seangolding1987 Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 Hi guys, I just thought it may be worth putting a post up to see if anybody can think of anything that I can't. Current stats: Nationality: British Age: 30 Education: HND in Computer Systems and Development (Will have my UK Bsc (hons) by July.) Work: Business Development Manager (6 Months) Current Visa: Student (studying Fitness at TAFE, visa due to expire July 2018) I've also been with my Australian girlfriend for 7.5 months and am in a long term relationship. We will hit the one year mark on June 23rd. I've never mentioned the option of a partner visa to her as I didn't want her to think that I'm with her for that reason, but since the changes last year, is this my only option without wasting more time and money at TAFE? Defacto would be my last choice, but even with a degree and a little professional experience I'm not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel? Finally, if we did pursue the partner route, would it be best to just let my student visa expire even though I wouldn't have finished the course? Then I'd be automatically on a bridging visa with working rights...right? At least until 2 years later when they grant or refuse the partner visa? Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 1 hour ago, seangolding1987 said: Hi guys, I just thought it may be worth putting a post up to see if anybody can think of anything that I can't. Current stats: Nationality: British Age: 30 Education: HND in Computer Systems and Development (Will have my UK Bsc (hons) by July.) Work: Business Development Manager (6 Months) Current Visa: Student (studying Fitness at TAFE, visa due to expire July 2018) I've also been with my Australian girlfriend for 7.5 months and am in a long term relationship. We will hit the one year mark on June 23rd. I've never mentioned the option of a partner visa to her as I didn't want her to think that I'm with her for that reason, but since the changes last year, is this my only option without wasting more time and money at TAFE? Defacto would be my last choice, but even with a degree and a little professional experience I'm not seeing much light at the end of the tunnel? Finally, if we did pursue the partner route, would it be best to just let my student visa expire even though I wouldn't have finished the course? Then I'd be automatically on a bridging visa with working rights...right? At least until 2 years later when they grant or refuse the partner visa? Any suggestions? If you go down the de facto route, and apply before the student visa expires then yes, you will go onto Bridging visa A when the student via finally does expire. Make sure it expires though, as opposed to cancelling it - if you cancel it then the Bridging visa also gets cancelled and you become lawful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 When you say you have been with your Australian girlfriend for 7.5 months. How long have you lived together? A partner visa normally requires you to have lived together for 12 months and will require evidence such as a joint tenancy, joint bank accounts, joint bills etc. This time can be shortened in some states by registering the relationship Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seangolding1987 Posted January 30, 2018 Author Share Posted January 30, 2018 We have only just started to live together, however according to the Immigration website, we don't have to have lived together for 12 months, just able to prove being together and living together at time of application and long term for the future. She has a mortgage and I have a long lease so these are the circumstances of not officially living together sooner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 3 hours ago, seangolding1987 said: We have only just started to live together, however according to the Immigration website, we don't have to have lived together for 12 months, just able to prove being together and living together at time of application and long term for the future. She has a mortgage and I have a long lease so these are the circumstances of not officially living together sooner. Best of luck with that one, don't think immigration will accept it as a good reason for not being able to live together. Can you register your relationship, or get married? Then there is no requirement for living together beforehand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 2 hours ago, Nemesis said: Best of luck with that one, don't think immigration will accept it as a good reason for not being able to live together. Can you register your relationship, or get married? Then there is no requirement for living together beforehand. That might get be a bit tricky if he’s trying to not give the impression that he’s only together for the visa unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted January 30, 2018 Share Posted January 30, 2018 7 hours ago, seangolding1987 said: We have only just started to live together, however according to the Immigration website, we don't have to have lived together for 12 months, just able to prove being together and living together at time of application and long term for the future. She has a mortgage and I have a long lease so these are the circumstances of not officially living together sooner. Based on the above comment, you are risking a refusal. Considering that the lodgement fee alone is $7,000, do yourself a favour and obtain some paid professional advice, even if just an initial consultation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seangolding1987 Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Thank you for your honest advice. I took this from the Home Affairs website: "Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship. For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period. Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship." https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/35relationship We have been pretty much living together for the duration of our relationship, spending at least 6-7 nights a week at her place, but due to being on a 12 month lease at $1000pw it has taken us a while to make it official as she still needed to cover her mortgage, and I could not give up my lease. She has now rented her place out and moved in with me. We'd have been official in the same premises for 4 months at the time of application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seangolding1987 Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Other evidence includes joint car insurance policies, we have a dog together with our name on all of the paperwork, a thousand photos etc. We will be able to get statements etc. too from family but I want to be sure we'd be eligible before I make the suggestion to her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 @Raul Senise has posted above and is a registered migration agent. If he is saying you risk refusal, then I’d listen to him and seek professional advice before you part with $7,000. He knows his stuff Immigration would perhaps look at your situation as you could have broken lease or she moved in before this. You need to prove 1 year de facto at time of lodging don’t you? I don’t see you can do that. Do you live in a state where you can register your relationship? If you do, read up in the partner visa booklet about what this means. Sharing car insurance and a dog doesn’t really show much in the way of de facto IMO. It shows you share a car and a dog. Anyone can be listed as a named driver on a policy. You need more than this. Do you have a shared bank account? Money going between your own accounts? Receipts to back up the transfers? Bills? Life insurance or wills naming the other? A thousand photos won’t hold much weight either if you don’t have proper documented evidence of you being de facto. Up until your partner moved in officially, you were I’d say just dating. You had nothing to show otherwise in terms of offical paperwork as a couple did you? Honestly, coming off a student visa and moving to a partner visa, ensure you do this properly and don’t risk stuffing it up by lodging a half arsed application based on how you have interpreted the Gov website. It’s not worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seangolding1987 Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 Thanks guys, I've just been for a 20 minute consultation with a migration agent and he's answered a lot of my questions regarding the whole process. He said that we would need to have been living together for the 12 months, however we wouldn't need to have been officially living together. Staying at the same premises 13 nights out of 14 would suffice as long as we have other evidence to back everything up. That would be true if we delay the application until July, before my other visa expires. Gives more time to compile evidence IMO. We live in WA so cannot register the relationship. He also said that application decisions for the temporary visa can still take between 12 & 24 months even if they are going to reject, so $7k is actually cheaper than what I'm spending on tuition fees if I'm granted working rights on the bridging visa. At least can work full time also. This really is a last resort but she is my main motivation for being here. Does this all sound about right? The only other thing I need to triple check on...if something went wrong in our relationship whilst on a bridging visa, would they cancel it right away or would it still go to the decision point first? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Do you have other evidence to back it up? It didn’t sound like you had much at all. Very thin from what you’ve posted. And iirc if you break up at any point while on the bridging visa or temp partner visa then you are obliged to notify them and it would be cancelled. You’d have to leave the country afaik. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seangolding1987 Posted January 31, 2018 Author Share Posted January 31, 2018 No evidence other than personal statements from us and friends/family. We had separate living arrangements but spent every night together. We both had a lease/mortgage in place before our relationship started so there wasn't a chance to prove anything. She now lets her place and lives with me in the leased place. I cover all the bills, to provide extra financial support, but she is going to update her address with driving licence and bank etc. I would imagine I would have to leave the country if we broke up, but I was wondering if there was a relief period to cover things like temporary separation (allowing us to rekindle) or a notice period of say a few months before I would have to leave? We have a strong long term relationship, but I just want to ensure for example that she couldn't phone customs and have me on the next flight if things went wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 Your evidence sounds thin and it seems more like dating, staying overnights, not de facto. You didn’t have anything like a savings account together? I know you say you couldn’t live together because of lease and mortgage but you don’t have anything to reflect that time was a de facto part of your relationship. De facto is a couple who are to all intents and purposes like a married couple, sharing a life together. Up till you moved in together you only seem to have been dating. You don’t get months to wind things up should the relationship end. Immigration need to be notified the relationship has ended (a grace period where you live apart to try and rekindle.... I am not aware immigration allow for such things, you are a de facto couple and together or you are not). Then you get a shortish period of time in which to leave before the visa is cancelled. You seem to be trying to hedge your bets re your relationship and this visa route. I’d proceed with caution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 31, 2018 Share Posted January 31, 2018 23 hours ago, seangolding1987 said: We have only just started to live together, however according to the Immigration website, we don't have to have lived together for 12 months, just able to prove being together and living together at time of application and long term for the future. She has a mortgage and I have a long lease so these are the circumstances of not officially living together sooner. You need 12 months together as a de facto couple, which means 12 months as the equivalent of a married couple. For the vast majority of people, that means your first few months together don't count - you were just dating then. Immigration will be looking for a clear indicator of when the relationship became a serious, committed relationship equivalent to marriage. You've already said that she's moved in with you now, so clearly the long lease/mortgage are no obstacle to you living together. Therefore you can't use them as an excuse for why you didn't live together before, can you? You'll need to think of some other excuse if you want to try to claim your earlier time together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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