Bloodr0se

Thank you. I believe at the time we applied for it they stated a 12 month common-law/cohabitation requirement for unmarried accompanying partners but it's possible that I'm mistaken or they've changed it since then. Her original visa was 407 but I'm not sure what the new one will be. She was on a 12 month trainee contract with the local health authority. I believe her employer are handling the application paperwork this time whereas last time we did it all ourselves offshore.

Sorry, one further follow up question if that's OK. How would we go about proving our continued relationship in light of the current situation? When we initially applied last year, we hadn't quite been living together for 12 months (I think we were around 10 months into cohabitation by that point) but we included a brief letter of explanation as well as some supporting documents and photos of us together on holidays etc. Obviously evidence from the last 9 months or so is going to be much thinner. We have my flight confirmation and the subsequent cancellation plus receipts from places we were meant to stay during my initial trip to Australia plus a couple of letters with her name and our shared UK address on them and shipping receipts from presents we've sent to each other in the time we've been apart. I'm guessing our situation isn't going to be unique this year but I'm just wondering what kind of proof would be required so we can start gathering any necessary documents ahead of time.

Sorry, yes, you're absolutely right. I thought that seemed a little too good to be true. I should have read the list more carefully really.

Just to add that I noticed during lunch today that I could potentially be eligible for a subclass 190 or 491 based on my qualifications and work experience as an IT professional. Would it be worth me pursuing that further as a backup or would it just further complicate things? My occupation is on the list for Western Australia. I scored a 70 without state nomination and a 75 with nomination on the 190 points test. I scored a 70 without state nomination and an 85 with nomination on the 491 points test.

Thank you so much. I figured your answer to question two would be the case however if we have to wait a few more months then that's just something we would have to do at this point.

My girlfriend was issued with a 407 in early 2020 for a trainee role in Western Australia and I was issued with a 13 month accompanying spouse visa that had to be activated by August 2020. She left for Australia in February to start her new job and I was due to follow at Easter and I'm going to assume you can guess how that plan went. Obviously Australia didn't reopen the border before my visa activation date expired. Her job (healthcare professional) prevents her from travelling overseas. Also, if she did right now then she obviously wouldn't be able to get back into Australia again so at this point we haven't seen each other for 9 months. Her employer will apparently allow her to continue working there after her current contract and visa expires but I'm not sure under what conditions and visa subclass. She is going to query that with them. My questions for the more knowledgeable folks on this forum are as follows: 1. Considering we have now been apart for 9 months, can she still declare me as a dependent on her new visa application? We aren't married but are engaged. 2. If the answer to question 1 is yes and that application was fortunate enough to be granted then would I be in any way eligible to apply for a travel exemption under compassionate grounds considering she isn't allowed to visit me and therefore we have no other means of reconciliation? Thanks in advance for any advice and sorry for the long post. I just thought the more detail I provided, the easier it might be for people to offer advice.

Thanks for the reply. I do have the visa already and as Ali suggests, it's limited to 40 hours of work per fortnight. I'm more of a DevOps Engineer than a developer really so while my job does involve writing code, it's mostly automation scripting in Python, bash, Powershell etc rather than application development. Presently my partner is in Perth and I'm still in the UK. I was due to travel to Perth in mid-April for a few weeks to look around and review job opportunities however that obviously might not be able to happen now considering the current global travel situation. If you think my skill set might be suitable though then please just reply and I can send a CV over. I could be available for a chat or interview via the phone or Skype in the short term if that's suitable.

Without giving too much away, my partner is not British. She has lived in the UK for many years and became qualified here however she is originally from SE Asia and one of the drawing factors of Australia for her is the much closer proximity to her home country. Her trainee contract is for one year I believe. I'm not entirely sure if that is subject to a potential extension or another substantive position though.

We're both relatively comfortable financially however I do completely appreciate your honesty. Her trainee position is a high end medical one and is still paying more than she currently receives as a temporary employee for the NHS. While I could afford to only work part time for a year or so, I'd obviously really prefer not to do so and I absolutely don't want to be financially dependent on her.

Thanks. Yes, that's basically almost my current job description although I mostly work with AWS rather than Azure.

Thanks for the quick reply. The application has been filled already for both of us I think. The problem is that her visa is 407 and not a regular temporary work visa and I believe spouses on 407 are limited to 40 hours of paid work per every 2 weeks. Part time jobs in IT are obviously very hard to come by and also I wouldn't want to be in any way financially dependent upon her. I am obviously qualified to practice my profession but I don't know how much difference that would make in this case. I have considered just doing remote contracts but they tend to be pay poorly and can be extremely competitive due to low wage economies, outsourcing etc. I'm sure it's a really great and healthy place to live but I'm just cautious of not being able to enjoy it due to career and financial concerns etc. I'm in my mid-late 30's but don't have any kids and no major financial commitments atm.

(My partner has been offered a trainee Healthcare position in Perth and the visa application is currently in progress. She really wants me to go with her however I have several major concerns, not least regarding work opportunities there for myself. I am a British IT professional with a relevant degree and approximately 10 years of experience in the field. I currently work as a DevOps/Application Engineer for a software company. We do have an Australian office however I haven't really been with the business long enough for an international transfer, their setup and structure is completely different and the office is in a different Australian state anyway. I have been listed as an accompanying spouse on her visa application (407) however my understanding is that I can only work part-time, should the application even be accepted. Can anyone provide any info regarding the current employment market there and also whether or not there is the possibility to secure a full-time position under such an arrangement, presumably with local employer sponsorship? Thanks in advance.

Thanks. I'll see what comes of her potential job offers over the next couple of months and then we can take it from there. I think I just wanted to find out if there were any options available at all really.

No, she doesn't even have a confirmed job offer at the moment but this is just something that she has wanted to do for a very long time and she does have a professional contact network over there. We're not even entirely sure what state she will end up in at the moment however so far she has only been applying for jobs in WA as that's her first preference. I'm sure the hospital that does come up with an agreeable offer would be able to offer some advice but this is kind of a stress point between us atm so I said I'd try to find out whether or not it would even be possible at all.

Well I'm an IT contractor by profession so that isn't entirely impossible however we were really hoping that we wouldn't have to separate. If I were to go with her as a tourist would we then be able to claim that time towards any minimum requirements as a cohabiting partner and could she then sponsor me for temporary residency as her accompanying spouse? Or does an accompanying partner need to be declared at the point of her initial visa application? She is looking to potentially make this a permanent move and given her profession (specialist doctor) I shouldn't imagine that would be impossible.

Thanks for your reply. Sadly I'm a few years past the age cap for a WHV and my background and skillset wouldn't really lend well to regional/manual work.

I am a UK citizen who has been living with a partner since April 2019. My girlfriend is currently aiming to move to Australia in February 2020 as a temporary worker on a healthcare fellowship. Most likely WA and I think her visa would be a 457 based on the info I can gather. She really wants me to move there with her but I’m not sure if it’s possible since we would have been cohabiting for less than 12 months by the time her visa application is filed and when she would need to move there. Can anybody confirm? I am university educated and in a skilled profession myself however my work experience would currently only allow me to relocate to one of the more rural states (e.g. Tasmania) as an independent applicant. Thanks in advance.