tbk Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 hey all, So ive recently returned from Aus after having had a working holiday visa (1 year) and a tourist visa (8 months, overstayed by 2 months...). During the end of my WHV I started dating an Australian citizen and we have been together for the entirety of my tourist visa... we are currently looking at the partner visa option for me to come back to Aus to be with her, however our problem with this is that we have not lived together at all (except for me staying with her at her families home and her coming to stay at my rented properties whilst i was still in Aus). I had a few conversations with people from immigration saying that even though we havent lived together for 12 months, we could register our relationship as a defacto one with births, deaths and marriages (in New South Wales) and we may still be approved for a partner visa.... Has anyone heard the same thing as i have?? There are also a few other reaons why we werent able to live together such as, me being on a tourist visa and not being able to make an income, therefore giving me financial hardship to afford to move into a new place. Also my girlfriend is currently studying at university and does not recieve any financial suppoort from centerlink.. therefore putting her in financial hardship also.. Any advice or help is greatly appreciated, thanks a bunch peeps!! Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 I don't know if you can register your relationship now if you are no longer in Aus. Someone with knowledge of all that will be along soon I hope. I don't know the partner visa is a viable option for you. It might be but I think you'll need to do some consulting with a reputable migration agent to assess your case. My understanding is you need to prove a genuine and committed ongoing relationship for at least a minimum period of time and if not, to be able to show good reason you were not living together etc. I think it may be they would class you as boyfriend and girlfriend, not a couple per se. I know when my husband and I met he remained in Aus to finish Uni and I returned to the UK and we did long distance for a couple of years till he was able to move to the UK. We made trips to see each other during this time but we defo could not consider us as a 'couple' in the way immigration required for me to be able to get a partner visa. As it was he came over to the UK after he finished uni on his own visa, moved in with me and we went from there and never looked back. It was hard being apart but worth it in the long term and we stood the test of time with the long distance aspect. Have you read all the blurb on the immigration website? http://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm This part stands out for me What is the relationship requirement? Applicants seeking to demonstrate a de facto relationship with their partner must provide evidence that for the period covering at least the twelve months before the visa application is lodged: they had a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others the relationship between them is genuine and continuing they live together, or do not live separately and apart, on a permanent basis. Living together Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. Partners who are currently not living together may be required to demonstrate a high level of proof that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis. What evidence is considered? It is important that a couple claiming a de facto relationship are able to provide evidence that: they have a mutual commitment to a shared life to the exclusion of all others the relationship between them is genuine and continuing they have been living together or have not been living separately and apart on a permanent basis. Some of the factors to be considered in deciding whether the partners satisfy the requirement include: knowledge of each other's personal circumstances financial aspects of the relationship, joint financial commitments such as real estate or other assets and sharing day-to-day household expenses the nature of the household, including living arrangements and joint care and responsibility for any children of the relationship the social aspects of the relationship, provided in statements (statutory declarations) by friends and acquaintances the nature of the commitment, including duration of the relationship, how long the couple has been living together and whether they see the relationship as a long-term one. Waivers The one-year relationship requirement does not apply if the applicant can establish that there are compelling and compassionate circumstances for the grant of the visa. For example: in the case of a de facto partner relationship where there is a child from the relationship at the time of application of the partner visa, the de facto relationship was registered as a prescribed relationship in the relevant Australian state or territory legislation in the case of a same-sex de facto relationship, where cohabitation was contrary to law in the applicant's country of residence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbk Posted October 15, 2012 Author Share Posted October 15, 2012 hey snifter! First off thanks heaps for the quick response, much appreciated. After re-re-reading my post I forgot to mention that me and my girlfriend did in fact register our relationship. Apparently we have to wait a mandatory 28 day 'cooling period' until the actual certificate gets issued. Another thing that we did was open a joint bank account together, one of my friends told me that it would be a good idea / evidence for the future.. The copy & paste you included made for interesting reading... What does it actually mean by: Waivers 'at the time of application of the partner visa, the de facto relationship was registered as a prescribed relationship in the relevant Australian state or territory legislation' the term 'prescribed relationship' confuses me.. I have also been in contact with 2 immigration lawyers prior to my departure from Australia.. Both of rather high reputation.. One suggested me to register my relationship immidiately, which she claimed would waive the 12 month requirement. Whilst the other lawyer told me that i shouldnt bank on it, she advised that it wouldnt be a bad idea to try and at least accumulate 6 months of actual living together before launching an application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 Have a read of this thread, it might be of use. Also there was a recent thread on here discussing the registering a relationship aspect but that you had to prove relationship in other ways still etc. http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/162498-registering-relationship-partner-visa.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lebourvellec Posted October 15, 2012 Share Posted October 15, 2012 You could consider the Prospective Marriage Visa if you dont have much evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 hey snifter! First off thanks heaps for the quick response, much appreciated. After re-re-reading my post I forgot to mention that me and my girlfriend did in fact register our relationship. Apparently we have to wait a mandatory 28 day 'cooling period' until the actual certificate gets issued. Another thing that we did was open a joint bank account together, one of my friends told me that it would be a good idea / evidence for the future.. The copy & paste you included made for interesting reading... What does it actually mean by: Waivers 'at the time of application of the partner visa, the de facto relationship was registered as a prescribed relationship in the relevant Australian state or territory legislation' the term 'prescribed relationship' confuses me.. I have also been in contact with 2 immigration lawyers prior to my departure from Australia.. Both of rather high reputation.. One suggested me to register my relationship immidiately, which she claimed would waive the 12 month requirement. Whilst the other lawyer told me that i shouldnt bank on it, she advised that it wouldnt be a bad idea to try and at least accumulate 6 months of actual living together before launching an application. Looks as if you were badly advised. If you had formally retained the services of a RMA you might have been better off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hels Posted October 16, 2012 Share Posted October 16, 2012 hiya Your girlfriend also has to provide finacal eveindence of how she can support you, we sent in a year of payslips, details of both our JA and our joint savings, credit card statements, ticket stubs, rental agreements, bank statements, any post addressed jointly to us as a couple , took a pics togetaher at any place with a and you also need 2 aus citizens to vouch your relationship is genuine we waited until the full year was up of living togetaher and we were also married we sent about 4.5kgs of evidence in and i got my visa within 6 months, now waiting on the perm visa to come through Id look at other visas as it doenst sound like you are yet a couple in the eyes of the visa people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbk Posted October 17, 2012 Author Share Posted October 17, 2012 thanks for all the advice people, really appreciated and making my situation clearer by the day! If I was to apply for a prosepective visa marriage, can you go onto a Partner visa defacto instead of Partner visa marriage? My thinking is that once i get back into the country i can use the 6 months out of the 9 to find somewhere for me and my girlfriend to live and then apply for a defacto partner visa with 6 months living together and my relationship registered?? thanks again guys and gals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 thanks for all the advice people, really appreciated and making my situation clearer by the day! If I was to apply for a prosepective visa marriage, can you go onto a Partner visa defacto instead of Partner visa marriage? My thinking is that once i get back into the country i can use the 6 months out of the 9 to find somewhere for me and my girlfriend to live and then apply for a defacto partner visa with 6 months living together and my relationship registered?? thanks again guys and gals! Not that I am aware of. The point of this visa is you marry within the timeframe the visa specifies. You can only apply for a partner visa to remain in Aus after you are married. So it pretty much stops people abusing the process. http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/partners/prospective/300/ Read the pages following on from that one also. Explains all. I doubt its going to be any use to you unless you actually do marry within the time frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 You may need to consider long distance till such time as perhaps your GF can move to the UK to live with you for a year (if she can get a WHV this would work well as that lasts for 2 years iirc but can only work for one year total on it). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatDane Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Hi Tom, You sound like a young lad who has had a taste of the sweet life in Oz :cool: Here are your options. 1. Get her to come over to the UK - a good indication of testing how keen she is (and don't offer to expense her trip over) 2. Think long and hard if it was nothing more than a holiday fling in a great country and if you really want to be with her in Oz. Forever. 3. If you know in your heart she's the one, make an honest woman of her and don't look back! I was once a young lad and went through option #2 more times than I care to remember. After a few months, as they say, out of sight out of mind and a new girl would catch my attention. Now that I'm an old bastard it's easier to make the right decisions based on past experience and trouble I got myself in. Learn from me but of course only you can be the judge :wink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.