De Facto Sponsorship vs De Facto Visa?

[Brad1549]

Hi all,

 

I'm a 28 year old Australian citizen and have been dating my British partner for 7 months.

 

My partner is currently sponsored by his work, and is now at the point where he can apply for his permanent residency (PR). This will apparently cost him ~$12,000 and will take ~2 years to obtain.

 

I'd be happy to enter a de facto visa with him if it means it will cost him less and expedite the PR. However, I don't think we'll be eligible as we haven't been together/living with each other for long enough.

 

However, I've heard of a "de facto sponsorship" you can do. Could someone please explain what this is? Apparently it would involve me being his sponsor and paying a lump sum. If this means it will be cheaper and faster than getting PR through his company's sponsorship then I'd be happy to do it. Unfortunately I can't find any information on "de facto sponsorships" online though. What are the requirements for this?

Thanks everyone

[Brad1549]

Also, in addition to the above, what are the benefits of a De Facto visa vs a sponsorship visa through his company?

[ali]

The defacto visa doesn't guarantee PR right away  - it is likely your partner will be given the temporary visa ($7,715 which is for the temporary and PR parts of the visa) - processing time currently is 24 - 27 months.  

The sponsor (you) has to be approved and the applicant must have an approved sponsor at the time of application.

In some states you can register a relationship which can reduce the 12 months criteria

The question is do you see the relationship as a Marriage (essentially what defacto is) or dating?  No offence meant with the next  comments, but - No-one knows what's around the corner and your relationship is a relatively new one.  Should your relationship end before your partner gets PR they would then have to look at getting another visa - by that time (don't know your ages) their points could have reduced making it more difficult to get a Visa.   If the relationship breaks down and you met someone else -  there is a 5 year limitation to be able to sponsor someone else or be sponsored.

The benefits of the employer sponsored visa would be that your partner would be fully independent.  If your partner is eligible now for an ENS visa these are just over $4,000 I think and under normal circumstances (pre COVID) had processing times of less than a year.

 

[Brad1549]

9 minutes ago, ali said:

The defacto visa doesn't guarantee PR right away  - it is likely your partner will be given the temporary visa ($7,715 which is for the temporary and PR parts of the visa) - processing time currently is 24 - 27 months.  

 The sponsor (you) has to be approved and the applicant must have an approved sponsor at the time of application.

In some states you can register a relationship which can reduce the 12 months criteria

The question is do you see the relationship as a Marriage (essentially what defacto is) or dating?  No offence meant with the next  comments, but - No-one knows what's around the corner and your relationship is a relatively new one.  Should your relationship end before your partner gets PR they would then have to look at getting another visa - by that time (don't know your ages) their points could have reduced making it more difficult to get a Visa.   If the relationship breaks down and you met someone else -  there is a 5 year limitation to be able to sponsor someone else or be sponsored.

 The benefits of the employer sponsored visa would be that your partner would be fully independent.  If your partner is eligible now for an ENS visa these are just over $4,000 I think and under normal circumstances (pre COVID) had processing times of less than a year.

 

Thanks for the reply.

 

Yes, we do see the relationship being long-term (we've actually known each other for quite some time prior to dating). 

 

Unfortunately he's not part of the ENS skills list.

 

So it sounds like entering a partner/de facto visa may not be of any benefit considering it will still take 24 months? Are there any other visas which would be faster than his company sponsorship PR route?

[Marisawright]

I've never heard of a "de facto sponsorship visa".  There is a partner visa,which you can apply for if you are either married or in a relationship which is the equivalent of marriage.  Dating counts for nothing.

"De facto" means that for all practical purposes, you are married - you just didn't go through a ceremony.  To prove you are de facto, you will need evidences of a shared life - things like shared finances, shared legal commitments (lease, mortgage, car loan), shared living arrangements etc.  You'll need proof of the date you moved in together.  

Generally, you need to show proof that you've been de facto (not just dating) for at least 12 months.  In some states you can register your relationship - and if you do that, it waives the 12 month requirement.  However, you still need to convince Immigration that your relationship is genuine, and if you've been together for less than the 12 months, they're likely to scrutinise that evidence more closely. 

[Marisawright]

Regarding the company sponsorship vs the partner visa:  personally, I would go for the partner visa.  

Getting PR through company sponsorship is by no means certain.  The whole idea of the employer-sponsored temp visa is to fill a short-term vacancy.  The government really wants the temp employee to go home and for the job to be filled by a local eventually.  So the employer will have to prove that they can't find a local to take over the job.  They'll have to open their books to the government, to prove they're financially secure and able to carry the cost of that employee.  And they have to prove they're doing adequate training. If they get any of that complex paperwork wrong, the visa gets refused.  And of course, there's always the chance that the occupation will be taken off the list. 

Partner visas have a high refusal rate too - but that's because (a) there are so many fraudulent applications (from people pretending a relationship so they can stay in the country) and (b) many couples drastically underestimate how much evidence is needed. If you wait until you have a genuine 12-month relationship, and spend that time energetically gathering evidence, you should have reasonable confidence of success.  If you hire a good agent to make the application bomb-proof, you should have very high confidence of success.

Once you apply, it will take many months to get approval - but he'll get a bridging visa, with full work rights, in the meantime. The only annoying restriction will be that he can't leave the country - he'll have to apply for permission (a BVB) if he wishes to do so.  

[Brad1549]

22 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Regarding the company sponsorship vs the partner visa:  personally, I would go for the partner visa.  

Getting PR through company sponsorship is by no means certain.  The whole idea of the employer-sponsored temp visa is to fill a short-term vacancy.  The government really wants the temp employee to go home and for the job to be filled by a local eventually.  So the employer will have to prove that they can't find a local to take over the job.  They'll have to open their books to the government, to prove they're financially secure and able to carry the cost of that employee.  And they have to prove they're doing adequate training. If they get any of that complex paperwork wrong, the visa gets refused.  And of course, there's always the chance that the occupation will be taken off the list. 

 Partner visas have a high refusal rate too - but that's because (a) there are so many fraudulent applications (from people pretending a relationship so they can stay in the country) and (b) many couples drastically underestimate how much evidence is needed. If you wait until you have a genuine 12-month relationship, and spend that time energetically gathering evidence, you should have reasonable confidence of success.  If you hire a good agent to make the application bomb-proof, you should have very high confidence of success.

Once you apply, it will take many months to get approval - but he'll get a bridging visa, with full work rights, in the meantime. The only annoying restriction will be that he can't leave the country - he'll have to apply for permission (a BVB) if he wishes to do so.  

Thanks for the detailed message - greatly appreciated!

 

Hmm it seems like a partner visa may be the way to go. We both live in NSW and I read we can 'register our relationship' to avoid the 12 month wait required for the partner visa. I'd be happy to register our relationship. Does this mean that our partner visa application can still be rejected, though?

 

And finally, if he does go on a bridging visa with his company, I presume he's still allowed to leave the country for a holiday?

[Marisawright]

14 minutes ago, Brad1549 said:

We both live in NSW and I read we can 'register our relationship' to avoid the 12 month wait required for the partner visa. I'd be happy to register our relationship. Does this mean that our partner visa application can still be rejected, though?

And finally, if he does go on a bridging visa with his company, I presume he's still allowed to leave the country for a holiday?

I'd say if you want to apply with less than 12 months cohabiting, you should hire a good agent.  Registering your relationship gets you off the hook in theory - but like I said, if I were an Immigration official, I'd be more suspicious of a short-term relationship than a long-term one, so you're likely to get scrutinised more closely.  Try Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda.

While he's on the bridging visa, no, he can't leave the country for a holiday or for any other reason.  Or rather, he can, BUT he must apply for special permission (a BVB) before he does so, otherwise he'll find himself stranded overseas.

I would see an agent anyway, because I'm not an expert - there may well be other optoins for him to get a visa and every case is a bit different.  If this is important to you, and I'm sure it is, then an agent's fee is neither here nor there in the scheme of things.

Edited September 18, 2020 by Marisawright

[paulhand]

6 hours ago, Brad1549 said:

However, I've heard of a "de facto sponsorship" you can do. Could someone please explain what this is? Apparently it would involve me being his sponsor and paying a lump sum.

This is not ‘a thing’. 
 

6 hours ago, Brad1549 said:

This will apparently cost him ~$12,000 and will take ~2 years to obtain.

Not sure how you got to this price? An onshore partner visa will likely take just as long. 
 

3 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I would see an agent anyway

This is sound advice given the circumstances. 

[wrussell]

Quote

This will apparently cost him ~$12,000 and will take ~2 years to obtain.

How will it cost $12000?