Prospective marriage visa to 820 visa

[Arees23]

Hi Everyone

I am Currently on the prospective marriage visa 300, and I have just gotten married and will need to apply for the 820 visa. I used an agent for my prospective marriage visa and he was great, but for the 820, his fee is so expensive, and after looking at the forms all being online now it looks pretty straight forward? Is this true? What are peoples experiences going alone?

 

Also Does anybody know If I would have to resend all the evidence of the relationship, i.e joint bills, photo's etc for this 820 visa or would what I sent for the prospective marriage visa cover it? The same with all the form 800s we had completed by family and friends stating that the relationship is genuine, would we need to do all of this again? It seems a bit silly having to send it all twice.

 

Hope someone can help

[Guest]

It's pretty straight forward IMHO. Plenty do it themselves.

 

You'd probably need to submit evidence over again but read the small print on applying for the 820 after you've married on a PMV. It might be different.

 

It really isn't a difficult process, just it can seem a lot because of the application paperwork. Given you got the PMV I'd think the next step here should not present any real problems. The PMV is far more straight forward to apply for so if you are not confident, perhaps consult an agent. Personally I'd say do it yourself. Just give yourself some time to read it all through, ask questions etc before you start filling it all in.

 

I applied for my partner visa off shore, although they want pretty much the same stuff . It really wasn't difficult IMO.

Edited April 22, 2014 by Guest

[BeckyFacer]

Thank you both for your posts! I was wondering the same, I have just been granted my visa and was wondering when I get married what the next steps would be. Very helpful thanks.

[wrussell]

Hi Everyone

I am Currently on the prospective marriage visa 300, and I have just gotten married and will need to apply for the 820 visa. I used an agent for my prospective marriage visa and he was great, but for the 820, his fee is so expensive, and after looking at the forms all being online now it looks pretty straight forward? Is this true? What are peoples experiences going alone?

 

Also Does anybody know If I would have to resend all the evidence of the relationship, i.e joint bills, photo's etc for this 820 visa or would what I sent for the prospective marriage visa cover it? The same with all the form 800s we had completed by family and friends stating that the relationship is genuine, would we need to do all of this again? It seems a bit silly having to send it all twice.

 

Hope someone can help

 

Many agents who have managed a 300 will manage the related 820/801 lodgement and the second stage for a discounted professional fee.

When I manage a 300 I quote for the 300, the 820/801 and the second stage partner visa, not all people last for two years to reach the second stage.

$2400 - $1200 - $330 for the three stages is a reasonable fee.

As a matter of good practice clients should be advised of the total cost of obtaining permanent residence.

I have had several clients tell me that I did not charge enough, one in particular who had a wedding with a cast of hundreds and first class air travel insisted on offering a $900 bonus.

 

To answer your question - you have to sent the whole lot again (plus your wedding evidence) - you are making a new application.

Your agent should have your previous documents on file and should be able to send you copies upon request.

Edited April 24, 2014 by wrussell
spelling

[Arees23]

Many agents who have managed a 300 will manage the related 820/801 lodgement and the second stage for a discounted professional fee.

When I manage a 300 I quote for the 300, the 820/801 and the second stage partner visa, not all people last for two years to reach the second stage.

$2400 - $1200 - $330 for the three stages is a reasonable fee.

As a matter of good practice clients should be advise of the total cost of obtaining permanent residence.

I have had several clients tell me that I did not charge enough, one in particular who had a wedding with a cast of hundreds and first class air travel insisted on offering a $900 bonus.

 

To answer your question - you have to sent the whole lot again (plus your wedding evidence) - you are making a new application.

Your agent should have your previous documents on file and should be able to send you copies upon request.

 

 

Thanks for that. He's asking $2000 in legal fee's for the 820 and then there's the additional cost of $114 to post the visa to the relevant department. I just found this quite steep, especially being as we are newly wed and that's a big amount of money to find, as well as the visa fee.

Thanks for the advice and information

[Quinkla]

My experience of going from the 300 to the 820 was three and a half years ago and things may have changed, but it was very straightforward. You have to fill in another long form - so does your partner. You need to resubmit all the ID documents - although I just submitted photocopies of the certified copies I had sent for the 300 visa and said the certified copies would be on my original file. The personal statements (both yours and your friends/family statements) need re-doing as your relationship will have developed since they were done for the 300. You will need a certified copy of your official marriage certificate available through your State Births-Deaths-Marriages office.

 

It is straightforward and you don't need an agent. It is really just a formality since you have already got the 300 visa and you have met the requirements of that visa. If you get anything wrong, DIBP will simply ask you to correct it or provide further information.

[wrussell]

Thanks for that. He's asking $2000 in legal fee's for the 820 and then there's the additional cost of $114 to post the visa to the relevant department. I just found this quite steep, especially being as we are newly wed and that's a big amount of money to find, as well as the visa fee.

Thanks for the advice and information

 

Apart from the DIBP charges, it costs nothing to 'post' an application online.

[dia2499]

Hi guys, I am in Oz now settling down to my new life in Queensland (entered Brisbane 25th July on PMV)! I had a quick question about the next visa application; Dave and I are planning to get married in October and applying for the next visa in November; however my UK PCC expires in September and I am unsure if I'll need another new one when applying for the changeover from PMV to partner visa. Also, do we need to send all the other documents once again or they are already there on my file with DIBP?

 

Thanks xx

[CollegeGirl]

Hi guys, I am in Oz now settling down to my new life in Queensland (entered Brisbane 25th July on PMV)! I had a quick question about the next visa application; Dave and I are planning to get married in October and applying for the next visa in November; however my UK PCC expires in September and I am unsure if I'll need another new one when applying for the changeover from PMV to partner visa. Also, do we need to send all the other documents once again or they are already there on my file with DIBP?

 

Thanks xx

 

No, you don't need new police or medical checks - they'll ask if they want them for some reason, but it's pretty uncommon.

 

There's conflicting advice on whether you should provide the same info you did for the PMV PLUS evidence since then - since you're from a low-risk country, I would probably just provide mostly new evidence (showing you now share an address and share finances, etc., plus wedding photos, cards, marriage cert from BDM, etc. etc.). Just ensure you have evidence in all four categories. (That's the approach I took, and I was approved with no problem.) The PMV-to-820 is pretty low-intensity - they're just verifying that you've married and combined you're lives the way you're supposed to. You don't have to swamp them. And you should get your grant pretty quickly - some people get it the next day, others wait several weeks, but it's pretty rare to wait more than two months when coming from a PMV. Best wishes!

[dia2499]

Thanks so much for your reply @CollegeGirl. I'm so happy to finally find somebody who's just been through the same process. I'm getting all the new evidence sorted slowly... adding my name to our utility accounts (Electricity, Telephone), opening joint bank accounts etc.. So hopefully there'll be enough evidence of life together when we apply in October. Our marriage celebrant informed us today that it'll be 4-5 weeks after the wedding date that we'll receive the proper official marriage certificate! We were hoping to apply just after our wedding, but I guess there's nothing much we can do without the official certificate. What about statements from friends and family? Did you reuse the old ones (from PMV) or had to provide new ones? Also, is it possible to apply online?

 

Thanks xxx

 

No, you don't need new police or medical checks - they'll ask if they want them for some reason, but it's pretty uncommon.

 

There's conflicting advice on whether you should provide the same info you did for the PMV PLUS evidence since then - since you're from a low-risk country, I would probably just provide mostly new evidence (showing you now share an address and share finances, etc., plus wedding photos, cards, marriage cert from BDM, etc. etc.). Just ensure you have evidence in all four categories. (That's the approach I took, and I was approved with no problem.) The PMV-to-820 is pretty low-intensity - they're just verifying that you've married and combined you're lives the way you're supposed to. You don't have to swamp them. And you should get your grant pretty quickly - some people get it the next day, others wait several weeks, but it's pretty rare to wait more than two months when coming from a PMV. Best wishes!

[CollegeGirl]

Yep, totally possible to apply online! You just do a regular 820 application - it will ask at one point if you're applying from a Prospective Marriage Visa, and you just tick yes. You'll be charged the correct ~$1100 AUD amount instead of the full amount for a regular 820. Yes, you'll need new statements from friends/family - but it's perfectly fine to do the minimum. You need a minimum of two Forms 888 from Aussie Citizens or PRs. That's all we provided, and were approved no problem. These statements have to be no older than six weeks when you submit them, so you obviously can't use the PMV ones.

 

And yes, we had to wait for our marriage cert from BDM as well - though I believe you can actually go in and pick one up from a BDM office same day if you really wanted to, after your celebrant has officially registered your marriage.

[Quinkla]

Thanks so much for your reply @CollegeGirl. I'm so happy to finally find somebody who's just been through the same process.

There are a number of us who have been through the PMV route. It is the "conventional" route and as such, it is pretty simple but there are more creative and complicated ways to get to Australia sooner.

 

If you have a common language, are roughly in the same generation and have known each other for more than five minutes then it isn't going to be too taxing. They want proof that your friends and family know about your relationship; that you have got married and set up a household together. They accept that it may be early days in a relationship (especially the living together boot after you get married) but that's why they have the two year temporary visa before you get the full one. They are not judging how good your relationship/marriage is, merely judging whether it is a real one or a fake one. If you are a genuine couple then you have nothing tp worry about on the PMV route (unless you have health or character issues).

[dia2499]

Yep, totally possible to apply online! You just do a regular 820 application - it will ask at one point if you're applying from a Prospective Marriage Visa, and you just tick yes. You'll be charged the correct ~$1100 AUD amount instead of the full amount for a regular 820. Yes, you'll need new statements from friends/family - but it's perfectly fine to do the minimum. You need a minimum of two Forms 888 from Aussie Citizens or PRs. That's all we provided, and were approved no problem. These statements have to be no older than six weeks when you submit them, so you obviously can't use the PMV ones.

 

And yes, we had to wait for our marriage cert from BDM as well - though I believe you can actually go in and pick one up from a BDM office same day if you really wanted to, after your celebrant has officially registered your marriage.

 

Thanks for all your help @CollegeGirl. Just another quick question; when you guys filled up the 47SP and 40SP forms online, you used the same ImmiAccount, right? Also, is it okay if I pay for the visa using my hubby's credit card? It says in the document checklist (for 820) that 'If your sponsor has paid the visa application charge for you then you must lodge your application by post or in person'.. totally confused after reading this! Also, do we need to provide health (Medicare) and travel insurance documents?

[CollegeGirl]

So sorry for taking so long to respond - busy couple of days for me. Yes, we used the same ImmiAccount for both. Not a problem to do that. And yes, you can use hubby's credit card. I did. That's yet another example of outdated information on their website. No insurance or Medicare documents required. I heard that's on a checklist somewhere - it's completely incorrect. They've copied and pasted from checklists for other types of visas. Medical coverage is not a requirement or any type of partner visa.

[dia2499]

So sorry for taking so long to respond - busy couple of days for me. Yes, we used the same ImmiAccount for both. Not a problem to do that. And yes, you can use hubby's credit card. I did. That's yet another example of outdated information on their website. No insurance or Medicare documents required. I heard that's on a checklist somewhere - it's completely incorrect. They've copied and pasted from checklists for other types of visas. Medical coverage is not a requirement or any type of partner visa.

 

Thanks so much! I did some research yesterday and found your replies on http://www.australiaforum.com (guessing it's you because it was the same username ;-)... The checklist is really confusing with all these incorrect information; I would have been totally lost without the help of all the forums and discussions... Thanks again.. you are a star :-) xx

[CollegeGirl]

Yep, that's me. Happy I could help! xx

[StructureD]

Hi All,

This is a really helpful topic and thread. I'm a UK citizen living in Australia on a PMV (just married) and applying for a partner visa (820). I know that I'll need to get new statements from family and friends, but should my statement just be an addendum to the last one? It just seems like so much information to cover in one statement and all of the previous information still applies. I was thinking of uploading both, making it very clear in the latest one (I will get it witnessed) that it should be read after reading by original. What do you think? I could just cut and paste the original into the new one, as I still have that info written up anyway.

Cheers,

Greg

[Quinkla]

Treat a new application as a fresh application - do not cross refer to previous applications and feel free to cut and paste from previous statements. The applications all need to be mutually consistent, but treated as complete in and of themselves.

[StructureD]

Thank you, that makes sense. So I guess I can't use ID documents that were certified in the UK? I'll need to get the same docs certified here in Oz.

 

[Guest]

Check as if its an online application I think full colour scans don't need to be certified. Black and white ones do. Double check and ask on the partner visa thread as lots there have applied online recently. Only the stat decs by Aussies will need that witnessing process as before. 

[Quinkla]

1 hour ago, StructureD said:

Thank you, that makes sense. So I guess I can't use ID documents that were certified in the UK? I'll need to get the same docs certified here in Oz.

 

Where an ID document was identical, on my application I just enclosed a photocopy of the certified document (i.e. photocopied including the certification) and said the original would be on my file. That worked OK for me - but that was a few years ago.

[StructureD]

Thank you. Thinking about it, I could quite easily get my IDs certified again here in Australia, so I'll do it at the same time as my statement etc. I may as well!

[Quinkla]

If you have the documents then it would be easy to get them certified - a gold coin donation at a pharmacy does the trick. My problem was that my fife (fiancee as was) did not have personal copies of birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates and getting copies was an interstate hassle. 

[StructureD]

That must have been really tough. Thank you, you've reassured me.