Australian Permanent Residents – how soon after getting PR can you sponsor your partner?
The Issue
Australian citizens and Australian permanent residents can potentially sponsor their partner (spouse or de facto) in a partner visa application.
The question often arises – how soon after I am granted my Australian permanent residency visa can I sponsor my partner?
It is understandable that there is some confusion around this – permanent residents cannot immediately sponsor relatives for all the different visa types.
For example, an Australian permant resident that wishes to sponor a parent (mother or father) for most types of parent visas, must wait until they have held their Australian permanent resident visa and been ‘settled’ (lawfully resident) in Australia for two or more years, before they can sponsor their parent.
The same two or more year ‘settled’ requirement applies to permanent resident sponsors of ‘Aged Dependent’, ‘Carer’ and ‘Remaining Relative’ visas.
The Good News
However, the good news is that the two or more year ‘settled’ requirement does not apply to Australian permanent resident sponsors of partner visas.
So, Australian permanent residents can potentially sponsor their partner for a partner visa immediately after they are granted their Australian permanent residency visa.
Further Information
Feel free to contact me if you would like to book a consultation for more information about anything mentioned here.
Regards.
Ross McDougall.
Immigration Lawyer & Solicitor.
Tel: 08 8528 9187
This information is correct at January 19th, 2023. But, keep in mind that immigration law changes from time to time.
