For some partner interview applicants and sponsors, the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) will conduct an interview either in person or by phone. The interview is designed to probe each person’s knowledge about the relationship and about his/her partner, in an effort to help determine whether a relationship is genuine.
The following is a sample list of some of the potential questions that might be asked in an interview. Please keep in mind that this list is only a sample based on our experience with partner visa applications and interviews, and DHA reserves the right to ask any appropriate question. If you believe a question is inappropriate, especially if it involves intimate details of your relationship, you have the right to object and tell the interviewer, politely, that you believe that question is inappropriate.
About Meeting Your Partner and Your Realtionship
When did you meet?
Where did you meet?
What did you find attractive about your partner at first?
What do you (now) find attractive about your partner?
When did you start your relationship together?
When did you fall in love with your partner?
When did you consider yourselves “in a relationship”?
What’s the last thing each of you gave the other as a gift?
About You (the applicant)
How are you paying your bills and supporting yourself now?
How do you and your partner stay in contact? How often? What method(s) of communications?
What will you do when you come to Australia?
How much time have you spent with your partner’s family?
How much time has your partner spent with your family?
Why did you and your partner decide to apply for an Australian partner visa instead of a visa in your home country?
About Your Marriage
When did you decide to get married?
When did you officially become engaged?
Where were you when you became engaged?
Why are you getting married?
Where was the marriage?
What was the name of the church you were married at?
How many people attended your marriage ceremony and reception?
What restaurant did you use for the food for your marriage?
Which of your family attended the marriage ceremony?
Which of your partner’s family attended the marriage ceremony?
Before you were married, how often did you date?
About Your Defacto Relationship
How long have you and your partner lived together?
Have you and your partner lived apart during the last 12 months? If so, please provide details.
What addresses have you and your partner lived at together, and for how long?
When and Why did your previous defacto relationship end? (if applicable)
About Your Partner
What is your partner’s address?
When was your partner born?
Does your partner have a degree? If so, what type and from what school?
What year did your partner graduate from college? (if applicable)
What does your partner do for work?
Where does your partner work?
Is your partner at work now?
How does your partner get to and from work?
What is your partner’s income?
What hours does your partner work? Any overtime?
What size clothes does your partner wear?
What are your partner’s favourite foods?
What are your partner’s hobbies?
What does your partner do in his/her spare time?
What are your partner’s parents’ names?
What do you call your partner’s parents (nicknames, their first names, etc)?
What does your partner’s father do for work? Where is he employed?
What are the names of your partner’s brothers and sisters?
What do your partner’s brothers/sisters do for work? Where are they employed?
What is your partner’s parents’ address?
What are the name(s) of any previous wives of your partner?
Where is your partner’s child now (if partner has a child)?
What do you love about your partner?
About Traveling
What visits has your partner made to come to see you?
What visits have you made to go see your partner?
Where do you go out to visit when you go out together?
About Living Together With Your Partner
Do any others live in the home you share with your partner? If so, who?
Why do you allow others to live in the house with your partner?
What side of the bed does your partner sleep on?
What religion do you practice in your home?
If you and your partner are from different religions, how will you handle that with your kids?
Please describe your home (that you share with your partner).
Please describe the bedroom you sleep in your home.
Do you have any pets?
What colour are the curtains or blinds in the bedroom?
Have you and your partner made any major financial purchases together?
Have you and your partner made any major financial commitments (leases, etc) together?
What’s the last film you saw together with your partner?
(referencing a photo) Who is this person in the photo of you two (describes photo)?
What will you do if this visa application is refused?
Do you plan to have children with your partner?