JonthePom

Thanks snifter. I am 30, and have already used up my WHV - my girlfriend is 24. Ironically I had a regional job working in a vineyard lined up in Perth (which I paid Peter Pans for) but due to an admin error on their part it fell through. I also moved to Caboolture to pick fruit, but got involved in a scam where you pay for rent and don't get worked (watch out for a 'Doc Spiros') - I reported this to the government but nothing was done about it. I followed the Harvest Trail updates daily but most of the information on there I found to be outdated or incorrect when I called relevant farms etc. Thankfully I did get work, twice, but one was in a professional capacity and the other was hospitality so neither count towards a second year that I could've returned on. I am looking into the New Zealand WHV myself but my girlfriend has committed to a university course in March so cannot do it. We were hoping I would move over, and I would stay with her at her parents (who I have already stayed with in Oz) before finding work in the city and getting an apartment. Australia certainly make it difficult for anyone with good intentions to move there, yet sadly I have met loads of people who have paid off farmers or pretended to be in a relationship/had a fake marriage and got in. I personally would never do this but it's very disenchanting when that seems to be the easier and more successful method.

Thanks - that's what I dreaded, but as her job was a live-in nanny in a family's home could that not be taken into consideration? Didn't know about that visa to be honest, looked into it and it's a possibility but neither of us plan on getting married in the next nine months. A few years down the line perhaps, but we'd want to live together for a while longer in Australia first.

P.S to elaborate, she stayed up north as that's where her grandparents lived and she wanted to visit them. As I was in a shared house we were unable to live together in the same room for longer than a couple of weeks. We did visit each other though and spoke every day. In Australia, initially I would be living with her at her parents' house while I looked for work/we saved money up to get our own place. Also I'm not sure if your job has any bearing on this visa, I normally work as a Communications Officer for charity or government, and used to work for Queensland Health (ex-colleagues and managers could also provide statements of character etc). It's not exactly a critically needed job but it is also a professional one.

I met my girlfriend a year ago on holiday, she's English but an Australian resident as her family immigrated there several years ago. She was living and working in Surrey and I was in London and we started going out in February 2013. We never lived together - mainly as her job was as a 'live-in' nanny, and I was renting a room in a shared house in London. We could not afford our own flat. Around June she left her job but stayed with family up north, although she did stay with me for a while - however as it was a shared house nothing was in our name and we had no joint post, bank account etc. In September she moved back home after being homesick, to Adelaide. I stayed behind to look for work to save more money to go over, and to help my mum with her house after my dad died unexpectedly. I recently visited her in Adelaide, albeit on 'holiday' as opposed to the 3 months originally planned, and am currently working to save some money up for the mammoth visa application fee (just under £3,000?!?! - why is it so much?!). Reading the terms and conditions - it states de facto, which in Australian law is living together. We did not - is it even worth applying? What we DO have is lots of evidence that we have been in a genuine relationship. Unfortunately most of our correspondence was via texts and Facebook, and I don't know how you could use that, but I have also kept several emails from her. We have also travelled twice together to Europe, and she has met my family and friends and I have met hers and I'm sure they could all provide statements about our relationships and the times they met us together etc. She was also with me at my father's funeral and we had the same boss for a few months, an esteemed Professor who could also provide a statement. But would any of this be good enough without having lived together or shared a bank account? Regarding the application process - I lived in Australia on a working visa for a year, would I have to get police checks from both there AND the UK? How would I get one from Australia from here? As for the medical - only private firms seem to be listed on the website, does anyone know if any of this can be done on the NHS? Can I provide prior evidence (for example I recently had blood tests done)? How much does this cost? Do you have to be in Australia to apply for this, and once you do I understand it takes 12-15 months to process at the moment. Is it likely to be less? How/when am I allowed to work after making the application? What if it is refused - can I appeal, and how long do I get to leave? What if I am working if/when it is refused? I have several more questions I currently can't remember. Obviously I want to be with my girlfriend but I am also terrified of my life savings being wiped out on the application and medical alone..