djamesy Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Hey guys, I am looking for some advise and heard this is the best place for it. I am currently in my second year in Australia, arriving in Dec 2012 on a working holiday. I want to make a life here with my partner (who is Aussie), however we have not been together for the mandatory 12 months, as as result we cannot apply for a de facto Visa. Therefore, I left the country for one week (Dec 2013) and came back on a tourist Visa so we can stay together. After seeking advice from a Migration Agent I have applied for a student Visa, which will end in Nov 2015. I have received my offer letter, CoE and paid all of the fees, including cost of Student Visa. However, the Migration agency have informed me that I need to write a 'Statement of Purpose' to immigration, basically saying that I will be going back to England at the end of the course! I am concerned that, if my Student Visa is approved it will come with a 'No Further Stay' action. My plan is to stay here, so I will apply for either de facto, or 457 if I can find a company willing to sponsor me. I'm considering talking to an Immigration lawyer but thought I'd ask you guys first. Thank you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Hey guys, In addition to this. If my partner and I were to register our relationship in our State, do you know if the 12 month living together can be waved? We are living together at present and have been since December 2013. Also, do you know if I can apply for de facto Visa if I have already started the student Visa application? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Yes registering your relationship waves the one year thing. You can apply for the defacto if you have already applied for a student visa. However, there was someone on here a couple if weeks ago who's student visa was refused as they didn't believe they would be leaving at the end of the course. If you can register your relationship and apply in time before your tourist visa runs out I would just do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Thank you for your advice blossom79. We are going to register our relationship tomorrow. Do you think it is worth getting help from an Immigration lawyer? If so, can anyone recommend a good firm in Melbourne? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 It might be, only because you have lived together for such a short amount of time. There are a few good agents around, but I'm not sure where they are. Alan from go Matilda posts on here and is good. As does Aba. I used George Lombard in Sydney who is very good. He can do everything visa phone and email. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 Registering your relationship will depend on the state. Although you can register your relationship in Vincent WA, DIBP doesn't recognise it, and Victoria is apparently quite strict that you have to live together for 12 months before you can register your relationship. NSW and QLD are fairly lenient from what I've read, and I'm not sure about the others. Also, keep in mind that even though it may waive the 12 months living together, you need to still be able to provide enough evidence of your relationship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killara Posted February 16, 2014 Share Posted February 16, 2014 I can confirm what maggiemay says about Victoria being strict. It is necessary to show that both persons in the relationship are ordinarily resident in Victoria, and for this purpose it is usually necessary to show that the last 12 months have been in Victoria. Perhaps the OP has this though as arrived Dec 2012? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 16, 2014 Author Share Posted February 16, 2014 Hi Killara, yes I can confirm both my partner and I have been resident in VIC for the past 12 months. If I stayed on the student visa we could wait until the 12 months living together had passed, then apply for de facto. My concern is, how can Immigration expect me to write a statement of purpose saying I’m going back to my home country when that is not my intention?! I would be contradicting my self. It seems that there is no hope if you try and be honest and do things properly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killara Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Hi djamesy. From what you said in your original post, it seems that your reason for wanting to stay in Australia is to be with your partner. Your original post seems to suggest that the advice you received from your migration agent was to apply for a student visa so that you could stay in Australia longer so that you could meet the 12 month requirement for de facto. If your migration agent was aware that you had both been residing in Victoria for 12 months, and that your reason for wanting to stay in Australia was to be with your partner, then your migration agent should have discussed the possibility of registering your relationship so that the 12 month duration of defacto relationship would not be required.. rather than suggesting a student visa - if studying was secondary to you wanting to stay to be with your partner. If you go ahead with the student visa application, given that you have first been on WHV, then tourist visa, and then to be student visa, then there is a very real possibility that a "no further stay" condition could be put on your student visa. I would think this is quite likely, and certainly the Statement of Purpose may very well be to test this. In these circumstances, I think you should look to register your relationship in Victoria, and then apply for the partner visa. If you wish to continue with your current migration agent, you should discuss this with your agent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thank you for your advice Killara, you're correct in explaining my situation. Considering my main priority is to stay in Australia with my partner, I also think registering our relationship and applying for the partner visa is best. I'm now wondering what to do considering my student visa has already been lodged. Would it not look suspect to cancel my application and immediately apply for the partner visa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Is you Agent a Migration Agent or a Student Agent as thereis a big difference? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Is you Agent a Migration Agent or a Student Agent as thereis a big difference? Good point! I got some whoppingly bad advice from a few student agents (although there were some good ones). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted February 17, 2014 Share Posted February 17, 2014 Good point! I got some whoppingly bad advice from a few student agents (although there were some good ones). Education agents are not supposed to give migration advice and it is illegal for them to do so in Australia, but that does not deter some of them. The OP just just about be assured of 'no further stay' being imposed on a student visa, if one were granted. The Victorian application form calls for 12 month relationship, but the relevant legislation does not and refusal decisions have been overturned. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 Thanks for all of your advice. They are a student agent so I will not be using them for the partner visa. - Would there be a problem withdrawing my student visa application and applying de facto? - If I went through with the student visa and it was granted with 'no further stay', does that mean I cannot apply for a partner visa offshore as well as onshore? Thank you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djamesy Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 My student migration agent says it his "highly unlikely" I will get the condition on my student visa... A fellow student on the same course also had to write a statement of purpose. Their visa was granted without the 'no further stay' condition. I understand every case is different, which is why this is a very hard decison to make. Due to the fact my partner and I have been together less than 12 months, wouldn't it be better to still register our relationship but wait until the 12 months living together had passed before applying for the partner visa? That way we could collate more evidence to support our genuine application and hopefully have a relatively stress free experience. The risk is applying for my student visa and having it granted with the 'no further stay' condition. Very tough! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Thanks for all of your advice. They are a student agent so I will not be using them for the partner visa. The problem is that you have used them to plan your visa strategy. My student migration agent says it his "highly unlikely" I will get the condition on my student visa... A fellow student on the same course also had to write a statement of purpose. Their visa was granted without the 'no further stay' condition. I understand every case is different, which is why this is a very hard decison to make. Even if your student visa is approved without a “no further stay” condition, it appears that you are going down a very expensive pathway. If you apply for a partner visa from your student visa, you must continue to attend and pay for school, until the partner visa is approved. Considering that the current processing time for a Partner visa in Australia can be over 12 months, you are going to be paying school fees for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My student migration agent says it his "highly unlikely" I will get the condition on my student visa... A fellow student on the same course also had to write a statement of purpose. Their visa was granted without the 'no further stay' condition. I understand every case is different, which is why this is a very hard decison to make. Due to the fact my partner and I have been together less than 12 months, wouldn't it be better to still register our relationship but wait until the 12 months living together had passed before applying for the partner visa? That way we could collate more evidence to support our genuine application and hopefully have a relatively stress free experience. The risk is applying for my student visa and having it granted with the 'no further stay' condition. Very tough! Or having it refused or cancelled, have a look at regulation 4020. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 My student migration agent says it his "highly unlikely" I will get the condition on my student visa... A fellow student on the same course also had to write a statement of purpose. Their visa was granted without the 'no further stay' condition. I understand every case is different, which is why this is a very hard decison to make. Due to the fact my partner and I have been together less than 12 months, wouldn't it be better to still register our relationship but wait until the 12 months living together had passed before applying for the partner visa? That way we could collate more evidence to support our genuine application and hopefully have a relatively stress free experience. The risk is applying for my student visa and having it granted with the 'no further stay' condition. Very tough! Is this agent MARA registered? If not, and they are in oz, then they are breaking the law by giving you migration advice. It is normal for people who apply for student visas to be asked to justify that they will be leaving at the end of the course. If it didn't matter to immigration they wouldn't ask (as they didn't when I got my student visa). Have a look back for student visa refusals, there was one on here a couple of weeks or so ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Killara Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 The Victorian application form calls for 12 month relationship, but the relevant legislation does not and refusal decisions have been overturned. I think you mean 12 month residence rather than relationship? If so, I completely agree with you... However OP may not have time to pursue having a refusal of registration overturned as he appears to be on a visitor visa, which may be expiring soon. - Would there be a problem withdrawing my student visa application and applying de facto? - If I went through with the student visa and it was granted with 'no further stay', does that mean I cannot apply for a partner visa offshore as well as onshore? You could seek to withdraw your student visa application and lodge a partner visa application, but before choosing this option, I would strongly recommend that you sit down with a registered migration agent who will best be able to help sort out this mess. Usually if a visa application is withdrawn, the visa application charge which has been paid is forfeited.. however you can request a refund when withdrawing the application and set out the reasons for it. If you have received poor migration advice (which it seems you have) from a person who is in Australia and not registered as a migration agent (therefore acting unlawfully) then DIBP may consider your request for a refund, particularly if withdrawn early and explained that incompetent advice had been received and you now wish to apply for the most appropriate visa. I would suggest that if you pursue this possibility that you get your new migration agent to submit the request to DIBP on your behalf. If you get a "no further stay" condition you will not be able to apply for a partner visa onshore unless the condition was waived (it is very difficult to obtain a waiver of a 'no further stay' condition). You could still apply offshore. Due to the fact my partner and I have been together less than 12 months, wouldn't it be better to still register our relationship but wait until the 12 months living together had passed before applying for the partner visa? That way we could collate more evidence to support our genuine application and hopefully have a relatively stress free experience. a registered migration agent will be able to go through the evidence which you currently have and advise whether you have sufficient evidence to apply now.. and if not, advise what you will need, when you might be able to apply, and what your best visa options are, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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