Which Visa? Panicking!

[phil1990]

Hi All,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask but I'm getting a bit worried after researching online and I don't know if anyone can help with suggestions etc until I can make an appointment with a specialist immigration lawyer.

The backstory is that myself (28), and my girlfriend (29), met online. I live in the UK, she lives in NSW.
We've been talking since April 2018 online and in July 2018 I went over there to meet her for the first time in person for 2 weeks. I will next be visiting for 5 weeks through October 2018.

I work in Retail Management but don't have any qualifications or work in a profession that is considered to be on the skilled occupations/skilled shortages list. She is currently doing her law degree and is a "single mum" with 3 kids who relies on her Centrelink (welfare) payments to survive.

I'm concerned that despite being of a good financial status my lack of qualifications or experience in any of the skilled occupations will preclude me from getting a work visa.

I've been looking into partner sponsored visas and a prospective marriage visa as it seems like the only other option.

I'm concerned however that to meet the criteria for the partner sponsored visa that we will have had to live in a de-facto relationship for 12 months. If I can't get a work visa, how can I stay there for 12 months to be in a de-facto relationship with her, as I understand that even if I travel fairly often to see her that is not classed as a de-facto relationship. Also, if we are in a de-facto relationship (as required for the visa) even if I live overseas this will mean that her Centrelink (welfare) payments are stopped which is not an option.

To me it seems the only option is to get a working holiday (417) visa to get me onshore to accrue the 12months of living together to qualify for being in a de-facto relationship to be eligible for the partner sponsored visa.

My only concern is how long it will take for the temporary portion of the partner sponsored visa to be approved- if my working holiday visa runs out before the temporary portion of the partner sponsored visa is approved I will then have to return to the UK, how long will this be for? 
How long does approval of the temporary portion of the visa take to be approved? 
What would happen if we've been in a de-facto relationship for 12 months but when I have to return to the UK, will we no longer be in a de-facto relationship? 
Will this mean that this visa is refused? 
Is it possible to get a bridging visa from the working holiday visa to the partner sponsored visa to allow me to stay and work in Australia?

I've done a fair bit of research but I'm still quite confused. The only other option I can see is to try and ensure I stay onshore throughout the process to make sure that she is able to survive and I can provide an income to the household would be:

Working Holiday visa to start our de-facto relationship
*THEN*
somehow do 3months of regional work to qualify for a second year of Working Holiday visa to remain on-shore and maintain our de-facto relationship
*THEN*
as soon as this second year is approved I apply for the partner sponsored visa and hope that this is accepted temporarily within the 12 further months I can stay

OR

Working Holiday visa to start our de-facto relationship
*THEN*
apply for a prospective marriage visa to get a 9 month buffer where I can stay in aus and maintain our de-facto relationship
*THEN*
apply for the partner sponsored visa

My concerns still rest on how quickily the temporary portion of these visas take to be approved and whether they will be approved whilst I'm still on-shore? (the same question for prospective marriage visa)? Also, if it means I have to return to the UK for a certain period of time can I still count this as part of our de-facto relationship? 

Sorry for the massive essay I've written but I'm getting a bit panicked that this is going to be impossible and I'd be heartbroken if we can't make this work.

[Raul Senise]

The temporary portion of the partner visa (subclass 820) is currently taking up to 30 months to process.

You will be granted a bridging visa if a valid application is lodged while in Australia.

You appear quite confused about the process and pathway. I would recommend that you obtain at least initial professional advice, as based on what you have written, there are a number of ways that you can handle the situation.

[phil1990]

1 minute ago, Raul Senise said:

The temporary portion of the partner visa (subclass 820) is currently taking up to 30 months to process.

You will be granted a bridging visa if a valid application is lodged while in Australia.

You appear quite confused about the process and pathway. I would recommend that you obtain at least initial professional advice, as based on what you have written, there are a number of ways that you can handle the situation.

Hi Paul,

Thanks! I'm definitely going to be contacting an immigration lawyer or the relevant professional this week but want to try and get a better understanding of options first so I don't go in there and waste most of the time vomiting all this at them again!

What I understand from what you've explained is that as long as I have some form of valid visa to be in Australia and apply for the partner visa then I will be eligible for the bridging visa which will last the duration until a decision is made upon the temporary portion of my partner visa?

Does a bridging visa allow me to work in Australia without conditions?

[Raul Senise]

3 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

What I understand from what you've explained is that as long as I have some form of valid visa to be in Australia and apply for the partner visa then I will be eligible for the bridging visa which will last the duration until a decision is made upon the temporary portion of my partner visa?

Yes, depending on what visa you hold. Not all visas allow you to apply for another visa in Australia.

5 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

Does a bridging visa allow me to work in Australia without conditions?

The bridging visa comes into effect once the visa you were on when you lodged expires. The bridging visa for a partner application has full work rights.

[phil1990]

6 minutes ago, Raul Senise said:

Yes, depending on what visa you hold. Not all visas allow you to apply for another visa in Australia.

The bridging visa comes into effect once the visa you were on when you lodged expires. The bridging visa for a partner application has full work rights.

Thankyou for your help, I'm a little calmer now and will try and do some further research into whether you can apply for partner sponsored visa whilst already in Australia on a Working Holiday (417) visa!

Hopefully there's other people on this forum that have had a similar experience, and may have followed the same process?

[Raul Senise]

1 minute ago, phil1990 said:

Thankyou for your help, I'm a little calmer now and will try and do some further research into whether you can apply for partner sponsored visa whilst already in Australia on a Working Holiday (417) visa!

Yes, you can apply from a valid 417.

[phil1990]

7 minutes ago, Raul Senise said:

Yes, you can apply from a valid 417.

Fantastic Paul that's a great help, will update this thread when I've had another look at everything now I'm not in panic mode! Hopefully, I can formulate some better-structured questions that are less all over the place!

I'm assuming from your title and signature that this is your day job? Will send you a DM a bit further down the line to inquire into professional services you offer to help ensure that we are doing the right things evidence-wise etc to assist the partner sponsored visa application! Thanks for your help!

[can1983]

This is a massive commitment. Sounds like getting the WHV would be a good way to get to know each other better. surely you would want to know each other better first?

Of course it isn't the intention of the visa so it might be worth, in the official sense, going with a view to enjoying the country and happen to want to apply for a partner or marriage visa at the end of the 12 months.

Remember de facto means you are a married couple in all but the legal sense so staying at her place for 12 months isn't enough. We are talking joint bank accounts, joint lease / property ownership, friends and family regarding you as a committed couple etc.....

At this point, as someone who applied for a partner visa, I would say you are at 0 days towards the 12 months, sorry to be blunt

[phil1990]

I hope it's not too rude to ask further advice from anyone that's in the know?

If I was on a Working Holiday visa (417) can I apply for a Prospective Marriage visa (300) whilst still in Australia and would I still qualify for the Bridging visa A (BVA) to stay and work in Australia whilst the decision is made on the Prospective Marriage visa (300).

Further to that, if that is the case will I qualify for a Bridging Visa A (BVA) to stay and work in Australia whilst on the Prospective Marriage visa (300) whilst waiting for a decision to be made on a Partner visa (820/801)? I'm guessing I can do that whilst in Australia as applying for said Partner visa (820/801) is a requirement of the Prospective Marriage visa (300)?

[phil1990]

12 minutes ago, can1983 said:

This is a massive commitment. Sounds like getting the WHV would be a good way to get to know each other better. surely you would want to know each other better first?

Of course it isn't the intention of the visa so it might be worth, in the official sense, going with a view to enjoying the country and happen to want to apply for a partner or marriage visa at the end of the 12 months.

Remember de facto means you are a married couple in all but the legal sense so staying at her place for 12 months isn't enough. We are talking joint bank accounts, joint lease / property ownership, friends and family regarding you as a committed couple etc.....

At this point, as someone who applied for a partner visa, I would say you are at 0 days towards the 12 months, sorry to be blunt

That's totally a fair point, I don't really want to go massively into the nature of our relationship but we talk on the phone / video every day, we did all sorts of things with her family and friends when I was there in July. I don't think there's a single day since April that we haven't video/phone called eachother for at least a couple of hours. I also now talk to her friends online most days as well. - I know that this counts for nothing as part of the 12 month requirement, hence my concerns.

With regards to de-facto, I will most likely be selling my property in the UK to go onto her lease with a view to a mortgage when I am applicable for such.

EDIT: That's why I'm concerned about ensuring we can have 12months uninterrupted together before applying for the Partner visa (820/801) to give us enough time to build the evidence required and be able to open joint accounts, have invitations to social events in both our names, have mail and various other things in both of our names etc - I am averse to extending the WHV to a second year, despite giving us more time to have evidence of us as being in a de-facto relationship, as I'm concerned that having to spend 3 months doing regional work would be prohibitive to the de-facto nature of our relationship, as I'm not sure how close "regional" areas are to where she lives in NSW.

Edited August 21, 2018 by phil1990

[Quoll]

24 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

I hope it's not too rude to ask further advice from anyone that's in the know?

If I was on a Working Holiday visa (417) can I apply for a Prospective Marriage visa (300) whilst still in Australia and would I still qualify for the Bridging visa A (BVA) to stay and work in Australia whilst the decision is made on the Prospective Marriage visa (300).

Further to that, if that is the case will I qualify for a Bridging Visa A (BVA) to stay and work in Australia whilst on the Prospective Marriage visa (300) whilst waiting for a decision to be made on a Partner visa (820/801)? I'm guessing I can do that whilst in Australia as applying for said Partner visa (820/801) is a requirement of the Prospective Marriage visa (300)?

Prospective marriage visa is an offshore visa so you’d need to leave to apply for it.

It certainly sounds like you’re putting all your eggs in one basket after, what is it, 4 months of long distance contact? Don’t get me wrong, I did much the same 45 years ago but it’s a path fraught with pitfalls. Why not rent out your home, do a WHV for a year - two if you bestir yourself to get your regional work in - then see how the land lies.  Having a long distance relationship is quite different from living together and a year should be enough for you to decide whether you want to take on someone you barely know along with her 3 kids. 

Good luck but belt and braces!!!

edited to say, you don’t need an Immigration lawyer, you just need a MARA accredited agent, of which there are several good guys on here.

 

Edited August 21, 2018 by Quoll

[phil1990]

15 minutes ago, Quoll said:

Prospective marriage visa is an offshore visa so you’d need to leave to apply for it.

It certainly sounds like you’re putting all your eggs in one basket after, what is it, 4 months of long distance contact? Don’t get me wrong, I did much the same 45 years ago but it’s a path fraught with pitfalls. Why not rent out your home, do a WHV for a year - two if you bestir yourself to get your regional work in - then see how the land lies.  Having a long distance relationship is quite different from living together and a year should be enough for you to decide whether you want to take on someone you barely know along with her 3 kids. 

Good luck but belt and braces!!!

1

Hi, thanks for that info with regards to Marriage visa, definitely off the cards as the website seems to suggest an 18-23 month wait for approval!

Yeah, no I totally understand all of that and won't be committing to a decision with regards to my property until I've been for the 5 weeks in October. I know what you're saying and I do appreciate what you're trying to say, I know I'm only 28 and it does sound rash but I'm not normally one to make decisions like this so I think I'm doing the right thing, will know for sure on how to go about it in October. Again, I know it unfortunately doesn't count for immigration but we already support eachother emotionally etc and I support her and her family to some degree financially. I would really rather not do the regional work, not really one for manual labour but if that's what it takes to make it work I think I'm going to have to!

My main concern is just getting the 12 months in, and it being valid, if I only do one year of WHV I don't know if we'll have enough evidence of being in a de-facto relationship, and concerned that we will literally have to sort out joint accounts etc from Day 1 landing and apply right before I would have to leave at the end of my WHV to ensure I get a BVA and that the Partner visa (820/801) gets approved! - I just don't want to take the risk that this ends up being the best decision of my life but I don't get the paperwork in right / on time / evidence of our de-facto relationship starting etc and end up stuck back in the UK for a couple of years waiting for the temporary part of my Partner visa (820) to be approved!

I wasn't sure if it was an option to use my current eVisitor visa up until the day of commencement of my WHV - if I apply for the WHV to commence from for example the 31st of January 2019 and get it approved before then (outside of Australia), could I use my current eVisitor visa to travel there at the start of January 2019 on the eVisitor visa and just roll-over onto the WHV whilst already in Australia as long as I don't try to look for work until the day my WHV commences? - This would hopefully give me the buffer we need to ensure we are set up as best we can to have started our de-facto relationship?

Edited August 21, 2018 by phil1990

[Marisawright]

1 hour ago, phil1990 said:

I wasn't sure if it was an option to use my current eVisitor visa up until the day of commencement of my WHV - if I apply for the WHV to commence from for example the 31st of January 2019 and get it approved before then (outside of Australia), could I use my current eVisitor visa to travel there at the start of January 2019 on the eVisitor visa and just roll-over onto the WHV 

No.  When you get a new visa approved, it wipes out any old ones. 

Bear in mind that the 12 months doesn't have to be unbroken.   They recognise that people have to be separated at times (e.g. for work, holidays, visiting family).  So if you are going over in October, why not move in with her then, get your name on the lease, open the joint accounts etc?   Then, even if you have to return to the UK to tidy up your affairs, it's likely they will count at least some of the time you're away.  That will give you the buffer you're looking for.  

One point - your girlfriend must notify Centrelink that you're de facto as soon as you move in,  and there is no way around that.  If it's discovered that she has been claiming benefits during the time you claim to be de facto, she'll not only have to pay it all back, she'll get heavily fined. 

[Areyousure]

Isn’t there any condition such as the partner having to be earning above a certain threshold to sponsor a partner to Australia ? 

[phil1990]

27 minutes ago, Areyousure said:

Isn’t there any condition such as the partner having to be earning above a certain threshold to sponsor a partner to Australia ? 

Is this correct? I can't seem to find anything about a sponsor earning threshold on the Home Affairs website?

[Areyousure]

2 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

Is this correct? I can't seem to find anything about a sponsor earning threshold on the Home Affairs website?

I couldn’t either, but they should introduce it, if they dnt have it already. 

[phil1990]

1 minute ago, Areyousure said:

I couldn’t either, but they should introduce it, if they dnt have it already. 

That would suck, it's already hard enough... What about when the applicant has sufficient funds/property to support themselves but their sponsor can't? Seems needlessly prohibitive.

[Areyousure]

1 minute ago, phil1990 said:

That would suck, it's already hard enough... What about when the applicant has sufficient funds/property to support themselves but their sponsor can't? Seems needlessly prohibitive.

That’s true, but at times, you just have to certain conditions, so that people dnt play the system. But do agree with you, there is a lot of things to be considered here. 

[phil1990]

Another query just to ensure I'm keeping my options open, someone else advised me on another forum the possibility of going from a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) onto a Partner visa (820/801) via a bridging visa, and that this would negate the 12-month de-facto relationship requirement.

I can't seem to find any information on this as it would seem that the PMV only lasts for 9 months and you have to get married and lodge the partner visa before the 9 months ends which?

[Marisawright]

28 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

Another query just to ensure I'm keeping my options open, someone else advised me on another forum the possibility of going from a Prospective Marriage visa (subclass 300) onto a Partner visa (820/801) via a bridging visa, and that this would negate the 12-month de-facto relationship requirement.

I can't seem to find any information on this as it would seem that the PMV only lasts for 9 months and you have to get married and lodge the partner visa before the 9 months ends which?

I think you're trying to make life far too complicated for yourself. 

If you are going for a partner visa, then you have to meet the conditions for a partner visa.  What kind of visa you were on beforehand has nothing to do with it.

Edited August 21, 2018 by Marisawright

[phil1990]

Just now, Marisawright said:

I think you're trying to make life far too complicated for yourself. 

It's only out of concern that without her Centrelink payment which would stop if we were in a de-facto relationship even if I were to return to the UK she would be unable to continue her degree or afford her rent bills etc with the kids.

It's very tricky.

[ali]

Do remember that with a WHV you can only work for an employer for a 6 month period.

I don't know about visa's but with the quickness of the relationship and applying for a PMV - immigration may question the genuineness of your relationship.  You will have to show evidence of your intent to marry

[ali]

4 minutes ago, phil1990 said:

It's only out of concern that without her Centrelink payment which would stop if we were in a de-facto relationship even if I were to return to the UK she would be unable to continue her degree or afford her rent bills etc with the kids.

It's very tricky.

If you move in and you are a couple then she must declare this to centrelink.  You will be living with her as her partner and presumably co parenting the children.

[phil1990]

Just now, ali said:

If you move in and you are a couple then she must declare this to centrelink.  You will be living with her as her partner and presumably co parenting the children.

Yeah, hence the concern that if I were to "move in" and start the 12 month de-facto relationship when I go for 5 weeks in October that she would have to declare this to Centrelink and lose her payments, and when I come back to the UK to tie up my affairs before moving back on the WHV she would have no income. Its hard.

[Beffers]

Do the WHV and spend some more time together. Immigration would be unlikely to accept an application for PMV based on two weeks of face to face contact. When you come over on WHV, can you register your relationship with the NSW authorities? Also if you are going to want to be considered a defacto, then you will both need to accept the fact her Centrelink payments will probably change once that happens. You won't be able to have it both ways, in terms of becoming defacto AND keeping her welfare payments.