bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello this is my first post, I am preparing a visa application for de facto Partner having lived with my dual nationality UK/OZ partner for 2 years. WE do not have joint accounts as he moved here from AUstralia to live with me and so has no credit history. He has his own bank accounts which he is building a credit record in his own right. Will this fail my application? thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello this is my first post, I am preparing a visa application for de facto Partner having lived with my dual nationality UK/OZ partner for 2 years. WE do not have joint accounts as he moved here from AUstralia to live with me and so has no credit history. He has his own bank accounts which he is building a credit record in his own right. Will this fail my application? thanks No. Joint accounts help but aren't essential. Nothing stopping you opening one though - my husband had no credit history here when we opened ours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 thanks, for your help, I think my credit rating would have taken a beating though...plus the fact that we each need to keep our estates separate for our respective beneficiaries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 plus the fact that we each need to keep our estates separate for our respective beneficiaries. I would think you would have joint wills? That listed separate beneficiaries; financial entanglement is one of the things DBIP is looking to see... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Hello this is my first post, I am preparing a visa application for de facto Partner having lived with my dual nationality UK/OZ partner for 2 years. WE do not have joint accounts as he moved here from AUstralia to live with me and so has no credit history. He has his own bank accounts which he is building a credit record in his own right. Will this fail my application? thanks If you lived together for two years prior, did you not have any joint bank account during this period? Although a joint bank account is not essential, proof of shared financial responsibility is and is being assessed more rigorously of late. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks for this Raul. Partner previously lived in Australia and I lived in UK until 2 years ago. He has a son in Australia and I have a stepson in UK from my previous marriage (I am widowed). My will has both partner and stepson as beneficiaries but our day to day finances are separate. My partner has a low income and I support us both while his pay goes to his son in Australia who is a teenager in FT education. I am sure we cannot be the only people in this situation?!? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NicF Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks for this Raul. Partner previously lived in Australia and I lived in UK until 2 years ago. He has a son in Australia and I have a stepson in UK from my previous marriage (I am widowed). My will has both partner and stepson as beneficiaries but our day to day finances are separate. My partner has a low income and I support us both while his pay goes to his son in Australia who is a teenager in FT education. I am sure we cannot be the only people in this situation?!? The fact that you support you both is evidence of financial commitment. You don't have to have a joint bank account but you do have to show that you are a committed couple and not just two people sharing a house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks for this Raul. Partner previously lived in Australia and I lived in UK until 2 years ago. He has a son in Australia and I have a stepson in UK from my previous marriage (I am widowed). My will has both partner and stepson as beneficiaries but our day to day finances are separate. My partner has a low income and I support us both from my own income while his pay goes to his son in Australia who is a teenager in FT education. I can explain the rationale for all of this ( we cannot be the only people in this situation?!?) But it would be useful to know whether this is a pointless pursuit?! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 thanks NicF, I think all the non financial evidence is easily proven, so fingers . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Thanks for this Raul. Partner previously lived in Australia and I lived in UK until 2 years ago. He has a son in Australia and I have a stepson in UK from my previous marriage (I am widowed). My will has both partner and stepson as beneficiaries but our day to day finances are separate. My partner has a low income and I support us both from my own income while his pay goes to his son in Australia who is a teenager in FT education. I can explain the rationale for all of this ( we cannot be the only people in this situation?!?) But it would be useful to know whether this is a pointless pursuit?! I am confused by your posts; have you lived together (at the same address) for two years? It is difficult to advise based on minimal information in your post, however, it is unlikely that it would be a pointless pursuit. Be mindful that Immigration is becoming much stricter with partner visas and you will need to provide strong supporting evidence to substantiate your claims. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 Raul, yes we have lived together in UK for 2 years. We can evidence all the social aspects but our finances are separate because I pay for pretty much everything and I pre-owned the house we live in. Partner has little money and what he earns goes to Australia to support his son there. In the UK co-habitation agreements, pre-nuptial agreements etc have no status in law, so the main way to protect our estates is to keep finances apart - I am a widow and my stepson is the beneficiary of his late father's estate via my will so I want to protect those assets. Also if I were to open a joint account with my partner my credit rating would take a nosedive. As I need to remortgage an investment property (income from which supports our day to day living...) before the visa is likely to be granted, this is not a great idea. We do however share credit cards. I would be very interested to know your thoughts as to whether this kind of argument might be seen by DBIP as reasonable or not? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I've been living together with my partner for almost 2 years now. We don't have joint bank accounts, we don't really see the point. She's not on the lease either because I was already here and she moved in. For evidence I supplied flight receipts for 3 holidays we've taken together, her spousal benefits card for my employer, an email to my landlord informing him that she's moving in and some photos of us on holiday and me meeting her parents (they live abroad). I can't see them not believing it's a genuine relationship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 22, 2015 Author Share Posted October 22, 2015 I've been living together with my partner for almost 2 years now. We don't have joint bank accounts, we don't really see the point. She's not on the lease either because I was already here and she moved in. For evidence I supplied flight receipts for 3 holidays we've taken together, her spousal benefits card for my employer, an email to my landlord informing him that she's moving in and some photos of us on holiday and me meeting her parents (they live abroad). I can't see them not believing it's a genuine relationship. yes in this day and age why have joint accounts when you can transfer everything you need so easily online? In the UK less than 40% of married couples used joint bank accounts as at 2011. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major Tom Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 We've applied for 309/100 with no joint accounts, but have proof of payments between each other. hope this helps. Cheers MT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 I would be very interested to know your thoughts as to whether this kind of argument might be seen by DBIP as reasonable or not? I cannot presume how a case officer will view the genuineness of a relationship without seeing all supporting documents and knowing all the facts of a case. I've been living together with my partner for almost 2 years now. We don't have joint bank accounts, we don't really see the point. She's not on the lease either because I was already here and she moved in. For evidence I supplied flight receipts for 3 holidays we've taken together, her spousal benefits card for my employer, an email to my landlord informing him that she's moving in and some photos of us on holiday and me meeting her parents (they live abroad). I can't see them not believing it's a genuine relationship. yes in this day and age why have joint accounts when you can transfer everything you need so easily online? In the UK less than 40% of married couples used joint bank accounts as at 2011. You are both missing the point. It is not about having a joint bank account. It is about proving shared financial responsibilities. Immigration have been applying a higher standard of proof to Partner applications of late, which is evidenced by an increased rate of refusal. My point is to make sure you provide strong documentation to substantiate any claims made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 If you don't have a joint bank account, you ought to think of other ways to prove your financial interdependence. Has one partner been making payments to the other one on a regular basis? Do you have a joint credit card account? Do you have bills in joint names? How do you split the cost of groceries? It won't be judged on ticking boxes, but would be based on the look and feel of things. In my case, for example, I have a joint bank account with my wife but only I use it - this would not be good evidence of shared financial commitment. On the other hand, she has a secondary credit card on my account and we have bills that show that she and I both use our cards and we both pay money in to (partially) repay them. This would be good evidence. We share a mortgage and are jointly named on bills for water and rates. This would also be good evidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Que Sera Sera Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Would getting married help in this situation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 Would getting married help in this situation? No. It does not matter whether you are married or de facto, you still need to evidence the genuineness of the relationship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quinkla Posted October 22, 2015 Share Posted October 22, 2015 No. It does not matter whether you are married or de facto, you still need to evidence the genuineness of the relationship. This is true, but getting married would be a sign of taking the relationship to a new level and would remove the need to prove a relationship for many months prior to the application. Joint finances from the point of marriage would be sufficient. The OP's problem is that he appears to be putting his own personal financial security ahead of the relationship - her justifications almost seem to argue against the relationship passing the defacto test. In that situation, marriage would surely help, wouldn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vickyplum Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 We've applied for 309/100 with no joint accounts, but have proof of payments between each other. hope this helps. Cheers MT Same here. I'm currently in Australia on a 309 visa and recently submitted the extra/new evidence for the 100. My partner and I don't have shared bank accounts. I PDF'd a load of my bank statements and highlighted transactions to his account, over the period between the 309 being granted, and now. I also add more detail into the supporting statement re. how we both pay for health insurance, the rent, utility bills etc - and included PDF documentation to back this up. When it takes 1-2 minutes to make an online transfer, I wouldn't worry about going to the specific effort of opening a joint account. Just make sure you document the finances you share between your two accounts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 As has been said, its not about having a joint bank account. We submitted things like my husband being the named driver on the car insurance policy which was in my name. With both of us at the same address. Also we paid different bills. So he paid gas and electric in his name, I paid the phone/internet bill which was in my name. With both of us at the same address. You need to be able to show evidence of being a couple and having things like this would be helpful I'd think. Do you both have a DL listing you at the same address? Does he have any pay slips sent to him or his own bank account at the address you share? Can you show you have transferred money between your accounts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 Same here. I'm currently in Australia on a 309 visa and recently submitted the extra/new evidence for the 100. My partner and I don't have shared bank accounts. I PDF'd a load of my bank statements and highlighted transactions to his account, over the period between the 309 being granted, and now. I also add more detail into the supporting statement re. how we both pay for health insurance, the rent, utility bills etc - and included PDF documentation to back this up. When it takes 1-2 minutes to make an online transfer, I wouldn't worry about going to the specific effort of opening a joint account. Just make sure you document the finances you share between your two accounts. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 Raul, yes we have lived together in UK for 2 years. We can evidence all the social aspects but our finances are separate because I pay for pretty much everything and I pre-owned the house we live in. Partner has little money and what he earns goes to Australia to support his son there. In the UK co-habitation agreements, pre-nuptial agreements etc have no status in law, so the main way to protect our estates is to keep finances apart - I am a widow and my stepson is the beneficiary of his late father's estate via my will so I want to protect those assets. Also if I were to open a joint account with my partner my credit rating would take a nosedive. As I need to remortgage an investment property (income from which supports our day to day living...) before the visa is likely to be granted, this is not a great idea. We do however share credit cards. I would be very interested to know your thoughts as to whether this kind of argument might be seen by DBIP as reasonable or not? You see a lot of what you say only tells me that you are not a defacto couple. A defacto couple is a married couple all but for a piece of paper, that maybe they do not have because they have objections to marriage. It is not a visa for couples that are dating. If you are a true defacto couple, why are you so determined to keep your finances separate? Married couples share their finances. I bought a house with my husband three months after we married and I put it in joint names despite me paying the £250k deposit from funds I had accumulated since being a singleton. He brought no money to the marriage, but if I die tomorrow, he takes the lot because he is my spouse. Obviously if I had children from a previous arrangement, I would make provision for them, but I would also provide for my spouse. You see determined to keep your spouse as a separate entity nothing to do with you, as such, I fwil to see how you could possibly qualify as a defacto couple. You are dating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonanza Posted October 23, 2015 Author Share Posted October 23, 2015 'Obviously if I had children from a previous arrangement, I would make provision for them, but I would also provide for my spouse. You see determined to keep your spouse as a separate entity nothing to do with you, as such, I fwil to see how you could possibly qualify as a defacto couple. You are dating.' NO, we just never needed to have any joint accounts. I provide for my partner all the time. He is a beneficiary of my will. I suppose one option is to just go and change the utility bills into his name, which is a totally contrived thing to do, transfer a load of money backwards and forwards, equally contrived, and wait another 11 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken Posted October 23, 2015 Share Posted October 23, 2015 thanks, for your help, I think my credit rating would have taken a beating though...plus the fact that we each need to keep our estates separate for our respective beneficiaries. Why do you think your credit rating would have taken a beating? Your partner doesn't (or at least didn't) have a credit history. That's an unblemished credit record in the eyes of Australian banks which couldn't damage your rating. Missed or late payments will damage your credit rating as will the total credit available to you (e.g. credit cards with balances you're not using) but a lack of credit history and no credit cards is all good since Australia doesn't do credit scoring in the way it's done in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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