Married but not living together...

[summer]

Hi!

i have been married to my husband since April 19, and we have been together for 2.5 years before that. 

He lives in oz as a permanent full time resident and I am perusing a visa to join him there.

I have known him for 20+ years before we entered into a relationship but with us both having children prior to our relationship we have never lived together.

we have spent 2+ years going between aus/uk, with the maximum time only ever being 3 months (visa length). I have spoken to my migration agent and they’ve said that us never living together may mean visa will be denied. I’m perplexed- we can’t possibly live together until our visa is approved and he doesn’t want to move back to the UK.... do you think this could cause it to be denied? I’m concerned now!

Thanks 

[VERYSTORMY]

If your agent says refusal is a possibility, then you simply have to accept that. 

[Marisawright]

This is an example of why getting early advice is always a good thing.  If you weren't already married, you could have applied for a Prospective Marriage Visa, which doesn't require you to have lived together.  But as you are already married, it's too late for that.

It is possible to get a visa even if you haven't lived together the whole time, but you have to prove it's a genuine relationship and not just a marriage of convenience.  Immigration are more suspicious of relationships where the couple haven't lived together.

Also, there needs to be a clearly defined moment when you entered a de facto relationship - and that means a relationship which is the equivalent of marriage - the only thing missing is the marriage certificate.  Dating, even serious dating, does not count.   How long ago was that date?  Do you have evidence to prove it?  That's where you will have difficulty, because usually, de facto couples can show the lease on their joint property, or the date they opened a shared bank account, or shared bills.  Those probably don't apply to you.   If you can't find some evidence that's equally convincing,  you may need to settle for the date you actually married, which is April, which means you can't apply till April next year.   And note that even then, you need evidence of a shared life, shared finances etc - you can't just continue to lead separate lives and visit each other. 

You would have to provide convincing reasons why you haven't been able to live together.  Being in separate countries isn't reason enough, if he's a UK citizen who could easily have moved back to live with you for a year, so you could meet the requirements of the partner visa.   If he has children then perhaps you could show that he couldn't move because of his parental responsibility to his kids?  

Edited August 7, 2019 by Marisawright

[summer]

Thank you for your help Marisa. That was exactly why we couldn’t live together, my child in the uk and his in Australia. 

The only bills we have is that the house tenancy in Australia was in both of our names. 

 

[Quoll]

He may not want to move back to UK but this might be your best option at least for the short term. Then you will be able to prove the longevity of your relationship. 

[Tulip1]

6 minutes ago, summer said:

Thank you for your help Marisa. That was exactly why we couldn’t live together, my child in the uk and his in Australia. 

The only bills we have is that the house tenancy in Australia was in both of our names. 

 

I can’t imagine a joint tenancy in Oz would mean much as you are resident in the uk.  Assume you have legal consent from your child’s father to remove the child from the UK? 

[can1983]

You could get divorced then apply for a prospective marriage visa

[Marisawright]

2 hours ago, summer said:

Thank you for your help Marisa. That was exactly why we couldn’t live together, my child in the uk and his in Australia. 

The only bills we have is that the house tenancy in Australia was in both of our names. 

So, in your evidence, have you explained why his child in Australia can't manage without him?   That's what you need to do.

Are you contributing to the rent in Australia? Simply putting your name on the lease, if you've never lived there, doesn't really mean anything.

Edited August 7, 2019 by Marisawright

[Nemesis]

18 hours ago, summer said:

Hi!

i have been married to my husband since April 19, and we have been together for 2.5 years before that. 

He lives in oz as a permanent full time resident and I am perusing a visa to join him there.

I have known him for 20+ years before we entered into a relationship but with us both having children prior to our relationship we have never lived together.

we have spent 2+ years going between aus/uk, with the maximum time only ever being 3 months (visa length). I have spoken to my migration agent and they’ve said that us never living together may mean visa will be denied. I’m perplexed- we can’t possibly live together until our visa is approved and he doesn’t want to move back to the UK.... do you think this could cause it to be denied? I’m concerned now!

Thanks 

You wil need a lot of evidence of how you have combined your lives, whilst still living apart.

Joint accounts, evidence of any money transfers between you? Any payments by one or other of you for joint investments or payments - even flights, hotels etc - you can annotate bank account print outs to show joint payments or payments to each other. If possible get the utility bills in oz put in joint names. 

Sign up for ozzie stuff like Woolies Rewards, Flybuys, Frequent Flyer etc , using his address. Absolutely anything that you can get registered to his address is a help 

Open an oz bank account - you can do that in the UK - and make sure its done with his address in oz.

Keep evidence of any family events, invites from friends to both of you. Christmas and anniversary cards sent to you both. Any correspondence between you talking seriously about future plans of where to live etc.

You each need a will, made out mentioning each of you as the souse and beneficiary. Get him to make you the beneficiary on his Super account and get a print out. Make sure your respective employers have ehc of you listed as "Spouse"

And make sure that when you write about the relationship for the application make sure you emphasise that this has been something built up over many years, not just a sudden whim.

Its not impossible, just takes work and a lot of evidence. Your agent is right to warn you its not guaranteed, but it can be done, so good luck!

Remember once you get the 309 you then have to wait for the PR grant  - thats when they will definitely want to see you moving to oz, setting up home together etc.