Marriage and Partner Visa Eligibility – Does getting married mean that I meet the partner visa eligibility criteria?

Answer: This can be a complex question my friends, as it’s not just about ensuring a valid marriage – there are other associated components that are specifically required to meet the complete criteria for a Partner Visa. Makes no sense to meet the basic definition of spouse, yet fail to meet all of the other relationship criteria in the Migration Act and Regulations.

For immigration purposes ( generally speaking) validly married persons are referred to as “spouses”. The Migration Act defines “spouse” at s5F of the Migration Act and goes on to in subsections (1)-(3) to draw in the following key components:

A. Validly married under a marriage that is recognised under the Marriage Act 1961 (excludes a number of situations and sets certain restriction i.e. 1 current spouse)

B. Mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others

C. Genuine and continuing relationship

D. Live together or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis.

Regulation 1.15A (Spousal Relationships reference) read in concert with Regulation 2.03A) also requires the satisfaction of the 4 Pillars:

· Financial Aspect

· Nature of the Household

· Social Aspects

· Nature of the Commitment to one another.

Note that overseas religious marriage ceremonies, that are not registered under the laws of the given country – will not be recognised for the partner visa process.