As a member of one of Australia’s peak migration and visa law bodies AR LAW Services gets information directly and almost immediately from the Minister on important immigration and visa matters like this recent letter which warns that there will be major delays in processing onshore Partner visa applications.
12 April 2017
Law Institute Victoria
ONSHORE PARTNER PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT
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APPLICATION TIMEFRAMES
I’m writing to inform members of the Law Institute about the current situation in DIBP with Partner processing times.
This year the Department is facing a particularly difficult resourcing environment with pressure to
decrease staff numbers in line with the Government’s wider plans to reduce public sector expenditure.
In the Partner Migration programme this is occurring in an environment of continued high application rates, growing pipelines onshore, and significant fraudulent activity.
Due to the resourcing restrictions, average processing times for most Temporary Partner and
Permanent applications are currently between 16 – 23 months from date of lodgement (s/c 820) and
from date of eligibility (s/c 801/100). The processing times are updated regularly on the DIBP website
As we move into the final quarter of the programme year and focus our efforts intensively on meeting
the annual target by 30 June, we will be giving priority to low risk applicants and those regarded by DIBP as fully front end loaded with documentation that immediately satisfies Partner criteria.
This will result in a departure from our usual chronological method of assessing applicants by month of lodgement. Therefore, you may find that some of your clients receive decisions ahead of others who lodged many months prior. This triaging approach has been endorsed by the Executive as an efficiency measure to identify Partner applications which are potentially of the highest quality and lowest risk for visa places this programme year.
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Thank you for your understanding as we try to deal with these management challenges
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Yours sincerely
Consequently if you or anyone you know is thinking about applying for or has applied for a spouse or Partner visa please speak to one of the lawyers at our office for thorough advice on your options.
Call 03 9614 0218 or email info@arlaw.com.au to see if you qualify for a free initial 30 Minute consultation at our Melbourne office. (conditions apply)
For more go to www.arlaw.com.au
Note: this update, or any previous updates on this page, do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Please call our office to seek professional advice before acting or relying on any of the content on this page
