Can You Apply for a Partner Visa While on a Visitor Visa?

In short: False. At time of writing, there’s not enough to substantiate this rumour/concern. If you are in Australia on a Visitor visa, as long as you don’t have a No Further Stay condition, you can apply for a Partner visa.

Full story:

Due to the complex and uncertain nature of immigration laws, rumours sometimes get started based on some small once-off event or incident, and often don’t take into account the full context of the situation.

There is currently no substantial evidence to suggest this rumour is true.

It’s often best to wait until the government make a public announcement about certain intentions, before you need to start worrying about it. Even then, it will take many more months for legislation to be drafted and passed through government to take effect. And even after laws have been passed, when the new changes will be implemented is another question (remember the Partner visa sponsorship changes? More on this later).

Having said this, you should be wary that Immigration will likely refuse a Visitor visa application (or deny entry at the airport) if you show that you intend to apply for another visa once you’re in Australia.

Wait, if you’ll be refused entry to Australia on a Visitor visa if it’s clear your intention is to lodge a Partner visa afterwards, then how has everyone else been able to do this same thing in the past?

For the Visitor visa, one of the key criteria is that you have a genuine purpose to visit Australia. So it’s important that you communicate to Immigration your primary purpose of visiting Australia, e.g. visiting family/friends, coming here for a holiday, etc., while not showing any intention to remain further in Australia afterwards. However, it’s possible to change your mind about not applying for another visa once you’re in Australia.

Want to come to Australia ASAP? Not sure if you should get a visitor visa first before applying for a Partner visa?

Depending on your nationality, visitor visas can be notoriously tricky to get. We’ve also found that Immigration is also becoming more strict lately with the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement for visitor visas.

💡 Recommendation: Depending on the status of your relationship, your nationality and other factors, our recommendation would differ from situation to situation. If you have an Australian partner and want to apply for a Partner visa, book in a free Partner visa consultation to discuss how you should proceed with your application, and whether if you be better or faster for you to apply from overseas or from Australia.