Boddy

Hi Guys, So i promised I would keep you updated for people with problems like mine to get some guidance from my woes. I have being quite busy so only getting back now. I left my job on 18th August 2014 and finally got my 457 cancelled on 23rd October 2014, so it took 8 and a bit weeks to get it cancelled. I did get a different lawyer, A lawyer who made me a priorty, okay he was a bit more expensive but you need to be able to have someone that will act promptly on your behalf. The lawyer wrote to the immigration department requesting my Visa be cancelled, I was informed by my first lawyer and my second, that immi do not like to cancel visas, as there can be serous consequences in doing so, they tend to let it go on and on. I decided to adopt a "shawshank" strategy 7 weeks in and when my lawyer sent them an e-mail requesting it be cancelled i also sent them a letter.... every day, In my letter i expressed the need for urgency due to financial hardship, when i got an automated letter reply, i sent another letter requesting a personal reply. I engaged the support of local politicians and attached their letter of support to my letter. Some Senators enquired with the immi on my behalf, not sure what effect this had but within a week of my campaign i received a letter explaining that they intended to cancel my 457 and outlined the repercussions and asked me to confirm my wish for cancellation which i did. in fact i got response from a Vic immi office and a WA immi office, 7 weeks of nothing and then 2 offices are ready to help.... typical! The WA immi office was the cancellation office so i decided to just deal with them. The visa was cancelled on Thursday 23rd, I now became an illegal and had to present myself to the local immigration office asap which i did on the Friday. I was given a short interview in which i had to provide proof of address, passport. I was informed that my BVA was cancelled along with the 457 cancellation and that i would be applying for a BVE, I stated that i wanted work rights and had the various forms filled out ready to lodge to apply for work rights once my BVE was granted, The officer in charge in seen I had evidence ready to go decided to grant work rights on the visa without having to apply for them so it saved time and further form filling! god knows i am sick of form filling!, I stated that i was concerned about the no travel clause on BVE because of my parents ill health and the possibility of having to go back to Ireland in the event of a family emergency. The officer stated that she could not grant travel on a BVE, which i kinda expected anyway, however i asked her could i submit a statement from my parents GP outlining their health conditions for immi records which she gladly accepted. With regards to my partner visa, i was informed that i would not need to provide proof of co-habitation for 12 months if I registered my relationship with the state which i did post application and uploaded it to my application. From my understanding it is necessary to prove that your have being in a defacto relationship for at least 12 months, cohabitation is the easiest way to prove this I guess, We were living together for 11 months before lodgement of application. I will have to wait and see if this will be a problem, however i have being able to demonstrate evidence of defacto before this period (my partner put me on her car insurance, gym emergency contact etc.) Just to be sure there was no gaps that i missed i booked a half hour consultation with my immigration lawyer to review my partner submission. He reckons I have a good case but advised me to keep adding evidence on a monthly basis. he also pointed out that I had the wrong police check!, I had the state one not the federal one(just be careful to get the right one, they look quite similar. Anyways hope this helps someone else, The process is a right pain but you just need to hang tough. Thanks Guys PS to a MOD - Maybe my thread title does not identify the content within the thread easily for future stressed heads to see, If you feel a title such as "457 to Partner Visa saga" or some other title is better please change.

Thanks Sarah, i will be geting a second opinion from another migration agent, I would have considered asking Westly for paid legal advice if he could have clarified his comments, to say the best strategy might be to resubmit and then say that 12 month co-habitation is not essential for de-facto status is ambiguous commentary to me. Anyway i guess he is only trying to help and i am grateful to all who have commented on this so far. This forum is great for expanding a laymans knowledge on migration issues, and will help me in my discussions with my migration agent. I will keep this thread open and updated so other "poor soles" like me might find it of some use in the future : )

That is okay i understand that, but what led you to believe it would be refused in your commentary?

Okay if that is the case why would you think the best strategy is maybe to withdraw and reapply?

My agent is not answering or returning my calls, i have left messages saying i need to talk to him, i need more advice about the "proof of living together over 11 months" issue and the possible implications of this. I can get a stat dec from my ex housemate detailing that i was effectly not living there from July 2013, I may also be able to obtain evidence of bank transfers to my partner for household bills before August 2013 (will need to check this). i will also be able to provide evidence that i was insured on her Car from well before Aug 2013. I dont have a problem proving the relationship is genuine but proving (on official documents) of living together for 12 months before the application is proving difficult. Also seen as my agent is not consulting with me, what are the implications of changing agent half way through a process? Thanks People:rolleyes:

I believe we can satisfy the minister, but it depends on the definition of defacto, we have being in a committed relationship to the exclusion of all others since December 25th 2012 after a dating period from Sept 2012. I have Personal cards, Witness statements, Facebook screen shots (including photos )detailing that the relationship began and continued from 25th December 2012. I hope this side of it is not an issue , as i was more worried about the catch 22 side of it than anything else, i cannot afford to reapply and i dont want to go to the back of the Q even though it has only being 6 weeks, would it help if i got our relationship registered now and uploaded it to my immi account? i am aware that work rights are automatic on Bridging A however i am unsure what Briging Visa i will get when my 457 gets cancelled. Also i dont think this matters but we did get engaged on 31st of August 2014, we dont plan to marry until winter(oz) 2016. Thanks for your help guys, My agent is registered but hes a bit odd and doesnt return my calls, seems like he has bigger cases to worry himself about!

two of our supporting witnesses have detailed it on the stat dec 888 form., one of whom was the housemat i left, apart from that no EDIT : I actually found a correspondence from my house mate to me on facebook private messaging informing me of a final electricty bill in late August 2013. I have quite a bit of evidence to prove our relationship is genuine, do you foresee techincalities such as proof of 12 month co-habiting being an overiding issue?

yes that is correct, but we have now lived together for just over 12 months, we were living unofficially together for 6 months prior to that

I have not registered our relationship, but having been living together for over 12 months

Hi All, Hoping to get a few opinions on my situation and how to proceed. I am living in Tasmania. I am on a 457 Visa granted in Oct 2012, due to expire in Oct 2016. I met my partner(an Australian Citizen) in Sept 2012, and moved in together in Sept 2013 My Employer was not fulfilling the visa obligations.(placing me in a different role, not paying comparitve salary, unfair work conditions etc.) I applied for 820/801 partnership Visa on the 6th Aug 2014 I became aware that it was not as simple as I previously thought to transfer from a 457 visa to a Partner Bridging Visa A so I sought legal advice. The Lawyer advised to seek a mutual termination with the employer. This has occured from which he would write to the Department of immigration seeking cancellation of the 457 visa. He has done this but 6 weeks and still no word from the department. When/if 457 cancelled and Bridging Visa E(or other) is in place - Apply(with lawyer help) for work rights on whatever visa is granted(most probably one without work rights). Catch 22 So the issue is my partner and me will soon be under financial strain, as our outgoings will be more than our income with only my partner earning. We are faced with to options that i can see Move in with her folks now and stop the financial rot before we go into bad debt. Stay in our rented accomodation and wait it out for the department of immigration to cancel the 457 visa and try and get working rights on the bridging Visa granted. Ideally we want to proceed with option 1 however if we move in with her folks we are uncertain on the implications this would have on me obtaining work rights. Does anybody here have infromation on what the implications might be, Techincally we could survive without me working when living with her parents but only because financial hardship has forced us into a situation that we would otherwise not choose. Any opinions or advice will be welcomed and appreciated Boddy:wink: