seanh6 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Hi I currently have a skilled independent permanent visa (class 189) dated July 2014. I was due to go out to Australia the following April but due to my father getting cancer this was delayed. My girlfriend was arranging with a company to be brought out but this was cancelled as she wished to stay with me in the UK. We are now looking to head out to Australia as my father has recovered. I have been looking into a partner 309/100 visa for her but would I need to be in Australia to be able to sponsor her? Obviously we would rather be able to go out together and not live a separate live during the processing of a visa application. We have been together since the end of 2013 and have lived together since Autumn 2015. Thanks for any help/assistance Sean Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Probably you'll need to be out there before she can apply (see below). Could she get a working holiday visa and you could then apply onshore? There's significant extra cost though. Alternatively you might be able to move out first and then sponsor her while you're resident? Dunno. This kind of non-standard application would benefit from talking to an expert I reckon (MARA agent). https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/309- Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens are expected to be living in Australia. Eligible New Zealand citizens might need to have a health examination or character check. We will tell you if you need these checks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carahunter4 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Hi, I have applied for a partner 309 visa and we both live in the UK. My husband was just completing his permanent residency visa when we got together so I wasn't added on to his visa at the time. We validated his visa a year later and have now decided another year later that it is the right time for us to move. I spoke to the Australian High Commission before I lodged and they said that it only assumes the sponsor is resident in Australia because that is usually the case but not always and that it was fine for me to apply. There are plenty of people on this site who are with Australian citizens (their sponsor) who have lived in the UK for many years and are applying from the UK so I don't see why the rules would be different with permanent residency. As far as I can tell them main criteria of the visa is to prove you are a genuine couple - I can't see why they would make a genuine couple unnecessarily live in separate countries for the application particularly as the application requires solid proof of the partnership. Having said all that ours hasn't been granted yet so I can't tell you that it will definitely be ok. Perhaps post this in the 'ask an agent' forum to get professional advice? Someone else posted on there who was an Australian Citizen asking if they could sponsor while they were living in the UK and the agent replied yes. I hope that helps - there's a thread which is for 309 visa applicants which I have found is fantastic if you want to join called 'SUMMARY: Spouse Visa Processing times OFFSHORE-UK. Please add your Stats.' Cara Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 Probably you'll need to be out there before she can apply (see below). Could she get a working holiday visa and you could then apply onshore? There's significant extra cost though. Alternatively you might be able to move out first and then sponsor her while you're resident? Dunno. This kind of non-standard application would benefit from talking to an expert I reckon (MARA agent). https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/309- Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens are expected to be living in Australia. Eligible New Zealand citizens might need to have a health examination or character check. We will tell you if you need these checks. The cost of a partner visa onshore is the same as offshore these days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carahunter4 Posted January 25, 2017 Share Posted January 25, 2017 HiI currently have a skilled independent permanent visa (class 189) dated July 2014. I was due to go out to Australia the following April but due to my father getting cancer this was delayed. My girlfriend was arranging with a company to be brought out but this was cancelled as she wished to stay with me in the UK. We are now looking to head out to Australia as my father has recovered. I have been looking into a partner 309/100 visa for her but would I need to be in Australia to be able to sponsor her? Obviously we would rather be able to go out together and not live a separate live during the processing of a visa application. We have been together since the end of 2013 and have lived together since Autumn 2015. Thanks for any help/assistance Sean I just had another thought, did you validate your visa otherwise it may be invalid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carahunter4 Posted February 12, 2017 Share Posted February 12, 2017 I just wanted to add to this thread in case it's useful to anyone - I just got my visa approved. Every circumstance is different but the answer to this thread is yes you can be approved a partner visa if you are both British & living in the UK if the other partner has a valid skilled visa. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.