E4.5 Spouses or de facto partners and... (26/07/1999)

E4.5 Spouses or de facto partners and dependent children of student or work visa or permit holders

1. Spouses or de facto partners of student or work visa or permit holders may be issued with temporary visas or granted temporary permits of a type appropriate to their needs for the currency of the spouse or partner's visa or permit.
2. To be eligible for a temporary visa or permit, spouses or de facto partners must be in a genuine and stable relationship. For de facto partners the couple must also have been living together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 2 years immediately before the application is assessed.
3. Dependent children of student or work visa or permit holders may be issued with temporary visas or granted temporary permits of a type appropriate to their needs for the duration of the parent's visa or permit.
4. Spouses of full fee scholarship students, who receive a 'dependant's allowance' from MFAT, require MFAT's approval to be granted a work permit.

E4.5.1 Definition of 'genuine and stable relationship'

1. A genuine and stable relationship is a relationship which the visa or immigration officer determines:
   1. has been entered into with the intention of being maintained on a long-term and exclusive basis, and
   2. is likely to endure.
2. If visa and immigration officers are unable to determine whether the relationship was entered into with the intention of maintaining it on a long-term and exclusive basis, they should accept it as genuine, unless there is evidence to the contrary.

E4.5.5 Evidential requirements

1. If a spouse, de facto partner or dependent child is included in an application, or is applying in their own right as the spouse, de facto partner or dependent child of a student or work visa or permit holder (see E4.5 above), evidence of their relationship to the principal applicant or student or work visa or permit holder must be provided in the following forms:
   1. for spouses, the original, or a certified copy, of their marriage certificate; or
   2. for de facto partners, evidence they have lived together in a genuine and stable relationship for at least 2 years immediately before the application is made. (F3.5.10 (b) and (c) set out the types of evidence that are required); or
   3. for a dependent child, one of the following documents:
      • the original birth certificate showing the names of the parent(s), or
      • original adoption papers showing that the child has been legally adopted by the principal applicant or spouse or partner or student or work visa or permit holder, or
      • in the case of a child adopted by custom, a declaration by the adoptive parent(s) separate from, and in addition to, any similar declaration made on an application form. (The declaration must state that the child has been adopted by the principal applicant and/or spouse or partner included in the application or a parent holding a student or work visa or permit, as well as the date of the adoption, and the country in which the adoption took place.)
2. Before issuing a temporary visa or granting a temporary permit to a spouse or de facto partner and dependent children of a work visa or permit holder, visa and immigration officers must sight evidence that the work visa or permit holder has been:
   1. issued with a work visa or granted a work permit, or
   2. is eligible to be issued with a work visa or granted a work permit.
3. Before issuing a temporary visa or granting a temporary permit to a spouse or de facto partner and dependent children of a student visa or permit holder, visa and immigration officers must sight evidence that the student visa or permit holder has been:
   1. issued with a student visa or granted a student permit, or
   2. is eligible to be issued with a student visa or granted a student permit.

Effective 26/07/1999