Can my girlfriend come on my VISA?

[bonus]

Hi,

I'm looking at finding work in Melbourne and have been told by one company that they will offer me a job as long as a contract for thei rnext project gets signed and have an interview with a second company next week who are flying me out at their expense for the interview.

My concern is that my girlfriend and I want to go together however we do not live together.

We have been looking at saving up to buy a place together in the UK but have decided that at 25 and the way things are at the moment we'd be better off throwing caution to the wind and making a move to try another country than tie ourselves into a volatile property market here and pss up the opportunity for a bit of adventure.

My girlfriend and i have been together for five years but never lived together, do we have any options for applying with her as a secondary applicant as a de-facto partner or any other possibility?

Any help would be great,
Thanks.

[gwen]

Hi Bonus,
Just thought I would let you know my son moved to Perth last year with his girlfriend,she went over on her mums visa.My son got a working holiday visa, it only took a week to come through and was not expensive.He started of labouring and now is training up to be a manager of a electrical store he is on good money as well.When they say you have to do farm work or picking for 6 months ( you don't ) He has been there since Nov 2007 and has been told he can apply for his permanent visa in another 4 to 6 months.Retail jobs are good to get into as they are in short supply over there. My son and his girlfriend are on around $1600 a fortnight each and theyonly 19 and 20.Hope I have not gone on to much .
Luv Gwen x x

Originally Posted by bonus

Hi,

I'm looking at finding work in Melbourne and have been told by one company that they will offer me a job as long as a contract for thei rnext project gets signed and have an interview with a second company next week who are flying me out at their expense for the interview.

My concern is that my girlfriend and I want to go together however we do not live together.

We have been looking at saving up to buy a place together in the UK but have decided that at 25 and the way things are at the moment we'd be better off throwing caution to the wind and making a move to try another country than tie ourselves into a volatile property market here and pss up the opportunity for a bit of adventure.

My girlfriend and i have been together for five years but never lived together, do we have any options for applying with her as a secondary applicant as a de-facto partner or any other possibility?

Any help would be great,
Thanks.

[bonus]

Thanks for the reply,

I'd be getting offered a job as a computer game programmer in Melbourne hopefully and my girlfriend is a fully qaulified primary school teacher so it's options along those lines we'd be looking at.

If she couldn't get de-facto status on my visa could she get a working holiday visa then get an employer sponsored visa once in Oz?

Is there any reason why photos, travel tickets and statutory decs wouldn't be enough to prove a 5 year relationship?

It's all so confusing.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Bonus

As your girlfriend is only 25, the best thing would be for her to get a Working Holiday Maker Visa. Please see here:

Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

Provided that your girlfriend spends a minimum of 3 months in her first 12 months doing *seasonal work* in *regional australia* She would be eligible for a second WHMV lasting a further year. Please see here:

Immigration package to ease skills shortage - Immigration Media Release ce015/2008

Working Holiday Visa (Subclass 417)

The Minister for Immi announced recently that contruction work is to be added to the list though that may not be terribly relevant for a girl!

The WHMV would enable you to set up home together in Oz and to be there together for long enough for you to be able to be counted as "a couple" for future visas. Alternatively it is possible - depending on her skills - that an employer might take a shine to your girlfreind and offer her a 457 visa in her own right.

Best wishes

Gill

[bonus]

Are the chances of her being accepted as my de-facto partner quite slim?

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Bonus

They would use much the same criteria as they do for de facto Partners in the Family Stream of visas I would imagine. Please see here:

Australian Immigration Fact Sheet 35. One-Year Relationship Requirement

You should have a chat on the phone with a Registered Migration Agent I would suggest, because they are the people best-placed to tell you - based on their experience with other applicants - whether the amount and types of of evidence you have currently would be sufficient or not.

By using a WHMV though you can sidestep any potential queries at this stage and give yourselves enough time spent living together etc to shut DIAC up. If DIAC were to start crawling over the domestic side of a joint application with a fine toothcomb, it could cause serious delay and it could also lead to them threatening to refuse your own 457 application unless your girlfriend is withdrawn from it.

Why buy yourself a potential headache when there is no need to? A WHMV only costs $190, they are usually processed abnd granted in less than a week, and it is very simple to apply for it on line via the link in my previous post.

Also, it would be better if your girlfriend were in Oz in her own right so that in the event that you split up after arrival in Oz, she would be able to remain in Oz independently of you.

Best wishes

Gill

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Gwen

Your post is confusing me a little. If your son does not want a second WHMV then he need not bother with the seasonal work in regional Oz that I have described to Bonus. However, if he needs his WHMV to last for a second year then he will need to do 3 months of seasonal work before his first 12 months is up.

You say that your son will be applying for permanent residence in 4-6 months? On what basis will he be doing this, please? Which PR visa will he be applying for?

Best wishes

Gill

[bonus]

Thanks for the deatiled info, it's a great help.

The company who have said they'll offer me a job once their budget is sorted out for the project have an HR dept who would take me through the apllication, I guess I'm just worrying about things before I know what is definately going to happen.

The WHMV looks like a good option but my girlfriend might struggle to get work as a primary teacher with that, especially with the 6 month restriction so I assume she'd need to try to get someone to sponsor on her own 457 once there.

Thanks for the help and the links.

[Gollywobbler]

Hi Bonus

She could probably get work as a supply teacher pretty easily.

Young doctors have gone out to Oz on WHMVs before now and it has led to 457 visas followed by PR for them so I do not think this route is likely to cause your girlfriend any problems at all.

Best wishes

Gill

[bonus]

Thank you very, very much.

Definately put my mind at ease about us being able to get out together and the options to look at once we're there.