Partner Visa 309 (from UK) Questions

[oliver27]

Hi,

 

I'm going to be making an application for this visa (from the UK) in the next couple of months. I have a few questions that I was hoping you could help me with. If you can't answer them all but have knowledge on a couple, I would still appreciate your answer

 

- There is a difference in processing times on the Australian border website and the Australian UK Commission website. The Australian border website says for this visa (low risk) the processing time is 5 months, but the UK commission website states minimum 10 months. Is there a reason for this discrepancy?

- Related to the above, if you apply online does this go to the Australian authorities based in Australia (and hence 5 month average low risk) and if you apply by post, it will go to the UK commission (and thus 10 month)?

- Once your visa is approved, how long do you have to 'activate' (move to Australia)? If this is different for everyone, how long is the average?

- Where can I go to get certified copies? Does everything we submit need to be certified?

- Do we need statutory declarations from friends / family, or is this optional? If it is mandatory then: do they need to be statutory declarations or can they just be written statements? I assume the latter doesn't have to be 'certified'?

- With regards to social evidence, are things like Facebook screenshots ok? It is a picture of you both with a timestamp. If not, then what things are ok? I can submit bank statements and go through and highlight things, and have lots of travel receipts / holidays we could show.

 

Thanks very much for your help

Oliver

[Guest]

I always say to work from the Aus High Commission website re timings. The other one hasn't changed its timeframe in all the years I've been reading it and thats about 6 now. And when I applied the actual wait was 9-12 months and the Aus HC website reflected this correctly then. The Aus HC has its current 10-14 months and that is the timeframe CO's tend to give to applicants. However, some people are getting grants through quicker, others are still waiting and getting grants in the 10-14 months. There is no knowing for sure but its better to plan for the 10-14 months and if granted before then and you can move sooner, great, than plan for 5 months and it not come through and you be stuffed without a job or home IYKWIM.

 

UK applications go via the UK CO's afaik. It doesn't seem to make any difference if its paper or online as to how quickly you get the grant. There is a queue and when you lodge, you go into that queue and wait your turn is all.

 

Visa activation goes from the date you undertake your medical or get your police check. Whichever is first you have a year from that date to make first entry to Aus. So submitting them too early will leave a shorter validation time. Best to wait till asked by your CO and submit/undertake them then. It can all be arranged and done within a couple of weeks of a CO requesting you provide them so its not a stress. That way if you get a visa grant you have a bit of breathing room to finalise plans and make the move. Usually CO will allow at least 6 months in which to enter Aus to validate your visa. But the countdown clock is the same for everyone, medical or police check time.

 

If you apply online I don't think colour scans need to be certified. If you are wanting certified copies, your solicitor should be able to do them. I think I paid £30 or so for passports, BC's and marriage cert to be certified. Dropped them all off, they made copies of them and my solicitor stamped, dated and signed them with the correct wording.

 

Yes stat decs are vital to your application. They are expected. You need to provide 2 as per the instructions in the partner visa migration booklet (or checklist). They have to be done on the correct form, not just written statements. You don't need more than 2 but some people do provide more. I think we had 3 or 4 done by our Aus family and friends but only submitted the 2 we liked the best. https://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/888.pdf

 

I doubt FB screenshots are going to cut it. Social evidence is things like holiday bookings naming you both, wedding invites naming you both, picture of you both at someone else's wedding perhaps, stuff like that. I think we submitted one holiday booking and a flight to Aus we had made a couple of years earlier was all. And 2 pics of us at my husbands brothers wedding in the official pics (I wrote who the people were on the back of the pic and 2 of those people supplied our stat decs also). I don't keep wedding invites and stuff like that so didn't have anything like it to submit. In your written statements you can explain what you do socially too.

 

You need to provide things that show you have a life together. So bills to both or one or the other at the same address. Joint bank account or evidence of funds between your accounts etc. Wills, life insurance policy naming the other, that sort of thing. I submitted things like phone bill in my name, council tax/water in both our names, electric in husbands, car insurance with me as main driver, him as named driver, joint bank account statements.

[Guest]

Here is the partner visa checklist. If they require more evidence they will request it and give you a timeframe in which to submit it to them. If its not submitted by that date I seem to recall the wording being that they will make a decision on the visa grant based on the evidence they already have. If being asked for extra evidence, it may be you don't have enough to satify them re the application so ensure you do submit anything extra asked for. Sometimes its stuff people missed submitting to begin with, sometimes extra stuff.

 

https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/309-/Partner-(Provisional)-visa-(subclass-309)-and-Partner-(Migrant)-visa-(subclass-100)-document-checklist

[oliver27]

Thanks very much for your reply, that will help a lot I have a couple more questions:

 

- If you generally have 12 months to move to Australia after medical/police check, at what point in the process of application do they usually request these? I.e. do they request them 3 months after initial application was made? 9 months? etc.

- We have a tenancy agreement that we can show (in both our names), but all other bills are in my name. My partner then transfers me a set amount each month to cover the bills. Would submitting a bank statement and highlighting this be good enough? Or do you think this isn't even necessary if we submit photos together, holiday receipts together, tenancy agreement, along with statements from Australian citizens (partner's family and friends).

[carahunter4]

Hi Oliver,

 

Before I submitted my application I called Australia House in the UK and they were very helpful. I was advised if submitting the statements from the UK that Uk friends can write the statements and they do not need to be on Official stat decs. We just had them written like a formal letter and signed. We were also advised to provide copies of the passports of the people who wrote the statements. I was also advised that if sending in scanned original copies that they did not need to be certified. I haven't heard anything back yet but this is what the Australia High Commission in the UK advised me. They are very helpful, I would definitely give them a call - I called them a couple of times.

 

There is thread on here where we are keeping an eye on the current timelines people are getting. It seems most people are getting them through about 6-8 months although some have got them approved in 5 months. I think it does seem to depend on how straight forward the case is eg Married for 10 years to an Australian citizen would probably go through quicker. There is another thread which also seems to be high risk people and they seem to be taking around a year or so as they get called in for interview. I am no expert in any way but this is the info I have picked up. Like Snifter said, prepare for the longer just in case.

 

I hope that helps, if you decide to submit come and join us on http://www.pomsinoz.com/forum/migration-issues/58449-summary-spouse-visa-processing-times-offshore-uk-please-add-your-stats.html. If you read back quite a few pages you can get some info.

 

Cara

 

Thanks very much for your reply, that will help a lot I have a couple more questions:

 

- If you generally have 12 months to move to Australia after medical/police check, at what point in the process of application do they usually request these? I.e. do they request them 3 months after initial application was made? 9 months? etc.

- We have a tenancy agreement that we can show (in both our names), but all other bills are in my name. My partner then transfers me a set amount each month to cover the bills. Would submitting a bank statement and highlighting this be good enough? Or do you think this isn't even necessary if we submit photos together, holiday receipts together, tenancy agreement, along with statements from Australian citizens (partner's family and friends).

[SOMV]

Current processing times in London are about 6 months from date of receipt.

They are reluctant to change information on their website because they cannot guarantee processing times, and processing times change depending on how may applications are beign received by them at the time that your one arrives.

 

You should submit as much "official" information as possible, so do submit the bank statements too. Photos are really not that relevant. Anyone can stand in front of a camera to take photos in different locations. They add to the application, but they certainyl do not prove the length of a relationship. So rather than flooding the application with that type of evidence, concetrate on anything "official" that shows that you are both living at the same address for a period of at least 12 months.

 

The medical and police checks can be done towards the end of the process. So if they are requested too early, do feel free to ask your case officer if you can hold off providing those as you want as much time as possible for your initial entry date. The case officers in London are lovely, don't be afraid to ask them questions.

[Guest]

Thanks very much for your reply, that will help a lot I have a couple more questions:

 

- If you generally have 12 months to move to Australia after medical/police check, at what point in the process of application do they usually request these? I.e. do they request them 3 months after initial application was made? 9 months? etc.

- We have a tenancy agreement that we can show (in both our names), but all other bills are in my name. My partner then transfers me a set amount each month to cover the bills. Would submitting a bank statement and highlighting this be good enough? Or do you think this isn't even necessary if we submit photos together, holiday receipts together, tenancy agreement, along with statements from Australian citizens (partner's family and friends).

 

I would say defo include the bank statements highlighting where the funds are transferred each month to cover their share of the bills etc. And the tenancy agreement.

 

Photos, holiday receipts and those sorts of things are the icing on the application cake as it were. The bulk of the ingredients needs to come from more official supporting evidence like tenancy agreement, bills and so on. Bank statements reflecting this would also be important therefore. And it would be good to explain how the financial aspect works between you when you write your supporting statements. It will be important to your application to cover these things.

 

Don't go overboard with photos, half a dozen would be fine. Holiday bookings don't count for a huge amount in terms of official evidence as anyone can go on holiday together IYKWIM. Good to include a couple if you have them but they are not enough evidence on their own or with just some photos. They are as I said, more the extras and the minor things to submit alongside the other things like bills, wills etc.

 

Do you own a car together? Or you own it and your partner drives it? And is named on the insurance? If so, that is good to submit. What about your mobile phone bills? Do you have one each to the same address? If so, send those as it shows you both at the same address. Same for a drivers licence. They would be showing you at the same address. What about council tax? Are you both named on there? If so, that is good too.

 

You will be asked to get your medical and police check at some point in the process. Usually they allow a decent chunk of time for first entry. Usually around 6 months, if the application is approved more quickly, it could mean you'd have a bit longer. Usually not less than 6 months to validate. When I applied it was around a 9 month wait and the med and police check were asked for around the 3 month mark. This gave a good 6 months to enter Aus to validate if the visa was granted at the 9 month mark. They are valid for 12 months is the thing so no point getting them done too early and better to wait till asked by CO.