Beffers

Slightly confused. In terms of being asked to do the medical straight away, was the email from an actual Case Officer, or was it the standard medical letter that appears on the Immi account once you've applied? If the request came from an actual Case Officer then of course, yes follow their instructions. But then you say you've not been assigned a CO? We did the Form 80 as a standard part of our application in February of last year as the list of information requested included this, but maybe this element has changed since then.

I'm sure I just googled the Form 80 and found it. It's all on the Immi website but on obscure pages from what I remember.

I provided a synopsis in each online question and alluded to further evidence in supporting documentation and that seemed to suffice.

Once you submit the application, you'll be given access to a screen where you can upload documents. There's a limit of 60 per person so be mindful and maybe upload composite PDFs. The evidence can include bank statements and utility bills showing shared finances; car, home and life insurance policies in both names; bills and official correspondence showing same address; mortgage/rent statements; marriage certificate if applicable; statements from you both explaining the nature of your relationship; wills; witness statements confirming your relationship as genuine; evidence of social aspects like photographs of you together, joint invites, joint club memberships etc. And all the above needs to demonstrate the longevity of your relationship, so don't just include info for last year if you've been together more. There are Statutory Declaration forms you can use for witness statements, and also a Form 80 you'll need to complete. Your own statements can be typed or written on blank A4. Think that covers it.

Wow. Didn't realise people could do that.

There are a number of highly recommended and professional agents who regularly drop into the forum, and no doubt they will introduce themselves to you in due course.

Hi In your statements, you can explain the housing situation and also your witness statements can also explain the situation. If you have a joint account, then annotate this with household bills and grocery shopping to prove that you share household expenses and allude to this in your statements as well. Presumably you have correspondence addressed to you at the same address, and this can be used to prove living together. I wasn't on my husbands mortgage, but could prove via correspondence and bank accounts that we shared an address and the bills! I don't know when new sponsor rules come in, but my husband didn't have an Aussie source of income either as he'd been living in Europe for 26 years!! However, he had over 15 years industry experience and a trade, and his statement included how he had already begun to network with Aussie firms, and how he had approached his own firm for a transfer, which is what he did in the end (although he has since moved firms). Good luck!

How have you been working in WA for 12 years and now require sponsorship? What visa did you come across on and how comes you've not got PR and/or Citizenship after 12 years?? Sorry but I'm slightly confused. Surely you should be a PR now and therefore not in need of sponsorship? More detail required.

My medical took slightly longer as I'm hyperthyroid and associated hypertension, both controlled by meds. I took a letter from my GP and my latest endocrinology results so they had them on file, and I passed my medical no issue. The panel doc said there shouldn't be any issues as I had provided more than enough info to ally any concerns or unknowns.

Yes to the 40 and 47 as these are the main application forms. If you apply online, these are covered by the online application process. If you want to apply for a tourist visa, you need to let Immigration know so that a) the tourist visa application doesn't cancel your partner application, and b) you'll need to go offshore when your partner visa is ready to be granted. But to enter on a tourist visa, you'll need a return flight, or an onward flight. It is a risk arriving on a one way ticket.

The partner migration booklet will give you a lot of info. check timescales and costs re pet migration as you can't leave that until last minute. also medical for partner visa can sometimes include an X Ray which you can't do whilst you're pregnant. Maybe speak to a panel doctor so you can find out what's involved. once baby is born, apply for Aussie citizenship straight away (and its passport) then you don't need to put him/her onto your visa application, as they wont be migrating with you - in the eyes of Immi - as they can travel to Australia as a citizen anyway. good luck!

I get that she's your child but actually she's an adult who has told you she doesn't want to go back. So, there are two choices. You either stay in Oz to be near your daughter and work harder yourself at carving a better life for yourself (no need to be isolated these days, there are so many groups that one could join to make friends etc) or you return to the UK, leaving your adult daughter here to carve a life for herself. Presumably she still lives at home? Does she understand that if you go back, she will need to stand on her own two feet? Or is there a learning or physical disability that would prevent her independence?

There has been a lot of talk about this but I've not seen any confirmation that its currently effective. Hopefully one of the forum's migration agents will be able to clarify.

Good call.

We put our AirBandB address down for car and Medicare, and spoke to AirBandB landlord about this first to make sure he was okay. He was great, forwarded on our post and even provided an Australian rental reference for us. We were upfront tho and didn't just assume we could use his address.

Your case officer will request your meds and police checks as part of the spouse visa application process. You won't know when this will be when you apply.

Your meds and police checks are valid for 12 months, and that's normally the specified date of entry. So for me I had my meds done March 2017 and when my visa was granted, I had until March 2018 to enter and validate the visa.

Providing that doesn't conflict with her being a dependent on someone else's visa?

So when you met her in Mach 2017, her 100 had not then been granted so she was on a 309 dependent at that time. Therefore the first date that you could be classed as defacto would be March 2018, after she got her PR and no longer classed as a dependent. Therefore, you have only been defacto since then, not long enough to sponsor you on a partner visa, if you claim defacto from March 2017, then she was processed fraudently on the 100, and that has bigger implications for her family surely? Whatever way you look at this, it's just dodgy. And you need to get a proper migration agent.

If your girlfriend was a dependent, then she can't be classed as de facto. Immigration will see right through this and even to the untrained eye, this just seems dodgy. If we can all see it, bet your bottom dollar Immigration will. Fraudulent application is really not worth it.

I've posted elsewhere that someone was recently turned back at the border for doing exactly this and now have a three year ban from entering the country.

This is really only a decision that you can make as a couple. All I would say is that our migration cost us around £25,000 and we did it on the cheap. Its taken a year for us both to settle into decent paid jobs (with lots of temping in the first year), if you bring your kids, prepare for lots of upheavel, and also if after a year one of you decides to return to UK but the other one doesnt want to go, Australian law will decide that Australia is their home and that's where you all will have to stay - look up Hague Convention and international child abduction and all that, its real and I know people who are now trapped down under because of it. Finally the whole process of migrating, applying for visas, selling or renting out your UK home, packing all your belongings, saying goodbye to everything and everyone is not something to be undertaken lightly. You need to be in a strong committed relationship, standing shoulder to shoulder. Also Australia isn't the land of cream and honey, and that's coming from someone who married an Aussie, has been here before and is loving living here. Australia isn't the land of honey - It can bloody well sting and when that happens, you'll both need a partner who will stand by you, not someone saying this is all your fault, I never wanted to come, blah blah, if you catch my drift. Judging from what you've said, and clearly and rightly you've not printed the whole story, it doesn't seem as tho you're strong enough or committed enough to work hard to make it work as a couple. It could be an exceedingly costly mistake, both on your bank balance and to the integrity of your family unit.

With Melbourne, you're better off being near your work as some commutes can be horrendous. Prices had been rising steadily over the past cpl years but they've stabilised in the Dandenong Ranges over the past cpl months, although I think Upwey in particular will continue to keep its grip, mainly because its close to the 'burbs to be useful, has the High School (they're aren't many state high schools in the Hills) and its a pretty decent suburb. Do you know where you could be working? CBD or elsewhere?

If your visa is a Regional Victoria one then everywhere in the Melbourne Metropolitan area is out.

Quality of housing in Upwey is extremely hit and miss, and I haven't witnessed a property being sold in Upwey for less than 650K, due to sheer demand (it's a market I've been watching very closely for 12+ months and have personally viewed pretty much 70% of all houses advertised on realestate in last 8 months). The ones advertised on realestate.com.au for around 550-600 are going for +60-80K on top, and ALL of them in that price bracket have needed substantial work from new electrics, new heating system, to restumping (around $1000 a stump, with a 3 bed house potentially having 20-30 stumps). Upwey is one of the strangest markets in the Hills due to the High School potentially being zoned within next year etc. Properties always go for more than advertised, normally around 50-100K more than what's online. Also anything over 600K will attract stamp duty too, so bear that in mind. Also bear in mind cost of utilities and rates as well. Upwey is in the Shire of Yarra Ranges so go on their website and check for rates information. And utilities are very pricey here compared to UK. Feel free to ask any other questions. I live in the Dandenong Ranges so know the area well.