If you have been in an exclusive relationship with your partner for at least 12 months, you may be eligible for an interdependency visa. You would be sponsored by your partner for a period of 2 years. After this, if the relationship was still genuine and continuing, you would be eligible for permanent residence.

Visa Conditions and Duration

Once your initial application is granted, you will be issued with an Extended Eligibility Temporary Visa. This will allow you to stay in Australia for 2 years and you will have full work rights during this period.

If you have been in the relationship with your partner for five years or more at the time of application, the two year waiting period for permanent residence may be waived.

After the two year period, you will be entitled to apply for permanent residence in Australia provided that your relationship still continues. In some circumstances, you may be eligible for permanent residence even if the relationship has broken up before the end of the 2 year period. These circumstances include:

• If your partner has died during this period; or
• If you or your dependents have been subject to domestic violence during this period

Visa Criteria

In order to be eligible for a interdependency visa, you must meet the following criteria:

1. you and your partner have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of any spouse or any other interdependent relationships
2. your relationship is genuine and continuing; and
3. you and your partner live together, or don’t live separately and apart on a permanent basis.
4. you and your partner have been in an interdependent relationship for a period of 12 months immediately preceding the date of application, unless there are compelling or compassionate circumstances. These include where applicants can establish that cohabitation was not legally permitted in the country in which they had lived during the 12 months.
5. generally, you both need to be aged 18 or over.
6. you must pass health and character criteria.

How do I apply?

You may either be in Australia or overseas when applying for a interdependency visa. There are advantages to applying from within Australia. Depending on the circumstances, you may wish to employ the services of a migration agent. Please contact us for advice on obtaining a interdependency visa.