Guest Natlly Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi. I have a couple of questions please and would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience in this area. I came to OZ on a Tourist Visa, subclass 676 to visit my fiancé to see Australia and decide if this is where we wanted to live. My 676 Visa was granted for 12 months and expires at the end of February 2013. We were married in May have decided to stay here so I need to apply for a Temporary and Permanent Visa for myself, as my husband is an Australian citizen. My question is, should we apply for the Visa while I'm in Australia or should I travel back to the United States of America and apply from there? My fear is that if I apply for it while I'm in OZ, it won't get approved before my tourist Visa runs out. I've tried to find answers as to timelines on approvals but what I've read seems very confusing. Seems there are many different situations and so many different experiences on the time it has taken others. Some recommend that I go back to the USA and apply from there as the wait time could be shortened??? Also, since the information I've read indicates you must stay in the country where you apply until you receive the approval, being in the USA would not cause me worry on it not getting approved in a limited amount of time. Applying in Australia would create a window of time it would have to be approved, since my Visa expires in February 2012. Unless there is something I'm not understanding correctly? Any comments or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi. I have a couple of questions please and would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience in this area. I came to OZ on a Tourist Visa, subclass 676 to visit my fiancé to see Australia and decide if this is where we wanted to live. My 676 Visa was granted for 12 months and expires at the end of February 2013. We were married in May have decided to stay here so I need to apply for a Temporary and Permanent Visa for myself, as my husband is an Australian citizen. My question is, should we apply for the Visa while I'm in Australia or should I travel back to the United States of America and apply from there? My fear is that if I apply for it while I'm in OZ, it won't get approved before my tourist Visa runs out. I've tried to find answers as to timelines on approvals but what I've read seems very confusing. Seems there are many different situations and so many different experiences on the time it has taken others. Some recommend that I go back to the USA and apply from there as the wait time could be shortened??? Also, since the information I've read indicates you must stay in the country where you apply until you receive the approval, being in the USA would not cause me worry on it not getting approved in a limited amount of time. Applying in Australia would create a window of time it would have to be approved, since my Visa expires in February 2012. Unless there is something I'm not understanding correctly? Any comments or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. Hi, and welcome to PIO! You can apply for a Spouse Visa onshore as long as your current visa dopesn't have a No Further Stay restriction. When our tourist visa runs out you will be granted a Bridging Visa A to allow you to remain in Oz legally while your applicationi s processed. The Bridging Visa will give you the same rights as the visa you entered Oz on. As this was a tourist visa, you won't have any work rights. You will be sitting in Oz for 10-12 months unable to work...but you will be there legally. if you want to leave and return you will need a Bridging Visa B, which is only granted under certain circumstances such as illness or bereavement, so it isn't easy to come and go as you please. The Onshore Spouse Visa is more expensive than Offshore. If you go back to the USA you can apply offshore. I don't know lead times from there, but from the UK it is currently 5-6 months. Cost is also less. You can also travel to Oz on a tourist visa while your offshore application is processed, but you need to be offshroe when it is granted, so you need to leave again. The best thign would've been to apply offshore ebfore you went to look for places to live. But you are in Oz now, so the choice is between staying in Oz and waiting 12 months (and you will be allowed to stay legally), or going back to the USA and it taking less time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest fordey2bty Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 Hi. I have a couple of questions please and would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience in this area. I came to OZ on a Tourist Visa, subclass 676 to visit my fiancé to see Australia and decide if this is where we wanted to live. My 676 Visa was granted for 12 months and expires at the end of February 2013. We were married in May have decided to stay here so I need to apply for a Temporary and Permanent Visa for myself, as my husband is an Australian citizen. My question is, should we apply for the Visa while I'm in Australia or should I travel back to the United States of America and apply from there? My fear is that if I apply for it while I'm in OZ, it won't get approved before my tourist Visa runs out. I've tried to find answers as to timelines on approvals but what I've read seems very confusing. Seems there are many different situations and so many different experiences on the time it has taken others. Some recommend that I go back to the USA and apply from there as the wait time could be shortened??? Also, since the information I've read indicates you must stay in the country where you apply until you receive the approval, being in the USA would not cause me worry on it not getting approved in a limited amount of time. Applying in Australia would create a window of time it would have to be approved, since my Visa expires in February 2012. Unless there is something I'm not understanding correctly? Any comments or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. it is better to apply while in australia. just make sure you have all your evidence to prove yoru time together. you need to prove 12 months. once you can prove this then you will be given a bridging visa which will overide your current tourist visa. this then gives you freedome till the final decision of your defaco status (i understand you are married and that helps but will not speed up the process my wife and i were also married) when you get yoru bridging visa there is then a waiting period of 24 months where they will asses you again to see if you are still together and its not all a scam. if that all goes well you will be granted residence. i believe it would be harder to prove a loving relationship if you are in anerica and your husband here in australia. also the bridging visa allows you to work. i hope this helps. if you want more info then please do not hesitate to contact me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 You should speak to a Registered Migration Agent - but as you are on a 12 month 676, it will be likely you will have the 8503 condition - No Further Stay on your visa. Once the visa is lodged offshore - you can travel to Australia to wait for the decision to be made - if you have a visa to get back to Australia - but you will have to go offshore for the visa to be granted. If you visa does have the No Further Stay - I beleive you could go to NZ and lodge your applicaition - but you will require to do your medicals in NZ and submit Police Checks with your application (for all countries you have spent a total of 12 months in the last 10 years) - FBI checks can take months to come back - it would be an idea to look to applying for these now. If you are able to apply onshore - you will be granted a bridging visa, once the 676 expires until a decision is made on the Partner visa. Booklet 1 has the information you will require on Partner visas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 it is better to apply while in australia. just make sure you have all your evidence to prove yoru time together. you need to prove 12 months. once you can prove this then you will be given a bridging visa which will overide your current tourist visa. this then gives you freedome till the final decision of your defaco status (i understand you are married and that helps but will not speed up the process my wife and i were also married) when you get yoru bridging visa there is then a waiting period of 24 months where they will asses you again to see if you are still together and its not all a scam. if that all goes well you will be granted residence. i believe it would be harder to prove a loving relationship if you are in anerica and your husband here in australia. also the bridging visa allows you to work. i hope this helps. if you want more info then please do not hesitate to contact me. Being married waivers the 12 month relationship requirement, but you still have to prove in genuine and continuing relationship. If you can show you have been together for 3 years you may be granted PR at the start. You can not work on a bridging visa from a tourist visa - as you work rights are the same on the bridging visa which you had on the previous visa you were on. I.e no work rights. It is unlikely the OP will be able to apply onshore from 12 month tourist visa. Please read forum rules and do not post personal email addresses - people can PM you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 i believe it would be harder to prove a loving relationship if you are in anerica and your husband here in australia. also the bridging visa allows you to work OK, a few things here... No, the bridging visa doesn't allow you to work if you entered on a Tourist Visa. It allows you to remain with the same rights as the visa you entered on...if your original visa had work rights (such as a 457 or WHV) then the bridging visa would maintain those rights. If you entered as a tourist, then you remain a tourist on the bridging visa. Also...at no point do DIAC require you to be in a "loving" relationship! Yes, it has to be genuine and continuing, but not loving! As for spending time apart...my wife and I had lived in opposite sides of the world for 2.5 years, decided to get married, then lived on opposite sides of the world for 6 months while my visa was beinG processed. The first time we actually lived in the same hemisphere of the world was after my visa was granted. Yes, you do need to provide evidence of a genuine and continuing relationship, same as everyone else, but it can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 when you get yoru bridging visa there is then a waiting period of 24 months where they will asses you again to see if you are still together and its not all a scam And this isn't quite right either...if you have been in a relationship less than 3 eyars you are granted Temporary Residency, like me. this isn't a bridging visa. You can work on this visa, and come and go as you please. the bridging visa is only valid until the decision is made on your Spouse Visa application. This takes 10-12 months onshore, not 24. around 2 years after your original application DIAC will reassess you to check you are still in the same genuine relationship. At that point you will be granted PR. If you had been together for more than 3 years to start with, you would get PR immediately and not have Temp Residency for a while. A Temp Spouse Visa is very different from a bridging visa. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoldCoastMag Posted July 25, 2012 Share Posted July 25, 2012 I called the embassy in washington to get the time it was taking when my oh was applying and the time quoted turned out to be very accurate for us. It is slightly less expensive for the offshore visa and of course you can still discuss with the case officer your travel plans if you want to use a tourist visa while the application is being decided. Best wishes, it will all be worthwhile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natlly Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Hi Again Everyone! First of all let me say THANK YOU so very much for all that have replied and tried to help me. Apparently there was some information I didn't originally provide that perhaps is pertinent to getting my questions answered so...to clarify my situation. Yes, my Visa does have the the 8503 condition - No Further Stay - past my February 2013 expiration. We dated for just over 3 years before our May 2012 wedding. Most of that time has been with us living in two different countries. I do have family I can stay with in the United States while I wait for my Partnership Visa to be approved if necessary. Our fear about applying now, while I'm still in Australia, is that it will not be approved before the end of February and then what??? My understanding is there isn't a bridging Visa available in this situation. Our thoughts are it would be best for me to return to the US soon and apply as soon as I get there and hope it gets approved within a few months. Any further thoughts or advice based on these other factors? Thank you again for your help. I did try calling the local office to ask questions but I only have a mobile phone and after being on hold for 30 minutes I had to hang up as I don't have unlimited phone usage. Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Hi Again Everyone! First of all let me say THANK YOU so very much for all that have replied and tried to help me. Apparently there was some information I didn't originally provide that perhaps is pertinent to getting my questions answered so...to clarify my situation. Yes, my Visa does have the the 8503 condition - No Further Stay - past my February 2013 expiration. We dated for just over 3 years before our May 2012 wedding. Most of that time has been with us living in two different countries. I do have family I can stay with in the United States while I wait for my Partnership Visa to be approved if necessary. Our fear about applying now, while I'm still in Australia, is that it will not be approved before the end of February and then what??? My understanding is there isn't a bridging Visa available in this situation. Our thoughts are it would be best for me to return to the US soon and apply as soon as I get there and hope it gets approved within a few months. Any further thoughts or advice based on these other factors? Thank you again for your help. I did try calling the local office to ask questions but I only have a mobile phone and after being on hold for 30 minutes I had to hang up as I don't have unlimited phone usage. Cheers! You can't apply onshore if you have 'no further stay' on your current visa. You can however apply offshore and then come back into the country on tourist visas while you wait (just need to let DIAC know so that when your visa is ready to grant they know to notify you to exit the country again) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Hi Again Everyone! First of all let me say THANK YOU so very much for all that have replied and tried to help me. Apparently there was some information I didn't originally provide that perhaps is pertinent to getting my questions answered so...to clarify my situation. Yes, my Visa does have the the 8503 condition - No Further Stay - past my February 2013 expiration. We dated for just over 3 years before our May 2012 wedding. Most of that time has been with us living in two different countries. I do have family I can stay with in the United States while I wait for my Partnership Visa to be approved if necessary. Our fear about applying now, while I'm still in Australia, is that it will not be approved before the end of February and then what??? My understanding is there isn't a bridging Visa available in this situation. Our thoughts are it would be best for me to return to the US soon and apply as soon as I get there and hope it gets approved within a few months. Any further thoughts or advice based on these other factors? Thank you again for your help. I did try calling the local office to ask questions but I only have a mobile phone and after being on hold for 30 minutes I had to hang up as I don't have unlimited phone usage. Cheers! The 8503 condition means you can't apply Onshore unfortunately. You won't get a bridging visa. I've seen cases elsewhere on the the web where agents have succesfully appealed to have this condition waived and been successful. There were extenuating medical and compassionate grounds. I would suspect that "not wanting to be apart" doesn't count as compassionate grounds. There would need to be exceptional circumstances and you would need the help of an experienced agent to assist you. That could be costly and is far from guaranteed (especially if you don't have any exception circumstances). So basically, you are probably right to say the quickest way to a Spouse Visa is to leave Oz and apply offshore as soon as you can. Don't worry about your dating history or having lived in different countries. You are married, so you don't need to prove any length of history. You do need to provide evidence of a genuine and ongoing relationship. If you are in Oz just now, try and get your name on any tenancy agreement, or back account, bills etc, with your partner. Get wills made up if you don't already have them. Make sure both of you are on the sae car insurance. make sure you are named as some sort of beneficiary for any life insurance your partner has, and benefits from his Superannuation, listed as next of kin by his employer, doctor, dentist, etc. You will need all of this evidence, same as every other Spouse Visa applicant irrespective of whether they have been married 10 minutes or 10 years. The longer you have been together, the easier it is for you to have this sort of evidence. But you know what you will need, so if you dont' already have it, start creating it now while you can! Like I said before, my wife and I lived in different countries and only saw each other 3 times in 2.5 years before we got married in the UK. She flew in for our wedding and left 5 days later to go back to Oz. We still lived apart for another 6 months while my visa was processed. I only applied 6 weeks after we got married. If you can get your evidence together you will be fine getting your visa, so try not to stress about that...just work out the timescales which give you the best outcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Hi. I have a couple of questions please and would appreciate any advice from anyone with experience in this area. I came to OZ on a Tourist Visa, subclass 676 to visit my fiancé to see Australia and decide if this is where we wanted to live. My 676 Visa was granted for 12 months and expires at the end of February 2013. We were married in May have decided to stay here so I need to apply for a Temporary and Permanent Visa for myself, as my husband is an Australian citizen. My question is, should we apply for the Visa while I'm in Australia or should I travel back to the United States of America and apply from there? My fear is that if I apply for it while I'm in OZ, it won't get approved before my tourist Visa runs out. I've tried to find answers as to timelines on approvals but what I've read seems very confusing. Seems there are many different situations and so many different experiences on the time it has taken others. Some recommend that I go back to the USA and apply from there as the wait time could be shortened??? Also, since the information I've read indicates you must stay in the country where you apply until you receive the approval, being in the USA would not cause me worry on it not getting approved in a limited amount of time. Applying in Australia would create a window of time it would have to be approved, since my Visa expires in February 2012. Unless there is something I'm not understanding correctly? Any comments or advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much. If you had taken professional advice in the first place you would not be in such an awkward position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natlly Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Thank you, that is good to know! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natlly Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natlly Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 The 8503 condition means you can't apply Onshore unfortunately. You won't get a bridging visa. I've seen cases elsewhere on the the web where agents have succesfully appealed to have this condition waived and been successful. There were extenuating medical and compassionate grounds. I would suspect that "not wanting to be apart" doesn't count as compassionate grounds. There would need to be exceptional circumstances and you would need the help of an experienced agent to assist you. That could be costly and is far from guaranteed (especially if you don't have any exception circumstances). So basically, you are probably right to say the quickest way to a Spouse Visa is to leave Oz and apply offshore as soon as you can. Don't worry about your dating history or having lived in different countries. You are married, so you don't need to prove any length of history. You do need to provide evidence of a genuine and ongoing relationship. If you are in Oz just now, try and get your name on any tenancy agreement, or back account, bills etc, with your partner. Get wills made up if you don't already have them. Make sure both of you are on the sae car insurance. make sure you are named as some sort of beneficiary for any life insurance your partner has, and benefits from his Superannuation, listed as next of kin by his employer, doctor, dentist, etc. You will need all of this evidence, same as every other Spouse Visa applicant irrespective of whether they have been married 10 minutes or 10 years. The longer you have been together, the easier it is for you to have this sort of evidence. But you know what you will need, so if you dont' already have it, start creating it now while you can! Like I said before, my wife and I lived in different countries and only saw each other 3 times in 2.5 years before we got married in the UK. She flew in for our wedding and left 5 days later to go back to Oz. We still lived apart for another 6 months while my visa was processed. I only applied 6 weeks after we got married. If you can get your evidence together you will be fine getting your visa, so try not to stress about that...just work out the timescales which give you the best outcome. Thank you for the great information and for being willing to share it with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Natlly Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 If you had taken professional advice in the first place you would not be in such an awkward position. Sometimes people don't know what they need until it's needed. Yes, you are right, getting professional advice might have been wise, but unfortunately we didn't think we could afford the cost. Thank you for your input though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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