The breaking of a relationship can be extremely painful and traumatic but for some people there is added pressure of worrying about their visa status.
If you are in Australia on a Temporary Partner Visa such as the 820 Visa or the 309 Visa, a relationship breakdown will have an impact.
According to the Department of Immigration & Border Protection they must be informed if the relationship ends before a decision has been on the Permanent Partner Visa application (801 visa and subclass 100 visa). Once informed, the department will ask the sponsor (the ex-partner) to formally withdraw the application for sponsorship. The applicant will then be notified about the sponsorship being withdrawn and provide them with an opportunity to explain the circumstances leading to the break up of the relationship. It may also be an opportunity to be given a chance to stay in Australia independently of your sponsor.
Therefore it is extremely essential to keep the DIBP informed about the up-to-date contact details, including postal address. After the withdrawal of the sponsorship, the sponsor will not be informed about the progress of any other visa applications that the applicant might make, because of privacy laws.
If a relationship ends an applicant may still be eligible to stay in Australia. The most important example is of victims of domestic violence. A victim of domestic violence does not have to stay I an abusive relationship to protection their immigration status as the Family Violence provisions under the Migration Regulations apply under the following circumstances:
1. You are on a Partner Visa (309 or 820) or have gotten married to your spouse while on a Prospective Marriage Visa
2. Your children or you have suffered from family violence; and the relationship has ended.
According to the Migration Regulations family violence is defined as “conduct, either actual or threatened, towards:
The alleged victim;
- a member of the family unit of the alleged victim;
- a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator;
- the property of the alleged victim;
- the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged victim; or
- the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator that causes the alleged victim to reasonably fear for, or be reasonably apprehensive about, their safety or wellbeing. It can include physical or psychological abuse or harm, forced sexual relations, forced isolation or economic deprivation.”
If this requirement gets fulfilled, an applicant can continue with their application for a Permanent Partner Visa.
Another way through which an applicant might be eligible to stay in Australia if they have a child from the relationship who is under 18 years of age and for which the applicant and sponsor still have shared parental responsibility
It is extremely important to keep in mind that if the DIBP is informed by anyone about the relationship being fake, it could lead to the Permanent Partner Visa may be cancelled.
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