[sabrina1258]

Hi, I've just received an email from my migration agent that the Family Violence Bill has passed? How long can we expect for character assessments for sponsors to take? When does this START to affect partner visas? I have a student visa that will expire in March and I wanted to apply for an onshore partner visa. This is all scary change for us.

 

[BMHansen]

yeah was planning to do an onshore around May...... always seems they want to keep people waiting longer and longer!

 

[Constance]

Is this the August 2018 amendment?

 

[sabrina1258]

I don't think so, as far as I know this bill passed on the 26th/yesterday.

 

[PrettyIsotonic]

In case it helps:

"The Family Violence Bill has been passed in the Senate. This is going to mean a big change for the partner visa program.

If you have already LODGED your application - relax. It will NOT affect you.

If you have NOT YET LODGED.... read on. This is super important.

WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The new legislation will make sure sponsors who have a criminal history and/or a history of family violence will find it very difficult to sponsor a visa applicant for a partner visa.

It may mean that your partner is not able to be sponsored at all AND they may not be able to come to Australia to live with you.

For couples who are planning on lodging an ONSHORE partner visa regardless of if the sponsor has a criminal history or not, they will not be able to lodge a partner visa UNTIL sponsorship is approved. This means that if you have a visa that is expiring and you are planning on lodging a partner visa soon - then you may be delayed in lodging and may need to leave Australia if you cannot lodge the partner visa before the expiry of your current visa. "

Source:
https://www.freedommigration.com/ - 28/11 Email Newsletter

 

[sabrina1258]

This is the same email I received from my migration agent haha. I am just hoping at this point that for those with no criminal backgrounds, approval time doesn't take ages.

 

[Eh?]

This is the same email I received from my migration agent haha. I am just hoping at this point that for those with no criminal backgrounds, approval time doesn't take ages.

That's exactly it. If you don't have a criminal background, hopefully it's a smooth and easy process.

 

[CCMS]

We don't know exactly when this is going to affect new applications ( I just lodged two this afternoon and bridging visas were granted immediatey), but my advice would be to lodge now, if you currently meet the requirements, and not wait, especially if you are in Australia on a temporary visa.

 

[englishkoala]

We don't know exactly when this is going to affect new applications ( I just lodged two this afternoon and bridging visas were granted immediatey), but my advice would be to lodge now, if you currently meet the requirements, and not wait, especially if you are in Australia on a temporary visa.

This is scary! I was planning to lodge in 1 month but looks like I might have to rush the application through ASAP and upload the rest as I go, like the form 888 are taking a while!

If I lodge in 1 weeks time, do you think i'll miss the chance?

 

[Riley]

From AAP:

It will be harder for people with a history of domestic violence to sponsor a partner visa under changes to migration laws which have passed the Senate.

More than two years after being introduced to parliament, legislation finally cleared the upper house on Wednesday to put more emphasis on sponsors' character.

The changes also ensure visa applicants are aware if their sponsor has a history of violence.

Under the existing regime, full character checks are a mandatory requirement for all visa applicants but sponsors are only required to provide police checks where a minor is included in the application.
The changes extend the grounds to refuse a visa for people with a violent criminal history.

When he introduced the bill in 2016, Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said the government had made it very clear domestic violence was not acceptable under any circumstances.

The government passed an amendment to ensure the parent visa would not put additional burden on Australia's healthcare system.

If someone sponsored for a parent visa does not cover their own health costs while in Australia, the sponsoring child will be liable for the outstanding debt.

 

[CCMS]

This is scary! I was planning to lodge in 1 month but looks like I might have to rush the application through ASAP and upload the rest as I go, like the form 888 are taking a while!

If I lodge in 1 weeks time, do you think i'll miss the chance?

I am no expert on the fineries of the parliamentary process. I copied the following from "Migration Law Updates":

The Bill will return to the House of Representatives for a vote. If the Bill passes the House without any amendments, it should receive the Royal Assent and become law, after which the drafting of prescribed regulations will be necessary to give it practical effect.

So it may take a while, especially with all the other political turmoil going on.

But as I said before, if you meet the requirements, no point in waiting.

 

[englishkoala]

I am no expert on the fineries of the parliamentary process. I copied the following from "Migration Law Updates":

The Bill will return to the House of Representatives for a vote. If the Bill passes the House without any amendments, it should receive the Royal Assent and become law, after which the drafting of prescribed regulations will be necessary to give it practical effect.

So it may take a while, especially with all the other political turmoil going on.

But as I said before, if you meet the requirements, no point in waiting.

Thanks. I just checked now and it looks like it's been passed today by the house. Next step before it becomes law seems to be: "Final text of bill agreed to by both the House of Representatives and the Senate which is presented to the Governor-General for assent".

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...slation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=r5688

 

[alan34]

Wow!
I knew this was in the pipeline but can't believe it happened just before my partner and I were going to lodge.
Migration agent contacted me this morning and suggested we lodge tomorrow morning. Just finalised everything.

 

[englishkoala]

Wow!
I knew this was in the pipeline but can't believe it happened just before my partner and I were going to lodge.
Migration agent contacted me this morning and suggested we lodge tomorrow morning. Just finalised everything.

I checked for a kind of "related" family and violence change and it took 9 days for the attorney general to ascent. Really hoping this change isn't assented in lightning speed, like tomorrow!

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentar...slation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1109

I'm trying to rush mine to an acceptable standard now, really hoping I can submit within a week. Was yours completely finished?

 

[alan34]

I checked for a kind of "related" family and violence change and it took 9 days for the attorney general to ascent. Really hoping this change isn't assented in lightning speed, like tomorrow!

I'm trying to rush mine to an acceptable standard now, really hoping I can submit within a week. Was yours completely finished?

We've been preparing for just under five months so thankfully it was almost done. Could have done it a lot quicker but there's so much involved.
We had gotten a little bit lax so are still waiting on AFP checks but the agent has informed us we can attach these after lodgement.
Have you got a migration agent? I reckon with their help you can get it together quickly as they know all of the pitfalls. It'll be full-time over a week though.

 

[englishkoala]

We've been preparing for just under five months so thankfully it was almost done. Could have done it a lot quicker but there's so much involved.
We had gotten a little bit lax so are still waiting on AFP checks but the agent has informed us we can attach these after lodgement.
Have you got a migration agent? I reckon with their help you can get it together quickly as they know all of the pitfalls. It'll be full-time over a week though.

I don't have a migration agent, sadly probably not going to have time now. There's nothing too out of the ordinary with our application, just a big tonne of evidence so hoping we'll be okay.

Did you guys have wills made for each other? We are thinking to make them but they will have been attested just a couple days before application.

 

[alan34]

I don't have a migration agent, sadly probably not going to have time now. There's nothing too out of the ordinary with our application, just a big tonne of evidence so hoping we'll be okay.

Did you guys have wills made for each other? We are thinking to make them but they will have been attested just a couple days before application.

Most migration agencies will do paid consultations. I know time is tight but I couldn't recommend it more as I really am no expert. I just know our case really.
We haven't had wills made. Our relationship is registered and we produced a lot of evidence spanning five years, photos, airline tickets, bills in both names, joint bank statements, joint assets, travel itineraries and of course the endless forms that are required.

 

[Jimmy875]

When will Home affairs require this new check, does anyone know yet?

 

[PrettyIsotonic]

I don't have a migration agent, sadly probably not going to have time now. There's nothing too out of the ordinary with our application, just a big tonne of evidence so hoping we'll be okay.

Did you guys have wills made for each other? We are thinking to make them but they will have been attested just a couple days before application.

Just my unsolicited 2 cents here: given the price and subjective nature delegates have in assessing partner visa evidence, I would run a partner visa application by a MARA agent for them to review and point out any weak spots / affirm the overall strength of the application.

Of course not all MARA agents are equal - just as not all doctors build the same confidence (some were top of their class, some were bottom) - find one that you feel complements what you need

All the more important if you feel you have to quickly put together evidence to pre-empt a legislative change.

I've been pouring over AAT decisions (primarily 820/801) - and there are so many that get remitted back to the department where the primary reason they were refused in the first place was due to the poor presentation of evidence.

Roughly 50% of partner visa applications in 2015-2016 / 2016-2017 that did not use a MARA agent, were refused.

Source: https://www.australiaforum.com/visa...igh-commission-new-delhi-140.html#post1921897

 

[Riley]

The govt is scrutinising all partner visas quite closely. This article was published 29/11/18:

Sham marriages on the rise as people try to get Aussie visas
by
ANTHONY GALLOWAY, National Political Reporter, Herald Sun

The number of foreign fraudsters trying to obtain partner visas to allow them to stay in Australia has more than doubled in just two years.

Bogus relationships and fake *marriage and birth certificates are being uncovered at an alarming rate.

In the past four years, 1500 foreign nationals have had applications for partner visas rejected after being caught out lying or with fake papers.

In 2015-16, 278 applications for the sought-after visas were rejected. But by 2017-18, that total had soared to 668, *according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information laws.

The revelations come weeks after the Australian Border Force shut down a fake-marriages syndicate.

Foreign nationals who have had *partner-visa applications recently *rejected include:

A WOMAN accused of paying $80,000 to a man to enter into a fake marriage, who later admitted she was pregnant to a different man;

A MELBOURNE resident whose short-stay visa was running out, who then married a man with Australian residency who was living abroad; and

A MAN who came to Australia on a fake passport and who then tried to obtain a partner visa.

For three years, authorities have been using a new hi-tech system to identify those taking *welfare *payments as singles, despite sponsoring overseas partners.

The migration claims and welfare history of tens of thousands of *people living here on partner visas have been examined under the data- matching program.

Partner visas cost about $7000 but remain extremely popular, with thousands of applicants waiting to be processed at any one time. Border Force and other investigators are rigorous in their interviews to establish that *relationships are genuine.

A spokesman for the Department of Home Affairs said authorities investigated all allegations of fake relationships and marriage scams.

“Fraud can *include false or misleading information provided by an *applicant or sponsor, document fraud such as bogus marriage or birth certificates, or identity fraud,” the spokesman said.