 28 days to lodge an appeal or for the former visa-holder to leave the country.
Well, a professional colleague yesterday was chatting to me about a predicament that a client of his had found themselves in. If any of you think this is “just a job” for Registered Migration Agents (RMA’s), please think again. For most of us, this is a vocation. “Not caring enough” is rarely a problem for us. “Caring too much” is far more common. And yes, in this case my colleague was pretty cut-up about this. Wasn’t his fault, but it meant a family torn apart and a child who cries for Daddy every night! Not so easy to take.
The couple made the mistake of not telling the Department their new address. Remember how we always say you need to tell the Department immediately if you change contact details? Well, they didn’t. The Department couldn’t find them, and several years had gone past since they needed to finalise their Subclass 801 visa. So they refused the 801, which effectively also cancelled the Subclass 820. The former visa holder was overseas when this happened, and this means he’s stuck there and can’t get back!
Visa Applications – Take Them Seriously!
Never take a visa application lightly! Never assume that this is all easy, and that the laid-back easy-going dudes in the Department will be OK with whatever you send. They can and do refuse people. They just left a husband and father stuck in another country away from his family. They have a job to do, and the basis of visa grants and refusals is written in law and rarely flexible. They couldn’t contact the client. They couldn’t finalise the application. They refused the 801, and that led to the cancellation of the 820 too.
Partner Visa Golden Rules!
- Don’t try to submit a half-@&$ed partner visa application, be that Prospective Marriage Visa, Temporary Partner or Permanent Partner. Don’t short-change them. Don’t take the “near enough is good enough” approach, or the only thing near-enough will be the Departures at the airport.
- If you change contact details, inform them immediately. Form 929. Registered Post.
- And watch the calendar (YOU…not us)! Never ignore those important dates, be that dates to enter by, dates that visas expire, and never forget the date you applied for a temporary partner visa.
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Hi Geoff
In a former posting you covered the application of a permanent visa following two years of a provisional visa and stated that Down Under Visa would assist and apply for the permanent visa to any clients that have applied through Down Under Visa. I sent a message to Down Under Visa asking for their help and assistance sometime ago but received no reply, so I am trying to apply myself. My point is please don,t offer these services to your former customers if you do not want to fulfil you offer. Was very happy with Down Under Visa and have recommended you to other couples but disappointed in your follow ups.
Regards
Russell & Roxanne
Russell, sorry but I haven’t had an email from you since early 2016. I never ignore clients. And you were always an absolute pleasure to deal with, so I would have been fairly enthusiastic to help you.
Emails go missing sometimes. Emails go into SPAM. Emails get stopped at the ISP itself. I can assure you I received nothing, and did not intentionally ignore you. I have no reason to. I’ll email you now.
Hello I got refused on 309/100 visa giving not genius relationship. I have 2 daughters with my partner. One 3 year old and second 1.5. I could understand them. They refused me giving same resign on 600 visitor visa. I think it’s totally unfair with me. They believe there no money exchange things in us as a partner. I’m overseas and was asking them to grant visa so I can stay with and help my family. I don’t know what to do now
Can please get a advise?
When i was there when im on tourist visa i applied twice for extensions of my tourist visa but it was denied twice because they explain that the genuine tourist is has to go back to their country before will be eligible to another tourist visa again and when i came back over here in the philippines after 2 months i applied for tourist visa again but it was denied again because of they said i didnt meet the criteria of a tourist visa and also because of lack of documentations to be eligible for a tourist visa subclass 600 is it possible that theres a effect or impact of having tourist visa refusals if im going to apply for partner visa ?
They will look at the refusals, Jomar. That should be expected. If you had lied, or if you had submitted bogus documents, or if there was something very suspicious in your behaviour, yes you would expect possible problems. However if they were simply not convinced, then this shouldn’t cause an issue. They will concentrate on the application that they are now working on.
Please help.
My wife left me 1/12/17 she’s on an 820. Dec 2017 she went to hand in papers for 801 and was told she can’t submit due to our separation. It’s been over 2 months now she won’t take my calls or txts to repair our marriage. I email immigration of our situation I believe they have been in touch with her and she has now taken a bs avo out on me without cause or any real reason. She clean the house out when she left and has a car in my name on a loan. She has no interest in coming back to the marriage and I have no idea where she’s living either. I need help ASAP especially in regards to the avo. As far as I no the 801 is now cancelled what about the 820 and what happens now to her can she still stay or will she go. She tried to get me to lie to immigration which I won’t do and I told em that. Honestly I love my wife and don’t wanna see anything bad happen to her but she’s made her choice but it’s left me heart broken and on several medications due to anxiety and depression about all this please help me email me any time thanks I need advise. HELP
If you are separated it’s not your choice as to what happens to her visa. She is there based on her having a relationship with you. If you separate, you are required by law to report this to the Department. You should do this. Re AVO’s and property? Go and see a lawyer. Protect yourself.
If my 820 is refused can I get a refund for my 801?
Paying 7700+ is for both 820/801 right? And need to pay both at the same time. So if 820 is refused, I think they should refund the partial amount of what I paid that is for 801. I think it only makes sense because they will no longer process my 801.
What do you think Jeff?
Whether it makes sense to you or not, they won’t refund it. They never do.