MGHick Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hi everyone, Im fairly new to all this, just looking into various bits of infromation and going through getting everything ready for my skills assessment, just thinking ahead a little bit I was after some help regarding my partner. We are not married or engaged, nor do we have any children, also we have not been living together untill recently (1 month). So my question is what can I provide for proof of relationship? or do I simply have to wait months until I can apply? if so how long? I have photos, joint holiday paperwork, car insurance, and the odd bank transfer (now do be more regular) and social statements would not be a piece of cake. However I'm not sure this is sufficent. Any information at all would be great, Thanks Mitch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 You have to wait until you have been living together for a year (and can prove it). Make sure you get more than you currently have. A joint bank account is GREAT. Also, if you have a lease, make sure you are both on it. Make sure all bills are changed to the same address etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksarah Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Good idea to get on the electoral roll (do you have poll cards for the recent EU/local elections?) and have utilities (where they allow it) and home insurance etc in both names. Also collect paper work that shows you are recognised as a couple - wedding/christening invites etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGHick Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Hi blossom79, thanks for your reply. Does it have to be living together a year? I was speaking to a migration agent and they said you have to be living together some of the time, but prove you have been together a year (they wouldnt give me anymore information for free lol). Joint bank account we have kind-of, we signed up with westpac (australian bank) early this month, is this accpetable? unfortunately the property is not leased. Again thanks for your reply Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGHick Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 ksarah thanks for your reply electoral roll - no unfortunately we just missed that but should be good for the next round of votes whenever that is weddings/christnings invites we have a few mainly over facebook will that be acpeted? Thanks again for the reply really helped Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 Yes, you have to have been in a defacto relationship for a year. This means living as husband and wife but without the piece of paper. Dating is not good enough I'm afraid. I'd be getting joint uk accounts as well for paying all your bills out of. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/35relationship.htm#a Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 when I applied, the things we listed, were: lease (current and previous) contents insurance schedule utility bills - I put both our names on, even before we agreed to apply for the visa, as it was in the back of my mind that it could be potentially useful council tax - both names have to be on there anyway statements showing all transfers between our bank accounts for a year (we don't have a joint account) Didn't include electoral role, as he is not on it, even though I am. But they can check that without us knowing anyway. There were other/smaller things, but these were the bigger "financial commitment" type things, and it was a struggle to even get this small list as our finances are fairly independent from each other! I also included photos, holiday details etc, but it can be argued that they don't matter when being assessed for the visa process. I can probably provide a list of everything I gave as "evidence" but not until I get back home later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGHick Posted May 27, 2014 Author Share Posted May 27, 2014 Ali - Thanks for the link - really useful Vickyplum- If you could send a list I would appreciate it, I'm in a similar situation with independant financies, as I more or less cover all the main bills and its a nightmare to change them over, so my partner jus transferes money over to me every month along with covering extra things like shopping, petrol etc. But I might do the same as you and just add the name on if that worked for you thanks again to you both really good info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 I'll dig out my list tonight. I should also add that we lived together for 1.5 years (together for 3) at the time of application, so you still might need to look into that part a bit more! Ali - Thanks for the link - really useful Vickyplum- If you could send a list I would appreciate it, I'm in a similar situation with independant financies, as I more or less cover all the main bills and its a nightmare to change them over, so my partner jus transferes money over to me every month along with covering extra things like shopping, petrol etc. But I might do the same as you and just add the name on if that worked for you thanks again to you both really good info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 see below. a lot of this is what people would call "fluff" but it made me feel better and I did get the visa granted! Also bear in mind that I applied for a different visa to the one you're looking at, and was prompted to provide a lot of this stuff by the visa application form and accompanying guidance notes. A lot of it was gathering paperwork and checking dates on which various things took place. Photos of us on holiday (1 per holiday) Photos of me/us with each other's family members Birthday cards from each other's families Happy new home cards from friends/family Xmas cards from friends/family Wedding invite Print outs of holiday bookings for trips we've taken together Diary entries showing when we met up (before living together) Details of time spent apart (ie, my partner worked in Berlin for three months, so I provided dates of the trips back to the UK and when I visited him in Berlin) Diary entries supporting when we met with each other's friends/family etc (social context of relationship - part of written statement/application) Bank statements showing transfers between our accounts (printed out and marked up) - going back 1 yr I think Statutory declarations from friends and two Australian citizens - mandatory part of the application form Rental contracts in both names (old address and current) Utility bills in both names Council tax bills/statements in both names Contents insurance schedules in both names Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M1cha3la Posted May 27, 2014 Share Posted May 27, 2014 We had to provide proof of relationship even though we have been together 4 years and married 8 months. We provided: Marriage Certificate (provided in initial application) Mortgage Statement for last 12 months. Council Tax for last 12 months. Utility bills for 12 months. Joint bank statement. Proof of holidays together from last 4 years. Photos from last 4 years. Stat Dec from both of us. Our agent was really surprised that we got requested to provide additional info, I guess it was because we were married less than 12 months at point of application. So I imagine that you really need to be living together for 12 months first... Hope that helps.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MGHick Posted May 28, 2014 Author Share Posted May 28, 2014 Thanks vickyplum & michaela for your info, very useful .... looks like I got 12 months of waiting and evidence gathering to do then I was hoping to get things moving sooner than that, never mind I can concentrate on my skills assessment and IELTS in the mean time I guess ... Thanks again to you both for your info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted May 28, 2014 Share Posted May 28, 2014 Just don't send videos of your (ahem) private practices (some folk have, I believe! According to people who have worked in the Dept anyway!) You've got a good list there anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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