plangley85 Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 I haven't been with my partner long (only a couple of months officially) but we have been talking about the future. I was hoping someone could give me some advice. He is seperated and has been for a few years now. They have a child but live in different towns (4 hours away). He is Australian. I'm from the UK over here studying. My student visa expires March 2021. Literally a few days off the 12 month requirement. I am thinking of studying further but course limitations for International students make it hard to do where we live so I might have to move. We haven't moved in together yet but are planning to. Can anyone advise whether we would realistically stand a chance of a de facto visa? I know registering the relationship would help with the time limit but my understanding is we cant get that as he is currently married. Kind regards and TIA! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) "De facto" means "the equivalent of marriage". If you are just dating, even if you are 100% committed to each other, you don't qualify as de facto. I think Immigration is rather old-fashioned in not recognising that a separated person can start a new permanent relationship, but that's the way it is. If your partner is serious about your relationship, then he needs to start divorce proceedings asap. Then once the divorce comes through, you can register the relationship - but you'll still have to provide a lot of proof that your relationship is genuine when you apply for the visa. Immigration recognises that couples can't always live together even if they are de facto (because of work or visa problems for example) - but if you're living in the same town but not living in the same house, that would be a red flag to say that you're not really a "married" couple yet. Edited March 18, 2020 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plangley85 Posted March 18, 2020 Author Share Posted March 18, 2020 I get the de facto part for registering the relationship but it does not stipulate being divorced in the partner visa info on immi.gov. And a couple of other sites said being able to prove separation would suffice. It's just the time frame that worries me unless I study further. (Which in itself would help as it would give time for a divorce to be finalised!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) I would get some advice from a registered agent. As far as I know proof of separation is fine for a partner visa but not for a prospective marriage visa, where you must be free and able to marry. Not sure about being able to register a relationship though. Edited March 18, 2020 by rammygirl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 8 hours ago, plangley85 said: I get the de facto part for registering the relationship but it does not stipulate being divorced in the partner visa info on immi.gov. And a couple of other sites said being able to prove separation would suffice. It's just the time frame that worries me unless I study further. (Which in itself would help as it would give time for a divorce to be finalised!) You are correct, he does not need to be divorced. However, if he is not divorced, you cannot register the relationship or get married. Therefore you can only meet the requirements by being a de facto couple, which would require 12 months of co habitation in most cases. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 I did read somewhere that if your partner is still married it is more complex and that they would need to provide evidence of being separated and why they hadn't divorced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, plangley85 said: I get the de facto part for registering the relationship but it does not stipulate being divorced in the partner visa info on immi.gov. And a couple of other sites said being able to prove separation would suffice. It's just the time frame that worries me unless I study further. (Which in itself would help as it would give time for a divorce to be finalised!) Sorry, I meant you couldn't register the relationship until he's divorced. So there is no way to get around the 12 month requirement - and the clock won't start ticking until the date you move in together. If you move in soon, then by the time you have to leave next March, you'll have 10 or 11 months of solid evidence of a genuine relationship, so it won't matter if you have to leave. Like I said, Immigration understands that even married couples need to live apart sometimes. You just have to explain that your visa ran out or that you had to move to study elsewhere. Make sure you have some concrete proof of the date you move in. Then start making changes to your finances to show you're a "real" couple (e.g. get your name on the lease, utility bills). A joint bank account is a good idea, although you can still keep your separate accounts and use the joint one as a "kitty" for shared expenses. The failure rate for partner visas is high, because there are so many fraudulent applications that Immigration treats every application with suspicion - even the straightforward ones. You will have two "unusual" aspects to your application - his separation and not living together for part of the time - so I would be inclined to play it safe and hire a migration agent (Paul is a good one), to make sure you present a watertight case. But that won't be till this time next year! Good luck with it. Edited March 18, 2020 by Marisawright 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 18, 2020 Share Posted March 18, 2020 38 minutes ago, ali said: I did read somewhere that if your partner is still married it is more complex and that they would need to provide evidence of being separated and why they hadn't divorced. Indeed. After all, it is possible for couples to move in together even though they're not 100% committed. If you move in with a separated man and he makes no attempt to start divorce proceedings, Immigration may take that to mean he's not serious about the relationship yet. So getting the divorce initiated is crucial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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