SCissell Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 Hello, Was just looking for some advice as me and my partner are currently in a very stressful and sticky situation. We are both currently living in the UK together with plans to move to Australia and settle down there. I am a UK citizen and my partner is an Australian citizen, in the UK on a 2 year youth mobility visa. We will have been together for a year on the 15th November 2018, we have all of our evidence compiled together already and are excited to apply for my partner visa 309/100 come the 15th November. The trouble is, on the Home Affairs website it says that my temporary partner visa 309/100 can take up to 15 months to be granted. My partners UK visa expires in January 2019 and so she will need to leave to go back to Australia then. Obviously this is a problem as my 309/100 visa will almost certainly not have been approved by the time my partners UK visa expires. What is the best thing to do in this situation? For obvious reasons, being apart from each other from January until when my temporary Visa is granted is not something we want to do. In an ideal situation, I want to be able to go back to Australia in January with my partner and be able to work until my temporary Visa is granted but I'm not sure the best way to about this. My main question is this. If i travel to Australia on a tourist Visa, and apply for the 820/801 partner visa while I am there, am I able to get some sort of bridging Visa which allows me to work and stay until a decision is made on my partner Visa. I am not worried about the longer processing times for applying within Australia, this is not an issue to me. I am happy to wait for however long for my partner Visa to be approved, so long as i have the right to stay and work in Australia in the mean time. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 Put in your application as soon as you are eligible and live with the result. Surely your relationship would be strong enough to manage a few months apart if that is the worst case scenario. Otherwise once you've applied off shore and you "need" to be there for a little while as you wait, then you can go on a tourist visa for a short period as long as you leave before your spouse visa is issued and let your CO know that this is your plan. Far better to do it that way than risking being turned back at the border as not being a bone fide tourist later down the track as you wouldn't be intending to be a tourist, you'd be hoping to lodge a partner visa which, on shore that days is taking 2-3 years and you don't want to live in a bridging visa for 2-3 years! Doesn't look too stressful or sticky to me, rather straightforward I would have thought. Long distance relationships are perfectly possible these days. You never know your luck, they might try and knock off the backlog around Christmas time this year like they did last year / some folk got their visas in 6 weeks back then. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 What about coming over on a WHV getting a few more months under your belt to show the longevity of your relationship and apply for the partner visa on shore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCissell Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 7 minutes ago, ali said: What about coming over on a WHV getting a few more months under your belt to show the longevity of your relationship and apply for the partner visa on shore. I have previously had a WHV in Australia so can't apply for another one... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SCissell Posted October 21, 2018 Author Share Posted October 21, 2018 3 hours ago, Quoll said: Put in your application as soon as you are eligible and live with the result. Surely your relationship would be strong enough to manage a few months apart if that is the worst case scenario. Otherwise once you've applied off shore and you "need" to be there for a little while as you wait, then you can go on a tourist visa for a short period as long as you leave before your spouse visa is issued and let your CO know that this is your plan. Far better to do it that way than risking being turned back at the border as not being a bone fide tourist later down the track as you wouldn't be intending to be a tourist, you'd be hoping to lodge a partner visa which, on shore that days is taking 2-3 years and you don't want to live in a bridging visa for 2-3 years! Doesn't look too stressful or sticky to me, rather straightforward I would have thought. Long distance relationships are perfectly possible these days. You never know your luck, they might try and knock off the backlog around Christmas time this year like they did last year / some folk got their visas in 6 weeks back then. Thanks for the advice and I appreciate what you are saying. For personal reasons, being apart for longer than a few weeks is not a feasable option. From my understanding there isn't really any way around this. Will have to go to Australia on a tourist and apply from there and get a bridging visa. But this doesn't allow me to work which is my MAIN concern. And it will take longer a decision on my partner visa when applying onshore rather than offshore.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 35 minutes ago, SCissell said: Thanks for the advice and I appreciate what you are saying. For personal reasons, being apart for longer than a few weeks is not a feasable option. From my understanding there isn't really any way around this. Will have to go to Australia on a tourist and apply from there and get a bridging visa. But this doesn't allow me to work which is my MAIN concern. And it will take longer a decision on my partner visa when applying onshore rather than offshore.... Whilst lots of people seem to do that - there is of course a risk that you won't be seen as a genuine tourist (which you're not). Good luck with the application - can your partner support you financially, do you have savings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 21, 2018 Share Posted October 21, 2018 9 hours ago, SCissell said: The trouble is, on the Home Affairs website it says that my temporary partner visa 309/100 can take up to 15 months to be granted. My partners UK visa expires in January 2019 and so she will need to leave to go back to Australia then. Obviously this is a problem as my 309/100 visa will almost certainly not have been approved by the time my partners UK visa expires. Do you have children? If not, then it's not a problem - it's just an inconvenience. Yes, it would be nice to travel together, but it's not the end of the world if you have to spend a few months apart, is it? Yes, you could get a tourist visa but bear in mind, if you arrive with your wordly goods and don't have a return ticket, Immigration will pull you aside and grill you. It's not illegal to arrive on a tourist visa and then apply for a bridging visa - but Immigration has to decide what you might do if your partner visa is refused (which many are). Will you do the honest thing and go home, or will you be tempted to stay illegally? It's not their job to assess your case, it's just their job to assess whether you'd flout the law in order to stay with your partner. If they think that's a risk, then you'll be put back on the next plane and possibly get a three-year ban. As it all rests on the discretion of the officer on the day, I wouldn't risk your whole future for the sake of avoiding a short separation. If your relationship can't survive those few months apart, it's doomed anyway! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 (edited) You can put in your off shore application and still go on a tourist visa but leave the country every now and again to comply with the visa regs. If you can't cope with a few weeks apart, a strategy which risks getting you a 3 year ban hardly seems the most sensible way to go about it. Could you both spend another year elsewhere together until your visa is issued perhaps? Edited October 22, 2018 by Quoll 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 22, 2018 Share Posted October 22, 2018 4 hours ago, SCissell said: From my understanding there isn't really any way around this. Will have to go to Australia on a tourist and apply from there and get a bridging visa. But this doesn't allow me to work which is my MAIN concern. And it will take longer a decision on my partner visa when applying onshore rather than offshore.... why not do it the other way, as Quoll suggested. Get your offshore application in now, then if it doesn't come through in time, get a three-month tourist visa to make up the gap. You still won't be able to work but it removes any risk of getting penalised by Immigration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amandahughes Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 Hello, A similar question leading on from the OP's one as I am in a similar situation! If I applied for the 309 offshore visa from the UK and then moved to Australia on a WHV while the 309 was still processing would this also potentially result in issues if I had not booked a return ticket considering the WHV is for 2 years potentially if the regional work is completed? Thanks :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 4 hours ago, amandahughes said: Hello, A similar question leading on from the OP's one as I am in a similar situation! If I applied for the 309 offshore visa from the UK and then moved to Australia on a WHV while the 309 was still processing would this also potentially result in issues if I had not booked a return ticket considering the WHV is for 2 years potentially if the regional work is completed? Thanks One can never read Immigration's mind but I doubt you would have any issues, because your situation is so different. You're not intending to sneak into the country pretending you're there for a holiday, then "decide" to stay. You've already done the right thing and applied for the correct visa offshore. Your temporary visa is valid for a whole year at least, so you've given yourself time for the 309 visa to come through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieMay24 Posted October 23, 2018 Share Posted October 23, 2018 On 22/10/2018 at 09:23, SCissell said: Thanks for the advice and I appreciate what you are saying. For personal reasons, being apart for longer than a few weeks is not a feasable option. From my understanding there isn't really any way around this. Will have to go to Australia on a tourist and apply from there and get a bridging visa. But this doesn't allow me to work which is my MAIN concern. And it will take longer a decision on my partner visa when applying onshore rather than offshore.... The bridging visa will allow you to work once the stay on your tourist visa expires (it expires when you don't leave the country on the expiry date). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanbanan Posted October 29, 2018 Share Posted October 29, 2018 (edited) On 21/10/2018 at 22:34, SCissell said: Hello, Was just looking for some advice as me and my partner are currently in a very stressful and sticky situation. We are both currently living in the UK together with plans to move to Australia and settle down there. I am a UK citizen and my partner is an Australian citizen, in the UK on a 2 year youth mobility visa. We will have been together for a year on the 15th November 2018, we have all of our evidence compiled together already and are excited to apply for my partner visa 309/100 come the 15th November. The trouble is, on the Home Affairs website it says that my temporary partner visa 309/100 can take up to 15 months to be granted. My partners UK visa expires in January 2019 and so she will need to leave to go back to Australia then. Obviously this is a problem as my 309/100 visa will almost certainly not have been approved by the time my partners UK visa expires. What is the best thing to do in this situation? For obvious reasons, being apart from each other from January until when my temporary Visa is granted is not something we want to do. In an ideal situation, I want to be able to go back to Australia in January with my partner and be able to work until my temporary Visa is granted but I'm not sure the best way to about this. My main question is this. If i travel to Australia on a tourist Visa, and apply for the 820/801 partner visa while I am there, am I able to get some sort of bridging Visa which allows me to work and stay until a decision is made on my partner Visa. I am not worried about the longer processing times for applying within Australia, this is not an issue to me. I am happy to wait for however long for my partner Visa to be approved, so long as i have the right to stay and work in Australia in the mean time. Any help would be greatly appreciated, Thanks Hey, I was in a similar situation, did the WHV and met my partner. He came back with me to the UK after two years and then we decided to move back to Aus. I just came back on a tourist visa, compiled my 820/801 application during my three months of not being able to work and then the minute i uploaded my application I was put on to a bridging Visa which allows me to work as soon as the visitor Visa ran out. All partner bridging visas automatically allow you to work. It states this on the home affairs website I just don't think everyone is aware of this fact. Now I'm living and working away while my Visa processes. No dramas. Hope this helps! Edited October 29, 2018 by Hanbanan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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