Advice needed! Don't let them separate us :(

[jlai928]

Hi all, 

I'm after some advice. The situation is this. My partner is a British citizen currently working as a social worker and I am about to start a masters in February in Perth. 

As it stands I'm aware that these are our options:

1. De facto visa and bring her over with my student visa (we haven't been together with proof for 1+ year and will be very difficult to show proof since we don't share any finances etc) 

2. She can get a 189 skilled worker visa but that would require registration with AASW (social work) and that would take up to a year. 

3. She comes on a working holiday visa and starts the AASW application when she gets here. 

I am open to absolutely any advice. We just want to be together but don't necessarily have to be in the same city in Australia (I'm not mega familiar with but have heard of region restricted visas?) 

[Marisawright]

Take the working holiday visa, then live together and build evidence of your de facto status to complete the 12 month requirement. Alternatively if you’re not quite ready to commit to shared finances, take the working holiday visa then start the process of applying for a skilled visa

Edited October 3, 2019 by Marisawright

[paulhand]

2 minutes ago, jlai928 said:

Hi all, 

I'm after some advice. The situation is this. My partner is a British citizen currently working as a social worker and I am about to start a masters in February in Perth. 

As it stands I'm aware that these are our options:

1. De facto visa and bring her over with my student visa (we haven't been together with proof for 1+ year and will be very difficult to show proof since we don't share any finances etc) 

2. She can get a 189 skilled worker visa but that would require registration with AASW (social work) and that would take up to a year. 

3. She comes on a working holiday visa and starts the AASW application when she gets here. 

I am open to absolutely any advice. We just want to be together but don't necessarily have to be in the same city in Australia (I'm not mega familiar with but have heard of region restricted visas?) 

1. It would not be a "de facto visa" because you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You could add her as a secondary applicant to your student visa - the proof required is less than for a full partner visa.

2. Not necessarily so, there are lots of variables at play here.

3. If she's eligible, then go for it. She can be in Perth, and you can spend some time together. You would still need a strategy that got one of you to PR if you wanted to stay long term, but you would have time to work on it.

[paulhand]

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Take the working holiday visa, then live together and build evidence of your de facto status to complete the 12 month requirement. Alternatively if you’re not quite ready to commit to shared finances, take the working holiday visa then start the process of applying for a skilled visa

He's on a student visa - so there's no partner visa angle to this one, but I agree on the WHV.

Edited October 3, 2019 by paulhand

[jlai928]

3 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Take the working holiday visa, then live together and build evidence of your de facto status to complete the 12 month requirement. Alternatively if you’re not quite ready to commit to shared finances, take the working holiday visa then start the process of applying for a skilled visa

Ah gotya. If I were to apply for de facto would I be able to add that into my visa somehow at a later date? How do I go about amending the visa I would already have? I'm assuming there will be a fee? 

[jlai928]

1 minute ago, paulhand said:

1. It would not be a "de facto visa" because you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident. You could add her as a secondary applicant to your student visa - the proof required is less than for a full partner visa.

2. Not necessarily so, there are lots of variables at play here.

3. If she's eligible, then go for it. She can be in Perth, and you can spend some time together. You would still need a strategy that got one of you to PR if you wanted to stay long term, but you would have time to work on it.

Thanks for your reply. Understood. Yeah that's what I mean by adding her as a secondary although it said on the home affairs page there needs to be evidence of us being 1y+? 

So I'm thinking do the whv then add her in after building de facto status or wtv it is called. 

[paulhand]

2 minutes ago, jlai928 said:

Ah gotya. If I were to apply for de facto would I be able to add that into my visa somehow at a later date? How do I go about amending the visa I would already have? I'm assuming there will be a fee? 

Yes, you can add her as a subsequent applicant.

[jlai928]

1 minute ago, paulhand said:

Yes, you can add her as a subsequent applicant.

Okay just to clarify I can do that whenever right? 

Also yeah might also go down the route of her just getting whv then beginning the process of skilled 189.

[wrussell]

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