Suppose you have just gotten married to your long term loving boyfriend or girlfriend and then you get the news that your spouse has got the visa for Australia and he or she is ready to chase down that dream job of theirs. Living in different country all across the world while your spouse or partner is migrating to Australia can be harrowing for anyone considering the distance.
However, there is a provision here for the partner who is left behind called Spouse Visa.The Spouse Visa for Australia can only be garnered by those who fall under any of the following categories:

Spouse is an Australian Citizen.

Surviving spouse of an Australian Citizen

After becoming eligible for Spouse Visa for Australia through above requirements, it is time to see whether the applicant fulfills other eligibility criteria to become a citizen of Australia.

Australia is a nation of OPPORTUNITIES.

Spouse Visa for Australia Eligibility Criteria

The spouse or partner of the applicant should be an Australian Citizen or the applicant should be the surviving partner or spouse of the Australian citizen. After meeting this criteria there further more eligibility requirements that you as an applicant need to fulfill:

• Need to be considered a permanent resident while deciding or applying for the visa.
• Some general requirement of residence should be met.
• Good character is imperative.
• Applicants below the age of 60 years should have basic and general English knowledge.
• Those under the age of 60 are knowledgeable and have complete information of the privileges and responsibilities incurred with Australian citizenship.
• The intention behind the application is to either stay in Australia or has close contact with the country.
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General Residence Criteria:

The basis for General Residence is on the quantity of time that the applicant has spent in Australia. For this the criteria is as follows:

• Applicant should have a valid Australian visa on which he or she should have spent four years at least in the country ending immediately before applying for the Spouse visa for Australia.
• Have a permanent residency for at least 12 months before applying for the visa.
• Have been out of Australia for no more than 1 year from the four years and not more than 90 days in the 1 year of permanent residency.

How to Know your Permanent Residency?

Suppose the applicant got a permanent resident visa before visiting Australia then the date on which he or she arrived in the country will be counted as the permanent resident date.
On the other hand, if the visa for permanent residency was granted after coming into the country, then the date on which permanent resident visa was issued will be counted as the permanent resident date.
To know whether the applicant meets the requirement of general residency a called Residence Requirement Calculator can be used to calculate.

How to Know your Permanent Residency?

In case the requirements for general resident are not met by the applicant, the time they spent outside Australia after receiving the permanent resident visa for the four years ending immediately before applying for spouse visa could be considered as the time spent in the country. This is known as ministerial discretion that can be applied by the applicant in the case wherein they provide proper evidence for their legal relationship with their spouse or partner who is an Australian citizen and have also kept in close contact with Australia during their absence.

Children

The children below the age of 16 years can also be included in the application for Australian citizenship only if they are permanent residents of Australia. However, the general residence requirement for children below 16 years of age is not needed.