Cez

What visa are you on?

The department I've had problems with is medicare, who insisted I get a visa label. I said no and asked for another reciprocal card instead. They must've checked my visa status at the issuing office as they sent me a full medicare card valid until my visa expiry date.

I flew with airasia from KL to sydney a few weeks ago and had no problem. I have no visa label or any proof of my PR status. I was stopped at the gate and asked "do you live in Sydney", I said yes and was asked "how long for", told them how long and was waved through, no problem. Other times, like flying to NZ, I've had to wait a few mins while they check my visa status online but I've never had any issues.

I think the idea is that yu get married within the nine months and then apply for he 820 onshore visa ASAP afterwards. Then you'll get a bridging visa to allow you to stay in the country legally. So while your pmv has an expiry date, you should apply for he 820 within the nine month period and you'll be fine.

No there's no knowledge test, on Friday they just tested my eyesight by making my read letters off a screen on the opposite wall. You should be fine to get a full licence by the sounds of it.

Are you expecting to get a permanent partner visa? If not you can only get an NSW licence for 12 months at a time. You can drive in aus on your uk licence up to three months after you're granted a permanent visa. I registered my uk licence to my parents address and have been driving on that since 2010 (I lived away from aus for a year or so) I've just applied for my nsw licence and am waiting for it to come through in the post.

I have a mate with a kid at coogee and he seems happy with the schooling. He's a clever sort, if that helps?

I think so, as they're non migrating dependants. Why on earth aren't you including them in your visa now?

Your only possibility is to prove that the visa was lodged fraudulently, but you would need proof of this and it would place your own visa in jeopardy. Your wife has permanent residency in her own right and this can't be cancelled by you. Ice heard of cases where couples have split days after being granted a permanent partner visa, and the dept of immigration aren't interested unless there is proof the visa application was fraudulent. Just having a feeling that your partner has been cheating isn't enough proof. I know it feels really rough for you, but you just need to let this one go.

You would happily give up your own visa and therefore life in Australia just to upset your ex? As someone who's just gone through a break up with a long term partner (luckily I have pr already), I would recommend just letting go and moving on. I had to leave singapore a a result of our break up and the whole thing has cost me tens of thousands, but I can't be bothered to let the anger take over my life. Instead I'm planning for the future and throwing myself into new hobbies. Don't let your ex give you any more misery.

It's tricky to find the info isn't it! I was looking at this document but it doesn't mention anything about a masters degree. Maybe you could email aasw and ask them to clarify what (if any) PQ experience you'd need in order to pass the skills assessment? http://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/4393 hopefully someone else will be along to offer advice about whether you should look for state sponsorship :-)

Ps a warning as this info may be outdated - I was last researching it properly in 2010. But looking at the aasw website today it says you need at least three years' experience outside Oz, or one years' experience in Oz...

Hey, I don't know which visa you're looking at, but if you qualified in the uk ex Scotland and have to take the skills assessment then you'll need to be eligible for aasw registration, meaning you'll need four years PQ experience in order to pass the skills assessment. This is because the social work degree in aus is four years as opposed to three years in England and Wales, so the extra years training is replaced by four years experience. of course the whole thing is a joke given many social workers in Oz didn't take specific social work degrees, aasw registration isn't mandatory as it is in the uk, and the whole social services system, for adults at least, is approx fifteen years behind the uk.

Depends on how long they've been living together and the proof they have. I assume the back up plan is for her to sponsor him on a partner visa. If they have heaps of evidence of 12 months cohabitation then it may not be strictly needed. I don't know what the legislation is like for registering a relationship in wa.....

Though if you go on a whv and apply for a partner visa then you could then apply to have the six month working restriction removed from your whv. OP you should be fine, this was the same path I took, though I wasn't able to have the working restriction lifted as I only applied at the end of my whv.

Bounce hostel is really nice, modern and clean. A bit more expensive but it's very nice. They have organised events every other evening or so.

To be honest I think it's sensible to have a back up plan, nobody knows what might be round the corner. OP do you have a skill that would enable you to be sponsored separately? You could look for work once you get here and see if an employer could sponsor you.

http://www.newzealand.com.au/faqs/do-you-need-a-passport-for-new-zealand/ it it looks like you'll need a current visa. After two years you may be eligible of NZ pr in its own right, haven't really looked into that though. Your issue there may be whether you meet the eligibility for the five year aus rrv, if not you'll get one year.

I think you will need a valid australian visa for the entirely of your stay in NZ. I have no ideas what the rules are around getting NZ citizenship but you will need a backup plan because otherwise you will need to leave NZ when your aus visa expires.

Where are you from, are you covered by a reciprocal healthcare agreement?

There are no restrictions once the 100 is granted - you have your own permanent residency independent of any relationships. As long as the 100 visa wasn't obtained fraudulently, there's nowt to worry about!

Personally I did my partner visa myself but my situation was straightforward and I felt confident doing it. Others prefer to have some of the stress handled by someone else, others might have tricky situations or be less confident dealing with the paperwork. I've heard of people being refused visas because a new form was published a few days before they submitted their application, they hadn't noticed a d subsequently had to pay a whole new visa fee, which would've cost more than involving an agent. Immigration call centre in Aus is hopeless and has given me two incorrect pieces of information which could've seen my visa being cancelled if I'd have listened to them. Each to their own. In the future I'll need DIY work done in my property and will pay a professional to do it to make sure it's done properly. We all get to make these decisions for ourselves without the need to get high and mighty on forums about it.

Just the surcharge, can't get out of paying the levy

The only way a tourist visa would cancel out another visa would be if you were granted your substantive visa in the meantime. Then the granting of a tourist visa would cancel out that visa. if your co is saying it's ok to come over on a tourist visa then you should be fine. Just dble check that they will inform you when your visa is ready to be granted so you can head offshore for a few days. on the whole I think you can trust a co. It's the people who answer the phones at the immigration call centres who generally have little idea of what they are talking about. They told me some right nonsense the few times I called.