820 visa confusion

[verybest]

Hey all,

I'm a Brit who has been in a long term relationship with an Australian girl - first met in the UK in 2014, reconnected in 2015, properly began a relationship in 2016 in Europe, and after a months holiday visiting her in Australia last April, decided to make a more long term move here on a WHV (417) last July. It's worked out beautifully so we want to pursue a 820 visa, and have begun saving with the goal of submitting the visa in June, before my WHV ends at the beginning of July. Just shy of the living together requirement, unless you count the month I spent here beforehand - but we're confident we can provide the evidence to back up our relationship, whether that's shared utility bills or multiple stat. decs. from people who have seen our relationship develop and grow into what it is today, etc. etc.

That said, my confusion about the visa application process regards when the 820 is considered 'lodged' - I've received so many different answers, and read so many different things even in official documentation. For example: would one be able to complete the relevant forms (40SP, 47SP) and pay for the visa, move on to the bridging visa and then continue to complete the rest of the application with supporting documentation, for example form 888? Is the visa 'lodged' when all the necessary documentation is uploaded online and paid for, or again could one continue to upload supporting evidence even after they have paid for the visa - and in this case, at what point would the bridging visa begin?

Hope this makes sense!

[wrussell]

There is no 'living together' requirement.

The requirement is to be married, or in a de facto relationship for at least the 12 months immediately preceding the visa application or you can (in some cases) register your realtionship. Whatever the case, you still have to provide evidence that your relationship is genuine.

A visa application is considered lodged when the visa application charge has been paid.

A bridging visa with immediate Medicare eligibilty (and unrestricted work rights when the current visa expires) is automatically granted as soon as a valid 820 application is lodged.

May I suggest that you consult a registerd migration agent for a pre-application assessment?

[Guest]

The post above is from a migration agent and he has explained things for you

To second, the application is considered lodged from when the fee is paid. And iirc you can't upload evidence etc till its paid for and people do continue to upload evidence after they have lodged their application (providing there is room as there is a limit to documents you can upload, many group things into PDF's to give them more room). Will you have clocked up the 12 months de facto? It could be worth running you case past an agent to ensure its all ok  Spending $7,000 and having an application refused may well make it a worthwhile thing to do ahead of applying. 

Do you happen to live in a state where you can register your relationship? This may be useful to do if so. Not all states have this but some do. There is info out there explaining the registering the relationship aspect if people choose or can do so.