Moving from London to Sydney (one Brit, one New Zealander)

[KatyBrit]

Hello I hope you can help! I’ve put the information below relating to my fiancé and I moving over to Australia. (NB we’ve been living together in the UK for four years  and had a joint bank account for around three years or so and have lots of docs to back that kind of thing up). 

1. I’ve been offered a role in Sydney, but only if I can start within 3-4 months

2. I’m currently living in London (British with a British passport) with my fiancé who is from New Zealand with a NZ passport

3. Id like to get over to Aus asap so I can apply in country for a visa that will allow me to work within a 3-4 month period (assuming that I have to apply in country for this to work)

4. I need to come back to the UK before moving to Aus permanently within the three month visitor term as:
A) we’re getting married mid August in London
B) my fiancé will be leaving his London job but we could really do with some more time to work in the UK and save up before moving to Aus in say, September/October ideally 

So my question is - can we do all of that within the immigration requirements? For example can I:

Apply in the UK for a visitor visa for three months
Go to Aus with my fiancé and on day 1 apply for a partnership visa (461?) and automatically apply for a BVA (does he need to be with me for this or can he stay in London?)

Then travel back to the UK after approx one week on my visitor visa 

Come back to Aus in Sept/Oct before my visitor visa has expired and my BVA has kicked in (so no need to wait for the BVA and then convert to BVB to travel to London and back again when returning to Sydney so I can work)

Is that following the rules?

A separate option I hoped might be possible:

Is there any way to make this work without going to Australia twice (ie apply for the partner visa (461?) in the UK and still be able to move to and work in Aus in the next 3-4 months)?

Very grateful for any help you can offer! Many thanks!

[Guest]

So this is not a job offer that would come with a visa? As in company sponsored or some such? 

TBH your plan doesn't fill me with confidence. Nor would I want to even begin to take a go at giving you feedback as tbh its quite a tricky situation if you plan to return to the UK or not have your partner with you for a period of time. 

I'd talk to a reputable migration agent about the best way forward (and be sure to tell them the position offered etc as it could be the company can sponsor you and surely should be doing so if able). @wrussell @Raul Senise @Alan Collett are three that post on here regularly. We also have @Paul Hand and @Richard Gregan and one or two others. 

[Tulip1]

What visa are you planning on getting when in Oz? You can't just turn up on a tourist visa and get a work one. If you go in a tourist visa you can't apply for a oartner visa on that as it is essentially just a holiday visa.  Can you explain in more detail what visa you are getting in order to work 

[Quoll]

And, it might be a good idea for you fiance to get British citizenship before you go.  I'm not fancying your chances of getting a visa the way you have described though.

[Nemesis]

51 minutes ago, Tulip1 said:

What visa are you planning on getting when in Oz? You can't just turn up on a tourist visa and get a work one. If you go in a tourist visa you can't apply for a oartner visa on that as it is essentially just a holiday visa.  Can you explain in more detail what visa you are getting in order to work 

Looks like they are going for a 461 on the basis of having a Kiwi partner. Would be better to apply for that in the UK though, as you say, rather than arriving on a touirst visa. 

[paulhand]

You can apply for a 461 in London if your Kiwi partner is moving to Australia with you and he will receive a subclass 444 on arrival. I would not expect an outcome within the timeframe you have given.

You should get some professional advice on a proper way forward as your primary plan has a number of flaws in it. 

 

 

[Raul Senise]

22 hours ago, KatyBrit said:

Hello I hope you can help! I’ve put the information below relating to my fiancé and I moving over to Australia. (NB we’ve been living together in the UK for four years  and had a joint bank account for around three years or so and have lots of docs to back that kind of thing up). 

1. I’ve been offered a role in Sydney, but only if I can start within 3-4 months

2. I’m currently living in London (British with a British passport) with my fiancé who is from New Zealand with a NZ passport

3. Id like to get over to Aus asap so I can apply in country for a visa that will allow me to work within a 3-4 month period (assuming that I have to apply in country for this to work)

4. I need to come back to the UK before moving to Aus permanently within the three month visitor term as:
A) we’re getting married mid August in London
B) my fiancé will be leaving his London job but we could really do with some more time to work in the UK and save up before moving to Aus in say, September/October ideally 

So my question is - can we do all of that within the immigration requirements? For example can I:

Apply in the UK for a visitor visa for three months
Go to Aus with my fiancé and on day 1 apply for a partnership visa (461?) and automatically apply for a BVA (does he need to be with me for this or can he stay in London?)

Then travel back to the UK after approx one week on my visitor visa 

Come back to Aus in Sept/Oct before my visitor visa has expired and my BVA has kicked in (so no need to wait for the BVA and then convert to BVB to travel to London and back again when returning to Sydney so I can work)

Is that following the rules?

A separate option I hoped might be possible:

Is there any way to make this work without going to Australia twice (ie apply for the partner visa (461?) in the UK and still be able to move to and work in Aus in the next 3-4 months)?

Very grateful for any help you can offer! Many thanks!

A few points to consider:

• The current published processing time for a 461 visa is 11 to 15 months. 
• BVAs are not applied for, they are automatically granted and associated with a valid onshore application;
• The ETA visitor visa is valid for 12 months and allows multiple entry and 3 months stay on each occasion. As such, each time you enter, the visitor visa is valid for 3 months.
   

[KatyBrit]

Thank you for your replies everyone. I’ve done some more research today and I’m hoping this route might work - any help would be greatly appreciated! 

1. Travel to Aus on the tourist visa (600) valid 3 months

2. Apply for New Zealand citizen family relationship temporary visa 461 which automatically applies for a BVA 

Does anyone know how long the BVA takes to be processed? NB the 461 can’t be applied for online.

3. Once I (hopefully) get the BVA, apply for BVA with working rights (assuming this doesn’t come with the first one)

Does anyone have any experience of applying for a new BVA with working rights and how long it takes to be processed (unsure if it makes any difference which type of substantive visa application it’s bridging?). Also online vs paper processing times for a new BVA?

4. Once I get the decision on the new BVA, apply for a BVB so we can go back to London

5. Return to Aus before the 3 month expiry on the BVB, the tourist visa will expire shortly after returning anyway and then either a) work on my new BVA if approved or b) don’t work until my 461 is processed (hopefully) successfully at which point I can go out and find a job.

Anyone got any recent experience with approval times for a 461 either in/outside of Australia?

How did I do?! I hope I have my head around that now. If there’s any other way to do it, and/or if anyone has any experience with any of those steps - I’d really appreciate anything you could share please.

Finding a MARA to help has proved really hard, so I will look at the links sent through and hopefully that will lead somewhere too.

Thank you

 

 

 

 

 

 

[KatyBrit]

23 hours ago, Nemesis said:

Looks like they are going for a 461 on the basis of having a Kiwi partner. Would be better to apply for that in the UK though, as you say, rather than arriving on a touirst visa. 

Thank you for your help!

So is there no way to do it (eg another type of visa to actually get to Australia) other than applying from London and waiting and not being able to go to Australia in all that time? 

A MARA was the one who told me to go on a holiday visa...?

[ali]

Just wondering if you entered on a tourist visa and applied on day one for another visa - there may be some question when your application is scrutinised that you did not enter as a genuine tourist and obtained that visa by default?

It seems the processing times for this visa are 11-15 months.

Is the company that have offered you a job able to offer you sponsorship?

[MaggieMay24]

The BVA is issued automatically when you lodge a valid onshore application.  The BVA sits inactive in the background as long as the current visa is valid, and only comes into effect when the current visa expires. 

[KatyBrit]

4 hours ago, MaggieMay24 said:

The BVA is issued automatically when you lodge a valid onshore application.  The BVA sits inactive in the background as long as the current visa is valid, and only comes into effect when the current visa expires. 

Thanks - the application for the 2nd BVA is for working rights.

[KatyBrit]

Do you know the times for the paper one for the first one and the online one for the second one (which will have a request for working rights and therefore won’t be automatic?) 

[KatyBrit]

7 hours ago, ali said:

Just wondering if you entered on a tourist visa and applied on day one for another visa - there may be some question when your application is scrutinised that you did not enter as a genuine tourist and obtained that visa by default?

It seems the processing times for this visa are 11-15 months.

Is the company that have offered you a job able to offer you sponsorship?

That makes sense. so I guess the rule is, apply outside of Aus and wait and anything else would be breaking the rules? I definitely don’t want to be the wrong side of this and get myself banned or something worse! I had no idea it was this difficult - I thought I was given similar access to my fiancé - wrong!

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, KatyBrit said:

That makes sense. so I guess the rule is, apply outside of Aus and wait and anything else would be breaking the rules? I definitely don’t want to be the wrong side of this and get myself banned or something worse! I had no idea it was this difficult - I thought I was given similar access to my fiancé - wrong!

Officially, it is against the rules to arrive in Australia on a tourist visa "with the intent to remain"  - which is what you're planning to do.

In practice, lots of people do it, and you'll probably get away with it, provided you buy a return ticket and lie on your Arrival Card to say you're coming on holiday. Just in case you're stopped by Immigration, make sure there's no emails or messages on your phone or documents in your bag, mentioning the job or any of your plans to stay permanently, because they will check - and if you get caught, you'll be on the next plane home and possibly get a 3 year ban.

Assuming you do get through Customs safely, then you can apply for a permanent visa - because Immigration can't prove that you didn't just change your mind after you arrived.  

Like I said, lots of people use the approach you've suggested, and get away with it.  Personally, I'd probably get caught because I'd be such a nervous wreck I'd give myself away by my body language!

Moving to a foreign country as the partner of a citizen is NOT easy. You're making it one step more complicated by moving to a foreign country as the partner of a foreigner.  Just take a look at how difficult it is to get a foreign husband into the UK.   Frankly I'm surprised at a Sydney company offering you a job in that timeframe. Do they know you don't have a visa yet?

Edited June 22, 2018 by Marisawright

[KatyBrit]

Thanks very much for your answer. We’ve decided that I should apply from London and we can move over next year once it’s processed. We wouldn’t have started down this road if we’d understood the rules properly, but now we do we’re going to follow them. There’s no way we could get comfortable with breaking immigration laws!  

All the answers have been so helpful, thanks everyone! 

[Marisawright]

6 hours ago, KatyBrit said:

Thanks very much for your answer. We’ve decided that I should apply from London and we can move over next year once it’s processed. We wouldn’t have started down this road if we’d understood the rules properly, but now we do we’re going to follow them. There’s no way we could get comfortable with breaking immigration laws!  

All the answers have been so helpful, thanks everyone! 

Just in case you missed the question in all the other stuff, does your partner have a UK passport?  I ask because you can never tell what might happen in the future.  If he doesn't have a UK passport and you decide to move back to the UK at some point, he may not be able to.  The partner visa for the UK is much harder to get than the one for New Zealand - there's a financial requirement, which means either you must already have a job in the UK paying over £18,600, or savings of £62,500, otherwise it's no-go.