Does Having a Child Together Help a Partner Visa?

How does having a child together help a partner visa?

Having a child together helps a partner visa by showing shared responsibility, a joint household and a long-term commitment, which are central to how the Department assesses a relationship. A birth certificate naming both partners, records of shared care and evidence that both parents support the child are persuasive. Our article on partner visa commitment evidence explains how this evidence is presented, and our article on household evidence covers shared care and living arrangements.

Is having a child together enough to get a partner visa?

Having a child together is not enough on its own to get a partner visa, because the test is whether the couple has a genuine and continuing relationship now, not whether they have shared a relationship in the past. A couple who has a child but lives separately, keeps separate finances or presents inconsistent accounts may still be refused. Our article on the partner visa four pillars explains why every aspect still needs evidence.

Does a child together help with the de facto 12-month requirement?

A child together may help with the de facto 12-month requirement, because the requirement in regulation 2.03A does not apply where there are compelling and compassionate circumstances for the grant, and a child of the relationship is commonly put forward as one. The Department decides this on the evidence, so the couple should not assume the exception will be accepted. Our article on the de facto partner visa explains the 12-month rule and its exceptions. A registered relationship is the other common way around the requirement.

Does a child together affect the permanent stage of a partner visa?

A child together can affect the permanent stage of a partner visa in two ways. First, the long-term relationship exception, as the regulations define it, takes account of a dependent child of the relationship and can allow the permanent visa to be granted at the same time as the temporary visa. Second, if the relationship ends, the permanent visa may in some cases still be granted where there is a child of the relationship and the applicant shares parental responsibility as the criteria describe. Our article on the partner visa long-term relationship explains the first point.

What if the couple has a child but has separated?

If the couple has a child but has separated, the applicant may still have options, but the relationship evidence alone will no longer support a grant. The applicant needs advice on whether the child of the relationship provisions, the family violence provisions or another visa applies. Our article on partner visa relationship breakdown explains how the Department treats separation during processing, and the Department must be told about the change.

How does My Migration Lawyers use a child of the relationship in a partner visa?

My Migration Lawyers uses a child of the relationship as part of a complete case rather than as a substitute for one. The firm identifies which provisions the child may engage, whether the 12-month exception, the long-term relationship exception or the provisions that apply after separation, and then builds the evidence around the specific criteria the couple relies on. Couples can speak with our partner visa lawyers about how their family situation fits, and our page on the Subclass 820 visa explains the onshore process.