The federal government has announced new visa concessions so that offshore family and partner visa applicants don’t have to leave the country to get their visa during the coronavirus pandemic.
Under present rules, partners who have lodged the $7000-plus offshore partner visa application must also be outside Australia just before their visa is granted.
In addition to partner visas, the changes will affect child adoption, dependent child and prospective marriage visas.
Partner Visa Australia Now Available Onshore
The temporary change is aimed at helping the thousands of partners who have been caught up in a bureaucratic tangle that has forced many to leave Australia and come back during the pandemic and take up hotel quarantine.
Government sources said partners who had visas that were about to run out would be allowed to stay in the country until changes were put in place in early 2021.
The government on Sunday confirmed there would be a “temporary concession” for partners who were in Australia and unable to travel offshore due to border closures.
The government will make temporary changes via regulations rather than a change in the law.
Acting Immigration Minister Alan Tudge said the changes would be reviewed in line with any updates to Australia’s international travel restrictions.
These are commonsense changes to reduce the impact that the travel restrictions are having on our immigration program… Importantly, this will allow a foreign national who is a partner of an Australian citizen to progress their visa without having to leave the country.
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