Immigrate to Australia from Portugal

Portuguese passport holders can immigrate to Australia from Portugal only when having appropriate visas, as there aren’t any exemptions for foreign nationals. The obligation to obtain a visa is imposed for short-term arrivals as well as for long stays, when foreigners must also apply for residency in Australia.

Individuals who move to Australia from Portugal can arrive here for any of the reasons stipulated by the Australian legislation, and these can refer to employment, business, research, family reunification, etc. Our immigration lawyer in Australia can offer the necessary legal support for any immigration pathway stipulated by the law.

Migrate to Australia as a young person

Some of the ways in which young individuals from Portugal can relocate to this country are by applying for employment or study visas. Typically, young persons are defined as individuals with an age below 30 or 35 years old (it can depend on the visa type and conditions established with each partner country).

Although young individuals can obtain visas issued for long-term or permanent relocation, in general, they arrive here under temporary visas. One of the ways in which young persons can immigrate to Australia from Portugal is by applying for the Work and Holiday program, which is designed for employment, study and tourism purposes.

In the list below, our Australia migration lawyer has gathered some of the characteristics of this visa program:

• the reciprocal program between Australia and Portugal was signed on 25 September 2014;
• the program allows 200 Portuguese passport holders to temporarily move to Australia from Portugal (the same is available for Australian nationals in Portugal);
• eligible candidates must have an age of at least 18 and maximum 30 (they can’t be 31 at the moment when the application is made);
• under this program, immigration to Australia is possible for a period of 12 months;
• concerning the 12 months period, the legislation stipulates that the Portuguese nationals can work for the entirety of the stay, but they can’t be employed for more than 6 months by the same employer (visa holders can also enroll in various study classes, whose duration can’t be longer than 4 months).

Persons who want to study in Australia can apply for the Student visa (Subclass 500). This visa type can be issued for a period of 5 years. Through this document, one can obtain permanent residency, which, after following through with other conditions, can open the pathway to Australian citizenship.

Family relocation to Australia

The legislation on immigration in Australia allows foreigners to reunite with their close family members who live, work, study or have a business in this country. For those who want to join their spouses who live in Australia, a common visa option is the Partner visa (Subclass 100 or Subclass 309).

This visa option is open for all foreign nationals, therefore it can also be used by those who relocate to Australia from Portugal. In order to apply for this visa, the partner (or spouse) living in Australia must be an Australian permanent resident or citizen.

The legislation provides for 2 types of partner visas – temporary and permanent. Persons who want to live here on a permanent basis need to apply for the 2 visas at the same time, as initially, the Department of Home Affairs will issue a temporary visa, followed directly by the permanent one.

Please know that one can relocate to Australia from Portugal under this program as long as the applicant is outside Australia at the moment when the application is made. It must also be noted that the applications are processed in a long period of time, compared to other visas (it can take up to 24 months).

Thus, it is crucial to start the procedure as soon as possible so that the foreigner can reunite with the partner/spouse living here. Our lawyer can offer further information on the visas presented in this article. We also invite you to contact our team if you are interested in any other visa programs.