Pinna Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 My partner visa has been refused due to lack of evidence! I've been here 5 years got married and have 2 small children. Now i feel stuck as i don't have enough money to get an agent. I have put in an appeal but that can take over a year. I need help. Any agents do pro bono or no visa no fee work? I need the right wording for the stat decs too as they were insufficient. I'm so stuck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Sorry to hear this. I find it strange that if you have two small children and are together that you don't have enough evidence. Can I ask what sort of things you submitted to support your application? Even if you have kids and are married they will still expect to see all the paper evidence to support this. Bills, wills, life insurance policy, named drivers on car insurance, names on lease agreement or mortgage, bank accounts naming you both and all of those things to the same address. So giving them a good clear picture you really do share a life together. Plus the stat decs from people who know you, can vouch for your relationship and of course your own supporting statements. You could try running this past some of the agents who post on here. @Raul Senise @wrussell @Alan Collett I don't know if any of them would take a case without payment but they could hopefully give you an assessment and a bit of advice on your case. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 If you had the money to lodge a review application, surely you had enough to consult a registered migration agent. Some agents operate pro bono (Check with the OMARA), but most take the attitude, no win, no fee, no way, or words to that effect. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 The applicant, having been refused and having lodged a review application an RMA would have to obtain the entire AAT file and review the reasons for refusal as well as any other unstated issues that might have led to a refusal. This would certainly take longer than advising an applicant how to get it right in the first place. More than half partner review application succeed, but not all of them. Of those applications that go to review, after protection visas and student visas, partner visas are the most frequent. Thousands of people lose thousands of dollars every year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinna Posted June 21, 2018 Author Share Posted June 21, 2018 I had to find the money for the appeal from my rent money. Now i haven't nothing. So no, just cos i lodged the appeal so i don't get deported away from my children, o can't afford an agent too. Not a nice comment, thank you. But no i don't have enough for an agent too. Quotes I've been getting are over 2k which we do not have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Can’t your partner pony up for the fees? If you have to leave the country, you can all go together so your family doesn’t have to be split or would the kids’ dad let you take them for the short term until it’s all sorted. It is a shame that you didn’t seek advice at the beginning but too late for regrets, if you have to leave, you have to leave and sort it out some other way. If you both go back to UK and refill your coffers then return with an offshore processed visa supported by better evidence, meanwhile, hopefully supported by family. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemesis Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 (edited) 7 hours ago, Pinna said: I had to find the money for the appeal from my rent money. Now i haven't nothing. So no, just cos i lodged the appeal so i don't get deported away from my children, o can't afford an agent too. Not a nice comment, thank you. But no i don't have enough for an agent too. Quotes I've been getting are over 2k which we do not have. oYou may not like the comments but they are very relevant. Did you obtain the cmplete file through Freedom of Info before lodging the appeal? There may be things in there which need addressing and of which you are currently unaware. Regarding the stat decs, there is no "correct" wording -your friends and family need to write the details of how they view your relationship, and as every relationship is different every stat dec will be different. You say you used "your" rent money. What about your partner? Can they not help out financially? If you are a genuine couple then surely most of your finances are shared. I have been through the situation of having a partner visa refused and I would strongly recommend you use an agent, even if it means getting a loan, a credit card or borrowing money from friends/family. There is too much at stake to do it alone. Edited June 21, 2018 by Nemesis 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted June 21, 2018 Share Posted June 21, 2018 Sorry to hear about your refusal Pinna. Unfortunately this is becoming quite common as partner visas now make up one of the highest appeal rates for refusals. You can try finding a recently qualified Agent who may be able to offer some guidance for a smaller fee. Most experienced Agents will charge a premium for AAT appeals for visa applications they did not do, simply due to the high demand for their services and the large amount of work involved. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 3 hours ago, Nemesis said: oYou may not like the comments but they are very relevant. Did you obtain the cmplete file through Freedom of Info before lodging the appeal? There may be things in there which need addressing and of which you are currently unaware. Regarding the stat decs, there is no "correct" wording -your friends and family need to write the details of how they view your relationship, and as every relationship is different every stat dec will be different. You say you used "your" rent money. What about your partner? Can they not help out financially? If you are a genuine couple then surely most of your finances are shared. I have been through the situation of having a partner visa refused and I would strongly recommend you use an agent, even if it means getting a loan, a credit card or borrowing money from friends/family. There is too much at stake to do it alone. I second this. You definitely need to use an agent to help you navigate the complex landscape that you are now in. Your original submission would need to be scrutinised, and a reassessment made of all your evidence, which is why its a time consuming and costly process. If you have an Australian partner, then together you must work through this issue - it isn't yours alone, you are a couple (as that's what you're asking Immigration to regard you as) so get your heads together, and ask both your families and friends to help you out. One of the conditions of the partner visa category is the full support by the Australian citizen of the non Aussie partner and so this is definitely something that will need both of you to pull together on. In terms of stat decs, they have to be relevant and meaningful. It isn't enough for people just to say they know you and your partner. On ours, there were detailed comments on our relationship to prove that our relationship was true and genuine. When these declarations were then cross examined with other evidence we had provided (including our Form 80, our own written Statements and all our social and financial evidence), there was no doubt at all we were genuine. This is what all partner visas have to strive for and this is what your appeal has to prove, beyond contestation. Good luck! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 3 hours ago, Raul Senise said: Sorry to hear about your refusal Pinna. Unfortunately this is becoming quite common as partner visas now make up one of the highest appeal rates for refusals. You can try finding a recently qualified Agent who may be able to offer some guidance for a smaller fee. Most experienced Agents will charge a premium for AAT appeals for visa applications they did not do, simply due to the high demand for their services and the large amount of work involved. Are there that many being refused? That's quite interesting and I wonder if its because don't understand how to put their applications together properly, or underestimate - in general - the level of evidence required? Interesting comments. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 11 hours ago, Beffers said: Are there that many being refused? That's quite interesting and I wonder if its because don't understand how to put their applications together properly, or underestimate - in general - the level of evidence required? Interesting comments. We had this discussion on another thread and it seems that a large proportion of the refusals are people who don't really qualify - they're confusing dating with de facto, and they haven't been together in the equivalent of marriage for long enough. Or they've failed to provide evidence of that. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 22, 2018 Share Posted June 22, 2018 16 minutes ago, Marisawright said: We had this discussion on another thread and it seems that a large proportion of the refusals are people who don't really qualify - they're confusing dating with de facto, and they haven't been together in the equivalent of marriage for long enough. Or they've failed to provide evidence of that. Ah I see. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted June 23, 2018 Share Posted June 23, 2018 Apply to the AAT to access your file under section 362A of the Migration Act If in financial hardship you can request a 50% fee reduction. If a reduction is granted, you would receive a full refund if you win. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted June 24, 2018 Share Posted June 24, 2018 On 22/06/2018 at 10:15, Beffers said: Are there that many being refused? That's quite interesting and I wonder if its because don't understand how to put their applications together properly, or underestimate - in general - the level of evidence required? Interesting comments. In my opinion it is due to a combination of issues. 1) More people applying under this category due to other Migration pathways being shut down or made more difficult; 2) Applicants underestimating the amount of work and documentation involved; 3) More people doing it themselves due to high application costs and as a result making a mistake; 4) Increased scrutiny on applications by the Department; 5) Increased complexity of the application process. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiepom Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 Having just been through this process i must say that both my wife (the PR applicant) and I (the sponsor) wrote 3 / 4 pages of relationship history each. Our witnesses did too. Our histories cited an extensive story of how we met, moved in, got married and highlighted the many things we did as a couple with other friends (all we could evidence from facebook etc). It's interesting to read that perhaps some people are not going to these lengths to justify their relationship, on the other hand i do wonder whether we were too detailed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 20 hours ago, Aussiepom said: Having just been through this process i must say that both my wife (the PR applicant) and I (the sponsor) wrote 3 / 4 pages of relationship history each. Our witnesses did too. Our histories cited an extensive story of how we met, moved in, got married and highlighted the many things we did as a couple with other friends (all we could evidence from facebook etc). It's interesting to read that perhaps some people are not going to these lengths to justify their relationship, on the other hand i do wonder whether we were too detailed. If you got your visa I would say you did the right amount of detail! Not a visa I know much about but reading on here people seem to need to provide quite extensive evidence. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiepom Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 1 hour ago, Amber Snowball said: If you got your visa I would say you did the right amount of detail! Not a visa I know much about but reading on here people seem to need to provide quite extensive evidence. They make it easy by citing a bunch of things you need to cover in the response. When i say easy, you still need to put pen to paper and put the effort in, but you don't need to scratch your head thinking about which topics to cover. I do remember finding it exceedingly tedious. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amber Snowball Posted June 26, 2018 Share Posted June 26, 2018 7 minutes ago, Aussiepom said: They make it easy by citing a bunch of things you need to cover in the response. When i say easy, you still need to put pen to paper and put the effort in, but you don't need to scratch your head thinking about which topics to cover. I do remember finding it exceedingly tedious. Yes I think tedious is a government benchmark! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 (edited) On 25 June 2018 at 22:40, Aussiepom said: Having just been through this process i must say that both my wife (the PR applicant) and I (the sponsor) wrote 3 / 4 pages of relationship history each. Our witnesses did too. Our histories cited an extensive story of how we met, moved in, got married and highlighted the many things we did as a couple with other friends (all we could evidence from facebook etc). It's interesting to read that perhaps some people are not going to these lengths to justify their relationship, on the other hand i do wonder whether we were too detailed. Yep we were also wondering whether we had given them information overload (like 80 pages of financial evidence across 15 years)!! And most of our evidence was interlinked (Facebook post about a trip to see friends, booking.com evidence to prove travel, bank statement showing debits, friends stat Dec including the trip in their statement, joint travel evidence, etc). It was extremely tedious, but I can remember thinking at the time that if that doesn't get us across the line, then nothing will lol. Edited June 27, 2018 by Beffers 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 21 minutes ago, Beffers said: Yep we were also wondering whether we had given them information overload (like 80 pages of financial evidence across 15 years)!! And most of our evidence was interlinked (Facebook post about a trip to see friends, booking.com evidence to prove travel, bank statement showing debits, friends stat Dec including the trip in their statement, joint travel evidence, etc). It was extremely tedious, but I can remember thinking at the time that if that doesn't get us across the line, then nothing will lol. At least you didn’t include videos of (ahem) which I understand, from friends working in the area, has been done on occasion! 1 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussiepom Posted June 27, 2018 Share Posted June 27, 2018 4 hours ago, Quoll said: At least you didn’t include videos of (ahem) which I understand, from friends working in the area, has been done on occasion! Haha, that's just too funny. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolesmith Posted June 28, 2018 Share Posted June 28, 2018 18 hours ago, Quoll said: At least you didn’t include videos of (ahem) which I understand, from friends working in the area, has been done on occasion! That is so funny!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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