New Stricter Rules for Partner Visa Applicants
According to Australian Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge, a new migration policy governing Partner Visa program will come into effect in 2021. This will have major impact on many prospective immigrants who will be applying to live in Australia permanently as a conjugal partner pf spouse of an Australian or permanent resident of in Australia.
The good news is according to the Australian Budget documents (Budget Paper No.2), the government will increase Family Stream places from 47,732 to 77,300 places on a one-off basis for the 2020-21 Migration Program year.
On the other hand, the government will apply the family sponsorship requirements to Partner visas which will mandate character checks and the sharing of personal information as part of a mandatory sponsorship application, and subject the sponsor to enforceable sponsorship obligations.
There will be English language requirements for Partner visa applicants and their permanent resident sponsors. Australian citizen sponsors will be exempted.
Applicants who do not meet the language proficiency may require to pay additional fees and /or attend English classes. Full details of proposed changes are still unclear at this moment. However, any changes will affect all applications submitted after the implementation of the new rules.
