futuremelbs

Hey all, I'm making my way through the De Facto Partner Visa paperwork (just been assigned a case officer, woohoo). Our original plan was to move to VIC because my partner's family are based there and it would give us an easy start (somewhere to stay while we look for jobs). Naturally we're going to settle wherever the best opportunities are for our respective careers, but I wondered if anyone has cautionary tales or advice on the pros and cons of crossing the world to live near your partner's family? It seems practical to do so, but socially it doesn't put us on a very even footing (my partner will easily integrate back into a community he knows well, while I'll be slightly out on a limb -- whereas if we both move somewhere new we're forging a new adventure together, and can still visit his family a short flight away (e.g. if we went with NSW). It feels more exciting for my partner and I to head to a totally new city, rather than move down the road from his mum and dad, but what do you all think? Any stories or similar experiences would be great! -- future melbs

Lodged my application (De facto partner visa) in mid-June and heard absolutely nothing until just the other day, finally! It took a full four months but we've finally been assigned a case officer and told that we don't need to submit any further paperwork. (We frontloaded it by getting the medical checks and police check stuff sorted early, though now I wonder if that was a mistake). They tell us two contradictory things -- the covering letter they sent says they'll take 8-9 months from our June 2014 submission date, but the general FAQ they've sent says it could take up to 14 months. Not sure which one to believe! But at least something is fiiiinally moving :laugh: -- futuremelbs

Hi - thanks for the replies. I thought this form was an important one so it's really encouraging to hear that you didn't need to fill it in. Hopefully it won't be asked of me as it's my worst nightmare for my (redundancy-happy) company to find out prematurely that I plan a move! I still feel a bit lost about how many of the pieces of paperwork that immi.gov describes as 'Recommended' are actually important for this application!

Hi everyone, I am filling out Form 1221 to accompany my application and its asks for my current and past employment information. Is there any chance the immigration bureau would follow up with my current employer to confirm the details of the form? My current employer doesn't know I plan to move to Australia - there seems little point in raising it so far ahead of time (given visa processing times, and additional time I will need to plan the move). In fact, sticking my neck out and saying I plan to leave the country within a year would be a really good way to ensure I get axed in the next redundancy drive (happens a lot in my field!) I followed up with the 'Contact us' section of the immi.gov site but I got a really generic reply that didn't answer the question (and I was directed to the full terms and conditions, which seem to cover their every eventuality, but don't give me a steer on whether I need to worry or not - plus it's referencing Australian law and I'm based in the UK right now https://www.immi.gov.au/functional/privacy.htm ). Does anyone have any advice on this? I'm scared of being given the nudge by my workplace, or being put in an awkward situation at work. But then again, I don't know how likely it is they would follow up beyond a generic email to HR. Thanks for your advice, all! - futuremelbs

Hee hee We have been joking about that - maybe a sexy photoshoot of the two of us will do the trick?! Whatever convinces them of our genuine and long-lasting commitment to each other *squeaky bedspring sound*

@vickyplum So exciting, sounds like you're on a similar track to us! Good advice about staying organised. The messy part for me is trying to align everything happening at different times - chasing up family/friends for their supporting declarations, the medical, requesting some past bank statements and waiting for them to come through... really dragging the whole process out.

I had a huge document scanathon! My SO stood by the printer, scanning, with me by the computer uploading evidence to the immi.gov site. In retrospect this would have been a lot more fun with a glass of wine in hand but hey - progress!

Brilliant, thanks for the supportive reply - I'll definitely want to pick some brains on some of that supporting paperwork, gah! The issue for me is knowing when to stop - that's a hell of a lot of bank statements, Christmas cards and other blurb. The more evidence, the better?!

Definitely! Waiting for his British citizenship (applying in a month) has been a big blocker, we would have applied for my visa sooner if we weren't waiting for that. We're quite literally counting down the days! Interesting point about moving slightly away from family and friends - I see what you mean. We'll go where the jobs are, but we had thought of going to the same state as his parents. Risky?!

Hi everyone, nice to meet you all! I'm futuremelbs. I'm an early-30s lady, living in London with my Aussie partner (he's lived here in the UK for the best part of a decade - we met in the big city). We've been together for around 4 years, living together most of that time, and we're planning a move to Australia. We aren't married so we're going the unmarried partner visa route - lots of fun paperwork, scanning in our bank statements and all that. Looking forward to chatting with you all and stealing some wisdom from more seasoned applicants who have taken the same visa track - futuremelbs