Does it sound familiar that ‘you are or someone known is staying in an abusive relationship otherwise will be forced to leave Australia if the relationship ends’. Temporary spouse visa holders may be reluctant to report domestic violence or family violence as they are under impression that they will be forced to return to the country they came from.
You may be eligible for family violence provision claim if you are in that situation. These provisions are available for partner visa applicants who are already in Australia and by prospective marriage visa holders who are already in Australia and have married their sponsor.
To understand if you could be eligible to claim family violence, it is important to understand what family violence consists of. The definition of relevant family violence is as follows:
It is a ‘conduct, whether actual or threatened, towards: the alleged victim, a member of the family unit of the alleged victim, a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator, the property of the alleged victim, the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged victim or the property of a member of the family unit of the alleged perpetrator that causes the alleged victim to reasonably fear for, or to be reasonably apprehensive about, his or her own wellbeing or safety.’
Relevant family violence is not limited to physical harm. It may also include other forms of abuse such as psychological and/or financial abuse, which is consistent with the above definition.
If your relationship breaks down after applying for permanent residence, you can still be considered for permanent residence if you could provide acceptable evidence that you or members of your family unit have been the victim of family violence committed by your Australian partner.
Your relationship need to be genuine until it ceased and that the family violence has to take place during the relationship.
So what do I need to do if I am a victim of family violence?
Well, you will need to provide evidence to the Department of Immigration which could be in the form of acceptable judicially determined or acceptable non-judicially determined. We are here to assist you and are only a phone call away in this difficult situation.