Which Visa?!

[stuart1993]

Hi, wondering if someone can help me!

I am still involved in a Civil Partnership with my previous partner (several years after separation) I am an Australian Citizen living in the UK, hoping to move to Australia with my new partner (covid permitting)

My first question is, can I proceed with an application with my current marital status, or will I have to wait until the relationship is officially dissolved?

My second question is.. There are 2 visa options (prospective marriage visa - subclass 300 and partner visa subclass - 309 & 100) could someone please advise the pros and cons of either one and their suitability? As I am not sure which to chose, given the above.

Thanks so much in advance

[Marisawright]

I am pretty sure that you’ll need to fully dissolve your previous partnership before you can do anything. 

Best plan is to hire an agent to handle the application as it’s a lot of money to throw away if you get it wrong

[ali]

Just googling there is some information that you can sponsor a partner even if your previous relationship hasn't been dissolved (I suspect on meeting all the other relationship criteria), I'd seek the advice of a migration agent just so that you don't encounter any pitfalls.

My limited knowledge of the PMV is that you will have a certain amount of time to get married, if you haven't progressed to dissolving your previous relationship, the timescales may cause an issue.

[Marisawright]

Yes, I was on my phone so posted a short reply, but that's what I was getting at.  It's not necessarily an obstacle.  However Immigration expects you to prove that their new relationship is genuine, and they would be suspicious that not feeling able to "let go" of a previous relationship indicates that you're not fully committed to the new one. 

I know that's not a fair judgment.  Many people (including me!) have a marriage breakup but don't do the divorce paperwork for years, because of the hassle and expense.  I know I didn't bother, and only eventually got around to it when my ex wanted to get married.    However, anything that puts a doubt in Immigration's mind is best avoided!   If you've started the dissolution proceedings and you've got lots of other excellent evidence, then I'm sure you'd be fine - but that's why I suggested using an agent, because they'll make sure the rest of your evidence is rock solid.  

The PMV allows you to move to Australia, then you have 9 months to get married, and then you have to apply for another visa.  I'm not sure if you can even use the PMV visa right now, because I'm not sure if your prospective partner could get an exemption to travel.  Whereas once you've got a partner visa, you'd be able to travel even if the borders are still closed. 

  

 

[Nemesis]

9 hours ago, stuart1993 said:

Hi, wondering if someone can help me!

I am still involved in a Civil Partnership with my previous partner (several years after separation) I am an Australian Citizen living in the UK, hoping to move to Australia with my new partner (covid permitting)

My first question is, can I proceed with an application with my current marital status, or will I have to wait until the relationship is officially dissolved?

My second question is.. There are 2 visa options (prospective marriage visa - subclass 300 and partner visa subclass - 309 & 100) could someone please advise the pros and cons of either one and their suitability? As I am not sure which to chose, given the above.

Thanks so much in advance

You cannot apply for a Prospective Marriag3 Visa unless you are free to marry, which you aren't if you are in a Civil Partnership.

I was advised by an excellent agent a few years ago that it is technically possible to apply for a partner visa on de facto grounds whilst still being in another relationship with/married to another person but its tricky to do and really needs an agent's assistance.

[paulhand]

2 hours ago, Nemesis said:

You cannot apply for a Prospective Marriag3 Visa unless you are free to marry, which you aren't if you are in a Civil Partnership.

I was advised by an excellent agent a few years ago that it is technically possible to apply for a partner visa on de facto grounds whilst still being in another relationship with/married to another person but its tricky to do and really needs an agent's assistance.

This is a good summary of the situation … 

[stuart1993]

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my question.

A bit of background... it is exactly as was suggested, the dissolution has taken so long due to paperwork and financial arguments (not due to hesitation) at the time of separation and then neither perusing.  We have not spoken for almost 5 years and my partner and I (I said "new" but should have said, current) have been living together for 3 years now and we are engaged. With thousands of various ways to evidence this. We are wanting to get married as soon as my dissolution comes through and ideally wanted to start the process with the Visa asap so that when we are ready and able covid permitting, we can emigrate. 

So what I can gather is that it might be best to get an agent and that I wouldn't be able to apply for marriage visa whilst still within a civil partnership. Will have a look into it, thank you so much again

[Marisawright]

35 minutes ago, stuart1993 said:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my question.

A bit of background... it is exactly as was suggested, the dissolution has taken so long due to paperwork and financial arguments (not due to hesitation) at the time of separation and then neither perusing.  We have not spoken for almost 5 years and my partner and I (I said "new" but should have said, current) have been living together for 3 years now and we are engaged. With thousands of various ways to evidence this. We are wanting to get married as soon as my dissolution comes through and ideally wanted to start the process with the Visa asap so that when we are ready and able covid permitting, we can emigrate. 

So what I can gather is that it might be best to get an agent and that I wouldn't be able to apply for marriage visa whilst still within a civil partnership. Will have a look into it, thank you so much again

Paul Hand, who responded above, is a well-regarded agent 

[paulhand]

3 hours ago, stuart1993 said:

I wouldn't be able to apply for marriage visa whilst still within a civil partnership.

There is no such thing as a 'marriage visa' - there is either a 'Prospective Marriage Visa' or a 'Partner Visa' which covers both married and de facto couples. You can apply for the latter.

[Tulip1]

5 hours ago, stuart1993 said:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to respond to my question.

A bit of background... it is exactly as was suggested, the dissolution has taken so long due to paperwork and financial arguments (not due to hesitation) at the time of separation and then neither perusing.  We have not spoken for almost 5 years and my partner and I (I said "new" but should have said, current) have been living together for 3 years now and we are engaged. With thousands of various ways to evidence this. We are wanting to get married as soon as my dissolution comes through and ideally wanted to start the process with the Visa asap so that when we are ready and able covid permitting, we can emigrate. 

So what I can gather is that it might be best to get an agent and that I wouldn't be able to apply for marriage visa whilst still within a civil partnership. Will have a look into it, thank you so much again

It sounds like you will have documents to evidence the long drawn out dissolution.  I’d imagine even emails/messages discussing/disagreeing over the things you mentioned.  Do you have a solicitor dealing with it.  That would probably help your case.  If you can only say we didn’t agree five years ago and nothings been done since then it won’t look too good.  Many splits end up in not agreeing with things but through solicitors they’re sorted out eventually.  I’d say you’d be expected to show you are actively seeking the legal end to the relationship and be able to back that up.    My best suggestion is you contact Paul above to come up with a solution if there is one.  He is the best person to ask/help you.

[stuart1993]

17 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

It sounds like you will have documents to evidence the long drawn out dissolution.  I’d imagine even emails/messages discussing/disagreeing over the things you mentioned.  Do you have a solicitor dealing with it.  That would probably help your case.  If you can only say we didn’t agree five years ago and nothings been done since then it won’t look too good.  Many splits end up in not agreeing with things but through solicitors they’re sorted out eventually.  I’d say you’d be expected to show you are actively seeking the legal end to the relationship and be able to back that up.    My best suggestion is you contact Paul above to come up with a solution if there is one.  He is the best person to ask/help you.

 

19 hours ago, paulhand said:

There is no such thing as a 'marriage visa' - there is either a 'Prospective Marriage Visa' or a 'Partner Visa' which covers both married and de facto couples. You can apply for the latter.

 

17 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

It sounds like you will have documents to evidence the long drawn out dissolution.  I’d imagine even emails/messages discussing/disagreeing over the things you mentioned.  Do you have a solicitor dealing with it.  That would probably help your case.  If you can only say we didn’t agree five years ago and nothings been done since then it won’t look too good.  Many splits end up in not agreeing with things but through solicitors they’re sorted out eventually.  I’d say you’d be expected to show you are actively seeking the legal end to the relationship and be able to back that up.    My best suggestion is you contact Paul above to come up with a solution if there is one.  He is the best person to ask/help you.

Hi thanks again all for the replies!

So, I have established that I can not apply for the prospective marriage visa whilst still being in a civil partnership. Therefore right now I can currently only apply for "partner visa" as a de facto couple. Everything I have explained is genuine and so yes I have evidence for all including irreversible breakdown of previous, lots of evidence of current etc. But people still do get rejected when in real relationships as you all probably know (my father had to jump through hoops to prove his 40 year marriage to my Ozzie mother for his visa)  and I would obviously like to go for the "most likely to succeed" option rather than being impatient if it gives us a better chance. 

So my question is, which is best (given that my partner and I do want to get married when able and also move to Australia when able too):

Wait for dissolution to come through - Apply for prospective marriage visa

Wait for dissolution to come through, get married in the UK- Apply for "partner visa" as a married couple

Not wait for dissolution to come through, apply now for a de facto "partner visa"

 

I appreciate the previous advice is to contact an agent, I'm just not sure what the process/cost involved in that is, or for a consultation, the visa is very expensive as it is and not sure we can afford any more, any advice on this is also welcome.

Thank you!

[Tulip1]

20 minutes ago, stuart1993 said:

 

 

Hi thanks again all for the replies!

So, I have established that I can not apply for the prospective marriage visa whilst still being in a civil partnership. Therefore right now I can currently only apply for "partner visa" as a de facto couple. Everything I have explained is genuine and so yes I have evidence for all including irreversible breakdown of previous, lots of evidence of current etc. But people still do get rejected when in real relationships as you all probably know (my father had to jump through hoops to prove his 40 year marriage to my Ozzie mother for his visa)  and I would obviously like to go for the "most likely to succeed" option rather than being impatient if it gives us a better chance. 

So my question is, which is best (given that my partner and I do want to get married when able and also move to Australia when able too):

Wait for dissolution to come through - Apply for prospective marriage visa

Wait for dissolution to come through, get married in the UK- Apply for "partner visa" as a married couple

Not wait for dissolution to come through, apply now for a de facto "partner visa"

 

I appreciate the previous advice is to contact an agent, I'm just not sure what the process/cost involved in that is, or for a consultation, the visa is very expensive as it is and not sure we can afford any more, any advice on this is also welcome.

Thank you!

I think you will have the same hurdles with a partner visa.  If someone Is in a civil partnership/marriage to someone else, them getting a partner visa which is for a partner other than their ‘legal’ partner is not going to be straight forward.  Why not reach out to Paul and ask what a consultation will cost.  It’s a quick message that will take minutes, what have you got to lose.   It may be less than you think.  This is something that you desperately want and something that is anything but clear cut.  You are asking a forum of non professionals for help and as helpful as we will all try to be, our ‘advice’ may not be right (quite possibly it won’t be)  For the sake of a small fee, is it really worth messing the whole thing up.  My only advice to you is seek proper advice.  Best of luck. 

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, stuart1993 said:

 

 

Hi thanks again all for the replies!

So, I have established that I can not apply for the prospective marriage visa whilst still being in a civil partnership. Therefore right now I can currently only apply for "partner visa" as a de facto couple. Everything I have explained is genuine and so yes I have evidence for all including irreversible breakdown of previous, lots of evidence of current etc. But people still do get rejected when in real relationships as you all probably know (my father had to jump through hoops to prove his 40 year marriage to my Ozzie mother for his visa)  and I would obviously like to go for the "most likely to succeed" option rather than being impatient if it gives us a better chance. 

So my question is, which is best (given that my partner and I do want to get married when able and also move to Australia when able too):

Wait for dissolution to come through - Apply for prospective marriage visa

Wait for dissolution to come through, get married in the UK- Apply for "partner visa" as a married couple

Not wait for dissolution to come through, apply now for a de facto "partner visa"

 

I appreciate the previous advice is to contact an agent, I'm just not sure what the process/cost involved in that is, or for a consultation, the visa is very expensive as it is and not sure we can afford any more, any advice on this is also welcome.

Thank you!

Go for the partner visa. People with genuine relationships, who have been living together for ages years, don’t get rejected. Your father had to jump through hoops because everyone has to, that’s the process. Follow the process correctly and provide the mountain of evidence they require, and you’ll get the visa. 

You do need to supply a ridiculous amount of evidence though!