SanEng

Previously posted in wrong Forum. Therefore posting it again here. Hi everyone, I have a few questions on Visitor Visa application which I someone have answer to. My wife applied for Partner Visa (309) back in May and after a few weeks she applied for Visitor Visa. We had thought about which stream of Visitor Visa we would go for. And after some suggestions we opted for family sponsored. Whether or not that's the best choice I don't know. We asked for 12 months stay but granted only 3 months single entry. So now she's back to her country and would like to apply again for Visitor Visa. The question now is can she apply within three weeks of returning to her country ? Which stream would be the best one ? Stick with family sponsored or go for the general visitor visa ? How many months is reasonable to ask for ? Three or six ? i know it is a bit tricky and there is no perfect answer to this but we are in a bit of a stress as she wants to come here again soon and stay here for a bit longer than three months. Immigration might not be too keen on giving more than three months stay especially in family sponsored stream. At least a multiple entry would be really good but don't know if they will give it this time. Any suggestions are welcome. Thank you.

Hi All, Australian PR (Skilled Independent 189) here who got married a month ago according to Hindu Culture and looking to apply for Partner Visa within the next two weeks. (I believe 309 would be the best option as it says the on shore one takes longer time for the outcome.) I am currently gathering documents, doing a bit of research, asking people who have applied and received the visa. I am seeking help from the people here about the documents, evidences and so on. Last month I went to Nepal where I originally come from to get married. Ours is an arranged marriage. We have known each other since October. Q1. Being married for a month would require us to show more evidence of commitment and genuineness I believe. In general how long does it take for visa grant for those who are not married for less than a year ? It has written 14 months for an average of 75% of applicants. I have heard people getting visa in 9-11 months. So, any insight on the time frame would be of great help. Does the status of the sponsor here have any significance for the time frame ? For eg: if the sponsor has permanent full time job, would that make any difference ? The primary documents/evidences for my wife to show are 1. Birth Certificate, 2. Identification document issued by government 3. Passport 4. National Identity Card 5. Marriage Certificate 6. Photographs 7. Joint bank account statements 8. Joint invitations 9. Joint travel tickets 10. Essay on how the relationship developed and so on 10. Form 80 11. Phone calls history which I have plenty (Calls on *** since October. 11. Statutory Declaration Q2 Regarding the stat. dec., I would like to know how many of those do we need to present ? I was told and also read somewhere that the number is two. Is there any specific number ? And who would be the best person to write them ? It has said parents, friends, relatives and so on. could someone who have had experience in this area be kind enough to tell me ? Q3. We only spend three weeks together after getting married since I had to come back here to resume my work. So we might not have too many photos together of say, some outing or social activities and so on. Would that be too much of an issue ? On the household aspect for our relationship, the immigration website says: Your household Show us how you and your partner share domestic matters. You could give us: a statement about how you share housework household bills in both names mail or emails addressed to you both documents that show joint responsibility for children documents that prove your living arrangements Q4. This is something that we might not be able to show evidence of. As we live with parents back home there won't be household bills in our name. The statement we can write explaining the how it works back home and how it will be when she comes here. That should do you guys reckon ? Q5. The general practice is to apply for 309 first and then apply for visitor visa to stay here until the outcome arrives. Would the visitor visa process be pretty straightforward if she applies for 12 months ? I am not too keen on three months of visa. So, could you help me here please as which option should I go with ? Thank you very much in advance.

No i am not at the moment. I am weighing my options between whether to marry next month by hindu culture as well as in the court in Nepal and apply for 309 or apply for 300 before getting married and wait for the grant and then get married. 300 might take a bit quicker to get decided with fewer number of applicants compared to 309 but not significantly lower volume. but at the same time i think a just more than two months relationship and a meeting in person might not be sufficient to convince the officer. Whereas traveling to Nepal, getting married culturally and legally then applying will make it more risk free as well as straightforward in my opinion. and another benefit is she can visit me here as in visitor visa and we can live together until a decision has been made for 309. That is the reason i am inclined towards 309.

Yes. For visa 300, I will need to consult an agent before lodging the application. However for 309 which is lodged after getting married I think it is pretty straightforward ? What do you reckon ?

My case is a bit different with regards to the span of the time we are in relationship. Just more than two months. And also being a Nepalese citizen doesn't help too much I think. We might need to gather some evidence to show the genuineness of the relationship which we will but will that be enough to convince the officer ? It's a tricky one. Maybe I am not too confident at this moment. I did talk to a lawyer a while ago and he said 309 visa could be a better option having getting married in Hindu culture as well as registering the marriage in the court in Nepal. That way it provides stronger evidence. But at the same time he also said I can be positive about 300 too. The processing time could be similar for both of them according to him. My feeling is visa 309 will be quicker in my case being a job holder here in government office for the last 10 months or so and permanent employee for the last five months. That is something he agreed as well. If I am confident about the documents I will submit and the genuineness of the relationship having married legally and culturally, will I need an agent for visa application ? I did it myself for visa 189 and it was pretty straightforward. But I agree with you. Using the agent does make a difference.

Thank you very much for the replies. You mean there is less evidence we need to provide in 300 as compared to 309 ? I assume 309 being applied after getting married makes the case stronger than 300. Because for 300 you need to be in a relationship for a reasonable amount of time. It has only been couple of months in our case. And i also heard that visa 300 is more popular among Europeans or western people rather than south Asians. Case officer will take a good amount of time to assess the application in our case maybe ? So I am thinking about getting married according to our culture and that would be a better evidence I believe. I am not sure though. It has only been two months since we have known each other. We have met each other once. I traveled overseas to meet her. Rest of the time we have spent talking to each other on phone, chat and video call. I wonder if that is going to be enough evidence. 820/801 is little tricky in our case. So at this moment I have dropped the idea. I wonder she being a student for 6 years and having worked here for 18 months makes it slightly easier and quicker to get the visa (either 300 or 309) Yes. It is all about the proofs of genuine relationship. We can definitely provide the evidence. But I still wonder how come 300 has less evidence to provide than 309 ? Maybe I am missing something here. After marrying according to the Hindu culture in my country and lodging application with marriage registration certificate and pictures of wedding ceremony would give a better proof (in case of 309) than screenshots of chats, call log, travel tickets to meet each other and picture (in case of 300), is it not so ? And I have also heard some 309 visa applications have been processed very quick. Like in 3-4 months. Maybe those are rare cases. But just hoping luck will be on our side in terms of decision time. So it is either 309 or 300. Perhaps I will also have to consult the migration lawyer you think ? Just to be more confident on my decision for the visa types. At the same time I am also hearing that in general visa applications lodged by migration agents take a little longer than those lodged by the applicants themselves ? Is there any truth in this ?

It looks like 300 might be a better option than 309/100 because 300 might have fewer number of applicants. Am i understanding this right ? For 801/820, she has to come on shore which is not impossible but to come here as a student having already completed masters degree doesn't look too good ? And even if she gets bridging visa for 801, she wouldn't have working rights i am understanding. So, 300 looks a good deal and having lived here for the last seven years or so, will that make the decision little quicker for her i think ? What do you guys reckon ? Thank you.

But the key question is how long will it take to process the visa ? not less than 10-11 months ?

Thanks for the reply. Is it not more of a hassle ? To prove the relationship and stuff. Not that we can't provide the evidence. But i head it is a bit of difficult path for someone who has known each other for not a very long tme. Also, it will take at least a year to be granted the visa ?

Hello all, The questions related to partner visa have been asked many times previously here but my case may be slightly different. I am a Permanent Resident of Australia and have been living here since May 2017. I am about to marry a girl who lived here from 2010 till 2017 (as a undergrad student, masters student and 485 until her skill was removed from the skill list and she had to leave Australia). Since she is living offshore, 309/100 could be the first option. But I am hearing it will take months. Home affairs website says it is 75% of applicant get it in 12 months. So, 801/820 is another visa for which she has to be onshore. Visitor visa could be an option for that but to marry in tourist visa and apply for 801 doesnt make the case very strong maybe ? Therefore, it looks student visa could be an best option. Can she come here as a student after getting married in our country (Nepal) and apply for 801 ? If so, will she be granted a bridging visa ? Can she work under bridging visa while being in a student visa ? Another option is to get the 489 regional sponsorship visa but she has to live and work in a regional area for two years. The chances of getting job that is relevant to her skill is very less in regional area. Adelaide could be an option but I am at the moment living in VIC. So I am wondering, after we get married, if she applies for 489 and gets the visa, can she apply for 801 while being on 489 ? The reason we are weighing up the options is we don't want to wait for too long. Of course there is visitor visa option after applying for 309 but the visitor visa doesnt allow her to work. It looks stressful because I would like her to come here soon after getting married and join the workforce. its been already six months since she has left and another one year without working here would mean an 18 months gap in the professional career which doesnt look good. So, staying as a visitor for 10-11 months waiting for 309 doesnt look ideal. Could you please help me sort out this ? Thanks in advance for the replies.