Sponsor two different partners for Australian partner visas in your lifetime? – Yes.
Multiple partner sponsorships – it’s possible.
Ross McDougall Immigration Lawyer.
At most, a person can have two different sponsorships of a spouse, de facto partner, or prospective spouse (fiancé) approved.
But, the law states that a person who has sponsored a person as a spouse, de facto partner, or fiancé cannot have another sponsorship approved under any of these visa categories until at least 5 years after the first visa application was made.
Additionally, if you yourself have been sponsored as a spouse, de facto or fiancé, you cannot sponsor a partner under any of those visa categories until at least 5 years after their own visa application was made.
These requirements can be waived if there are compelling circumstances affecting the sponsor. Getting a ‘waiver’ due to compelling circumstances is possible, but difficult.
How the 5-year period is calculated.
If you sponsored another person (or were sponsored yourself), the 5 year period between the first sponsorship and your current sponsorship is calculated from the date on which the first visa application was made to the date of decision of your current sponsorship.
Approval/refusal of your new sponsorship is a time of decision criteria for the new visa application. It is only at the time of decision on the new visa application that the sponsorship is approved.
Here’s an example of how it works (from the Immigration Department’s policy and guidance document that Immigration Case Officers refer to):
Example
An Australian citizen has previously sponsored a spouse; the spouse application was made on 1/1/94; the sponsorship was approved and a BC-100 visa was granted.
The marriage has now broken down and the Australian citizen sponsors another partner, this time for a Prospective Marriage visa (TO-300); the application was made on 1/10/98 (that is, 4 years 9 months between the first and second applications).
Processing takes 6 months to complete; the final decision is made on 1/3/99; as 5 years has now elapsed since the first application was made, the current sponsorship may be approved.
So yes, you can potentially sponsor again before the 5 years is up. However, this is not a ‘risk-free’ strategy.
Feel free to contact me for a consultation if you need further information about this.
Ross McDougall
RPM Migration Lawyers
rpmlawyers.com.au
