Bloodr0se

10 hours ago, Raul Senise said:

The 12 months co habitation requirement is for a Partner Visa. The requirements to be included as a secondary applicant on most temporary visa is much lower.

The Regulations provide scope for couple's who have been living apart for a period of time, if the time apart can be reasonably explained.

You would be wise in seeking some professional advice.

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.  

2 minutes ago, paulhand said:

It's not unless you are a graduate of a WA university...

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.

50 minutes ago, paulhand said:

1. Yes

2. You can apply, but your chances may be slim at present

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. 

On 18/03/2020 at 01:12, MarkyMarc said:

Potentially yes,

I work for one of Australia's biggest IT companies.  We seem to always be crying out for application developers.  It's one of the most in-demand professions in IT.

Obviously the current market conditions could be affecting that, however if you are serious about moving I can potentially look at putting your CV forward for you.

You would need to confirm your working rights etc.

 

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. 

14 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I may be barking up totally the wrong tree, but I think a bigger question might be, what are your partner's long-term intentions?

Based on some of your earlier posts, it does sound as though she's been trying to find  a way to actually migrate to Australia. If that's the case, then I think it's really important that you suck it up and decide to move with her.    Those two years on the 407 visa will give both of you an accurate idea of whether you would actually want to settle in Australia.  

She may be surprised and find it's not quite what she wanted after all (a lot of Brits get starry-eyed about Australia and it doesn't meet their expectations when they actually move).  Or maybe she'll love it and you'll be terribly homesick, or vice versa.  Either way, it's a chance to establish your feelings so you can have a meaningful conversation about your future. 

 

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. 

9 hours ago, s713 said:

Being realistic, you might struggle. There isn't much of an IT scene in Perth at the best of times (worked there in IT for 11 years), not like there is in Syd or Melb. Plus, if you are on a temp visa with the extra restriction of reduced working hours, you're not much of a catch unfortunately.

As for quality of life, fine if you have the money. If your Mrs is a Trainee and you're on reduced hours, I hope you have lots of savings.

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. 

20 hours ago, newjez said:

I haven't worked in Perth for many years, and I don't know your skill set, but would something like this suit you?

https://au.jora.com/job/DevOps-Engineer-6cf37316c03910376171e84d314cc9f7?from_url=https%3A%2F%2Fau.jora.com%2FDevops-jobs-in-Perth-WA&sl=Perth+WA&sol_srt=7968ccd3-4e75-498f-8036-8b8a130eb5ab&sp=serp&sponsored=false&sq=Devops&sr=1&tk=1XvLx64NRdr1KWuvRlod-zeRJasJ6wnMX6gdiKKNl

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

5 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

I would say you have a wonderful opportunity to experience life in a new city in a new country.  Why not?  Sounds like you are relativley young and I assume no kids?  You might find you take a little while to find the right role, so might be worth looking into software companies in perth, or indeed remote work?

If you are a spouse on a work visa you should have full work rights; I think what people refer to is that companies will often pick someone with citizenship or permanent residence over someone with a limited term 3-4 year visa if they are looking long term.

Perth is a lovly place to live, particularly if you like ourdoors and watersports.  We are moving back to Perth after 15 years in the uK as soon as we can sell our house.

I would suggest you absolutley apply on her visa.  I would also be asking your firm if you can work remotely, even 3 weeks out of 4 and one in the office in Sydney or Melbourne (or wherever their office is).  Don't ask don't get.

Good luck!

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. 

29 minutes ago, paulhand said:

You do not necessarily need to have been cohabiting for a year to be added as a partner to a temporary work visa application. I think it would be useful for you to get some professional advice on the best options available to you. Does you partner not already have someone assisting her in her move?

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.