Partner Visas & Employer-Sponsored Visas
Migration Agents and Immigration Lawyers Adelaide
Applying for a visa is one of the biggest decisions you'll make. We're here to take the hard parts off your plate - so you can focus on your future in Australia, not on government forms.
- 5 stars from 100+
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Client success stories
Mitch & Mel
Partner Visa
(subclass 820)“Massive thanks to Matilda for making this entire process smooth, accessible and easy. We couldn't have done it without you."
James Wills
Employer
(482 Nomination)"We knew we wanted to hire overseas talent but didn't know where to start. Matilda saved us a lot of time and stress."
Meet your migration experts
When you work with Matilda, you're not handed off to whoever's free. We have dedicated specialists in partner visas and employer-sponsored visas, each with extensive experience across Adelaide & SA. Your case goes to the person who knows your pathway.
Nell is a qualified corporate lawyer who transitioned into strategy and operations. She spent the last two years at Eucalyptus, where she helped launch the business in international markets (Germany and Japan). She loves understanding and solving flaws in manual, demanding processes, and joined Matilda to help it become the breakthrough solution the visa industry needs.
Our Visa Services for Adelaide Clients
Partner Visas
Partner visas are what we're known for. Our immigration lawyers handle every Adelaide partner visa application - managing your evidence, drafting your relationship statement, and making sure the Department of Home Affairs gets a complete, well-structured application the first time around.
We specialise in:
- Subclass 820 / 801 - Onshore Partner Visa (temporary, then permanent)
- Subclass 309 / 100 - Offshore Partner Visa
- Subclass 300 - Prospective Marriage Visa
We help Adelaide couples with:
- De facto applications - including guidance on South Australia's relationship register and, just as importantly, when to start it (more on this below)
- Long-distance and international relationships - overseas partners can participate fully online
- Complex evidence preparation - we reduce your workload from around 100 hours to 15–30
Employer-Sponsored Visas
Our registered migration agents handle employer-sponsored visa applications for Adelaide professionals and the businesses that want to hire them. We know the South Australian market - from defence and space to health and medical research, renewable energy, emerging technology, education, and the state's food, wine and agriculture sectors - and how to structure an application that holds up to scrutiny.
We assist with:
- Subclass 482 - Skills in Demand visa (temporary employer-sponsored)
- Subclass 186 - Employer Nomination Scheme (permanent employer-sponsored)
- Business sponsorship applications - for Adelaide employers sponsoring for the first time
- Employer nomination - nominating a specific employee under an existing sponsorship approval
Supporting both:
- Skilled professionals seeking employer-sponsored pathways to permanent residency
- Adelaide-based employers navigating sponsorship obligations and documentation
Why Adelaide Couples Choose Matilda for Partner Visas
A partner visa application is personal. You're sharing your relationship with a government body and trusting someone to present it properly. Here's what Adelaide couples get when they work with us.
No visa, no fee. If your visa isn't granted, you don't pay our professional fees. We think that's how it should work - and it means we're invested in your outcome, not just your lodgement.
We do the heavy lifting. The average DIY partner visa takes around 100 hours of work. With Matilda, your time commitment drops to 15–30 hours. We draft your relationship statement, build your evidence album, and complete the legal forms. You provide the information; we do the rest.
Guidance on South Australia-specific options. Including registration through the South Australian Relationships Register, and the timing it requires - SA has a 28-day minimum wait that can't be shortened, so this is a decision to make early, not late.
Long-distance relationship support. Your overseas partner can participate fully online. Shared finances, communication records, statutory declarations - we help you structure international relationship evidence clearly and compellingly.
Fully online. No office visits. No rearranging your life around a CBD appointment. Everything is handled remotely, on a timeline that suits you.
Legal and migration expertise working together. Partner visas at Matilda are handled by immigration lawyers and registered migration agents. You get both - not one or the other.
Why Adelaide Clients Choose Matilda for Employer-Sponsored Visas
Employer-sponsored visas have a lot of moving parts - the employer's obligations, the occupation list, the salary threshold, the nomination, and the visa application itself. South Australia adds a layer, because more than one sponsorship arrangement operates here and they don't all work the same way.
Clarity through the complexity. We explain the standard employer-sponsored pathway - including the 482 to 186 route to permanent residency - in plain terms, and we are clear about which parts of the South Australian landscape we handle and which we don’t.
Straight answers about what we do and don’t cover. South Australia has two Designated Area Migration Agreements: one covering the whole state, and the Adelaide City Technology and Innovation agreement covering the metro area, aimed at defence, space, advanced manufacturing and technology. These are labour agreements with their own concessions, and Matilda doesn’t act on them. If that’s the pathway you need, we’ll tell you early rather than after you’ve paid us.
Experience across Adelaide and SA industries. Defence and space, health and medical research, renewable energy, emerging technology, education, food and wine - we understand how sponsorship works in the sectors that actually hire here.
Support for employers and employees. We work with both sides of a sponsorship: the employee navigating their visa options, and the business meeting its obligations as a sponsor.
Applications built to hold up. Every application we lodge is structured to meet Home Affairs requirements from the start, so it moves through assessment without avoidable delays.
Ongoing support, not just a lodgement. We stay with you after your application goes in. Progress updates, post-lodgement requests, and the next step when it comes.
How Matilda works
Visa applications are already a digital process. The question is whether your agent is set up to do it well.
Named specialist, not a queue
You get a specific agent with the right expertise for your pathway, and their direct email.
Fixed fees, quoted upfront
No hourly billing. No surprise line items.
Lawyers and migration agents, together.
Registered MARA agents plus admitted Australian lawyers - the full depth of both disciplines on every case.
A case portal that works
Documents, deadlines, and status in one place. See where your application is without asking.
Fully online
No office visits. Video, email, secure uploads.
Registered and accountable
Every agent is MARA-registered or an admitted Australian lawyer. Online doesn't mean unregulated.
Partner visas in Adelaide & South Australia: what to know
Registering your relationship in South Australia
If you're in a de facto relationship, the standard rule is that you need to demonstrate at least 12 months of living together before you can lodge a partner visa application. A registered relationship can remove that requirement.
South Australia has a Relationships Register, administered through Consumer and Business Services. Both partners need to be at least 18, and at least one of you must live in South Australia - so this remains an option even if your partner is interstate or overseas.
A few things worth knowing about the process:
- There's a 28-day minimum wait from when your complete application and payment are lodged, and it cannot be fast-tracked. Plan around it
- You can withdraw the application during those 28 days if your circumstances change
- Both partners need certified proof of identity and age, proof of South Australian residency, and evidence that any previous marriage or registered relationship has ended
- A statutory declaration signed by both of you in front of an authorised witness is required
- Applications are lodged online through Consumer and Business Services
- A relationship certificate - which you’ll need for your partner visa application - costs $66.50, or $93.50 for the standard and commemorative pair
The timing is the part people get wrong. South Australia's 28-day wait is firm, and there's no priority option to shorten it - unlike a certificate order, which can be expedited. If registration is part of how you plan to meet the 12-month requirement, it needs to be started well before you intend to lodge, not treated as a final step. We look at whether it's the right move for your situation and, if it is, work backwards from your lodgement date.
Proving you live together in Adelaide
Adelaide's rental market is more forgiving than Sydney's or Melbourne's, and couples here more often end up on a joint lease early - which helps. The complications tend to come from somewhere else: share housing around the universities, and partners arriving at different times when one of them has relocated for a defence, space or health-sector role.
Neither of those weakens an application on its own. They just mean the early months of your relationship may not have produced the documents a case officer expects to see, and that gap needs to be filled deliberately rather than explained away later.
We help you work out what evidence you actually have, structure it clearly, and fill the gaps using statutory declarations and supporting documents. A less-than-ideal living arrangement doesn't have to mean a weaker application.
Statutory Declarations
Statutory declarations - formal written statements made in front of an authorised witness - are commonly used in partner visa applications to support relationship evidence. They're particularly useful where documentary evidence is limited: long-distance periods, the early stages of a relationship, or gaps in financial records. One is also required as part of registering a relationship in South Australia.
We advise on when to use them, what they should cover, and how to get them witnessed correctly under South Australian law.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to visit an office, or can my Adelaide migration agent work with me online?
Entirely online. Matilda is a fully remote migration agency - video consultations, secure document handling, and all communication handled digitally. You never need to travel into the CBD or take time off work for an appointment.
Are online migration agents and immigration lawyers in Adelaide legitimate?
Yes - what matters is MARA registration (for migration agents) or legal admission (for immigration lawyers), not a street address. Both are national credentials. An Adelaide office doesn't make an agent more qualified, and working remotely doesn't make one less so.
How do I prove my relationship for a partner visa in South Australia?
The Department of Home Affairs looks at four categories of evidence: financial aspects of your relationship, your living arrangements, your social life as a couple, and your commitment to each other. Registering your relationship in South Australia can help with the 12-month requirement, but it doesn't replace this evidence - you still need all four categories covered properly, and that's the part we do with you.
Can I register my de facto relationship in South Australia to speed up my partner visa?
Registering with the South Australian Relationships Register can remove the standard requirement to show 12 months of living together, which for some couples means lodging sooner. The catch is timing: there's a 28-day minimum wait from lodging your complete application, and it can't be fast-tracked. If registration is part of your plan, start it early. At least one of you needs to live in South Australia, and both of you need to be 18 or over.
How long does it take to register a relationship in South Australia?
At least 28 days from the date Consumer and Business Services receives your complete application and payment. There's no priority or expedited option for the registration itself. The relationship certificate you order afterwards can be fast-tracked for an additional fee, but that doesn't shorten the 28 days. It's the single most common timing mistake we see with South Australian couples.
How long do partner visas take to process in Adelaide?
Partner visa processing times are set by the Department of Home Affairs and change regularly. The published timelines apply nationally - your location in Adelaide doesn't change how quickly your application is assessed. What does make a difference is whether your application is complete and well-evidenced when it's lodged, because requests for further information add months.
What employer-sponsored visas are available to Adelaide workers and employers?
Our support for Adelaide employer sponsorship covers the Subclass 482 (Skills in Demand) in its Core Skills and Specialist Skills streams, and the Subclass 186 (Employer Nomination Scheme) in its Temporary Residence Transition and Direct Entry streams. South Australia also has two Designated Area Migration Agreements - a state-wide one and the Adelaide City Technology and Innovation agreement covering the metro area - along with state nomination programs. These are separate arrangements with their own rules and concessions, and Matilda doesn't act on them. If one of those is the right pathway for you, we'll point you in the right direction rather than take on work we don't do.
What's the difference between a migration agent and an immigration lawyer?
Both can lodge Australian visa applications and advise on eligibility. Immigration lawyers have additional legal qualifications and can act in matters that go beyond a standard application, such as tribunal reviews. Matilda has both on the team, which means your application is handled by whichever is right for your situation rather than whoever you happened to call.
How much does a migration agent or immigration lawyer cost in Adelaide?
Matilda charges flat fees for partner visa applications - there's no hourly billing and no hidden costs. The “no visa, no fee” guarantee means you don't pay our professional fees if your visa isn't granted. Government application charges are separate and set by the Department of Home Affairs. We give you the full picture before you commit.
Ready to Start Your Visa Journey?
Parth clients don't need an office. They need a team that knows what they're doing - and actually cares whether the application works. That's what Matilda is. Start with the free eligibility quiz (five minutes, clear answer) or book a free 20-minute consultation with one of our lawyers or migration agents. No obligation. Just a straight conversation about where you stand.
