Partner Visa... Answers needed for a variaty of questions.

[uktravel]

Hello,

 

Myself and my partner are looking in to applying for a partner visa. His UK visa runs out in March 2016.

 

Have people found it easier to do it yourself or go through a company? If going through a company which ones do people recommend. I have been looking in to both and the doing it yourself option looks very complicated.

 

As well as this what evidence do I need to begin gathering together in order to prove our de facto relationship status. We are not yet married or engaged but by the time 2016 comes that should be on the cards.

 

I have been advised by one agency not to go down the pre marriage visa route as its more or less the same paperwork but with double the fees.

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[lebourvellec]

Welcome to Pio

 

 

Go Matilda has been recommended by other PIO members. But the majority of people applying of the partner visa do not use an agent.

 

Booklet 1 has information regarding different areas of your relationship that require to be covered. If you are currently in defacto relationship and been living together for more than 12 months the partner visa will be the on to look at. PMV is more for people who can't meet the requirements of the partner visa ie have never lived together or only for short period of time.

 

Current processing times for applying offshore through London office is 10-14 months, so you should factor this in too.

 

As for evidence, joint bank account to, bills to same address, joint tenancy, wills, car insurance, home insurance. Need to show that you are living like a married couple.

[Alan Collett]

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/checklists/309-100.aspx

 

Details of information needed for a partner visa application are at this webpage.

 

http://www.gm-partner-visas.com/family-visas/partner-visas/

 

Please also feel able to call our UK office for a free no obligation discussion.

 

Best regards.

[Quinkla]

Your easiest route would be to get married before applying for the visa. You would need to provide evidence of living together and having a genuine, lasting and exclusive relationship. If you are married, you get over the hurdle of needing to show evidence on a month by month basis for over a year. But, the lead time for processing a partner visa is currently 14 months (check for the exact figure) and seems to be increasing. Therefore, marrying in 2016 will not get you a visa in time for you both moving to Australia together. But if you are unable to get married soon enough, then go for the defacto application, starting to gather evidence now and apply as soon as possible to minimise any time apart whilst your partner's UK visa has expired but your Australian visa is still being processed.

 

The Prospective Marriage Visa is useful if you are unmarried, do not have evidence for a partner visa, and your partner is in Australia whilst you are in the UK. I think that is not what you are looking for. It also has a long lead time. I don't think the advice about double the fees is correct. It costs $3085 for an offshore partner visa or $3085+$1145 for an offshore Prospective Marriage visa and a subsequent onshore partner visa.

 

Whether to use an agent or not is a personal choice. The partner visas may look complicated but if your relationship is genuine and there are no criminal or health issues then basically, you would be providing the same stuff for an agent as you'd be producing directly to DIBP. An agent may be able to offer advice on strategies, particularly if you want to do things like apply for an offshore visa and then travel to Australia on a tourist visa whilst it is being processed.

 

Good luck.

[Guest]

FWIW, if your partner is an Aussie and on an ILR visa or some other substantial one it may be worth exploring him applying for UK citizenship before you apply for a partner visa. I say this as should you ever wish to return to the UK as a couple, the partner visa requirements have changed and its very tough going to bring a spouse back with you now. Many couples are stuck in Aus with no way to return to live in the UK. There is a strict financial requirement from the person sponsoring which means you having a job paying over £18,000 or else savings of over £60,000. UK citizenship will mean as a couple you can come and go living between either country as you wish.

 

I went the DIY route personally as once you get your head round the paperwork, its not actually that bad I think. Most partner visa applicants seem to to it themselves, though a few on here do use an agent. It is a case of compiling your supporting evidence, getting the stat decs, writing your statements and filling in the application forms. And having all the correct copies of passports, birth certs, marriage cert (if you are married when applying) and so on. It took more time working out what supporting evidence to send than actually filling out the application form for me :cute: I supplied one or two pieces from each year we had been together to ensure I covered the entire timespan of our de facto and married life. Something showing both of us at the same address, either shared or separate. So council tax or water bill naming both of us on it. Car insurance with hubby listed as the named driver on my policy. A rental agreement naming us both. Phone bill in my name, life insurance policy in his but to the same address. Then for the most recent two years hubby included a summary of his bank statements, plus salary slips to show he is the main earner and supporting the family. We also included annual summary from our joint account for a few years too. All the sorting of supporting out what evidence to include you'll have to do yourself anyway, regardless of if you go with a migration agent or not. And the writing statements you have to both do yourself also. The immi website PDF lists the things they want you to cover when writing that. I did 3 pages or so of A4 typed, hubby did 5 pages of A4 handwritten. We wrote them and then before the final draft made sure our dates tallied and that we had covered all the things being asked for. Of course, hubby wrote a few things that I didn't and vice versa, his hobbies differ from mine for example and he mentioned a couple of things in our relationship that I didn't, I went into far more detail about having a baby and what that meant.

 

Quinkla mentioned about applying off shore and then going to Aus on a tourist visa. This is what quite a few people did when the wait time was 8-9 months. Now it is 10-14 I am not sure if we will see quite as many doing this (the new wait time is recent so its a bit of an unknown as yet) as its potentially an expensive thing to do if stuck in Aus for up to a year say, without being able to work and having to leave the country every few months due to visa requirements (although there are some longer stay tourist visas, but honestly, it may potentially be tricky and they may question it at some point). It was fine when people were waiting out a few months or so and only had to head off shore for visa grant or one trip off shore to keep within their tourist visa, but longer, not working and all that, I'd not find it easy to do. I go nuts a bit now as I am only working part time and am a bit bored stuck at home more than I would like. Gardening keeps me busy and we hope to get a dog soon but not being able to work at all for an extended period, it'd driven me nuts here in those early months if it had been a longer term thing. I don't do well being a kept woman so to speak. I like to earn my own money if I can.

 

Feel free if you want to drop me a PM about the partner visa. Happy to chat about it