Australian Embassy, China

澳大利亚驻华大使馆

Embassy address: 21 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Sanlitun, Beijing - Telephone: 5140 4111 - Fax: 5140 4204

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Additional Information - Partner Migration

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On this page: Partner Information Sessions; Specific Documentation; Certifying Documents in Australia; Translations; Public Notaries; Health Requirements; Character Requirements and Payment Options

Partner Information Sessions

Partner migration information sessions are held once each month, at the Australian Visa Office in Shanghai and the Australian Visa Office in Guangzhou. These sessions are recommended for anyone intending to lodge a partner application within the following two months. The sessions cover topics including legislative requirements of partner visas, how to address your statement of relationship, evidence to include in your application, steps to lodging an application, average decision timeframes and also benefits of lodging a complete application. Please note that these sessions are open to the public and therefore the sessions will not address personal questions relating to a particular application or applicant. We will, however, cover topics of interest and answer general processing questions. No individual assessment can be made during these sessions.

In order to attend one of the information sessions, please book a place by e-mailing:

Visaenquiries.guangzhou@dfat.gov.au if you will lodge your application in Guangzhou

immigration.shanghai@dfat.gov.au if you will lodge your application in Shanghai

Please include “Information Session” in the subject line and the names of those who will be attending.

Specific Documentation - Evidence of a Genuine and Continuing Relationship

Visa applicants and their sponsors must demonstrate that they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others; that their relationship is genuine and continuing; and that they live together, or do not live separately and apart on a permanent basis. Evidence demonstrating this is therefore critical to the assessment of any Partner Migration application, and may include, but is not limited to, the following:

• Evidence that you and your sponsor have lived together in China and have maintained a shared household. For Example, joint lease agreement, joint property ownership, mail sent to same address over a significant period, property entry identification cards, temporary residence permit, foreigner work permit card featuring residential address

• Evidence that you have maintained contact during periods of separation. Such evidence is important, particularly in the case of relationships where there have been extensive periods of physical separation. As a guide, evidence could include, letters (with envelopes and contents), telephone bills, IP card itemised call listings, and copies of emails (with date of transmission), on line chatting and SMS records, etc

• Evidence that your relationship is socially recognised by your friends and relatives. For example, photographs of you and your spouse with third parties taken throughout your relationship and statements or Statutory Declarations - Form 888 from friends and relatives outlining their knowledge of your relationship. These statements should be accompanied by a photocopy of the writer’s ID cards and contact telephone numbers

• Evidence of any joint financial arrangements entered into by yourself and your partner, or any financial support you or your partner have provided to each other during the course of your relationship/marriage

• Evidence of any joint responsibility for the care of any children of your relationship

• If you have lived together with your sponsor in Australia, any evidence of this, such as joint tenancy agreement(s), joint utility bills, and rental receipts

For more information on evidence of your relationship, please see: Booklet 1127 – Partner Migration

Certifying Documents in Australia

When organising your documents for your application, please note that we only accept notarised/ certified copies of official documents. In Australia, copies must be certified by a Justice of the Peace, a Registered Migration Agent or a person before whom a Statutory Declaration can be made. In China, copies can be notarised by a Public Notary Office.

Translations

Documents in languages other than English must be accompanied by an English translation. In Australia, translations must be performed by a National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters (NAATI) accredited translator. In China, translations must be performed and notarised by a Public Notary Office.

Public Notaries

There are over 3,000 Public Notary Offices (公证处 gongzhengchu) in counties, autonomous areas, and municipalities across China.

For the contact number of your local Public Notary Office, call directory assistance in China on 114. Public Notary Offices are accredited by the Chinese government to perform a number of notarial roles, including:

Notarising the authenticity of signatures, translations, copies of certificates, and photocopies with originals; and

Notarising facts that amount to civil legal acts such as birth, death, marriage, divorce, kinship, identity and qualifications, and the issuing of the relevant Notarial Certificate - including “Certificates of No Criminal Conviction

Please note that Public Notary Offices’ application procedures for Certificates of No Criminal Conviction (CNCC) differ from region to region, as does the title of the CNCC itself. Depending on the Public Notary Office, a CNCC may be referred to as a “Certificate of No Criminal Record” (无犯罪记录公证 Wufanzui jilu gongzheng), “Certificate of No Criminal Sanction” (无刑事处分公证书/未受刑事处分公证书 Wuxingshi chufen gongzhengshu/Weishou xingshi chufen gongzhengshu), or simply a “Notarial Certificate” (公证书 Gongzhengshu) certifying no criminal record.

To obtain a CNCC, you should contact your local Public Notary Office, who should be able to advise you on the application procedures specific to that locality.

Character Requirements

Everyone who wishes to enter Australia must be assessed against the character requirements.

For the Australian Government to determine whether you are of good character, you may be asked to provide police certificates for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last ten (10) years since turning 16.

For China you are required to provide A Notarial Certificate of No Criminal Conviction for each applicant aged 16 years or over.

If you require a police clearance for Australia, you need to obtain an Australian Federal Police (AFP) Clearance.

For further details on obtaining an AFP clearance and police clearances for other countries, please see: Character and Penal Clearance Requirements

Please obtain your required police clearances prior to lodging your applications – for more information see: Complete Applications

Stronger Measures for the Protection of Children

The Australian Government is strengthening policies around the sponsorship of minors for visas to enter Australia because it considers that the safety of children is paramount. The Government wants to ensure that children seeking to enter Australia under partner and child visas are protected from being sponsored by people with convictions for child sex offences or other serious offences indicating that they may pose a significant risk to a child in their care.

This approach is similar to restrictions on sponsorship that apply in Canada and New Zealand, countries that also receive large numbers of partner and dependent child visa applications.

A similar requirement to provide a Australian National Police Check also already applies to Australians who wish to adopt a child or to undertake many forms of employment relating to children.

Please refer to the FAQ sheet for further information relating to the requirement for certain sponsors to provide an Australian National Police Check if the application includes an applicant under the age of 18 years.

Payment Options

Please select the following link for Visa Application Charge payment options:

Visa Application Charges

1. Information ⇒ 2. Checklist ⇒ 3. How to Apply ⇒ 4. After You Apply ⇒ 5. Additional Information ⇒ 6. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

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