Colelondon Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 This is my first post on here, I have been reading for a few weeks so would value any opinions of others. My partner and I have been in a relationship for just over 2 years. We have planned our UK Civil Partnership for August of this year. My Partner is Australian with both UK and Australian Passports. I am a British Citizen with a UK passport. Ideally I want to go to Australia (Melbourne) with him when his contract in the UK finishes in June / July 2013. I need to apply for the relevant visa. Having read the requirements for the visa we need to prove that we have been in a de-facto relationship for 12 months at the time of application, with supporting documents. Here's the rub, we are committed to each other totally but do not live together as property in the UK takes some time to sell and we live some 60 miles apart. We don't at present have joint bank accounts, or bills that have both our names on them. Utility companies generally only send to one addressee anyway. We have some photographs of places we have been, but at present that's about it. Is there anyway around this ? Would the fact that we have a civil partnership for nearly a year before we would like to go to Austrailia count ? Wills etc have been made in preparation for the civil partnership so inheritance etc is dealt with (surely this would count in some way to prove a committed de-facto relationship). If we have to wait for the 1 year period with documentary proof, living together - bills and bank accounts etc, before we apply it would appear that we would not be able to go to Australia until the end of 2013 at the earliest. This represents problems in terms of work for my partner in the UK and we are going to be closer to his parents who are now elderly and infirm. Would anyone recommend using a migration agent, rather than trying to go through this process somewhat blind ? Any advice that can be given would be greatfully recieved... Thanks for reading. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 Hi, have you tried asking the Australian immigration department what they would need? My husband and I did my spouse visa without an agent but we had lots of questions about what we should put on the form, what some of the questions meant, what to include etc, and we used a link on the immigration website to ask directly. We found that they were quite quick to come back and most of the time provided comprehensive answers to our questions. I'll see if I can find the link and post it on here for you. Nicola Try the form on this link http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/forms/europe/english/. I think this is what we use to ask our questions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycplanner Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 This is my first post on here, I have been reading for a few weeks so would value any opinions of others. My partner and I have been in a relationship for just over 2 years. We have planned our UK Civil Partnership for August of this year. My Partner is Australian with both UK and Australian Passports. I am a British Citizen with a UK passport. Ideally I want to go to Australia (Melbourne) with him when his contract in the UK finishes in June / July 2013. I need to apply for the relevant visa. Having read the requirements for the visa we need to prove that we have been in a de-facto relationship for 12 months at the time of application, with supporting documents. Here's the rub, we are committed to each other totally but do not live together as property in the UK takes some time to sell and we live some 60 miles apart. We don't at present have joint bank accounts, or bills that have both our names on them. Utility companies generally only send to one addressee anyway. We have some photographs of places we have been, but at present that's about it. Is there anyway around this ? Would the fact that we have a civil partnership for nearly a year before we would like to go to Austrailia count ? Wills etc have been made in preparation for the civil partnership so inheritance etc is dealt with (surely this would count in some way to prove a committed de-facto relationship). If we have to wait for the 1 year period with documentary proof, living together - bills and bank accounts etc, before we apply it would appear that we would not be able to go to Australia until the end of 2013 at the earliest. This represents problems in terms of work for my partner in the UK and we are going to be closer to his parents who are now elderly and infirm. Would anyone recommend using a migration agent, rather than trying to go through this process somewhat blind ? Any advice that can be given would be greatfully recieved... Thanks for reading. Generally speaking, co-habitation for at least 12 months is required for a de facto visa, but this requirement can be waived in some circumstances. Take a look at the partner migration booklet if you haven't already: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1127.pdf Being in a civil union is certainly helpful for proving that you're in a committed relationship with your partner, but you will need to provide additional evidence and you should begin collecting these items as soon as possible. Things that DIAC will consider might include: - Photos from trips, major events (like birthdays, weddings) - Wedding invitations with both your names on them - Travel itineraries/flight bookings with both your names - Itemised phone bills showing calls made to each other - Print-outs of email inboxes showing emails sent to one another The booklet mentioned above has some information on the sort of evidence they're looking for (pages 40-41). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kimsdu Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 If your already married that should be sufficient enough. Just would need the marriage certificate. Me and my OH married in October and had not lived together prior to that. Funny how in the olden days it was considered a sin to live together before marriage and now you almost have to to get a visa. Still call a migration agent for a chat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycplanner Posted May 10, 2012 Share Posted May 10, 2012 If your already married that should be sufficient enough. Just would need the marriage certificate. Me and my OH married in October and had not lived together prior to that.Funny how in the olden days it was considered a sin to live together before marriage and now you almost have to to get a visa. Still call a migration agent for a chat. As Australia doesn't recognize same-sex marriages of any kind, they need to apply for a de facto visa, which has different requirements from a spouse visa. But I agree - definitely talk to a migration agent, who can give you a better understanding of your options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.