Partner visa allocations for 2019/2020 won’t reduce the processing backlog.
Partner visa places allocated
The Australian Government has recently advised that it has allocated 39,799 places for partner visas in the 2019/2020 financial year.
This is the same number of places that were allocated to partner visas in the current (2018/2019) financial year.
At the moment there is a backlog of approximately 80,000 partner visa applications (including prospective marriage visa applications) within the processing system.
As there will be no increase in partner visa places for the forthcoming financial year, and due to the current backlog of applications, it can be expected that the current long average processing times of approximately two years will continue.
This graph clearly illustrates the current situation, where demand for partner visas is outstripping supply:
With the processing pipeline backlog continuing to increase, average processing times may even increase further – the significant increase in the visa application charge to approximately $7,100 has not deterred many from applying for partner visas it seems.
The fair thing would be for more partner visa places to be allocated and processing of applications sped up to clear the backlog.
What can you do about this if you think the present situation is unfair? – contact your local Federal (not state) Member of Parliament to express your concern.
Feel free to contact me for a consultation if you need further information about this.
Regards.
Ross McDougall
Immigration Lawyer
Tel: 08 8528 9187
This information is correct at May 13th, 2019. But, keep in mind that immigration law changes from time to time.
Information (or the lack of it) contained here does not take into account anyone’s individual circumstances and should not be relied upon as immigration assistance or legal advice.
