820 No lease agreement. Letter UK flatmate?

[lolaamapola]

Hello! 

I have just applied for the 820 visa and I am trying to sort out our evidence to show that we have been living together for more than a year. Unfortunately, we have never had a joint rental agreement but we have evidence that we both paid rent, joint mail, mail under my name in the same address, a WhatsApp group for all the flatmates... 

I would like to add a letter written by one of our flatmates in London,he is British, as evidence and I would like to know if it has to be witnessed or certified along with a passport photocopy, and, if that is the case where I can do that in London so it is official in Australia. I have read a notary public can do so but the fees are just too high. 

We already have a few 888 forms so we don't really need it as a stat dec, we just want it as an extra piece of evicende for our living arrangements. 

Thank you ver much, 

Lola

[Laura Zorzi]

Can your landlord provide a statement?

If your flatmate in London is not Australian, he can write his declaration on a simple A4 sheet, dated and signed. He can add a copy of his ID/passport too. It does not need to be certified.

[paulhand]

On 12/05/2020 at 09:06, lolaamapola said:

I would like to add a letter written by one of our flatmates in London,he is British, as evidence and I would like to know if it has to be witnessed or certified along with a passport photocopy, and, if that is the case where I can do that in London so it is official in Australia. I have read a notary public can do so but the fees are just too high. 

The instructions on the form888 cover this situation:

“If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you reside outside Australia, your statement cannot be considered a statutory declaration under Australian law, even if it is made using this form or the template provided by the Attorney-General’s Department. However, under policy, your statement should be witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the country in which you make the statement. Failing that, it should be witnessed by a person whose occupation or qualification is comparable to those listed above. This person should sign, date and specify their occupation at the bottom of the statement.”

so in the first instance a UK solicitor is your best bet ... they shouldn’t charge more than £5 if it’s a straight witness signature with no add-on advice. 

[Laura Zorzi]

Surely, if he uses the form 888, he should follow the instructions as per @paulhand's detailed response.

[lolaamapola]

On 14/05/2020 at 03:56, Laura Zorzi said:

Can your landlord provide a statement?

If your flatmate in London is not Australian, he can write his declaration on a simple A4 sheet, dated and signed. He can add a copy of his ID/passport too. It does not need to be certified.

Thank you Laura. 

No my landlord cannot do so as he was not even aware of who lived in the flat I think. One of the flatmates was the one in charge

[lolaamapola]

On 14/05/2020 at 03:56, Laura Zorzi said:

Can your landlord provide a statement?

If your flatmate in London is not Australian, he can write his declaration on a simple A4 sheet, dated and signed. He can add a copy of his ID/passport too. It does not need to be certified.

Thank you Laura. 

No my landlord cannot do so as he was not even aware of who lived in the flat I think. One of the flatmates was the one in charge

[lolaamapola]

On 14/05/2020 at 16:54, paulhand said:

The instructions on the form888 cover this situation:

“If you are not an Australian citizen or permanent resident and you reside outside Australia, your statement cannot be considered a statutory declaration under Australian law, even if it is made using this form or the template provided by the Attorney-General’s Department. However, under policy, your statement should be witnessed or certified according to the legal practices of the country in which you make the statement. Failing that, it should be witnessed by a person whose occupation or qualification is comparable to those listed above. This person should sign, date and specify their occupation at the bottom of the statement.”

so in the first instance a UK solicitor is your best bet ... they shouldn’t charge more than £5 if it’s a straight witness signature with no add-on advice. 

Thank you Paul!

Would you recommend a 888 form? Or as the form will not be used with the usual stat dec purpose in the visa but to confirm that we live together, should I tell him to write a letter following the  other Stat Dec template that is more like a blank paper? 

Thank you