bella1458

Hi all, I am a British citizen with Australian PR. It was granted in 2015. In 2016 I returned to the UK & have been living in a defecto relationship with my British partner since. Before this I was in Australia a total of 6 years. After 2 years in Uk I really want to go home.... so we are looking at our options for visas for him. His profession (software engineer/developer) is on the skilled visa list & it was always our plan to apply for 189 however we stupidly kept putting it off & now with all the recent changes to the skilled migration route it just seems they are making it harder and longer to come in via this path. So we have started looking at partner visa options. We meet all the requirements in terms of our relationship, however I am concerned that I do not meet requirements as a Sponser. I’ve read on the IMMI site that to meet requirements of a sponsor id have to usually live in Australia, which I haven’t done for 2 years now so I’m not sure how I can achieve this without returning without him. Which financially & emotionally would be very difficult to do especially for the length of time these applications take to process. Has anyone else got any experience of applying in this way? ? Thankyou for any advice!

Unfortunately this hasn't happened yet, on July 2nd some legislation that included increasing the age limit was introduced then repealed a couple of days later and replaced with another that remains 18-30 age limit. aparently they have changed some legislation to make it easier for them to change the age for certain country passport holders in the future. but as yet no age increase for anyone & Immigration website states they are still only considering it

Yes that's fine don't mind at all. Would be great to know for sure if it's been increased or not. I did some googling and all I could find was this. So perhaps they have indeed changed legislation but not the actually age limits yet.

Has this been officially announced? On the Immi website it still shows they are considering it Age of eligibility – Government announcement The Government is considering options for expanding the upper age of eligibility from 30 to 35 years, including timeframes, legislative requirements and engagement with partner countries. Reciprocity of arrangements for Australian citizens remains a key feature of the programme. The current age of eligibility (18 to 30) will remain in place for the time being.

Are you currently on a 457? Which list is your profession on?

Hi Beffers, Thanks for your advice, i will get in touch with them. Yes I'm still well within the first 5 years, PR was granted in 2015 :0)

Hi there, if neither of you have jobs listed on the SOL how are you getting a visa through employment sponsorship? Your occupation needs to be on one of the now 2 lists for a company to be able to sponsor for the occupation The short term list offers a temp 2 year visa with the possibility to apply to add another 2 years but after this additional 2 years that is it, its purely a temporary visa with no route to PR at the end of it, if your role is on the other list the route to PR still exists I believe you can apply after 3 years under new rules

Congrats If you don't mind may i pick your brain on the process on the offshore partner visa? Is your sponsoring partner a PR or citizenship? I have PR already and looking into submitting 309/100 application for my partner within the next month but we both currently live together in the UK and I'm worried about my Sponsorship obligation that i must normally be an Australian resident i.e. living there currently is my understanding of this, but I'm unsure

yes. WHV for Australia is only one time unless you did farm work for the 2nd yr extension??. What about going to NZ instead, they have a similar WHV & its a beautiful country

Gumtree and this site is good to find fruit picking / regional jobs. http://www.fruitpickingjobs.com.au . My advice would be don't get stuck down in the cities to much, there are many beautiful little places up and down the east coast where you can do your regional work and not pay extortionate hostel rates in big city hostels. Travel a bit first meet others and find out where they did their regional work, maybe you'll meet some friends to do regional work with, this is how i found mine and it was the best time of my life! I personal found the smaller family owned hostels in small towns much friendlier atmosphere then the big city hostels which tend to have people using them as housing whilst working full-time jobs rather then to meet other travellers. As others advise do not pay agencies to get your bank account, phone, TFN sorted! honestly its so easy when you get there! NAB is a great bank, just walk in with your visa info and your passport they will sort you out or ask at your hostel reception for help when you arrive or in the bar! I too was terrified when i first booked my ticket, il be honest i had never stayed in a hostel or even got on a plane on me own before! I stayed in sydney for a few weeks with a friend then he booted me out (nicely booted me out as I was hanging around again to scared to leave!!) and that was it i was off up the coast! I did things i never imagined i would be brave enough to ever do and It was the best experience of my life. Even when i came to do my farm work i dreaded it! But honestly I'm so proud of myself that i did it and i made some of the most amazing friends who are still some of my best friends to this day 7 years later In terms of PR it is not a simply process at all. Don't go with the expectation you are staying, if you love the country and want to build your future there, then there is nothing stopping you coming home to UK, working your butt off to get qualified for a skilled job then applying to go back sometime in the future Don't stress, your going to have a great time

No worries at all men are funny creatures don't you think! They throw toys out the pram when thing get a little complicated, I'm trying to get mine into the mindset to start his visa application in the next few weeks.... its like swimming in concrete at times he sees all the paperwork and just decides he'l do it next weekend! Except the same thing happens the next weekend If he doesn't do it il just go without him that should get him to pull his socks up! Can i ask how are you getting around the 2 year on a 457 requirement for the 186? as by March next year you'll have less then a year built up on the 457? I have a friend in the same situation as yourself, her 457 is still pending though & now her job is on the shortlist she'd worried sick about her route to PR

Hi Beffers, can i ask does your partner live in UK or in Australia? I have PR already and looking into submitting 309/100 application for my partner within the next month but we both currently live together in the UK and I'm worried about my Sponsorship obligation that i must normally be an Australian resident i.e. living there currently is my understanding of this, but I'm unsure

Hi all, My partner and i are looking into visa options for him. I have PR already (186) & prior to coming back to UK in 2016 lived and worked in Australia for 6 years. My partner and I have been together a little over a year now, we maintained a long distance relationship for a while then I decided to return to UK in July 2016 to be with him full time whilst he completes his masters degree here. We hope to relocate to Australia in early 2018. Looking now at the offshore partner visa option subclass 309 for him, however I'm confused as my part as a sponsor, the paperwork indicates that I as the Perm Resident sponsor must prove that I normally reside in australia, proof being Australian mortgage, lease agreements, bills etc.... but then also part of the requirement is i have to be in a de facto relationship with my partner.... living together. How am i to prove I normally reside in Australia? When i live in UK with him & I havnt lived there for almost a year now? I have a lease with my partner in the UK and a job here but it is always our intention to go to Australia once he's finished his studies, I do not consider the UK my home at all anymore and havn't for many years, I feel more Australian then English!. Is this what immigration want to hear? On the form it just states if my current address is outside Australia i need to define how i meet the obligations as sponsor. Confused much. This is just one visa option we are looking at, he is a software developer with 10 years experience, various degrees etc, so he would be able to go down the 189 route, but as the celings for his role has been met for this year we are are looking at look at all options just so we can get an application in for him sooner rather then later, we really want to head to Australia early 2018. Anyone on here already been through this process? I feel I am other thinking the process, any help would be great!

I second that catchoftheday is a great site for bargains!

Kmart is similar to Primark in the uk, but in my opinion its much better then Primark cheaper and better quality goods, You can literally buy everything there from socks to all household goods Im back in the UK for a while now and boy do i miss KMART! Target is also good, a little bit more expensive but they often have money off offer on in store or online so its worth checking for coupons before you go to the store! Cotton-On is also good for cheap basic clothes, theres is also a DFO type store called Trade Secret which is very similar to TK MAXX

The new rules apply from 20.04.2017 so yes you'll have to wait 4 years from the date your PR was approved before applying for citizenship. Unless the proposed changes to citizenship criteria don't get passed and become law, which lets be honest looks a highly unlikely outcome.

Yes that was my exact same worry also but my agent assured us even if the PR application wasn't approved our 457 would remain in place and run its full course. I hope you can apply, i'd be worried about the 2 year on 457 requirement though? Did you ask a MA about that? Its still a requirement of the current 186 pathway as far as i can tell . All the best! I know how stressful it is, we had absolutely no reason to worry when we applied back in mid 2015 but we still did, every single day until that email came through with our PR confirmation on it! I can't imagine how bad it is now with all the changes

Hi there, i've been through the process and asked the exact same question of my migrant agent as we had about a year left on a 457 at the time of putting in the application for 186 PR. The answer was no, a new visa application does not void your current visa, so your 457 remains in place until its expired date or until you are granted another/different visa & if your 457 expires before a new visa application is approved your go onto a bridging visa until the application outcome is reached. Hope this helps. We applied back in 2015 though so well before all the changes, we had been on a 457 for 3 years at the time. Are you sure you are still able to apply onto the 186 pathway if occupation is now on the shortlist? I thought part of the shake up with this visa meant they had blocked routes to PR for the shortlist occupations? Also you currently to need at least 2 years on a 457 before becoming eligible to apply for a 186/187 PR visa, I believe from March 2018 it'l be 3 years? Don't want to to put a downer on your plans but maybe sounds like you should double check with an agent as your company may not be aware of the most recent changes and your options.

I use World Remit, they don't hold the rate for you but they have much cheaper set fee of just 1.99 (sterling) per transfer, so not based on percentage of your transfer amount

I had a good dig around and found it on the website https://www.border.gov.au/Busi/Empl/skillselect#tab-content-3

Hi all, Just looking for some general advice for the 189 application process My partner is looking to apply for the 189 skilled visa. He is a Software Developer so he will applying for the visa under Software Engineer or Analyst Programmer. I know the celings for invites on these roles have already been reached for 2016-2017 programme year. However can he still submit his EOI now so its in and ready when the 2017-2018 programme year kicks in? Or is it better/do we have to wait until July 1st 2017? From doing bit of research online we are confident the roles will still be on the skills like for the next programme year (fingers crossed!) I myself already have PR under a 186 visa, so am I right in thinking I do not need to be added to his application in anyway? We are not married but are in a Defacto relationship for almost 1 year now. Looking at going back to Australia in early 2018. We were going to go down the partner visa route but with the recent changes to the citizenship criteria it seems 189 would be a better option as PR is from day 1 with the 189 rather then waiting 2 years on a temporary partner visa and that time no longer counting towards the Citizenship requirement of 4 years on PR. Any help advice would be much appreciated

Sorry to hear this, hopefully you'll figure something out for the future. What about your profession? If yours is on the list maybe you go in on a skilled 189 / 190 as main applicant? Longer and more pricy option but so worth it x good luck

I was thinking the same thing, it was really helpful. Im sure they will, probably just updating the current one at the moment with the new criteria

wow!

Yup, same here !