Long-Distance Relationship - Proving a genuine relationship

[raecaw]

Yo! I'm an Australian Citizen and I'm in an LDR with my partner in the UK. We met online and have visited each other a couple of times (for 2-3 month stretches). We have decided live here in WA, and eventually get married. We've been together about 2.5 years now and due to the cost we'd probably be looking at moving him here in a couple of years at least. It's likely we'll have been together around 4-5 years before we can apply.

Researching this Partner Visa (309) I realize that the government may not recognize online relationships as genuine. However, it feels like a catch 22 because the best way to prove a genuine relationship is to live together for 12 months. I don't have the funds to support us both so if he moved here for 12 months he'd have to work; we're limited on visa options.
I would have no problem registering our relationship as De Facto with the govt, but WA is one of the two states that doesn't allow that.

Does anyone have tips to start building up proof of this relationship while remaining in our respective countries? We have time on our side due to the cost, so if there are long paper trails to be made, I better get started!

Alternatively, I have dual citizenship in the UK as well, so I could live with him in the UK for a year, but I'd rather avoid uprooting my career, car, etc if I can avoid it. Additionally, he would have to move house for that option to be viable.

If getting married at a registry office in either country would give us an advantage, that's fine, but I wouldn't do that so soon if I can help it (We'd like to save up for a nice wedding event later on if we can help it lol)

Anyone been in this scenario? Got any tips?

[NickyNook]

The Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa would be a better option than a Partner visa, I’d have thought? Particularly as you’re prepared to get married. 

[Nemesis]

45 minutes ago, NickyNook said:

The Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa would be a better option than a Partner visa, I’d have thought? Particularly as you’re prepared to get married. 

Seconded. Solves the problem of having to live together.

[raecaw]

51 minutes ago, NickyNook said:

The Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) visa would be a better option than a Partner visa, I’d have thought? Particularly as you’re prepared to get married. 

 

5 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

Seconded. Solves the problem of having to live together.

Doesn't the Prospective marriage visa also have proof of relationship requirements? You have to apply for the partner visa immediately afterwards anyway, right?

[Marisawright]

@raecaw, when you say you've "been together" for 2.5 years now, what do you mean?  The 309/100 visa is for partners who are married or de facto, which is the equivalent of marriage.  Any period spent dating simply doesn't count.   I'm afraid Immigration would regard your time together as still dating, since you're living totally separate lives apart from holidays. Especially as you could move to the UK if you felt a driving need to be together.

I certainly would NOT advise getting married, and then continuing to live separately as you are now.  Immigration are very suspicious of people who get married but can't demonstrate shared lives: it's a common fraud for people to contract a marriage with an Aussie citizen just to get a visa, and you'd get tarred with that brush. 

If you want to go for a partner visa, you'll need to show proof of a date when you stop dating and begin behaving as husband and wife (married or not). Usually that date is the date you start living together (which won't apply in your case).  So you need to think what that watershed date might be for you, and how to prove it. It needs to be something that shows your lives are closely intertwined, like shared finances, for instance, and then you'll need continuing evidence of that shared lifestyle from that point on.  

If that's difficult (and I expect it would be), then your solution is the Prospective Marriage Visa.  Immigration recognises there are people who don't want to live together before marriage for religious or cultural reasons, so the PMV doesn't require the same proof.  Yes, it means you'll have to apply for the partner visa thereafter, but I suspect your chances of success for a 309 would be slim so you haven't much choice.  To be honest, I'd say the simplest option would be for you to move to the UK for a while.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Marisawright

[raecaw]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

@raecaw, when you say you've "been together" for 2.5 years now, what do you mean?  The 309/100 visa is for partners who are married or de facto, which is the equivalent of marriage.  Any period spent dating simply doesn't count.   I'm afraid Immigration would regard your time together as still dating, since you're living totally separate lives apart from holidays. Especially as you could move to the UK if you felt a driving need to be together.

I certainly would NOT advise getting married, and then continuing to live separately as you are now.  Immigration are very suspicious of people who get married but can't demonstrate shared lives: it's a common fraud for people to contract a marriage with an Aussie citizen just to get a visa, and you'd get tarred with that brush. 

If you want to go for a partner visa, you'll need to show proof of a date when you stop dating and begin behaving as husband and wife (married or not). Usually that date is the date you start living together (which won't apply in your case).  So you need to think what that watershed date might be for you, and how to prove it. It needs to be something that shows your lives are closely intertwined, like shared finances, for instance, and then you'll need continuing evidence of that shared lifestyle from that point on.  

If that's difficult (and I expect it would be), then your solution is the Prospective Marriage Visa.  Immigration recognises there are people who don't want to live together before marriage for religious or cultural reasons, so the PMV doesn't require the same proof.  Yes, it means you'll have to apply for the partner visa thereafter, but I suspect your chances of success for a 309 would be slim so you haven't much choice.  To be honest, I'd say the simplest option would be for you to move to the UK for a while.

I see, thank you for your insight!

It's good to know that moving to the UK for a while is a possible option at least. Perhaps we'll look into a skilled worker visa instead and treat a partner visa as a last resort - We're well under 33 and he has a good education, so we've got a better chance at getting a skilled worker visa.

[Nemesis]

4 hours ago, raecaw said:

 

Doesn't the Prospective marriage visa also have proof of relationship requirements? You have to apply for the partner visa immediately afterwards anyway, right?

The PMV requires proof that you have met. Any additional proof of the relationship is helpful - how you keep in touch, plans for the future, any joint finances, proof of visits, but its a lot less than the actual Spouse/Partner Visa. You don't need any proof of living together, as long as you have met at least once, it can be an almost totally online relationship.

When the PMV is granted you have 9 months to move to Australia, marry, and then apply for the Spouse Visa. At that point they expect more tangible evidence of the relationship as by then you would be living together, so joint lease/mortgage, attendance at events together, holidays, shared purchases, joint account etc. SO unlike the PMV where you just need proof you have met and intend to marry, for the Spouse Visa you need concrete evidence of sharing your lives and being together as a couple.

[Quoll]

8 hours ago, raecaw said:

I see, thank you for your insight!

It's good to know that moving to the UK for a while is a possible option at least. Perhaps we'll look into a skilled worker visa instead and treat a partner visa as a last resort - We're well under 33 and he has a good education, so we've got a better chance at getting a skilled worker visa.

Why would you go that route instead of a PMV? Seems to me that would be the logical way to do it. I have a friend who did that, they decided to get married about half way through the 9 months and did it without ceremony then followed up quite a bit later with a church blessing back in UK for all family and friends. They're coming up for about 45 years married now. Much easier than jumping through all the skilled visa hoops. 

Hope your LDR is as successful as ours - 50 years married in July after 3 years LDR  - we didn't have it as easy as you, LOL, flimsy little aero grammes and £1 a minute phone calls! But it all works out in the end. 

[Marisawright]

9 hours ago, raecaw said:

I see, thank you for your insight!

It's good to know that moving to the UK for a while is a possible option at least. Perhaps we'll look into a skilled worker visa instead and treat a partner visa as a last resort - We're well under 33 and he has a good education, so we've got a better chance at getting a skilled worker visa.

That sounds like a crazy idea. Skilled vías are highly competitive. It’s like applying for a job. He can have all the qualifications and skills necessary and still get beaten by another candidate. 

If you moved to the UK and lived together for a year or two, a partner visa would then be a no-brained. Or go for the PMC

[rammygirl]

That would really depend on his skill area. What does he do? Otherwise I do feel the pmv would be the way forward. 
A consultation with a good agent would help you to explore all possible options.

Personally if I was him and a skilled visa was possible I would go for that as a more secure option…..

[Marisawright]

@raecaw, to clarify what rammygirl said:  if your partner gets a 309 partner visa or a PMV, then he's totally dependent on you. If your relationship breaks down, his visa is no longer valid and he'll have to go home to the UK.   Whereas if he can manage to get a skilled visa, he'll get to stay in Australia even if you break up. 

So, from his point of view, IF his goal is to migrate permanently to Australia, a skilled visa would make more sense.  It'll take longer and be less certain but it'll give him more security once he's in Australia.  If he manages to get the visa, he just has to visit Australia to activate the visa, then he'll have about 5 years to make the permanent move.  Therefore if he decides to go that path, he should start applying now because it could take a year or more to get the visa.

However if he's moving to Australia just to be with you, and would prefer to go home to the UK if things don't work out, then the partner visa is still the most straightforward choice IMO.

Edited April 9, 2023 by Marisawright

[Ken]

14 hours ago, raecaw said:

I see, thank you for your insight!

It's good to know that moving to the UK for a while is a possible option at least. Perhaps we'll look into a skilled worker visa instead and treat a partner visa as a last resort - We're well under 33 and he has a good education, so we've got a better chance at getting a skilled worker visa.

How much is "well under 33"? If your partner is under 31 a WHV might be useful to give some time living together to qualify for a partner visa.

[InnerVoice]

18 hours ago, raecaw said:

Yo! I'm an Australian Citizen and I'm in an LDR with my partner in the UK. We met online and have visited each other a couple of times (for 2-3 month stretches). We have decided live here in WA, and eventually get married.

Anyone been in this scenario? Got any tips?

I was in your situation about 11 years ago. My girlfriend and I had been living together but she'd been staying at my place, so we didn't have any shared financial commitments. Fortunately we did have plenty of evidence of our life together (photos, email, sms, etc), so that all helped. I consulted an RMA at the time and he thought that we didn't have enough evidence to apply for the Partner visa but he gave us some good advice to bolster the application, like making and including reciprocal wills. I've always been a bit of a chancer so I rolled the dice and we got the 309 on this occasion, but it was touch and go. The application fee at the time was around $2,000, which wasn't a huge amount, but it's now a whopping $8,000. Faced with the same situation I would be less gung-ho and apply for the Prospective Marriage visa first, as that's a much easier pathway. If memory serves me correctly you only pay the application fee once, so if you apply for the Prospective Marriage (300) visa then you won't have to pay for the Partner (309) visa application when the time comes.

The advantages of the PMV is that it's less disruptive for you as you'll get to keep your job etc, and you will also get to live together in Australia, which is your ultimate goal. The disadvantage is that 9 months isn't long to know if you want to commit to each other for the rest of your lives, although you'll probably know by then if it isn't working! The advantage of living in the UK first is that you'll be able to apply for the Partner visa without getting married first. The disadvantage is that you're going to have to give up your life here and move over there for a couple of years, which you might hate. You'll be the one making all the sacrifices and this might put an unnecessary strain on your relationship. If it isn't working out then there is going to be a tendency to blame it on the location rather than the relationship, i.e. "Everything will be fine once we get back to Oz."

[paulhand]

2 hours ago, Ken said:

How much is "well under 33"? If your partner is under 31 a WHV might be useful to give some time living together to qualify for a partner visa.

That was my initial thought as well … and with the (eventual) introduction of the relaxed WHV conditions for U.K. citizens, then that will be even better, given the OP says they are not in a rush. 

[Alan Collett]

Don't completely discount a partner visa application - I've seen some pretty tenuous relationships secure partner visas, all of which were granted to individuals based in the UK.

The A$8k charge isn't an insignificant sum to most, but in the absence of other options it would be worthwhile considering  - particularly if you can register your relationship (unfortunately not an option in WA).

A WH visa and co-habitation for 12 months before lodging an onshore 820/801 is probably the preferred option here.

Best regards.

[Wan2go]

Me and mine did long distance for 11 years!! Circumstances, kids on both sides, jobs, health etc etc. We went the 300 route, and I am please to say it is our 7th wedding anniversary this year. If it's right, it's worth waiting for. All the best  

[ali]

A while ago now but my brother met his now wife whilst in Aus on a WHV.  My sister-in-law did have duel citizenship and came to live in the UK with my brother for several months whilst they applied for a partner visa.  They provided evidence that their correspondence whilst apart was about living together/long term future etc.,   I would suggest your partner looking at the WHV so that you can live together, or you consider going to the UK as you suggested.