Whiplash Posted November 29, 2016 Share Posted November 29, 2016 Hi all! I am a citizen of Aus (born and raised) but my girlfriend is from the UK and is currently here on a working holiday visa which will finish up August 2017. We are looking at doing the 801 onshore Partnership visa (and 820 so she can stay). We have booked a consultation with a Migration agent and were a bit taken back by the price and on further research a migration agent looks to be a bit expensive especially considering the visa itself is expensive. I was just wondering how easy it would be to go about going through the whole process without an agent? I'll provide any extra information to help clarify anything. Your help would most appreciated! Thanks :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZoeSydney Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Hi Whiplash, My housemate (UK) and her partner (Aus res) applied for the 801/820 themselves... they had been together 4years (WHV and 801) which was fine. Unfortunately, the 820 was processed in June and denied. They provided everything from leases, joint bank account, photos, stat decs etc. They have now got a migration agent to help but this is costing twice as much as it would have if they had gone via agent for the application in the first place. The visa is pretty bloody expensive in itself but from personal experience, I'd say its worth paying the extra money now and have a professional ensure your application is watertight. Another friend of mine applied for offshore partner visa from UK via migration agent and this granted with barely any evidence (they were both intraverts - refused to have pics taken, no social media account, no joint assets or bank account etc) - the migration agent just work his magic to present the application in the best way possible and got a PR visa granted. Again, this is just personal experience but migration agents can be worth every penny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 The partner visa is generally one of the more straightforward visas to apply for. Unless there are criminal convictions or medical issues or you are really pushing it for the evidence they will require, most people apply on their own without using an agent. I did my own partner visa, off shore but basically the same application and found it very straightforward once I got my head round all the paperwork. So long as you can properly account for the timeframe of your de facto, have evidence to support this (and not just FB posts or pics but things like names on a lease together, life insurance policy, bills to one or both of you, joint bank account or proof of funds between your individual ones and both to the same address, that sort of thing) and your partner has no issue with police checks or medical, I don't see why you can't go it alone. We have a long standing partner visa thread with lots of on shore applicants. If you are really not confident or have issues with your evidence, you may well need the help of an agent. Or may want one regardless. What is your relationship timelines and stuff? Are you in a state where you can register your relationship? have you named your partner on a life insurance policy or some such, on the car insurance, those sorts of things all help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Hi Whiplash, My housemate (UK) and her partner (Aus res) applied for the 801/820 themselves... they had been together 4years (WHV and 801) which was fine. Unfortunately, the 820 was processed in June and denied. They provided everything from leases, joint bank account, photos, stat decs etc. They have now got a migration agent to help but this is costing twice as much as it would have if they had gone via agent for the application in the first place. The visa is pretty bloody expensive in itself but from personal experience, I'd say its worth paying the extra money now and have a professional ensure your application is watertight. Another friend of mine applied for offshore partner visa from UK via migration agent and this granted with barely any evidence (they were both intraverts - refused to have pics taken, no social media account, no joint assets or bank account etc) - the migration agent just work his magic to present the application in the best way possible and got a PR visa granted. Again, this is just personal experience but migration agents can be worth every penny 90%+ of partner visas are so straightforward that they really don't need an agent. Equally some get denied even when using an agent's advice - as I know to our cost. Not using an agent would not be the reason that your friend waS dened, there must ave been some probem with the application itself/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungo Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Hi all! I am a citizen of Aus (born and raised) but my girlfriend is from the UK and is currently here on a working holiday visa which will finish up August 2017. We are looking at doing the 801 onshore Partnership visa (and 820 so she can stay). We have booked a consultation with a Migration agent and were a bit taken back by the price and on further research a migration agent looks to be a bit expensive especially considering the visa itself is expensive. I was just wondering how easy it would be to go about going through the whole process without an agent? I'll provide any extra information to help clarify anything. Your help would most appreciated! Thanks :rolleyes: It is called the partner visa, not partnership visa. :wink: Very, very unusual for anyone to use an agent for this visa. It is a very straightforward application, I would only consider using an agent if there are medical or character (criminal record) issues. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted November 30, 2016 Share Posted November 30, 2016 Although partner visas were relatively straight forward in the past, this is no longer the case. Partner visa applications have become much more difficult and the level of scrutiny applied to processing has continued to increase. So much so that Partner Visas are now the most represented appeals at the AAT except for refugee. In the four months from July to October this year alone, there were 1,851 appeals lodged for refused partner visas. This does not take into account all the refusals that do not appeal. For the 2015/2016 period, 4,218 appeal for refused partner visas were lodged with the AAT. The number of partner applications being appealed is almost at numbers for refugee appeals. The work and cost involved to rectify a refused Partner Visa application is way more than doing it right the first time, and that is if it can be fixed at all. I know the advice here has good intentions and based on personal experience, however, I believe that in regards to partner visas, things have changed. My comments are based on personal experience in the industry, as I have seen a sharp increase of inquiries from people who's applications have failed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Although partner visas were relatively straight forward in the past, this is no longer the case. Partner visa applications have become much more difficult and the level of scrutiny applied to processing has continued to increase. So much so that Partner Visas are now the most represented appeals at the AAT except for refugee. In the four months from July to October this year alone, there were 1,851 appeals lodged for refused partner visas. This does not take into account all the refusals that do not appeal. For the 2015/2016 period, 4,218 appeal for refused partner visas were lodged with the AAT. The number of partner applications being appealed is almost at numbers for refugee appeals. The work and cost involved to rectify a refused Partner Visa application is way more than doing it right the first time, and that is if it can be fixed at all. I know the advice here has good intentions and based on personal experience, however, I believe that in regards to partner visas, things have changed. My comments are based on personal experience in the industry, as I have seen a sharp increase of inquiries from people who's applications have failed. Although I still say its possible to do it without an agent, I agree with your comments. I would say if there are no health, character or children from other relationship issues, and its a long standing relationship, where the couple live a nice predictable life together,living in each others pockets, not travelling for work, socialising on every occasion and being able to produce photograhic evidence of the same - go for it. Many people do live that sort of life, and are parted only to go to the bathroom. In which case they shouldwalk it. However once you get into the realms of marrying late in life, having separate interests, FIFO work, etc - get an agent. We would if we could afford to try again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted December 1, 2016 Share Posted December 1, 2016 Of all visas that are refused and taken to the AAT for review, partner visas are the most common. Extracted from a recent AAT publication: The following table gives a guide as to how long it may take based on actual processing times for a recent six month period. The table shows average and median processing times from lodgement to decision by case category for that time period, as well as the number of days within which 75% of lodgements were decided. This table will be updated every three months. The table is a guide only and does not guarantee that any individual matter will be heard in these timeframes. Calendar days from lodgement to decision Decisions Average Median Case category Partner 1939 342 376 In round figures: 2000 applications x $10000 (which is about what it would cost to lodge a partner application and then take it to the AAT) and then there are those who, for one reason or another, were refused and did not seek a review. That was for 6 months, double it for a year and we note that the minister now charges per applicant, not per application. I do not propose to pay for a FoI request to find the exact amount the minister and ancillary gougers pocket anually for failed partner applications. I shall leave that as homework for the reader, $50 million might not be far wrong. I have one dicey partner application on foot, but in 14 years I have not had a finalised partner visa application refused. One case had to go to the (then) MRT for a favourable decision. If you ask, you will find than many registered migration agents have had similar success rates. Partner refusals .pdf Partner refusals .pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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