Partner Visa - apply in UK or Aus?

[Johnparsons]

Hi

 

my partner and I are currently living in the UK. He's Australian and we got married last year. We've planned to move back to Australia this year but can't figure out if it would be better for us to lodge the application here and just wait/hope. Or if we should go to Australia with me on a holiday visa and apply there. I've read a lot of contradictory information and the immigration website is also confusing on some points so if anyone can help, these are my questions.

 

if you apply in the UK, do you have to get all your official documents certified by a JP at the Australian Embassy in London?

 

can you apply from within Australia having gone there first on a tourist visa?

 

if you apply from within Australia, is there any other bridging visa or condition that allows you to work whilst it's being decided?

 

we would love to move this year but if I can't work for 12 months it wouldn't really be an option. We have the form pretty much ready to go with all the complex stuff done and the 888 forms and all JP certified.

 

any advice very much welcomed!!

[Guest]

To answer

 

No you don't need to get them certified in London. We used our own solicitor for a £30 fee.

 

You can, only it's a lot longer processing time (12-15 months onshore v 10-14) and will mean 3 months waiting till the tourist ends and the bridging visa kicks in. And it can be hard to secure work on a bridging visa and it could be over a year on that.

 

I'd personally lodge in th UK as the processing time is less and it will give you time to get organised for the move etc. ATM processing times are officially 10-14 months off shore but grants are current,y coming through a bit sooner for many.

[GooseRenders]

Agreed with above. If you can hang out here together for a bit longer, I would do that.

[Marisawright]

As Snifter says, the correct process is to apply while you're still in the UK and the processing time is quicker. If you decide to apply in Oz, they make you wait longer!

 

However, more importantly - if there's any chance at all that you might want to come back to the UK in the future, your partner should look into getting British citizenship before he goes. You'd be surprised how difficult it is to get an Australian husband into the UK to live - if you don't meet the financial requirements it's simply impossible, and the amount needed just keeps going up.