tahm563 Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 I am an Australian married to British. We have been married for 18 years and have been living in the UK since marriage. We now want to move to sydney and settle there (as my parents are getting older and DH's parents passed away). We want to move in 2026 because of kid's schooling (waiting for eldest to finish A level). My question is should we apply for DH's visa from the UK? If yes, how long does it take usually nowadays? Once we get the visa, is there a time by which we must enter AUS? Also, would DH get PR straight away or would he be on a temporary visa first? Thanks for your help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 6 Share Posted January 6 It varies. Not long ago, UK applications were taking only 3 or 4 months. At the moment, they seem to have blown out to 12 months. It all depends how busy the department is and which visas they're prioritizing. As you've been married so long, it's very likely you'll go straight to the PR version rather than the temporary one, but no one can say for sure. If he gets the PR version, once he's granted the visa, he will have a year from date of grant to activate his visa. That doesn't mean he has to make the move, he literally just has to land in Australia, go through Immigration, and leave again. So if you're planning a holiday, that's enough. Once that's done, he has up to 5 years from the date of grant (not date of activation) to make the permanent move. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted January 7 Share Posted January 7 11 hours ago, Marisawright said: It varies. Not long ago, UK applications were taking only 3 or 4 months. At the moment, they seem to have blown out to 12 months. It all depends how busy the department is and which visas they're prioritizing. As you've been married so long, it's very likely you'll go straight to the PR version rather than the temporary one, but no one can say for sure. If he gets the PR version, once he's granted the visa, he will have a year from date of grant to activate his visa. That doesn't mean he has to make the move, he literally just has to land in Australia, go through Immigration, and leave again. So if you're planning a holiday, that's enough. Once that's done, he has up to 5 years from the date of grant (not date of activation) to make the permanent move. My recent are not taking anything like that long at the moment. And if you have been married for 18 years with a teenage child then yes, you will get the permanent visa straight away. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tahm563 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Thank you so much. Is there any point getting a migration agent or is it a quite straighforward application? When I did my British application, I remember I had to submit so many proofs. Is the process similar for Australia? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluequay Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 (edited) My partner visa took 7 weeks when we applied at the end of May. We had a straight forward application, 15+ years together married with kids. No health issues\criminal convictions etc. We could have done the application ourselves but felt that as making the move was such a high priority for us that it was worth using a migration agent anyway to ensure that the process went smoothly without any issues. Which it did. There are a lot of documents required (Identity\financial\social), plus detailed statements from you and your husband + friends and relatives etc Edited January 10 by bluequay 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tahm563 Posted January 10 Author Share Posted January 10 Thanks @bluequay. That's reassuring to know. We have 3 kids together and no health issues/criminal convictions. However, we don't own a property together (he owns one in his name and I own one in my name). Is that likely to be a problem? We don't have joint accounts either because we prefer to keep our finances separate. Please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluequay Posted January 10 Share Posted January 10 Similar situation for us, we did have joint accounts, but a property in each of our names. You don't need to have joint accounts but as I understand it they do like to see that your finances are linked even if that is just by regular transfers between you. It sounds like a migration agent initial consultation at least would be helpful so that you can present the correct information. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramvi Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 Thinking this might be the appropriate thread to put my enquiry in. i am a New Zealand Citizen and arrived here as a permanent resident in Australia for Citizenship purposes. During this period am I eligible to sponsor my partner who is in the US to come here and live with me? We have been together for about 20 years but haven't gotten married. Or do I have to wait till I become a citizen before I can go that route? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 9 minutes ago, Kramvi said: i am a New Zealand Citizen and arrived here as a permanent resident in Australia.... During this period am I eligible to sponsor my partner .... You can't apply for the partner sponsorship like an Australian citizen. You need to apply for a 461 visa for your partner. To get the visa, you need to be in a de facto relationship, which means you need to be in a relationship that is the equivalent of marriage, and you will have to prove that with documentation. It is harder to prove when you're living apart, but certainly not impossible (after all, many married couples have to live apart for work or family reasons, too). Inevitably, Immigration will be more suspicious of a couple who aren't living together so you'll need to dot every i and cross every t. I would suggest getting a good migration agent to help you with the application, because they can advise on the best way to put the application together. Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda are very helpful on these forums so I'd give one of them a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramvi Posted March 8 Share Posted March 8 On 21/02/2024 at 15:36, Marisawright said: You can't apply for the partner sponsorship like an Australian citizen. You need to apply for a 461 visa for your partner. To get the visa, you need to be in a de facto relationship, which means you need to be in a relationship that is the equivalent of marriage, and you will have to prove that with documentation. It is harder to prove when you're living apart, but certainly not impossible (after all, many married couples have to live apart for work or family reasons, too). Inevitably, Immigration will be more suspicious of a couple who aren't living together so you'll need to dot every i and cross every t. I would suggest getting a good migration agent to help you with the application, because they can advise on the best way to put the application together. Suncoast Migration or Go Matilda are very helpful on these forums so I'd give one of them a try. Thank you Marisa for your answer. How about parents? Can someone like me sponsor one's parents? If yes how long does it normally take for them to get a PR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 9 Share Posted March 9 3 hours ago, Kramvi said: Thank you Marisa for your answer. How about parents? Can someone like me sponsor one's parents? If yes how long does it normally take for them to get a PR? Are your parents NZ citizens? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kramvi Posted March 12 Share Posted March 12 No just father. He is a green card holder and lives in US Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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