rosyhorizon Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 Hi, Any help anyone could give me would be so gratefully received! My situation is this... I am an Australian citizen (lived here for 8 years after migrating from the UK). My fiancée is American and currently lives there. We have been in a relationship for the last 2 years going back and forth to see each other. I'm going there for 2 weeks in September to get married. I will then come back home and she will move here in November a few weeks later. I need help with how to apply for the visa. Im thinking that the best visa option is applying for the 820 & 801 as we won't need the prospective marriage, subclass 300 because we will already be married. HOWEVER, you have to be in Australia to apply for the 801 so how does she initially get into the country if we cant apply until she is here? Does she come in on the Evisitor? But then she would have to fill in the immi form on the plane that asks how long you are intending to stay in the country..not wanting to lie at immigration, what do we do about that? The other option is the Partner visa 309 & 100 which you have to be out of the country when you apply - but the same applies... how will she get into the country because obviously after we apply the visa isn't granted for at least 14 months. Our main needs are this: For her to come here in November on a visa to be able to enrol in Medicare straight away, and be able to work. Do you get a bridging visa allowing you to do all of that from when you first lodge the application? And then in that case it's the bridging visa that would allow her into the country at immigration? And all would be ok? Aaarrgghhhh please clarify for me! My other questions are regarding medicals... do we do those here when they are asked for? Or if we do the application from outside Australia for the 309/100 does she have to have had that done already? I also contemplated the prospective marriage visa subclass 300 (and then getting married again here in Australia) as it allows you to work (although I don't believe you can apply for medicare?) but I don't think there is any point doing it that way. Please let me know your thoughts and if there are any other options I haven't thought of as I want to make sure I have everything straight in my head. The proof of relationship stuff should all be good as we have so much evidence through skype call logs, travel etc, joint bank account here in Australia and friends statements etc... Its just the actual getting her into the country and how that we need to work out! Thank you so much in advance! Hazel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 I think maybe taking professional advice on a way forward is wise, you have left it rather late to apply offshore and the new rules for onshore visas will probably apply by September requiring you as the sponsor to get approval before a visa application can be lodged. You don’t have to pay for the whole application through an agent but a few hundred dollars on some advice on the most appropriate path is well worth it. Any of the agents who post on here would be a good start. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosyhorizon Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 2 hours ago, rammygirl said: I think maybe taking professional advice on a way forward is wise, you have left it rather late to apply offshore I didn't think that we could apply for anything sooner though because we are not married yet , but if she is able to be in the country while its being processed thats ok? Im not worried about it having been granted when she arrives - just that it can be in the pipeline and while it is, she can be here. If she was here already on a tourist visa and then we got married and applied for a partner visa while in Australia, she would still be able to stay here while it was being processed and get a bridging visa. Doesn't the same apply if we get married overseas and then she comes here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 It isn’t just about marriage. You can get the partner visa without being married. It is about proving a long and exclusive relationship. As I said get some professional advice before committing to any course of action including marriage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosyhorizon Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) Yes, we are going to, I was just looking for a bit of advice really on the questions I put in bold. I don't need advice on the getting married part though thanks, that is not for the benefit of a visa, it is for the reasons people get married! Looking at it - it sounds as though it may be better to apply from inside Australia because then at least she can stay here while the partner visa is being processed and we can be together, whereas she may not be allowed to come into Australia while we wait for a visa if she applies offshore? Edited April 11, 2019 by rosyhorizon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 2 hours ago, rosyhorizon said: I didn't think that we could apply for anything sooner though because we are not married yet , but if she is able to be in the country while its being processed thats ok? Im not worried about it having been granted when she arrives - just that it can be in the pipeline and while it is, she can be here. I can't emphasise strongly enough that you need to consult a good migration agent. Many good agents (including the ones who are regulars on these forums) will give you a free initial consultation and you can learn a lot, even from that. I don't know the permutations of the various visas, but we had one woman on the forums recently who did what you're proposing - arrive in Australia then apply for a partner visa (I don't know which one). Result - she is on a bridging visa, and hasn't been able to get work for many months. I can't recall whether it's because the bridging visa has no work rights, or whether it's just that employers don't like hiring staff who are on temporary visas (which they don't). Either way, it's a difficult existence for her, and she can't even leave the country without applying for special permission. Ask an agent and get the right advice. It does cost, but it could save you a very expensive mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 13 hours ago, rammygirl said: I think maybe taking professional advice on a way forward is wise, you have left it rather late to apply offshore and the new rules for onshore visas will probably apply by September requiring you as the sponsor to get approval before a visa application can be lodged. You don’t have to pay for the whole application through an agent but a few hundred dollars on some advice on the most appropriate path is well worth it. Any of the agents who post on here would be a good start. The new rules apply from next Wednesday... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 13 hours ago, rosyhorizon said: For her to come here in November on a visa to be able to enrol in Medicare straight away, and be able to work. Do you get a bridging visa allowing you to do all of that from when you first lodge the application? And then in that case it's the bridging visa that would allow her into the country at immigration? And all would be ok? You get a bridging visa which comes into effect when the visitor (or other substantive) visa expires. Bridging visas for partner applications have no work restrictions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosyhorizon Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 (edited) 29 minutes ago, paulhand said: The new rules apply from next Wednesday... Do you know how much time this will add on, having to apply to be a sponsor first? Is it just that you have to wait on that before applying for the partner visa? Edited April 11, 2019 by rosyhorizon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 1 hour ago, rosyhorizon said: Do you know how much time this will add on, having to apply to be a sponsor first? Is it just that you have to wait on that before applying for the partner visa? No - we have no idea what processing times will be and, yes, you will have to wait for the sponsorship to be approved before applying for the partner visa. The issue here, for onshore applications, is that a bridging visa can’t be issued until the visa application is made. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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