3. Parent Migration -  Please note that all parent migration applications must be sent directly to the relevant Australian centre.


4. Other Family Migration - aged dependent relative, remaining relative or carers. Please obtain further information about local requirements and how to lodge your application from our local site or contact us by email at immigration.telaviv@dfat.gov.au

5. Employer Sponsored Migration - Employer Nomination Scheme, Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme, Labour Agreements, Regional Headquarters Agreements and Invest Australia Supported Skills Program. This type of application must be lodged at the same departmental Business Centre in Australia as the employer lodged the corresponding nomination (the employer can tell the visa applicant which Business Centre this is). Applicants outside Australia must also send their applications to that Business Centre in Australia.

6. General Skilled Migration - independent migration, skill matching migration, or family sponsored skilled migration. This type of application must be sent directly to the relevant processing office in Australia.

7. Business People -  This type of application (other than a Business Short Stay visa subclass 456) must be sent directly to the relevant processing office in Australia.

8. Special Migration - Former Resident and Distinguished Talent visas. This type of application must be sent directly to the relevant processing office in Australia.

If you require further information or wish to apply, including under the spouse, de facto and prospective marriage categories, you should obtain the relevant migration booklet from the Internet site free of charge.

If you wish to purchase the booklet from our Forms Office, please send a postal or bank cheque payable to the Australian Embassy to: The Forms Office, PO Box 29108, Tel Aviv 61290.  Please indicate clearly in the letter the name of the booklet you are interested in.

The prices of the various booklets are listed on the DIAC website.
See: Charges. Please note fees and charges will increase for applications received on or after 1 January 2010.


All payments must be made by postal or bank cheque payable to the Australian Embassy, Tel Aviv. Personal cheques, credit cards and cash are not acceptable. The booklet will be posted to you within 30 days from the day we receive your payment.  

The relevant booklet will enable you to best assess your entitlement before applying and paying the processing fee.

PAYMENT OF FEES

For fees please go to Charges.  Please note fees and charges will increase for applications received on or after 1 January 2010.

Note that fees may be paid in New Israeli Shekels (NIS) only. Payment must be made by Israeli postal cheque המחאת דואר ONLY, payable to the Australian Embassy, Tel Aviv.

Personal cheques, cheques from Palestinian banks, credit cards and cash are not acceptable.

Cash may be accepted in cases of genuine emergency and from Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza who are unable to obtain Israeli Bank or Postal cheques. Palestinians may also seek assistance from Aramex or TNT to convert the cash fees into acceptable Israeli Postal or Bank Cheques.

Please do not send cash by mail.

FURTHER ASSISTANCE

Under our Code of Conduct we are unable to comment on your chances of obtaining a visa before you lodge your application and pay the processing fee. If after obtaining and reading the relevant migration booklet or visa form you wish to seek help, you may contact a registered migration agent in Australia. The address of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA) is:

MARA, PO Box Q1551, QVB, NSW, 1230, AUSTRALIA

Phone: 61 2 9299 5446, Fax : 61 2 9299 8448

Web site: http://www.themara.com.au

E-mail: themara@themara.com.au

Registered Migration Agents are bound by the Migration Agents' Code of Conduct and generally charge for their services. The MARA investigates complaints against registered migration agents and may take disciplinary action against them. If you have a concern or an inquiry about a migration agent, you can contact MARA.

Under Australian law, anyone who uses knowledge of migration procedures to offer advice or assistance to a person wishing to obtain a visa to enter or remain in Australia must be registered. If you intend to use a migration agent you are advised to use a registered migration agent.

We recommend that you confirm that your migration agent is registered by checking their details on the above website.

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Migration Pack - Family

The following information is relevant to the following migration categories/booklets:

Booklet number 1: Partner Migration

Booklet number 2: Child Migration

Booklet number 4: Other family migration

This information sheet contains very important information about the application process in Tel Aviv. Please read it carefully and follow the guidelines provided. This will enable you to:

1 - Better assess your eligibility for a migrant visa;
2 - Understand the application and processing procedures;
3 - Avoid lengthy delays in the processing of your application; and
4 - Avoid unnecessary expenses/fees.

You should read all the forms and leaflets contained in the application package carefully before you continue reading this information leaflet.

MIGRATION OFFICE IN TEL AVIV

Entry to the Visa Section is by appointment only. For appointments, please contact us by email at immigration.telaviv@dfat.gov.au or call us on (03) 6935000 

WHERE AND HOW MAY APPLICATIONS BE LODGED:

Applications may be posted to our postal address, PO Box 29108, Tel Aviv 61290 or lodged in person by appointment. Palestinian residents of the West Bank and Gaza should deliver their applications by courier service (such as TNT (02) 6271792 or Aramex (02) 6260801 couriers).

HOW AND WHEN MUST THE PROCESSING FEE BE PAID

Payment in Australia: If you or your sponsor pay the fee with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) in Australia, please attach the pink copy of the receipt to your application. In Australia the fee may be paid by credit card.

Payment of the processing fee in Tel Aviv: For your application to be considered it will be necessary for you to submit the fee together with your application whether lodged in person or by post. All fees must be paid in local currency (New Israeli Shekels) by bank or postal cheque payable to the Australian Embassy, Tel Aviv. Personal cheques and cash are not acceptable. Please note that the fee is a processing fee and is not refundable irrespective of the outcome of the application.

See: Charges . Please note fees and charges will increase for applications received on or after 1 January 2010.

WHAT DOCUMENTS MUST BE LODGED WITH THE APPLICATION

The simple answer is that you must lodge all the documents requested in the explanatory notes of the booklet. However, to assist in the speedy consideration of your application, we ask that you read the following guidelines very carefully.

PARTNER/SPOUSE (I.E. FIANCES, HUSBANDS/WIFES AND DEFACTO PARNTERS, INCLUDING SAME SEX DEFACTO PARTNERS - SUBCLASSES 100/309):

You may apply for this type of visa if you are legally married to or living in a de facto relationship with your sponsor. You may also apply for this visa if you are not legally married to your sponsor but intend to get married before entering Australia.

In addition to the completed and signed sponsorship form (form 40SP) and evidence of your sponsor's Australian citizenship or permanent residence status, you must also provide evidence that your relationship with your sponsor is genuine and continuing. This can normally be evidenced by providing your marriage certificate and other documentary evidence. The marriage certificate in itself is not sufficient evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship.

A decision as to whether the relationship is genuine and continuing will be made following careful assessment and consideration of all the circumstances and aspects of the relationship, including:

- The financial aspects of the relationship, such as any joint ownership of property and joint liabilities, any significant pooling of financial resources, any legal obligations owed by one party in respect of the other party, and the basis of any sharing of day to day household expenses. Evidence may include joint loan agreements for real estate, cars, major household appliances and operation of joint bank accounts. 

- The nature of the household, such as any joint responsibilities for providing care or support of children, living arrangements of the parties, the length of time the parties have lived together (For de facto applicants, it is normally expected that the couple have lived together for at least twelve months), and the basis on which responsibility for housework is distributed. Evidence may include, joint ownership of residential property, joint residential leases, joint rental receipts and joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone), correspondence addressed to either or both parties at the same address, shared responsibility for children and household.

- The social aspects of the relationship, such as whether the parties present themselves as being married or in a de facto relationship, the assessment of friends and regular associates of the parties about the nature of their relationship and the basis on which the parties make plans for, or engage in, joint social activities. Evidence may include statements (preferably Statutory Declarations) of parents, family members, relatives, friends and other interested parties, joint membership of organisations or groups, documentary evidence of joint participation in sporting, cultural, social or other activities, joint travel and evidence that the relationship has been declared to other government bodies and commercial/public institutions or authorities and acceptance of these declarations by these bodies; and

- The nature of the parties' commitment to each other, such as the length of the relationship, the length of time that the parties have lived together, the nature of any companionship and emotional support that the parties provide to each other, and whether the parties see their relationship as a long term relationship.

Please note that we cannot accept and view CDs and videos. If you believe the information contained there is relevant, please provide printed copies.

Please note that the above list is not exhaustive and is applied flexibly. You may lodge any other evidence in support of your application. If you are unable to provide all or some of the above evidence, please provide a statement outlining your circumstances.

You should also provide separate Statutory Declarations from yourself and your sponsor providing full background and history of your relationship and your future plans.

There is no need to provide any documentary evidence of your educational and employment background unless you are specifically requested to do so after lodging your application. However, you should answer the relevant questions in the application form.

If your application is approved, you will be granted an appropriate partner visa, which will allow you to enter Australia with your sponsor. Please refer to your migration booklet for further information about the visa, its conditions and further processing in Australia.

Spouse/Partner provisional and migration visas allow work in Australia.

Holders of Spouse/Partner visas may travel to Australia with a one-way-ticket.

PROSPECTIVE MARRIAGE (FIANCE) VISA - SUBCLASS 300:

This visa allows you to enter Australia and marry your fiance within the visa’s usual 9 months validity period. Please note that you must enter Australia with this visa before your marry your fiance. 

In addition to the completed and signed sponsorship (form 40SP) and evidence of your sponsor's Australian citizenship or permanent resident status, you must also provide evidence that you have a genuine intention to marry your sponsor within the period of validity of your visa (normally up to nine months) and that you, and your sponsor, genuinely intend to live together as spouses.

Please note that for your application to be successful both you and your sponsor must in most cases be at least 18 years old at the time of your intended marriage. In addition, you must both satisfy the decision-maker that there is no impediment to your marriage under Australian law. If one of the parties is either under the age of 18 or not free to marry, please contact our office (if you are the applicant) or the nearest DIAC Office in Australia (if you are the sponsor) for more information before you lodge your application.

In support of your application, you should provide the following documentary evidence:

- Evidence that you and your sponsor have met and are known to each other personally. This may include evidence of correspondence, joint photographs with friends, family etc.

- Evidence that you and your sponsor genuinely intend to marry within the visa period. In support, you should provide evidence that arrangements have been made for the wedding ceremony to take place in Australia. That is, you must provide a signed and dated letter (on letterhead) from the authorised marriage celebrant who will conduct the ceremony. The letter must include:

       -  the date and the venue of the marriage ceremony

       - confirmation that a Notice of Intended Marriage (NOIM) has been lodged with the Marriage Celebrant.

- Evidence that you, and your sponsor, genuinely intend to live together as spouses. This may include all or some of the documentary evidence required in respect of de facto marriage relationships (see above). However, if you cannot provide such evidence (because you have known your sponsor for a short period), this does not mean that your application will be rejected. The decision-maker will take into consideration all aspects of the application before making a decision.

If your application is approved, you will be granted a prospective marriage visa which allows you to travel to, enter and remain in Australia for 9 months from the date of grant. After marrying your sponsor (and while your visa is still in effect), you should apply for a further visa to allow you to remain in Australia. Please refer to your migration booklet for further information about the conditions of this visa and further processing requirements after arrival in Australia.

There is no need to provide any documentary evidence of your employment and educational background unless you are specifically requested to do so after lodging your application. However, you should answer these questions on the application form.

Subclass 300 (prospective marriage) visas allow you to work in Australia.

Holders of Subclass 300 (prospective marriage) visa may travel to Australia with a one-way-ticket.

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE APPLICATION AFTER IT IS LODGED:

As soon as the application is received and the fee is paid, a receipt and an acknowledgment letter containing your file number and other information will be issued the same day. They will be handed to you on-the-spot if you lodge your application in person, or posted to you if your application was received by post.

Our office will write to you again if you are required to provide further information about your application. Please keep our office informed in writing of any change in your circumstances, including change of address (use form 929).

We kindly ask you to limit calls to the visa office to those that are urgent or specifically requested by us. Calling to ask how your application is progressing both increases our staff's workload and diverts our resources, and can increase the processing times for all applications. We will keep you informed about the progress of your application and contact you when your application is decided or if we need more information from you. You can be assured that your application will receive prompt attention.

Please note that due to the provisions of the Australian Privacy Act, we will not normally provide comprehensive information over the telephone, unless there is an emergency or exceptional circumstances.  Preferably, and to protect your privacy, progress inquiries should normally be made in writing using the postal address or email address you provided in your application. 

Please do not make final travel arrangements until your visa is granted.  Holding a ticket to fly on a particular date, including the same day is not considered an ‘emergency'.

Migration Continue.