Immigration Law

You don’t have to tolerate violence for a partner visa!

Enquire Now

Is this you?

Holding an ongoing partner visa application; and
Suffering from family violence or domestic abuse.
Immigration Law
If your answer is ‘yes’, you may still be eligible for permanent residency in Australia.

I want to break up because of domestic violence.
Will I lose my partner visa?

Not necessarily.

In Australia, there is zero tolerance for family and domestic violence.

Certain temporary visa holders are protected by family violence provisions to ensure that they do not have to tolerate family violence just for visa purposes.

You may still be granted your permanent residency in Australia if your relationship has broken down due to family violence.

No more violence.
We are here to help!

Frequently Asked Questions

You may be eligible for a visa if the following apply to you:

  • you have married your spouse while the holder of a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) and applied for a Partner visa (subclass 820/801), or
  • you are awaiting the outcome of your application for a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), or
  • you have been granted a temporary Partner visa (subclass 820), or
  • you have entered Australia as the holder of a provisional Partner visa (subclass 309), and
  • you or your family members have experienced family violence, and
  • your relationship has ended.

Family and domestic violence is any conduct that makes you fear for your or your family’s safety and wellbeing.

Family and domestic violence can include:

  • physical violence, such as: punching, hitting, kicking, pushing, choking
  • sexual assault
  • verbal or emotional abuse
  • controlling behaviour
  • stalking
  • technology facilitated abuse
  • financial abuse
  • abuse of the elderly
  • forced isolation or economic deprivation, including dowry-related abuse.

You will be protected by Family Violence Provision if the family violence is towards:

  1. the alleged victim; or
  2. a member of the family unit of the alleged victim; or
  3. a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator; or
  4. the property of the alleged victim; or
  5. the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged victim; or
  6. the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator

Only the Minister or a delegated officer has the power to refuse or cancel a person’s visa.

A perpetrator of family and domestic violence cannot cancel your visa.

Please note that perpetrator refers to the person who commits family or domestic violence.

Court documents

  • a court injunction under the Family Law Act 1975 against your partner
  • a court order against your partner made under a State or Territory law
  • a record that the court has convicted your partner of a family violence offence against you or your dependant(s)
  • a record that the court has recorded a finding of guilt against your partner of family violence offences against you or your dependant(s)

Statutory declarations and official documents

If you cannot provide a document from a court of law or a joint undertaking, complete Form 1410 – Statutory declaration for family violence claim (267KB PDF). If the victim is a dependent child, complete the declaration for them. You will also need to provide other official documents with the statutory declaration.

If the Minister is not satisfied that you have suffered the relevant family violence:

  1. the Minister must seek the opinion of an independent expert about whether the alleged victim has suffered the relevant family violence; and
  2. the Minister must take an independent expert’s opinion on the matter to be correct for the purposes of deciding whether the alleged victim satisfies a prescribed criterion for a visa that requires the applicant for the visa, or another person mentioned in the criterion, to have suffered family violence.

Although temporary partner visa holders are protected by family violence provisions, this kind of matters still need to be treated carefully and professionally. The special nature of family violence matters makes them highly sensitive and complicated.

If you have an ongoing visa application and is experiencing family violence, you should consult our immigration lawyer as soon as possible.

No matter what kind of visa you are holding, you need to get help when suffering from family violence!

Support services

1800-RESPECT
Website:https://www.1800respect.org.au/
Phone: 1800 737 732

National Domestic Violence Hotline
Website: https://www.thehotline.org/
Phone: 1800 737 732

Lifeline
Website: https://www.lifeline.org.au/
Phone: 13 11 14

Mensline
Website: https://mensline.org.au/
Phone: 1300 789 978

For free interpreter services, see the Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National).
Website: visit Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National)
Phone: 131 450 (24 hours, 7 days)

compensation Law

Don’t wait. Don’t hesitate.

Why Ascent Lawyers?

We are committed to helping you at a difficult time in your life.

Experienced Migration Lawyer

Our migration lawyers are experienced in complicated visa matter and can provide you with legal advice about your visa.

Free 15-min Consultation

We provide 15-minute free initial consultation to give you a general idea and assessment of your case before engagement.

After Hour Appointments

If you are unable to meet us during business hours, we can always come see you either after work or even during weekends.

Quality of Service

Committed to ensuring the best possible outcome for you. We will update you on any progress and changes.

Multilingual & Multi-media

We speak your language (English/Mandarin/Cantonese). We are easily accessible by phone, email, social media and SMS.

Diligent & Responsible

We believe in the strict compliance to all ethical standards. Guiding you through each stage of your case is our pleasure.

How It Works

We are always happy to help you figure out what to do.

Get in touch

Our experienced lawyers will listen to your story and tell you what to do next.

Engage us

Once you engage us, we will gather the required details and work on your case.

Getting to work

We provide the most efficient solution and give you instant updates.

Achieving results

We will strive to achieve the result satisfying your best interests.

What People Say About Us

EXCELLENT
Based on 127 reviews
Bonan Shan
Bonan Shan
2 years ago
I was lucky enough to be introduced to Ascent Lawyers for my personal injury case back in 2019. All the lawyers demonstrated high level of professionalism throughout all the stages of engagement. Ascent Lawyers was not only able to provide tailored legal advice, but they had been extremely informative and transparent during the entire process. This is particularly extraordinary when you consider the no-win-no-fee business model for PI matters. My case, in the end, was concluded with excellent results. I would like to use this opportunity to thank the whole team for their hard-work and professionalism, as well as Kira and Mengpei's close involvement with my case. I think their 5-star google review record does not lie. I would also recommend this firm to anyone.
WJ Liu
WJ Liu
3 years ago
Great thanks to Will for being my solicitor, for his patience, professional and instructive work which makes everything goes on well. Thanks!
Devon Fung
Devon Fung
3 years ago
From my personal experience dealing with Jacqueline from Ascent Lawyers, all I can say is that she is professional, reliable and goes above and beyond to deliver the best outcome. Always kept us informed with any updates.Overall, I would highly recommended her.
al80613
al80613
4 years ago
Very efficient and professional through out the whole case and amazing attention to details. Would definitely recommend.
Yuan Chen
Yuan Chen
4 years ago
Very trustworthy law firm with professional and friendly staff. Pricing is very reasonable as they solved my problem efficiently. I strongly recommend it to everyone one.
yy rain
yy rain
4 years ago
Ms Gao is an expert in her profession, and provides excellent service. She is patient and answer all enquires quickly! Would definitely recommend her to everyone!