Big news coming with regards to the partner and family visas, The Migration Amendment (Family Violence and Other Measures) Bill 2016 passed in the Senate on 28 November after waiting for 2 years and is awaiting royal assent.
The final iteration of the bill is not yet available and it is not possible to accurately jot down the exact effect of the new legislation once given the final go ahead.
It is not known at the moment how far along the process of updating regulations and policy may be, adding an additional layer of questions and uncertainty to the current situation for prospective migrants. Of specific concern to many is the anticipated change that the sponsor part of partner and fiance visa application may have to be lodged and approved prior to visa applicants making their application.
The effect on those intending to lodge partner visas while onshore in Australia, especially those on visas with a relatively short validity period such as visitor visas, is processing of the sponsor application may take longer than an intending visa applicant may have onshore to apply for a visa.
Furthermore, another point to note is the genuine temporary entrant status for visitors who have already been named in a lodged partner/fiance visa sponsorship application - that application would seemingly establish that the visa applicant had an intention to remain in Australia on a permanent basis, rather than being a temporary visitor.
The effect regarding genuine visitor / genuine temporary entrant criteria on new visitor visa applications and new airport entries for visitor visa holders who have been named in a partner or fiance sponsor application but have not yet been able to lodge their own visa applications onshore is very concerning.
The Bill also intends to create additional obligations on current and future partner/fiance visa sponsors, and impose sanctions on family visa sponsors if those obligations are not met.
If you are looking to lodge your partner visa application, do not wait, contact us by email or call us on 07 3324 2600 to make an appointment.
Honest Immigrations
Greenslopes đ 07 3397 5508
Bayside Office đ 07 3822 2922
âď¸ info@honestimmigrations.com.au
đ www.honestimmigrations.com.au
đ 5b-619 Logan Road, Greenslopes
đ MARA: 0965020
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