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Hello everyone, me and my girlfriend are due to move out to Australia in September 2023. I myself have a permanent resident visa as I lived there when I was younger which I have now renewed. However my girlfriends situation is different. We would like to apply for a partner defacto visa but as we don’t currently live together or have joint accounts we are unable to do so. So we are left with the option of getting her a working holiday visa. If we do decide we want to live there which im always certain we will, what would our options be after her first year on a working holiday visa is up? chris and Ellie.

Hi, I'm just looking for some advise on what would be the best visa to apply for. Myself (irish) and my partner of 3 years (NZ citizen) are looking to move to Australia sometime in the next year or two. We currently live in New Zealand so will be applying for the visa from here but we're just not sure which one to apply for. What are the main differences between the 461 NZ family visa and the 309/100 visa/ is there any benefit of applying for one over the other? Thanks so much for any info you can give, I really appricate it!

Hello, I have been granted my Partner (Provisional) visa subclass 309 and will be traveling to Australia in April this year (2022) which is within the required timeframe to activate the visa. Do I need to do anything before traveling in regards to this visa e.g. submit the visa ref to someone, print it out to show at Australian passport control, get it printed on a t-shirt and wear it whilst traveling ? I have searched all over and there is nothing to suggest that I have to do any of this but I thought I would ask here as many of you would have gone through this process. Thanks in advance.

Hi all, stumbled across this forum some months ago when researching the possibilities of an Aus visa for my partner. I am dual Australian/British citizen in my mid 50's, partner is a British citizen in his mid 30's and we have been in our relationship and lived together for 10 years in the UK. We want to go to Aus within the next few years and make the next chapter of our life there together. I've researched the 309/100 visa application and know there is a multitude of information required to submit it but I have a few concerns as to how successful it will be. Neither of us have family in the UK and we only have a very small circle of friends - we are a quiet couple who enjoy our own company and not crowds. We have never shared bank accounts, the property we live in is one that I owned before we were together so the title and many of the bills are in my name and in this age of electronic communication we don't have many letters/postcards etc. dating back to the start of our relationship that might be helpful in proving it is legitimate. We also don't have many photos - I don't like photos together because I am conscious that he looks so much younger than me and we are also of different cultures (he is of Asian decent). We also don't have children. My concern is how we find enough of the information required in order to prove our relationship is genuine and will our it be potentially viewed as suspicious because we are so different in age and culture? We have also been engaged since April 2018 - a proposal and a ring but no official party or announcement. We were planning to get married in early 2020 but then the world got locked down and in fact marriage is not a huge concern for us. But, would it be better for us to be married before applying? A host of concerns - perhaps someone can help with some encouraging information as we are a genuine couple but more unusual than others..

Hi, I am an Australian who has been living in the UK for 7ish years. My boyfriend (Scottish) and I are hoping to move to Australia next year, hopefully around August 2022. We are weighing up between two routes - a) he applies for the working holiday visa, with the aim to get sponsored by a company within the first year, and eventually applying for the Partner Provisional Visa (309) and then the Partner Permanent visa (100). He is 30 years old currently, turning 31 in 6 weeks, so we would need to apply for this soon! b) we apply for the Partner Provisional Visa now, and hope that it is approved within the next 12 months or so. We are not married, but we are living together and have been together for 3+ years. Although we cohabited for most of COVID at his parents house, we only 'officially' moved in together 3 months ago. So my questions are as follows (sorry there are a few!) - which route would you say is better? - will the working holiday visa get us to Australia quicker? - are we unlikely to be approved for b) given we don't have joint bills etc dating from a year ago? We have loads of other stuff - family holiday pics, whatsapps, emails, etc - we are considering getting married in the next year anyway. Would it help our application to do it before applying for route b)? - Are wait times completely blown out due to COVID? What do you think is a realistic time frame at the moment? If anyone has any or all the answers to the above, I would love to hear them! Thanks :)

Hi guys, I am currently living in Australia on a bridging visa A, with my immediate family who are Australian residents. Long story short : My parents and 3 little brothers moved here 7 years ago whilst I was at university and due to me being classed as independent (I was 23) I was removed from their visa (skilled work). I then applied for a remaining relative visa (onshore) to which gave me a 50 year wait time for my visa (with no working rights as I entered Australia on a holiday visa). I am now 27, and have found a partner (Australian citizen). We tick a lot of the boxes required to apply for a partner visa, however we recently approached a few visa agents regarding the application. We have had two responses, one said yes all good we can apply. The other said, due to my current application and bridging visa, I won’t be able to apply. I contacted immigration and the woman I spoke to pretty much read off the website and couldn’t answer the simplest of questions (she suggested I contact a visa agent ) I’m just looking for someone who might have been in a similar situation, or someone who has experience in this field. Apologies if I’ve not included enough info for you guys to advise me! Thanks in advance! Jack

Please advise! I'm a British doctor (radiologist). My wife is Australian (born in Australia, been over here 15 years). We're planning to move to Australia next year. I've been offered a 1 year job starting August 2022. I wonder whether to apply for a partner visa or a work visa? I guess a work visa would be limited to one employer and limited duration, so I'm thinking partner visa is better (though more expensive). Also, would the patner visa be granted in time? The immi.gov website says 75% of applications processed within 16 months, but I'm hoping that since we were married in Australia over 10 years ago it should be pretty straightforward to process.. Thank you!

Hi allllll, I am an Australian citizen and have married my wife overseas with the hope that one day we can live here together. My wife hasn't even been to Australia. After reading countless pages over the internet I came to know that some applicants move to Australia as visitor and apply onshore to later get a bridging visa that helps the couple stay together while the long processing time for the partner visa passes by. The other alternative of applying offshore is difficult as we cannot live together. I was wondering if this method of applying onshore while you she is a visitor actually works or there are hidden obstacles.

Hi all, New to the forum, glad I've stumbled across it. We live in the UK - I'm British, wife UK/Australia dual citizen (born in UK), and young daughter. We've previously lived in NZ, and have always had in mind to move to Australia as a long-term option - we have a number of friends and family throughout the West Coast. I'm looking to apply for a 309/100 partner visa, although the expected wait time seems to be around 18-24 months. We've previously put off putting in the application due to the cost, and were waiting on the outcome of our final (also expensive) IVF cycle. Once applied for the 309/100 visa, are there are options for applying for other shorter-term work visas in the interim? Or is it possible to apply for shorter-term work visas, and then apply for a 820/801 visa on-shore? I'm finance qualified, so should be eligible for special skills. Thanks, Sam

I was suggested by my immigration agent to prepare a statutory declaration when I asked him how would I give updates regarding my relationship. (I wanted to give an update since things have evolved since our initial declaration when we made the application a year ago, I became more aware to the extend of his many disabilities and we decided it would be better for me to be around and be in charge of most house related stuff rather than try to find work while he supports me financially either via his disp or work when he works, something that wasnt in our initial statements since we said we were both planning to find work and I was unaware how inconsistent he could be due to his firbomyalgia condition) I have 3 questions: 1) Is this advised? Can you use statutory declaration in this manner? Mainly because I assumed such declarations are used for quite simple, clear and to the point declaration, not huge paragraphs explaining our relationship, how it has evolved, me explaining the effects of some of his diagnosed disabilities such as adhd/autism/ptsd(And the main source of his issue that is in the process of being diagnosed-fibromyalgia), reminding them that because some tasks are easy for people they might require more effort from someone with disabilities, list things I am and have been assisting him, all of which I have done in at least one occasion so it is accurate and true and the fact that I pretty much only personally go out for either paperwork or shopping since we are both more computer focused people which means I am around to assist. 2) Is talking about such disabilities from the side of the sponsor a good strategy? Mainly because I have heard they even deported a family because their kid was diagnosed with Autism, there was a popular article going around, I know partner visa could be different but I do have a degree of apprehension in this area because I dont know how the department sees disabled sponsors. 3) How accurate are you meant to be in these statements? Legally speaking, can they be misinterpreted if your statement isnt written in a perfectly clear and direct manner, a few examples. -Like there was a moment of speculation when I wrote "a core part of his symptoms is his inconsistency in energy levels..........that could also be connected to stress", fibromyalgia is often connected to stress but I dont feel confident to say with absolute certainty so I used the word "could" instead to allow some room for error. -I also wrote that there was a time I had to call the ambulance at around 3am because he was suffering from extremely heavy pain on his arm (Firbomyalgia induced pain) but I cant remember the exact time, pretty certain it was around 3-4am by the time the ambulance arrived but there was no way I can be specific. -Another statement i wrote "I will more often than not be found at home since the only times I would need to go out and leave him for a few hours would be for grocery shopping or the occasional paperwork." That is true because I dont really have any friends here or go out for entertainment and wrote that to also make it clear this is a genuine relationship but there are times I had to go out to throw the trash or pick him up later at night form the nearby station because he doesnt feel comfortable walking alone at nightime, can I write that or could they imply because I have gone out for a few minutes for another purpose my statement is not truthful? Thanks

Hi All, Wondering if anyone has come across either of these dilemmas before: 1. JOINT OR SEPARATE APPLICATIONS FOR DAD / KIDS My wife is Australian and I am a UK citizen. We have lived together in UK since we met in 2008, we married in 2013, and have since had 2 kids (born in UK with UK passports only). - I'd hope a spouse visa shouldn't be a problem for me (been married a while, I'm healthy, no police record, professionally educated etc). Processing time showing as 18 months (75%) - I'd hope the kids shouldn't have a problem getting citizenship by birth (given their mum is Australian). Processing time is currently shown as 5 months (75%) - Does a joint app become more complicated or take longer? options I can see are: (a) Kids and I all apply together under a single 309/100 visa application with both me and the kids named as applicants. (b) I could do my own 300/100 spouse visa app, with my wife doing separate citizenship apps for the kids at the same time - presume we'd need to declare this on each app somehow. A bit worried this could get messy? (C) We could do the kids application first and wait until granted before lodging my application. This would avoid confusion, but delays me starting my application while we wait for the kids. 2. OTHER CITIZENSHIP One of the questions for my wife is whether she has citizenship of any other countries. She has applied for but not yet granted UK citizenship (by ancestry). Im hoping we can tick the no box for now but change it at a later date if necessary - unless the answer gets locked in? I wondered whether to include some commentary in the bit about future plans ie we want to get to a point where all of the family unit have both UK and Australian citizenship. Does that sound like a good approach? Any info on experiences of others would be much appreciated. Thanks Ali

Hi folks, am I able to bring my uk born husband to Australia on a MLTSSL employer sponsored visa? We are both offshore. Ta, emma

Hi all, I am an Australian citizen, while my partner is a British citizen. My partner is currently sponsored on a 482 visa which expires in February 2022. We recently registered our relationship as de facto (in NSW) and are hoping to lodge our Partner Visa application at the end of the year. Unfortunately my partner is really disliking his current job. We've had a meeting with a migration lawyer and he mentioned my partner won't fall onto the Partner Visa Bridging until his 482 expires. He responded with this at the very end of our meeting and haven't had a chance to ask further. My question is, what if my partner resigns from his job? Surely he would automatically fall onto the Bridging Partner Visa and this would give him the freedom to move companies? Thanks for the assistance.

My partner and I are wanting to migrate from England to Oz. Doing my research I think the best visa option for us 190 state sponsor as my partner is a mechanic and could get 70 points. HOWEVER I have been in contact with different migrant agents, 1 wants us to apply for two visas at the same time which I have since been told should not be done, 1 said there is no point starting because of the pandemic, the other said to start the ball rolling after 6th October when the updated state skills list will be known, 1 is a lot more expensive than the others in terms of fees and the other is eager to help but I have read bad reviews. Feeling a little overwhelmed and would appreciate any help in finding a migrant agent. thank you

Hi Guys, Just about to submit my British husband's 309 partner visa (i.e. I'm the Aussie). We intend to travel back to Australia mid next year (his 309 visa will be about 8 months into the process), where I will start a new job. He will be looking after our then 1.5yr old son whilst waiting for the visa to come through. Looking for advice as follows: 1. I understand that he's allowed to travel to Aus on a 600 visitor visa while the 309 is still in process. I've heard some people say their 600 visa allows them 12 months stay. How do you go about getting a 600 visa for 12 months? 2. I've started to hear people mention a 'bridging' visa which would actually result in my husband being allowed to come to Aus before the 309 is approved AND work? Seems too good to be true? Can anyone shed any light on this as an alternative? And when would you apply for it - in the UK prior to leaving for Aus (skipping the 600 visa altogether), or do you get the 600 visa, come to Aus, then apply for the bridging visa? Thanks everyone.

Good morning, I have a job offer as an Emergency Department doctor (resident medical officer, not a specialist) to start very soon and need to apply for a 482 visa, along with my spouse. I have never been to Australia and live in a country with a very low number of Covid cases. I realised that I would not only need a Visa but also a travel exemption to actually travel to Australia. Would anyone know, how hard is it for a doctor (and/or their spouse) to get a travel exemption? The cost of a visa for both of us is very high and I am hesitant to pay it if we only have a tiny chance that the travel exemption will be granted, as it appears that we cannot apply for an exemption without having applied for the Visa. We've had no help after calling the Home Affairs, but the employer is happy to issue a letter stating that I am required to start in the Australian hospital soon. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Hi all, First time posting. I have been preparing information to apply for either the 189/190 Visa. I would like to include my partner (girlfriend of 6 years) on my Visa. I may have to apply for the 189 so I wanted to see if I can claim the partner skills points. I can see that I can gain points under 'Partner skills' in the points tables on the immi.homeaffairs website for both Visa classes: 5 points can be claimed if - "Your spouse or de facto partner must also be an applicant for this visa and has competent English For you to be eligible for the award of these points your partner must be an applicant for the same visa subclass and must not be an Australian permanent resident or an Australian citizen." My question is on "your partner must be an applicant for the same visa subclass". Do I get the points if I include a partner on my visa? or are they saying the points are awarded if she was doing her own/separate visa application for the same class? I would also be interested to hear advice on if it is simple to include a partner when applying and who signs of that you are indeed 'defacto'? Thanks in advance Andy

Hi, I have applied for visa 190 QLD in September 2019 and waiting for the grant. I am going to get married to US citizen soon. He has got ETA (electronic transit visa for US citizens) to visit Australia, visiting me end of March. question: 1. If I add him in my current application, would it affect my 190 visa processing time? 2. should I add him when he is offshore or Onshore? 3. If I add hime offshore, would he be able to visit me on his ETA visa. (ETA has 1 year validity with multiple entries). 4. If i add him Onshore, when will he get bridging visa? P.S. He wants to stay in Australia for 1-2 years until I get citizenship, also need working rights. Thanks.

Hi All, I am a British Citizen living with an Australia Citizen in the UK. I will soon be looking to apply for a Partner Visa and I am currently looking to get quotes from migration agents. If any could be recommended that are UK based that anyone has used previously that would be great. Many Thanks James

Hello I'm just looking for advice and a good visa agent to take on our case... I am currently living and working in Broken Hill, NSW on a TSS visa. My partner is living in NZ but is from the UK, he is wanting to join me in NSW as a subsequent entrant as my partner on my visa. The issues we are facing is that we have been together for slightly over a year however only lived together for 3 months, so not sure what our chances are of him coming on my visa as de facto. I have read that registering your relationship in the state you live can waiver the requirements however not sure how true this is. We have plenty of evidence to meet all other requirements. Secondly my partner has a conviction from Australia in 2017 for assault on an officer- he was not placed in jail and released with 12 month good behaviour order. He also has 2 previous cautions from the UK from 10 years ago. No criminal record from the past 3 years in NZ. Obviously before applying for the visa we wanted to know how likely it is that he would be granted a visa especially based on the fact we haven’t lived together for a long time and his criminal record. Does the fact he is coming to live in a remote part of Aus with me have any benefit to our case? Would like some honest advice on the likelihood of a grant and a rough price from an agent. Thanks

Hi Friends, I need your help with what visa to apply for my partner. I am an Australian citizen and she is Nepalese. We first met in 2014 in Sydney where we studied together. She went back home in 2016 as her visa expired and she couldn't complete her points. We have been to Thailand tour in 2018 and I visited Nepal early last year where we got engaged. We have loads of pictures and conversations together since the time we met. Unfortunately, when she was here we do not have any shared expenses like House rent and bills as she stayed with her cousins. We plan to get married this December in Nepal and I want her to be with me in my return back to Sydney. A few options that I could think of are as follows: 1) Apply for a Prospective Marriage Visa and do a court marriage within the 9 month time period. However, I am unsure if she would get her visa by this December when we plan to marry in Nepal.. 2) Marry in December and she travels with me here on Tourist Visa. Once she is here we do a court marriage and apply for Partner visa so she can go into Bridging and continue staying here.. I am just confused and would appreciate some help. Thank You!

Hi all, I’d like to move to Australia to be with my long term boyfriend and I am going to apply for a Working Holiday VISA but wanted to know what jobs I should apply for in hopes of getting sponsored for a skilled visa? I’m a junior in uni at the moment studying to obtain my psychology undergraduate degree. Then I am going to go get my masters possibly in Counseling before I apply for any Australian visa. Any information you could provide would be very beneficial. I’m very new to all this. In my dream world, I could live and work on the Gold Coast thank you so much!

Hi My ex and I came to Australia together. I was sponsored on a 457 visa and my partner was added to my application. Since then we have applied for the 187 visa and had a baby. Fast forward a few years, baby is now 3 our 187 application was rejected (usual reason - company couldn’t justify my position and afford to pay me..) - our migration agent said this was ridiculous and that many others had been rejected for similar reasons so we appealed in July 2017. We are now all on a bridging visa. However, pressures of uncertainty all just got too much and we are now going through a messy break up. He has moved away and the split is looking permanent. So I am now unsure what to do, I know I need to inform immigration/AAT of this and am planning to do so. But I am also worried about what will happen to my ex. Will he have to leave the country despite the fact his child is here, or will he be offered a way to stay when immigration get in touch with him? He has asked that I do not inform immigration if this, but am really worried that this could affect all our chances of staying and I know as soon as my employer knows that they will inform AAT anyway. Does it matter how long we were together before this or the fact we have been waiting so long for a decision? Or does the fact that it was rejected and it’s now on appeal work against us? Thank you in advance for any information you can offer it really is much appreciated.

Hi Guys, Just started looking into the Health Examination element of the 309 partner visa application to prepare our overall budget! According to this website, there are a very limited number of locations in the UK where you can get a recognised medical from a "panel physician". I've phoned the places we could consider going to, and the costs quoted for the medicals are around £270 for the temporary full medical, or £330 for the permanent full medical. Then I've looked on the medmigration website and they list a "medical exam only" option for £175. So my questions are: Which medical is sufficient? I don't know if this answer varies based on the content of your application, or if it's standard based on the visa... also I wasn't sure if the 309 visa, given it's a stepping stone to the 100 visa, is considered temporary and you only therefore need the temporary medical...? We should meet the criteria to get upgraded immediately from the 309 to the 100 visa (married for 7 years, baby to be born any minute now!) - did anyone have to get a 2nd medical, or just the one was sufficient? Did any of you get your medical done in Australia (or otherwise overseas)? Or do you HAVE to get it done in the UK? We're going to be in Aus over xmas, and the fees there are significantly cheaper (done by a health provider called Bupa, fees listed here) - $232 AUD for the plain medical only. Assuming we can do it in Aus, then I'm thinking about uploading this to the application and the timing. We'll have submitted our initial application by mid-end Sep, and we would be doing the medical about 4 months later. Let's say, but some stroke of luck, we get a case officer coming back asking us to get the health check done at the 2-3 month mark. When the case officer asks you to submit your health check, do you need to complete this action within a certain time period e.g. would waiting 1-2 months to submit it cause any issues (besides the obvious fact that I've self inflicted a delay in the process)? Thanks for your help.

I've had a search and couldn't spot this question asked before. My wife and I are planning to relocate to Australia. She grew up in Australia and holds Australian citizenship. Looking at the calculators for points for Skilled Independent visas, I could take that route, or I could apply for a partner visa. Based on a quick bit of research, there are obvious differences both in the cost of the application and the processing times. I understand that with the Partner visa, it is possible to first apply for a sub-class 820 Partner Visa (Temporary), which would allow me to travel to Australia and permit me to work there sooner, whilst the 801 Partner Visa processes. I assume that there is no equivalent for the Skilled Independent visa. So - if I have eligibility for both options, what are the pros and cons of taking one route versus the other. I've spoken to two different friends, one who did it one way, one the other way. Interested to know if anyone has thoughts on which is the best way to approach things. The processing time is a potential issue, which is why I was looking at the 820 temporary visa.