Hello sorry, Im feeling a bit down

[HelenaBooth]

Hello,

First of all sorry I post so much .... but any help would be grand

I am engaged to be married to an australian citizen who holds a full australian passport, we have been together two years, engaged since dec 06, and living toghether since Jan07.

do you think itwould it be easier to get married before appling for a visa?

Please help, we spoke to one agent (migration bureau) and they charged me £95 for information I felt already knew and I feel very cheated. They just told me what visas are open to me, which like I said I felt I already new.

Im looking for any agent who will help and advise, only being 21 I dont have a clue about anything let alone about setting up in a new country. I must have filled in about 6 'free' initial assesments on different sights.

Im feeling a bit sad..you know down...

[Stuju]

Hi Helena, Try & keep your chin up,
Let me just tell you a bit about myself and that may help you a little.
I married my 2nd husband (australian citizen) in 2003 we lived in the uk at the time and decided to come to oz last august (06) i applied onshore (in oz) and it was very easy we had a interview with a migration officer on sep 28th the same day as i have them my case load and i was granted a temp spouse visa on Oct 13th only 15days (i was told that it would of been on sep 28th but had to get more paperwork from my ex due to the fact of children) some friends of ours are here too and she is a permnament oz resident and he on a defacto visa and he got his after a year or so but he applied onshore too.
I really do think that you should get married in the uk and then come to oz and apply here as you have the easiest route in the world to go down being married to an aussie.
Good luck and keep us posted :wink:

[ItsJo]

awwww hunny we have all been where you are now...There will be lots of people here that can help you..even if you think your question is trivial please ask...I am 40 and a few weeks ago i was feeling down and i didnt even have a reason!!..you do have one thing to smile about..you are 21 ohhh how jealous am i lol..keep at it girl..we didnt use an agent but some people prefer it for piece of mind...
we get together on a friday night in the chat room so please feel free to come and join us..we will get you smiling again

Jox

[HelenaBooth]

Thank you, I have sent off for some wedding brochures in UK and Oz, I think I would like to get married over here so my parents could see.
I started thinking this wouldnt be hard at all, but with all the pages of small print its mad.
I am a very nervous and easily stressed, I know I should calm down as I am only 21, but when you want something really bad its hard to just chill out about it
xx

[calNgary]

Hiya we got married the week before we left the uk ,had a massive wedding / leaving party with all our friends and family ,the only thing to be careful is certain visas stipulate you cant marry before entering Oz so run it by an agent first.As for paying for info ,,use a different agent ,we used visa bureau and they were really good ,there is also a couple of agents on this forum who may be able to help ,,good luck
Cal x

[HelenaBooth]

Thanks Cal, I have just registered with that visa agent.
Filled in yet another lot of forms, but its all gonna be worth it I hope
xx

[tahe49]

A friend of mine had an australian boyfriend, then when she got out there they got married. Not sure what type of visa she had but I am sure I can find out.

[Welshtone]

Hi Helena

I will try and outline your options on the assumption that, as you wish to go to Australia by the end of this year, an application based on a de-facto relationship is not possible - so we have two visa options:

1 A spouse visa (subclass 306/100) where you are either already married to an Australian or intend to get married outside of Australia, before the visa can be granted. The timing of this application would be about 3 months before you intend to get married or closer to the marriage date if you get your medicals and police clearance ready. So you do not have to be married to make this application.

2 A prospective spouse application (subclass 300) - This is intended for applicants who plan to get married inside Australia - If approved, you will be granted a 9 month visa which allows multiple re-entry to Australia, allows work, and has a condition that you get married to your sponsor within the visa validity. You then need to apply in Australia for the Spouse 306/100 visa before your visa expires. You can change your mind after entering Australia on the 300 visa and return overseas to get married and then return to Australia to lodge the 306/100 application. So although intended for marriage in Australia, there is some flexibility if you decide that a UK wedding is now preferable.

The prospective marriage application has further flexibility if you were to change your mind at the last minute and get married in the UK. As long as the 300 visa has not been granted, you could inform the AHC that you now intend to marry in the UK and when they receive notice of that marriage, your 300 application is deemed to be an application for the 306/100 visa at no extra cost.

Regards


Tony Coates
MARN 0635896

[HelenaBooth]

thanks for that info, do you work as an agent?, if so who for? There are so many to choose from, Visa bureau have some good reviews on this sight, at the minute we are using migration burea, Im sure they are all about the same, but just want someone that will be able to offer us help and not charge £63 an hour for it

In your honest opinion, if you dont mind answering, which do you think would be better.

1) marring before we go Oz and before we start any visa application

2) marring before we go Oz but starting spouce visa now

3) marry in Oz and start a fiance visa now

4) other ( I dont know what the other is but if you do then please shaer)

Thanks

[Welshtone]

Hi Helena

Yes I work as a Migration Agent in Ireland. I also do some contract work for OE Visas in Edinburgh, handle their Computing, Engineering and Management assessment cases and give advice on difficult cases they may have. I made a decision before I joined this site not to take on any clients from PIO unless they were living in Ireland. That way I can give independent advice and not have a conflict of interest where I might be perceived to be worried that I may be saying too much that a member may go away and tackle the application themselves.

A couple of years ago I had over 200 clients and was working 70 hours per week and was chasing my tail. Now I take on 2 or 3 clients a month, usually referred by a previous client, have a case load of 30 odd case - it takes me about 10 hours a week and life is good - gives me 20 to 30 hours a week to keep up to date with everything. I am not even comfortable to recommend any agent as that has to be your decision. Members are quick to recommend agents they have used thinking that the agent has done a marvellous job but you could be recommending an agent for a completely different type of case and that same great agent is totally incompetent in some other areas. If you do pick an agent, ask them three questions:

1 Can I apply for the Spouse 306/100 visa before I get married as I would like to get married 2 weeks before we move to Australia ?
2 If I apply for the Prospective Spouse 300 visa and, half way through, decide to get married in the UK before the 300 visa is granted, do I have to reapply for the 306/100 visa and pay the application fee again ?
3 If I go out on the prospective marriage visa, do I have to get married in Australia or can I come back and get married in the UK and then return to Australia to apply for the 306/100 visa?

If you get the right answer to these three questions, you have an agent who appears to know a lot more about these types of visas that most. An Agent who gest all three wrong could still be a great agent for getting through bread and butter Skills applications. And thius ends todays sermon.

Helena, I can't tell you when to get married but with the two available flexible visas, you should be able to decide when you want to get married and where, when you want to be in Australia and, if you did change your mind about when and where you get married what would be the likeley alternative scenarios. So tell me your wish list and then I can advise you on whether one or t'other visa would be better for you.

Regards


Tony Coates
MARN 0635896