seangolding1987

Thank you for the replies. Yes I agree she does need insurance, but good to know that she would be able to get immediate hospital care if something was to happen. I'll try and look into insurance brokers.

Hi, I'm hoping someone can help me here with some advice. I'm just waiting on my citizenship to come through, so no chance of leaving the country to visit old mum (not that we can in WA anyway), but we'd like to make a plan for her to visit me in WA when travel becomes a thing again. My mum is in her mid 50's and has previously suffered two strokes, has high blood pressure and a heart condition. She's worried that she may not be able to obtain travel insurance or have any cover from the medical system should she visit me for one month per year. Has anybody got any experience with this? It's obviously a great concern if she came here and god forbid had a stroke if there was no medical system in place for her. Or is she just not looking hard enough for the right travel insurance? I remember my late grandfather travelling freely with terminal cancer. Thanks for any help or advice.

I'm in WA. Applied end of August 2021 and have been invited for test interview in two weeks time

Thank you for your replies. I am in Australia and only got my PR in August, so plenty of time. I'm just looking at the circumstances should my mothers health goes downhill, if I overstay in the UK (past my re-entry date to Aus) I don't want to lose my PR. If I have PR and own a property in Australia, is this usually enough grounds to get an RRV should I lose my travel facility? Just wondering if buying a property is a safer bet to secure re-entry to the country then hoping I get citizenship before "the time comes".

Hi, I am able to finally apply for my citizenship as of August this year, but given current circumstance and my mothers health, I may be at a point that I need to go back to the UK for the foreseeable future to see her through old age. If I apply for my citizenship when eligible and onshore, do I need to be in Australia for the rest of the process? I want to ensure I don't shut the door behind me, but it may be more than 5 years until I can return and current processing times are said to be up to 2.5 years from application. Thank you

Hi, I'm currently debating a move back to the UK after a rather traumatic break up with my Australian partner. I understand that you can get a highly taxed refund on your superannuation as a temporary resident when you leave Australia, but is there any way you can get hold of you super if you are a permanent resident and don't intend to return to Oz? Without claiming financial hardship. Has anybody done this? Thank you

We can always push it out a bit further before applying but still we won’t be able to prove officially living together for longer then 6 at the time of application. But there is no requirement that we would have to be living together for 12 months...this is officially stated on the government website. So long as we were in an exclusive, continuing relationship and are able to prove that which we are. My main concern is that if it was thrown out, that we’d have at least the term of the bridging visa to work and save, so hopefully it’s at least 18 months.

My partner and I have decided to take the gamble and apply for our onshore defacto visa. We have been together for a year, living together for 11 months and dating for 5 months prior to being together. We have known each other for 4 years. The "gamble" comes in where we can't provide proof of living together for the first 5 months of our relationship...we can prove the rest and have plenty of other evidence. Anyway... Does anybody know how long they are currently taking to process the application on average until grant of temporary visa? Is the bridging visa still lasting around 18 months and then a year on temporary before PR? Thanks

No evidence other than personal statements from us and friends/family. We had separate living arrangements but spent every night together. We both had a lease/mortgage in place before our relationship started so there wasn't a chance to prove anything. She now lets her place and lives with me in the leased place. I cover all the bills, to provide extra financial support, but she is going to update her address with driving licence and bank etc. I would imagine I would have to leave the country if we broke up, but I was wondering if there was a relief period to cover things like temporary separation (allowing us to rekindle) or a notice period of say a few months before I would have to leave? We have a strong long term relationship, but I just want to ensure for example that she couldn't phone customs and have me on the next flight if things went wrong.

Thanks guys, I've just been for a 20 minute consultation with a migration agent and he's answered a lot of my questions regarding the whole process. He said that we would need to have been living together for the 12 months, however we wouldn't need to have been officially living together. Staying at the same premises 13 nights out of 14 would suffice as long as we have other evidence to back everything up. That would be true if we delay the application until July, before my other visa expires. Gives more time to compile evidence IMO. We live in WA so cannot register the relationship. He also said that application decisions for the temporary visa can still take between 12 & 24 months even if they are going to reject, so $7k is actually cheaper than what I'm spending on tuition fees if I'm granted working rights on the bridging visa. At least can work full time also. This really is a last resort but she is my main motivation for being here. Does this all sound about right? The only other thing I need to triple check on...if something went wrong in our relationship whilst on a bridging visa, would they cancel it right away or would it still go to the decision point first?

Other evidence includes joint car insurance policies, we have a dog together with our name on all of the paperwork, a thousand photos etc. We will be able to get statements etc. too from family but I want to be sure we'd be eligible before I make the suggestion to her.

Thank you for your honest advice. I took this from the Home Affairs website: "Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship. For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period. Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship." https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/35relationship We have been pretty much living together for the duration of our relationship, spending at least 6-7 nights a week at her place, but due to being on a 12 month lease at $1000pw it has taken us a while to make it official as she still needed to cover her mortgage, and I could not give up my lease. She has now rented her place out and moved in with me. We'd have been official in the same premises for 4 months at the time of application.

We have only just started to live together, however according to the Immigration website, we don't have to have lived together for 12 months, just able to prove being together and living together at time of application and long term for the future. She has a mortgage and I have a long lease so these are the circumstances of not officially living together sooner.

Hi guys, I just thought it may be worth putting a post up to see if anybody can think of anything that I can't. Current stats: Nationality: British Age: 30 Education: HND in Computer Systems and Development (Will have my UK Bsc (hons) by July.) Work: Business Development Manager (6 Months) Current Visa: Student (studying Fitness at TAFE, visa due to expire July 2018) I've also been with my Australian girlfriend for 7.5 months and am in a long term relationship. We will hit the one year mark on June 23rd. I've never mentioned the option of a partner visa to her as I didn't want her to think that I'm with her for that reason, but since the changes last year, is this my only option without wasting more time and money at TAFE? Defacto would be my last choice, but even with a degree and a little professional experience I'm not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel? Finally, if we did pursue the partner route, would it be best to just let my student visa expire even though I wouldn't have finished the course? Then I'd be automatically on a bridging visa with working rights...right? At least until 2 years later when they grant or refuse the partner visa? Any suggestions?

Hello guys, I have just moved to Perth on a student visa and was wondering if anybody knew of any banks in Oz that offer perks such as the ones we have in the UK? My account at home includes travel insurance, phone insurance, breakdown cover etc. I don't think any of the Aussie banks do this but it is worth asking. Thanks.

Thanks and I am taking your points on board. As long as I land a role in IT, the 4 year sponsorship will give me everything I need to apply for PR, as I will have my UK degree, and up to 5.5 years of postgrad experience, alongside some Australian TAFE qualifications for good measure. I'm not using TAFE as my way in, I know the diploma isn't enough itself for PR, but if I remember rightly it can land me with some extra points for the PR visa. I am thinking to use it to get my feet on the ground, pickup the practical skills that I need (my degree is mostly theory) and use the time there to network. I appreciate it can be tough to find a sponsor, but I think it will be a lot easier to find one if I'm there in oppose to finding one from the UK. Besides like I said I have a powerful friend in recruitment who knows the right people. My other thought is to just go on a one year TAFE course and then go to NZ on a WHV to get my postgrad experience. At least then I would have had a further year to be sure that migrating to Oz is absolutely the right decision for me, and also do my due diligence to see what NZ has to offer. Thank you for your feedback.

I have been agonising over the decision for some time. I am currently doing a distance study, doing a degree in Computer Science, however the degree is all theory and doesn't give me the practical skills that I need in the industry. TAFE would certainly fill in the gaps, buy me 3 and a half years over there, and give me more of an opportunity to lay some roots and find a sponsor....may even be lucky enough to settle down with a nice Aussie girl in that time! I believe sponsorship can lead to PR? I will have the advantage of having a degree as well as the practical skills, hopefully giving me an edge over some of the Australian grads. Also have my best friend there who works very high up in recruitment and can potentially open doors for me. I know the risks...$26,000 over 2 years. But otherwise I will be waiting another 3 years until I'm eligible to even apply for a permanent visa. My biggest concern is that programmer/developer remains on the SOL until after I graduate.

Hey guys, I think I'm going to bite the bullet and pay the fees to do TAFE for a couple of years (hopefully followed by a grad visa and sponsorship thereafter), as the course will actually be of huge benefit to me. I know I'm restricted to working 40 hours/fortnight on a student visa, with unlimited hours during holidays. The main question is when could I start work assuming I'm accepted and granted a student visa. My course won't commence until January 30th 2017, but I will be in Australia from Nov 9th to meet with the college and do recognition of prior learning (RPL). Would I have to wait until the 30th of January to start work? Or could the period before commencement be considered holiday?

Just coming to the end of my HND in Computer Systems and Development and now I have the opportunity to complete a top-up year to BSc (Hons) in Computing. This is the course... https://www.rdi.co.uk/bsc-hons-computing-top-up/ I am having second thoughts though, the British Computer Society do not recognise this as an accredited degree even though it is awarded by Anglia Ruskin University. Eventually, I'd like to consider my migration options and wondered if anybody had any experience with getting distance learning degrees recognised in the skills assessment. I'm very tempted to just walk away with the HND and TAFE my way in for 3.5 years.