Guest Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 My partner is currently on a 457 visa which is set to expire at the end of August. He has engaged lawyers and with recent changes the government has made, he is unable to apply for PR on his own, and the only way he can stay in Australia, we've been advised, is by applying or a partner visa with myself (Aussie citizen). We are a 1100% genuine couple and met in Jan 2016, dated for a while and moved in officially in Jan 2017. I have a son (not to him) and we've been living together as a family since then. My concerns are that I never registered as a couple with Centrelink (I received a single parent pension for a period of time). Is this something that they can cross check, and if so will it have implications for me financially if I was on a single parent payment? It wasn't for any convoluted reasons, just pure naivety. I'm really worried this will jeopardise our application but also have financial consequences also which is giving me extreme anxiety and worries Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I think they may cross check this- worst scenario being you might have to pay some back to them. Depends how much your partner was earning and if he lived with you continuously. A rock and a hard place for you I guess. In their eyes either you defrauded Centrelink or you are not in an ongoing relationship which would affect your partners ability to stay. Might be easier just to fess up to Centrelink assuming it is not a huge amount involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 What evidence have you got to prove your relationship? People usually use shared tenancy, joint bills/bank accounts etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2018 Share Posted May 10, 2018 I've no clue if they will cross check. I've not heard/read of it being done in the past but there is always a first time so who knows. I am not aware you as the sponsor have to provide Centrelink information. I'm also not sure its immigrations job/place to check Centrelink info for a sponsor. With regard to the on shore partner visa application, you say he has engaged lawyers? Do you mean a migration agent as I'd think that is what you actually need. If your partner has consulted/retained a migration agent for his application, you should ask them about the Centrelink aspect and see what they say. Don't go worrying yourself silly needlessly because no one can give you a definitive answer one way or the other on this forum. And second what Ali said, do you have evidence going back from when you began living together. Bills naming one or both of you to the shared address? Wills, life insurance policies, car insurance naming the other as named driver, lease or mortgage agreement. Salary slips showing address, payments of it into shared or individual bank account and money moving between the 2 if separate. Those sorts of things. That is the evidence immigration ask for with regard to de facto. You need plenty of that stuff. And register the relationship (if in a state that recognises it) sooner rather than later. Don't leave it so it looks like an after thought is where I go out from with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 What Snifter says. In states where it's recognised, some couples choose to register their relationship because it's useful proof of when the relationship started, but it's not compulsory. Registering it now would be a backward step because it's way too late. So there would be no need to mention registration or Centrelink in the application itself. You will prove your relationship by providing the documents Snifter mentions. I doubt they'd contact Centrelink because it's got nothing to do with whether you're eligible for the visa. Australian government departments aren't that well integrated so I doubt it would pop up anywhere automatically either. Where you might get caught is that (as Snifter says) you have to submit evidence of shared finances etc, and I assume your Centrelink payments will show up on your bank account. I'd suggest a good migration agent (like one of the guys on these forums). If your partner is talking to a lawyer, tell him it's a bad idea - lawyers are not specialists and they're even more expensive than agents, most of the time! A MARA registered agent is a much better bet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 Yes, they do cross-check and can be an issue. Cross checking between Centrelink, ATO, etc. is becoming far more common. Best that you sort it out before he submits his application. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight7 Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 They certainly crosscheck between the ATO and Centrelink-a lot of people receive 'please explain' notices when there seems to be a discrepancy. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toots Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 1 hour ago, starlight7 said: They certainly crosscheck between the ATO and Centrelink-a lot of people receive 'please explain' notices when there seems to be a discrepancy. Yes, I know of a couple of people who received a please explain notice from Centrelink. One of them had a part-time job (when on the age pension) which paid super and was found out via the crosscheck between the ATO and Centrelink. She had to pay back a fair amount. We told her she'd be caught out but she wouldn't listen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 3 minutes ago, Toots said: Yes, I know of a couple of people who received a please explain notice from Centrelink. One of them had a part-time job (when on the age pension) which paid super and was found out via the crosscheck between the ATO and Centrelink. She had to pay back a fair amount. We told her she'd be caught out but she wouldn't listen. I knew they had started cross-checking between the ATO and Centrelink but I didn't realise Immigration had managed to catch up with the 21st century too. Progress. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted May 11, 2018 Share Posted May 11, 2018 There is even a warning on the old Partner Visa hardcopy forms, saying that information may be shared with other government departments, including Centrelink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 I've also heard of people getting "please explain" notices from their CO when they find that the sponsor is registered as single at Centrelink and claiming to be in a relationship with the visa applicant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 Nativity doesn't cut it, everyone knows you have to inform them if your circumstances change. If it was a genuine error then you will just have to say so, pay back what you've had and hope they don't prosecute you. If you have all the usual bills, bank accounts etc in joint names it will look better for you as you could be seen as not trying to hide anything, just made a mistake. If you haven't got these things in joint names then it will seem dodgy, sorry to be blunt but it's fraud. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 On 10/05/2018 at 22:10, Re2011 said: It wasn't for any convoluted reasons, just pure naivety. Centrelink payment notifications state very clearly: "What you must tell us....within 14 days..if you....are in or commence a registered or de facto relationship....or start living with someone as their partner....." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skani Posted May 13, 2018 Share Posted May 13, 2018 On 11/05/2018 at 21:19, Marisawright said: I knew they had started cross-checking between the ATO and Centrelink but I didn't realise Immigration had managed to catch up with the 21st century too. Progress. Immigration and Centrelink have been cross checking (certainly for some categories of recipients) for at least 10 years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 13 hours ago, Skani said: Centrelink payment notifications state very clearly: "What you must tell us....within 14 days..if you....are in or commence a registered or de facto relationship....or start living with someone as their partner....." Yes it's very clear and everyone using it knows. The poster even used the words he officially moved in Jan 2017 and they've been living together as a family since then. As the saying goes, if you play with fire you may get burnt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 8, 2018 Share Posted June 8, 2018 Be careful. I know someone who was refused PR visa for this reason, they failed the character check due to fraud, I.e. Claiming single parent payment with Centrelink whilst claiming to be a de facto to immigration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiganer Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 20 hours ago, Beffers said: Be careful. I know someone who was refused PR visa for this reason, they failed the character check due to fraud, I.e. Claiming single parent payment with Centrelink whilst claiming to be a de facto to immigration. Why would the pr be refused? I can understand having to pay back owed monies. Wouldn't they fail that character check if they had been criminally convicted of fraud? Also how would the actions of the sponsoring single parent effect their partners application for pr???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 (edited) 3 hours ago, Wiganer said: Why would the pr be refused? I can understand having to pay back owed monies. Wouldn't they fail that character check if they had been criminally convicted of fraud? Also how would the actions of the sponsoring single parent effect their partners application for pr???? I don't know how they make the decisions, only that the visa applicant in their paperwork put they were living together de facto and provided all the necessary paperwork to support this in their application. However, when Immi were doing the partner checks on the Aussie partner, they cross referenced with Centrelink, and found the Aussie partner had been claiming they were single for the two years that their Uk partner was saying they were de facto. The sponsoring partner is as much under scrutiny as the visa applicant. That's why they go through their own series of checks. So in the case of the one I know, they were not considered capable of a) supporting their partner for the required 104 weeks, and b) the evidence base to their de facto was deemed false due to the sponsoring partner claiming to be a single person. Clearly someone has lied somewhere along the line hence visa refusal. Edited June 9, 2018 by Beffers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 3 hours ago, Wiganer said: Why would the pr be refused? I can understand having to pay back owed monies. Wouldn't they fail that character check if they had been criminally convicted of fraud? Also how would the actions of the sponsoring single parent effect their partners application for pr???? It seems obvious to me. If the couple were genuinely living together, then it's reasonable to suppose that the applicant knew their partner was claiming a benefit from Centrelink. So while the applicant wasn't directly defrauding the government, he was colluding in it. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted June 9, 2018 Share Posted June 9, 2018 4 hours ago, Beffers said: I don't know how they make the decisions, only that the visa applicant in their paperwork put they were living together de facto and provided all the necessary paperwork to support this in their application. However, when Immi were doing the partner checks on the Aussie partner, they cross referenced with Centrelink, and found the Aussie partner had been claiming they were single for the two years that their Uk partner was saying they were de facto. The sponsoring partner is as much under scrutiny as the visa applicant. That's why they go through their own series of checks. So in the case of the one I know, they were not considered capable of a) supporting their partner for the required 104 weeks, and b) the evidence base to their de facto was deemed false due to the sponsoring partner claiming to be a single person. Clearly someone has lied somewhere along the line hence visa refusal. The partner wanting PR would be refused on the grounds that the ozzie partner has made a legally binding statement (to Centrelink) to say that he/she is single and has no partner. Therefore PR is refused because its grant is dependent on the two people being in a de facto relationship. No relationship = no PR 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiganer Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 16 hours ago, Marisawright said: 12 hours ago, Nemesis said: The partner wanting PR would be refused on the grounds that the ozzie partner has made a legally binding statement (to Centrelink) to say that he/she is single and has no partner. Therefore PR is refused because its grant is dependent on the two people being in a de facto relationship. No relationship = no PR So they wouldn't have the chance to pay back monies owed to rectify that? Seems harsh if it's a genuine relationship. I hope everything goes ok for Re2011 and her partners visa. I think Re2011 should contact Centrelink and let them know at least then immigration can see they have tried to rectify their error? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 24 minutes ago, Wiganer said: So they wouldn't have the chance to pay back monies owed to rectify that? Seems harsh if it's a genuine relationship. I hope everything goes ok for Re2011 and her partners visa. I think Re2011 should contact Centrelink and let them know at least then immigration can see they have tried to rectify their error? If they were declaring to be de facto on a visa application but had not declared it to other official organisations I can see why, if cross checking, immigration would consider it grounds for a refusal. Tbh immigration are not there to be nice guys and I would expect they apply their rules to all and can’t have one rule for one, one for someone else. The system can’t work like that. People should ensure before they lodge they have ticked ALL the boxes, checked all the official bods and not left anything like this to come back and bite them and cost them $7,000 plus in fees. Hopefully @Re2011 and their partner have notified Centrelink of the oversight and worked out a repayment plan of some kind and also been able to amend the de facto timeframe to when they became a de facto couple. They may also, once this is done, want to run their case past a reputable migration agent to ensure they are ok to proceed with the application. Best to do this before lodging and spending $7k. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiganer Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 14 minutes ago, snifter said: If they were declaring to be de facto on a visa application but had not declared it to other official organisations I can see why, if cross checking, immigration would consider it grounds for a refusal. Tbh immigration are not there to be nice guys and I would expect they apply their rules to all and can’t have one rule for one, one for someone else. The system can’t work like that. People should ensure before they lodge they have ticked ALL the boxes, checked all the official bods and not left anything like this to come back and bite them and cost them $7,000 plus in fees. Hopefully @Re2011 and their partner have notified Centrelink of the oversight and worked out a repayment plan of some kind and also been able to amend the de facto timeframe to when they became a de facto couple. They may also, once this is done, want to run their case past a reputable migration agent to ensure they are ok to proceed with the application. Best to do this before lodging and spending $7k. I totally agree. Better to make sure everything is good before paying $7k. If they've already lodged and it gets rejected they have a right of appeal and I'm assuming they could plead a case then? The best option is to contact Centrelink and rectify asap in my opinion, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 1 hour ago, Wiganer said: I totally agree. Better to make sure everything is good before paying $7k. If they've already lodged and it gets rejected they have a right of appeal and I'm assuming they could plead a case then? The best option is to contact Centrelink and rectify asap in my opinion, good luck At the very least they will be looking at a Natural Justice letter with a "Please explain", and quite probably a refusal. Definitely get an agent involved if there is an appeal, and I'd be paving the way for that by talking to one now - they could probably advise how to approach things with Centrelink too, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wiganer Posted June 10, 2018 Share Posted June 10, 2018 14 minutes ago, Nemesis said: At the very least they will be looking at a Natural Justice letter with a "Please explain", and quite probably a refusal. Definitely get an agent involved if there is an appeal, and I'd be paving the way for that by talking to one now - they could probably advise how to approach things with Centrelink too, Well I hope Re2011 get sorted either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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