Which partner visa is the better option in my case ?

[SanEng]

Hello all, 

The questions related to partner visa have been asked many times previously here but my case may be slightly different.

I am a Permanent Resident of Australia and have been living here since May 2017. I am about to marry a girl who lived here from 2010 till 2017 (as a undergrad student, masters student and 485 until her skill was removed from the skill list and she had to leave Australia). Since she is living offshore, 309/100 could be the first option. But I am hearing it will take months. Home affairs website says it is 75% of applicant get it in 12 months.

So, 801/820 is another visa for which she has to be onshore. Visitor visa could be an option for that but to marry in tourist visa and apply for 801 doesnt make the case very strong maybe ?

Therefore, it looks student visa could be an best option. 

Can she come here as a student after getting married in our country (Nepal) and apply for 801 ? 

If so, will she be granted a bridging visa ? Can she work under bridging visa while being in a student visa ?

Another option is to get the 489 regional sponsorship visa but she has to live and work in a regional area for two years. The chances of getting job that is relevant to her skill is very less in regional area. Adelaide could be an option but I am at the moment living in VIC. So I am wondering, after we get married, if she applies for 489 and gets the visa, can she apply for 801 while being on 489 ? 

The reason we are weighing up the options is we don't want to wait for too long. Of course there is visitor visa option after applying for 309 but the visitor visa doesnt allow her to work. It looks stressful because I would like her to come here soon after getting married and join the workforce. its been already six months since she has left and another one year without working here would mean an 18 months gap in the professional career which doesnt look good. So, staying as a visitor for 10-11 months waiting for 309 doesnt look ideal. 

Could you please help me sort out this ?

Thanks in advance for the replies.

 

[rammygirl]

Prospective marriage visa, 300 I think. 

[SanEng]

Thanks for the reply.

Is it not more of a hassle ? To prove the relationship and stuff. Not that we can't provide the evidence. But i head it is a bit of difficult path for someone who has known each other for not a very long tme. Also, it will take at least a year to be granted the visa ?

[Quoll]

Thanks for the reply.
Is it not more of a hassle ? To prove the relationship and stuff. Not that we can't provide the evidence. But i head it is a bit of difficult path for someone who has known each other for not a very long tme. Also, it will take at least a year to be granted the visa ?

Don’t need to prove the relationship on a PMV just get married within 9 months

[SanEng]

But the key question is how long will it take to process the visa ? not less than 10-11 months ?

[SanEng]

It looks like 300 might be a better option than 309/100 because 300 might have fewer number of applicants. Am i understanding this right ?

For 801/820, she has to  come on shore which is not impossible but to come here as a student having already completed masters degree doesn't look too good ? 

And even if she gets bridging visa for 801, she wouldn't have working rights i am understanding. 

So, 300 looks a good deal and having lived here for the last seven years or so, will that make the decision little quicker for her i think ? 

What do you guys reckon ? 

Thank you. 

[Guest]

The 300 has less attached to it in terms of requirements and evidence. You can see the differences between the partner visa and the PMV quite clearly. 

Decision wise, iirc they seem to take a similar time to the partner visa to process. Depending on where its being lodged, it may be reasonably quick, it may not. 

 

 

[Nemesis]

8 hours ago, SanEng said:

1 )  It looks like 300 might be a better option than 309/100 because 300 might have fewer number of applicants. Am i understanding this right ?

2) For 801/820, she has to  come on shore which is not impossible but to come here as a student having already completed masters degree doesn't look too good ? 

And even if she gets bridging visa for 801, she wouldn't have working rights i am understanding. 

3) So, 300 looks a good deal and having lived here for the last seven years or so, will that make the decision little quicker for her i think ? 

What do you guys reckon ? 

Thank you. 

10

!) Number of applicants is irrelevant. It needs a lot less evidence though and you do not need to have lived together

2) Once an application is lodged for a Partner Visa onshore (820/801), and the Bridging Visa kicks in, it comes with full working rights. 

3) Length of time she has been in oz is irrelevant, and she will need to be OFFSHORE to lodge a 300

[TheWayOfThePony]

A 820 would require you to provide evidence you have been in a relationship for at least a year - living together etc. I think I read somewhere that if you come here on a visitor visa and get married in Aus, Immigration may object as it goes against the purpose of the visitor visa (which you get to visit, not to get married - so it's seen as disingenuous)...

300 applicants *do* have to prove the relationship is genuine and continuous. You will have to provide screencaps of regular emails and chats, pictures of you, evidence that you are planning a wedding, etc. There is less evidence to provide than in a 820 or 309 as pointed out above, but make no mistake it IS a hassle, gathering all the evidence takes time. And it has to be applied from offshore. How long it takes depends on many factors, including how low/high risk your country is deemed to be. Hard to say sadly.

 

Quote

 It looks stressful because I would like her to come here soon after getting married and join the workforce.

Be prepared to the fact that depending on her industry she might struggle to find a job right away, that's not unusual for new migrants - especially with 300 or 820 which are temporary visas.

Edited May 18, 2018 by TheWayOfThePony
adding a line

[SanEng]

Thank you very much for the replies. 

On 17/05/2018 at 14:54, snifter said:

The 300 has less attached to it in terms of requirements and evidence. You can see the differences between the partner visa and the PMV quite clearly. 

Decision wise, iirc they seem to take a similar time to the partner visa to process. Depending on where its being lodged, it may be reasonably quick, it may not. 

 

 

You mean there is less evidence we need to provide in 300 as compared to 309 ? I assume 309 being applied after getting married makes the case stronger than 300. Because for 300 you need to be in a relationship for a reasonable amount of time. It has only been couple of months in our case. And i also heard that visa 300 is more popular among Europeans or western people rather than south Asians. Case officer will take a good amount of time to assess the application in our case maybe ? So I am thinking about getting married according to our culture and that would be a better evidence I believe. I am not sure though. 

20 hours ago, Nemesis said:

!) Number of applicants is irrelevant. It needs a lot less evidence though and you do not need to have lived together

2) Once an application is lodged for a Partner Visa onshore (820/801), and the Bridging Visa kicks in, it comes with full working rights. 

3) Length of time she has been in oz is irrelevant, and she will need to be OFFSHORE to lodge a 300

It has only been two months since we have known each other. We have met each other once. I traveled overseas to meet her. Rest of the time we have spent talking to each other on phone, chat and video call. I wonder if that is going to be enough evidence.  

820/801 is little tricky in our case. So at this moment I have dropped the idea. 

I wonder she being a student for 6 years and having worked here for 18 months makes it slightly easier and quicker to get the visa (either 300 or 309)

3 hours ago, TheWayOfThePony said:

A 820 would require you to provide evidence you have been in a relationship for at least a year - living together etc. I think I read somewhere that if you come here on a visitor visa and get married in Aus, Immigration may object as it goes against the purpose of the visitor visa (which you get to visit, not to get married - so it's seen as disingenuous)...

300 applicants *do* have to prove the relationship is genuine and continuous. You will have to provide screencaps of regular emails and chats, pictures of you, evidence that you are planning a wedding, etc. There is less evidence to provide than in a 820 or 309 as pointed out above, but make no mistake it IS a hassle, gathering all the evidence takes time. And it has to be applied from offshore. How long it takes depends on many factors, including how low/high risk your country is deemed to be. Hard to say sadly.

 

Be prepared to the fact that depending on her industry she might struggle to find a job right away, that's not unusual for new migrants - especially with 300 or 820 which are temporary visas.

Yes. It is all about the proofs of genuine relationship. We can definitely provide the evidence. But I still wonder how come 300 has less evidence to provide than 309 ? Maybe I am missing something here. After marrying according to the Hindu culture in my country and lodging application with marriage registration certificate and pictures of wedding ceremony would give a better proof (in case of 309) than screenshots of chats, call log, travel tickets to meet each other and picture (in case of 300), is it not so ?

And I have also heard some 309 visa applications have been processed very quick. Like in 3-4 months. Maybe those are rare cases. But just hoping luck will be on our side in terms of decision time. 

So it is either 309 or 300. Perhaps I will also have to consult the migration lawyer you think ? Just to be more confident on my decision for the visa types. At the same time I am also hearing that in general visa applications lodged by migration agents take a little longer than those lodged by the applicants themselves ? Is there any truth in this ?

[Nemesis]

For a 309 or 820 you need to be married or in a long term relationship. For a 300 you only need to be able to prove that you have met your partner. There is no stated timeline for how long you need to have known them. When you then apply for the 820 after marriage Then you have to prove that the relationship is solid, ongoing, committed etc. 

[TheWayOfThePony]

I applied from the UK for a 300 with an agent lodging on my behalf and it took three months. Other applicants (also from the UK) who were lodging themselves got theirs in the same time frame. I don't think it makes a difference. The country you are lodging from makes a bigger difference I reckon (the UK is considered a low risk country).

I don't know the details of your situation and I'm not an agent so I don't want to commit and say what your best option is... We picked the 300 because we were in a long distance relationship and had not been living together, so that was the best option - for us. I think it might be worth having a consultation with a registered agent and see what they say. It might cost you a few bucks but peace of mind is priceless when you try and navigate this!

[Guest]

High risk countries it may be there is a longer processing time for off shore applications. You should look in to this and see if does mean longer processing time. 

Re lodging using an agent or not. I can't see any truth in what you've heard. Often people ask on here the other way round, having heard using an agent helps speed things up with their application.

An agent would lodge a complete application I would expect. Unlike those not using one who may submit evidence in stages or upload in dribs and drabs or miss something out all together. 

I think you should discuss with an agent. A reputable registered migration agent. 

[SanEng]

 

3 hours ago, TheWayOfThePony said:

I applied from the UK for a 300 with an agent lodging on my behalf and it took three months. Other applicants (also from the UK) who were lodging themselves got theirs in the same time frame. I don't think it makes a difference. The country you are lodging from makes a bigger difference I reckon (the UK is considered a low risk country).

I don't know the details of your situation and I'm not an agent so I don't want to commit and say what your best option is... We picked the 300 because we were in a long distance relationship and had not been living together, so that was the best option - for us. I think it might be worth having a consultation with a registered agent and see what they say. It might cost you a few bucks but peace of mind is priceless when you try and navigate this!

My case is a bit different with regards to the span of the time we are in relationship. Just more than two months. And also being a Nepalese citizen doesn't help too much I think. We might need to gather some evidence to show the genuineness of the relationship which we will but will that be enough to convince the officer ? It's a tricky one. Maybe I am not too confident at this moment. 

I did talk to a lawyer a while ago and he said 309 visa could be a better option having getting married in Hindu culture as well as registering the marriage in the court in Nepal. That way it provides stronger evidence. But at the same time he also said I can be positive about 300 too. The processing time could be similar for both of them according to him. 

My feeling is visa 309 will be quicker in my case being a job holder here in government office for the last 10 months or so and permanent employee for the last five months. That is something he agreed as well. 

3 hours ago, snifter said:

High risk countries it may be there is a longer processing time for off shore applications. You should look in to this and see if does mean longer processing time. 

Re lodging using an agent or not. I can't see any truth in what you've heard. Often people ask on here the other way round, having heard using an agent helps speed things up with their application.

An agent would lodge a complete application I would expect. Unlike those not using one who may submit evidence in stages or upload in dribs and drabs or miss something out all together. 

I think you should discuss with an agent. A reputable registered migration agent. 

If I am confident about the documents I will submit and the genuineness of the relationship having married legally and culturally, will I need an agent for visa application ? I did it myself for visa 189 and it was pretty straightforward. But I agree with you. Using the agent does make a difference. 

[Guest]

1 minute ago, SanEng said:

 

My case is a bit different with regards to the span of the time we are in relationship. Just more than two months. And also being a Nepalese citizen doesn't help too much I think. We might need to gather some evidence to show the genuineness of the relationship which we will but will that be enough to convince the officer ? It's a tricky one. Maybe I am not too confident at this moment. 

I did talk to a lawyer a while ago and he said 309 visa could be a better option having getting married in Hindu culture as well as registering the marriage in the court in Nepal. That way it provides stronger evidence. But at the same time he also said I can be positive about 300 too. The processing time could be similar for both of them according to him. 

My feeling is visa 309 will be quicker in my case being a job holder here in government office for the last 10 months or so and permanent employee for the last five months. That is something he agreed as well. 

If I am confident about the documents I will submit and the genuineness of the relationship having married legally and culturally, will I need an agent for visa application ? I did it myself for visa 189 and it was pretty straightforward. But I agree with you. Using the agent does make a difference. 

I don't know if you will need an agent. Only you can decide that.

TBH given your partners visa history and that you are now living apart (remember, de facto needs to be showing to be continuing even when living apart), I'd at least consult a decent migration agent to look over your case. 

 

[SanEng]

21 minutes ago, snifter said:

I don't know if you will need an agent. Only you can decide that.

TBH given your partners visa history and that you are now living apart (remember, de facto needs to be showing to be continuing even when living apart), I'd at least consult a decent migration agent to look over your case. 

 

Yes. For visa 300, I will need to consult an agent before lodging the application.

However for 309 which is lodged after getting married I think it is pretty straightforward ? What do you reckon ? 

[TheWayOfThePony]

Ah, you say you got married in the Hindu culture and registered the mariage in a Nepalese court - does it mean you are already legally married? (sorry, I don't know what constitutes a legal marriage in Nepal; in my country a religious wedding has no legal status, the only type recognised by the law is a civil wedding). 300 is a Prospective Marriage visa - so you can't already be married when applying for it.

[SanEng]

No i am not at the moment. I am weighing my options between whether to marry next month by hindu culture as well as in the court in Nepal and apply for 309 or apply for 300 before getting married and wait for the grant and then get married.

300 might take a bit quicker to get decided with fewer number of applicants compared to 309 but not significantly lower volume. but at the same time i think a just more than two months relationship and a meeting in person might not be sufficient to convince the officer. Whereas traveling to Nepal, getting married culturally and legally then applying will make it more risk free as well as straightforward in my opinion. and another benefit is she can visit me here as in visitor visa and we can live together until a decision has been made for 309. That is the reason i am inclined towards 309.