If you have applied for or are considering applying for a partner visa then it is important that you know there are changes due to be introduced in 2021. These have been in the pipeline for some time, but it is only recently that specific details about the changes and when they are going to be implemented have been published by the federal government.

Given that the regulations and legislation surrounding visas is so complex it has taken some time for many of the specifics to become known. Even now, at the time of writing, the changes have not reached the point at which they can be fully implemented. The current timeframe is for them to go live in November 2021, but that could still change. As for the main changes, these are outlined below.

Partner Visa Numbers To Be Increased

It is often the assumption that when a government announces changes to any policies relating to immigration that they are going to be bad news for those wishing to obtain visas to live there. However, we are actually going to start with some good news, and that is the fact that the government has announced an increase in the allocation of partner visas.

In truth, it may not necessarily mean any more people being granted visas overall, as the increase has come about as a result of two other issues that exist. One reason is that there will be fewer skilled visas being granted, and the fact that there is a massive backlog of partner visas in the processing system is another.

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