Subclass 461 NZ Citizen Family Relationship Visas are for those New Zealand Citizens who reside in Australia on SC 444 “Special Category Visas” to bring family members including spouses and de facto spouses from Philippines to reside with them and to live a similar life to what they are leading in Australia.
Standard partner visas (Subclass 300, 309, or 820) from Philippines require a sponsor who is an Australian Citizen, Permanent Resident or an Eligible New Zealand Citizen. Eligible New Zealand Citizens are NZ Citizens who settled in Australia before laws changed on 26 January 2001. After this time, New Zealanders in Australia no longer enjoyed visa-free status and open access to social security and Medicare. Those who settled in Australia from NZ after this date were issued with a Subclass 444 Special Category Visa on arrival, and were able to work and reside in Australia but without the various Australian Government social support services.
Those New Zealand Citizen Subclass 444 holders may bring their Filipina wives, de facto partners and children to live with them in Australia with the successful application for a Subclass 461 New Zealand Citizen Family Relationship Visa. This is a 5 year temporary visa, which may be renewed when required inside Australia without having to leave.
Note that there is no “fiancee visa” option for New Zealand Citizens in Australia. The applicant must be a “family member”, which includes spouses, ie wives and de facto partners and most definitely does not include fiancees. So in most cases the applicant will need to marry their Filipina lady before applying.
And note too that this is a temporary visa, with no option to becoming a permanent resident of Australia or to apply for Australian Citizenship either. The visa may be renewed every five years before it expires, and this may be done inside Australia without needing to leave the country.
The visa holder will have full work, study and travel rights. The Filipina visa holder may not apply for Medicare though, and is required to organise private medical insurance as part of the application and needs to maintain that coverage throughout their stay in Australia.
It is possible to apply for dependent children as secondary applicants on a Subclass 461 visa.
The visa application is simpler than a full partner visa application, however it requires a similar level of evidence to prove the existence of a genuine and committed relationship. De facto partners need to also show similar levels of evidence of leading a shared-life and a lifetime commitment to each other to the exclusion of all others.
Note also that the Subclass 461 NZ Family Visa (abbreviated) is considerably cheaper (dated 2018) in Visa Application Charges than are the standard partner visas.
Please use the free ASSESSMENT FORM to see if we can help you.
DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this page is of a general nature. Informative, yes, but not a formula for preparing visa applications and should not be relied on as such. The devil is in the detail, rest assured. Australian migration law is complicated and Departmental decisions are inflexible and often final. Readers and future visa applicants and sponsors are advised to rely on professionals to ensure a happy outcome.
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hi.. just wondering how to renew my visa 461 . im 25 years old. what is the requirements?
You should complete one of our online visa assessment forms if you want a new Subclass 461, Joseph. We are professional Registered Migration agents, please note. We don’t give out free advice about how to do it by yourself.
Hi This is Kenneth Smith here, I am married to a Filipina I want to Kate her to New Zealand with me as a Partnership VISA, now what are my requirements?. Thanks Ken
I don’t deal in visas to New Zealand, sorry. The article you’re looking at is about getting a visa to Australia. If this is what you want, I imagine we can help you. You need to go to the main page (top right) and click on the link for a free visa assessment.
Note that we don’t just hand out generic lists of requirements. Firstly, there IS no “standard list”. And secondly, you need to sign up as our client first. Happy to help you after that.
Hi Jeff!
This post is very informative – thank you.
Me and my partner are currently preparing all our documents to apply for the 461 visa (he holds 444). We are currently waiting on receiving our civil partnership certificate which will arrive on the 8th of July. My current visa (600) is due to end on 17th of July, so do you think if we send our application to Sydney office via express post on the 8th will it be enough time for them to acknowledge our application and grant me a bridging visa before the 17th. Very worried that this is not enough time and unsure wether we should post the application earlier, without the civil partnership certificate and just the receipt explaining our situation? I do understand that this is a risk and we won’t be able to ‘just upload’ more evidence later on as this visa is done via post
Many thanks from Kate
Hi Jeff,
I Have heard from people around me (whom have applied for partnership visa’s) That if your partner arrives on a tourist visa, and you apply for the partner visa while they are in Australia, they are granted a bridging visa and they may stay until the decision of the partner visa is decided. If this is true, does this also apply for the New Zealand Family visa?
Salamat! Dane
They can, and yes it does apply. Please complete one of our online visa assessment forms. There’s a link at the top right hand corner.
I need to renew my 461 visa soon but since our last application my husband (NZ citizen) has now become a PR of Australia can I still apply for the 461
No you cannot. You can only apply as the family member of a Subclass 444 holder. He is no longer a 444 holder.
I was applying my 461 visa last 2020 and had my minor son as my secondary applicant. Ny son was offshore and im on shore in Australia. I was given a BVA visa while my secondary was invalid application since he is offshore. My question is, what can i do with this? How to apply him? Because i read i can add my dependent child for my 461 visa but the problem is he is offshore. Please help me and give advice what should i do?
Not something I would answer here on a BLOG page. Suggest you go to https://assessments.downundervisa.com and I can take a look
Hi steve, can my fiancee come to Australia on a 600 tourist sponser visa and if we marry apply for the 461 visa while she is in australia. I have heard sponsored tourist visas have 8503 no further stay meaning she would not get a bridging visa while they process the 461. Meaning she would have to fly back to philippines after we marry ?
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