Partner Visa applied onshore - issues with departing for an extended period afterwards

[Adrean83]

I posted an earlier thread about a tourist visa after a WHV. My wife who I married was on a WHV when we married 8 or so months ago. Her WHV is coming to an end mid next month July. We have actually been going through an American Spousal visa process for quite some time and it looks like early October before that will be completed. That leaves between July and October where we are in visa limbo land and we do not want to be apart.

 

We are thinkning about getting a partner visa to cover the visa limbo period. We were told by an immigration officer that the if we were to go to the USA and spend an extended period of time there we would not be allowed to enter under the bridging visa because this is only valid for 3 months or it expires after 3 months from being overseas? I didn't quite understand.

 

We don't mind not returning until our visa interview date, but I'm unsure whether the whole partner visa will expire if we spend a significant time away overseas after applying onshore in Australia? Is this the case?

 

Isn't it just possible to spend the first three months in Australia go to USA until the visa appointment and then she enters under a tourist visa?

 

We're having such a difficult time understanding what's allowed and what's not so any help would be appreciated.

[MARYROSE02]

Isn't it better to contact DIAC with your question?

[CollegeGirl]

DIAC often gives incorrect advice (like what the OP talked about in his post, actually). When you've already applied for a partner visa and the WHV expires, you'll be on a Bridging Visa A. While you're on your BVA, you'll need to apply for a Bridging Visa B (BVB) in order to be allowed back in when traveling overseas. The BVB is sometimes granted for just three months, but is usually granted for six months these days (especially if you request it to be that long).

 

That being said, though - am I understanding you correctly that you only intend to be in Aus for three months, and then you're returning to live in the US permanently? I must be misunderstanding you - a Partner Visa would be sorta useless in that scenario unless you planned to move back to Aus again in the next several years.

[CollegeGirl]

I don't know what you mean by "visa appointment," though. Most people don't get interviewed at all.

 

Basically once you apply for your 820, you'll have a Bridging Visa A, though it won't come into effect (as I said) until your WHV expires. If you need to leave before your WHV expires, you can still apply for and receive a BVB (which you definitely should do if you're going to be out of the country still when your WHV expires). You can be out of the country normally six months at a time on a BVB during the processing of your visa. You may even be able to extend it or fly back in and apply for and receive another to spend even more time out of the country - I'm not sure. But when they're ready to grant your 820, you'll need to be in the country. They'll notify you as long as you keep them up-to-date on your travel plans/contact info. Once they grant it, you have the right to be in or out of Aus as much as you want during the two years of your 820 - just, again, make sure they have contact info so they can notify you when it's been two years since your 820 application and it's time to provide documents for your reassessment for your 801. Once you get your 801 (PR), you have the right to travel in and out of the country as much as you want for five years. After that five years, though, you'll need to have lived in Australia for at least two of those previous five years in order to get a five-year Return Resident Visa which allows you to go in and out of Australia as you like for another five years.

[Quinkla]

It's probably too late to change things if the WHV expired in mid-July, but it is only sensible to apply for spousal visas for both the US and Australia if you both intend to live and work in both countries. If the US is the destination of choice, it would be cheaper to go to New Zealand for a couple of days when the WHV expires and apply for an offshore visitor visa, then come back and wait out the 3 months until the US visa comes through - popping back to NZ for a couple of days again if the visitor visa runs out.