leggyblondebird

Thank you so much MaggeMay24! You are fabulous. I kind of feel like I knew the answers, but I just wanted some reassurance, you know? Crazy as that may sound. When it's such a huge amount of work and a financial beast I don't want to take any chances and sometimes just hearing from someone else makes all the difference.

Hi everyone I have been reading posts on here for ages and am finding so many useful tips, so thank you all for being incredible and such a supportive bunch. I haven't posted myself since my initial post so I feel bad for now coming back with questions. Please forgive me and bear with me! If there is a thread where this is answered that I've missed, please feel free to point me in that direction. I just have a few small questions. I am about to lodge my online application for the partner visa (in Australia) and am getting everything ready. 1. Do we still need passport size photos when applying online? If so do we scan them in or upload digital ones or what? The boy and I have recently had passport photos done for paper applications for other things but it seems like an odd one for online. Anyone able to enlighten me, or will it all become clear once I actually lodge? 2. My current working holiday visa expires in December. I assume that I will remain on that until then and then hopefully be granted a bridging visa. We intend to visit the UK next year for a month, so where during the application process can I advise them of that? They say you have to let them know so I'm hoping I can do it when I lodge. 3. Is it just me (the applicant) who needs health and character checks, or should my boyfriend have them too? He's Australian but spent a few years in the UK on working and ancestry visas. 4. General consensus - is lodging all the stuff and then adding the medical and police checks at a slightly later date a good way to go? It would seem so but I just want to make sure that others who have done it that way have encountered no big issues please? Those are the main questions for now, I am feeling fairly confident with all my documentation, just have to get a few bits witnessed and I'm good. They can only say yes or no in the end, right!? And all bridges can be crossed as they are approached. My life is here so I have to believe in a positive outcome. There is no reason why I should't get what I want. I deserve to have my dreams come true :cute: I'd love to hear any other experiences or recommendations that people have. Especially from anyone who, like me, started out on a WHV then decided to stick around for true love! Thank you all so much for your time, I really appreciate it. I hope to get on and provide lots of advice for other people once I am a little more secure my own self.

[h=2]Hello fellow Aussie lovers![/h]I am still new here but I thought I would share my welcome post here and get a topic going on something I feel pretty strongly about. I know some people do not know whether the WHV is worth doing or whether they should just have a holiday. Well I think it really is worth doing. I mean, apart from a splash of cash, what do you really have to lose? Better to come out here able to stay for a whole year and decide to only do a couple of weeks than to come out for a couple of weeks and never want to leave! Below is a little snippet of my story. Feel free to ask any questions you may have about my experience. Sorry if this is a duplicate as you have read my welcome post, but if not then enjoy! I have been in Australia on a WHV since 27th December 2012. I love every minute of the experience and intend to keep living this dream for the rest of my life. I now have an Aussie boyfriend so I will be applying for a partner visa before the end of my second year WHV. I found getting my second year visa really easy. I spent three and a half months working on a stud farm in Upper Lansdowne, NSW. It was fantastic and I really enjoyed the experience. I am a very outdoorsy person but prior to coming to Australia I spent three years working as a PA and event planner so it was certainly a change to not be in an office! I worked long days, around 6am-11pm and did it all for free, just doing some babysitting for pocket money, but I loved it all. I was a real part of the family and even long after leaving, I still keep in good touch with the family I lived with. I had no previous experience with horses either, and I was the only farmhand and single handedly ran the place a lot! We had 30 horses, 40 organic beef cattle, lots of chickens, three cats and a dog. There were also the two children that I helped take care of around the farming for my pocket money, so it really was an incredible learning experience and I really felt like I had given a lot back to the country for the amazing experiences it continues to provide me with. I also really felt that I had earned my second year visa. It was nice to feel like I deserved it so much! So now I am temping with a local council and saving to make a life with my boyfriend. We have been seeing each other since I arrived here and officially became a couple in September 2013, so this September we can apply for the partner visa and I will be able to stay. I stayed with him and his family a lot before and during my farming, then moved in properly mid-July 2013 and have been living there and working in the area ever since. I am a little concerned about the partner visa application, but we are building up a good bundle of evidence so we shouldn’t encounter too many problems, I am hoping. I joined here for advice (both giving and receiving) and just a general feel for a community in a similar position, to talk about all the awesome aspects of this wonderful country. And to say that if you have ever tried to call IMMI…my gosh! I called four times and each time waited for half an hour before giving up. I finally got through 15 minutes into the fifth attempt. I was just trying to find the answer to a question regarding exact work limitations as the VEVO documents are so vague. Got there in the end though, and I will hold that woman to her answer! Anyway, that’s a little about my experience here. I continue to explore the place by regular long drives, walks and camping trips with my boyfriend and just keep falling further and further in love with the country. I know this is where I want to be. I look forward to meeting lots of you and finding out about all of your experiences. Feel free to chuck any questions my way. Hattie.

Hi all! I have been in Australia on a WHV since 27th December 2012. I love every minute of the experience and intend to keep living this dream for the rest of my life. I now have an Aussie boyfriend so I will be applying for a partner visa before the end of my second year WHV. I found getting my second year visa really easy. I spent three and a half months working on a stud farm in Upper Lansdowne, NSW. It was fantastic and I really enjoyed the experience. I am a very outdoorsy person but prior to coming to Australia I spent three years working as a PA and event planner so it was certainly a change to not be in an office! I worked long days, around 6am-11pm and did it all for free, just doing some babysitting for pocket money, but I loved it all. I was a real part of the family and even long after leaving, I still keep in good touch with the family I lived with. I had no previous experience with horses either, and I was the only farmhand and single handedly ran the place a lot! We had 30 horses, 40 organic beef cattle, lots of chickens, three cats and a dog. There were also the two children that I helped take care of around the farming for my pocket money, so it really was an incredible learning experience and I really felt like I had given a lot back to the country for the amazing experiences it continues to provide me with. I also really felt that I had earned my second year visa. It was nice to feel like I deserved it so much! So now I am temping with a local council and saving to make a life with my boyfriend. We have been seeing each other since I arrived here and officially became a couple in September 2013, so this September we can apply for the partner visa and I will be able to stay. I stayed with him and his family a lot before and during my farming, then moved in properly mid-July 2013 and have been living there and working in the area ever since. I am a little concerned about the partner visa application, but we are building up a good bundle of evidence so we shouldn’t encounter too many problems, I am hoping. I joined here for advice (both giving and receiving) and just a general feel for a community in a similar position, to talk about all the awesome aspects of this wonderful country. And to say that if you have ever tried to call IMMI…my gosh! I called four times and each time waited for half an hour before giving up. I finally got through 15 minutes into the fifth attempt. I was just trying to find the answer to a question regarding exact work limitations as the VEVO documents are so vague. Got there in the end though, and I will hold that woman to her answer! Anyway, that’s a little about my experience here. I continue to explore the place by regular long drives, walks and camping trips with my boyfriend and just keep falling further and further in love with the country. I know this is where I want to be. I look forward to meeting lots of you and finding out about all of your experiences. Hattie.