Australian Immigration Daily News

The amendments made by Schedule 1 to the Amendment Regulations implement measures to enable visa grants to some Family stream visa applicants who are located in Australia, but who would be otherwise required to be outside Australia at the time of visa grant.  The visa subclasses are:

- Child (Permanent) (subclass 101) visa;

- Adoption (Permanent) (subclass 102) visa;

- Prospective Marriage (Temporary) (subclass 300) visa;

- Partner (Temporary) (subclass 309) visa; and

- Dependent Child (Temporary) (subclass 445) visa.

COVID-19 related travel restrictions and practical limitations have meant that applicants who applied for one of the above subclasses outside Australia, and have since travelled to Australia, face significant difficulties in departing Australia to be granted a visa outside Australia.

They would also face difficulties returning to Australia.  These amendments address the negative impact of COVID-19 travel restrictions by providing the ability to grant a visa to applicants for the above mentioned visa subclasses who are in Australia. The amendments will enable an applicant for any of the above mentioned subclasses who is located in Australia at any time during the COVID-19 ‘concession period’, and who is in Australia at the time of visa grant, to be granted the visa in Australia, without having to travel outside Australia. 

The COVID-19 ‘concession period’ is described in subregulation 1.15N(1) of the Migration Regulations as the period commencing on 1February 2020 and ending on a day specified by the Minister by legislative instrument. As at the date of commencement of these amendments, no instrument has been made to specify a day when the concession period ends.

Source: Migration-Amendment-2021-Measures-No-1-Regulations-2021.pdf  and

Migration-Amendment-2021-Measures-No-1-Regulations-2021-Explanatory-Statement.pdf