robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Hi all, Myself and my Australian partner are considering applying for a partner visa for me, but we're unsure on the 12 month living together requirement. We've had a 'relationship to the exclusion of all others' since Oct 2008 and intend to apply in Oct of this year, so that's 2 years. However, we started our relationship with her living in Cork and me living in Manchester, so we were long distance until late December 2009 when she came over and moved into my room at the house I shared with others, and have since got our own place together. We had agreed she was going to move over some months previously, but because her qualifications weren't recognised in the UK, she had to do some exams first before being able to get a job. So we had a committed relationship but, at time of application,: - we will have been living together 9 months - only for 6 of those months can we provide joint financials (bank accounts/tenancy) - previous to those 9 months we can prove regular trips to see each other, skype, email, phone records, holidays together (including meeting her family in Oz), joint wedding invites, etc etc for 2 years in total So in summary, we can show documentation for 6 months living together with joint financials, 9 months living together (proven by stat decs and bank statements), and 2 years committed relationship. Will we be rejected if we apply in October? If so, how long should we wait? 3 months (so living together for 12 total)? 6 months (so living together AND joint financials for 12 total)? Also, how long does this process typically take? 5-6 months was quoted in an email we received, is this people's experience? You may say, just wait 6 months, but if it takes 6 months AFTER application then that will be a 12 month total. This is important because there is a possibility of a good job opportunity for me, which may disappear if it takes that long (and I work in an industry where jobs don't come up that often). We have read all the literature on the immigration website related to the de facto visa, but there are some exceptions to the 12 month living together rule, and we are wondering if our situation applies. Our reasoning being that my partner was unable to move over to the UK earlier because she needed to pass some exams first to be able to get a job in her field (wasn't a visa issue though). Sorry for the long post. If anyone reads through it and can offer some insight we would be hugely grateful! Cheers Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Hi, I'd say you were very unlikely to get a waiver for the 12 months rule in the circumstances you describe. I would wait until you have 12 months evidence of living together (i.e. wait three months) and work on finding some evidence for the three months you currently don't have (this can one of you paying a bill on behalf of both of you etc). Living together is a joint financial in itself. 5-6 months seems to be the quoted time and what people are experiencing. If anything the rumours are the processing time is likely to get longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Mighalls Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 at time of application,: - we will have been living together 9 months You clearly will not qualify. Do yourselves a favour and do not apply until you have sufficient evidence to substantiate the relationship in the terms set out in the legislation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 Thanks for replying Peach We were living together in a friend's place. There was no written tenancy agreement and bills were included in the rent. However, she put some money into my account at the time and she was on my car insurance for a couple weeks so hopefully that will be OK? Plus one of the tenants will be one of our stat decs. 3 months sounds relatively OK but could be a problem if a job offer arrives. Maybe I could start on a working holiday visa while I await the partner visa? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 If you go over on a WHV, could you not then apply for the visa onshore? (whilst building up more evidence of living together) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 You clearly will not qualify. Do yourselves a favour and do not apply until you have sufficient evidence to substantiate the relationship in the terms set out in the legislation. Yes but the legislation (or at least the summary notes on the legislation) state that there are incidences where the 12 months living together does not apply. For example time spent apart because of work. We are just looking for clarification on that. Thank you for your reply though, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peach Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Yes but the legislation (or at least the summary notes on the legislation) state that their are incidences where the 12 months living together does not apply. For example time spent apart because of work. We are just looking for clarification on that. Thank you for your reply though, much appreciated. I believe that refers to time spent apart because of work, after you have started living together. But I'm not an expert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 If you go over on a WHV, could you not then apply for the visa onshore? (whilst building up more evidence of living together) Yes I guess we could. But my understanding of the WHV is that you can only work in one place for 3 months. So if we apply for the visa onshore and it takes 5/6 months, I would be working illegally for a time, which is unacceptable. I haven't looking into the WHV much though so am open to correction on that. Is there a great advantage to applying for a partner visa while in Australia? It is possible that I could get employer sponsorship, but obviously I would become more attractive to an employer without that requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 I believe that refers to time spent apart because of work, after you have started living together. But I'm not an expert. Yes I can see how that could be the case alright. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Mighalls Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 I can see how that could be the case Not could. Is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 2, 2010 Author Share Posted September 2, 2010 Not could. Is. Cheers Les. Are there any advantages to applying for the partner visa while in Australia on a WHV? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
louise28 Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 On a WHV you can work for one employer for a period of 6 months, you can of course work the whole 12 months of the visa just not the same place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Mighalls Posted September 2, 2010 Share Posted September 2, 2010 Are there any advantages to applying for the partner visa while in Australia on a WHV? You are in Australia, you are working, you can continue to live and work in Australia while the visa application is being procesed and more importantly by the time you organize yourselves to come here you will have clocked up the 12 months as well as, hopefully, made sure that there is a paper trail to substantiate the fact you've lived together for at least 12 months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ernie24 Posted September 3, 2010 Share Posted September 3, 2010 Yes I guess we could. But my understanding of the WHV is that you can only work in one place for 3 months. So if we apply for the visa onshore and it takes 5/6 months, I would be working illegally for a time, which is unacceptable. I haven't looking into the WHV much though so am open to correction on that. Is there a great advantage to applying for a partner visa while in Australia? It is possible that I could get employer sponsorship, but obviously I would become more attractive to an employer without that requirement. Hey there! Just so you know you can work with one employer for 6 months on the WHV so that should help! I am currently applying for a partner visa in Australia on a WHV and I can't really see any advantage of applying onshore apart from being with my partner. It costs more to apply onshore and normally takes longer for the visa to be processed! My advice is definatly don't apply until you have reached 12 months but the day you do go for it! Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robfromdublin Posted September 3, 2010 Author Share Posted September 3, 2010 Hey there! Just so you know you can work with one employer for 6 months on the WHV so that should help! I am currently applying for a partner visa in Australia on a WHV and I can't really see any advantage of applying onshore apart from being with my partner. It costs more to apply onshore and normally takes longer for the visa to be processed! My advice is definatly don't apply until you have reached 12 months but the day you do go for it! Good luck Cheers Ernie & Les, yeah from my reading I hadn't discerned any advantages. If living and working in Oz beforehand is a slight advantage in actually getting the visa, then this is outweighed by the extra cost and length of time involved. However, I was told an interesting titbit of information this morning. If you come in on a 457 visa then you can get something called the 'Living Away from Home' allowance which allows for some of your income to be tax-free. Gonna look into this a bit more as I believe I could get a 457 if needed. EDIT: it seems you have to have a declared intention to return home, so I may not be eligible for the Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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