Partner Visa - Proof of relationship information query

[supermatt]

Hi,

 

I'm preparing to lodge an defacto partner visa application because my Australian girlfriend and I would like to move to Australia.

 

I am busy getting together relevant information, making copies of everything that needs certifying etc, but am not sure how much 'proof of ongoing relationship' to provide. They ask for at least 2 statements from friends, I've gone with 6 all from Australians, including her mum. I've also got about 40 photos of us around the world on various holidays. What I'm trying to decide is should I be submitting things like random email conversations and phone bills highlighting each others numbers or isn't that really necessary? Has anyone else successfully applied for a partner visa, and could they shed any light on what they provided with their application?

 

Thanks.

 

Matt

[Peach]

Hi,

 

Here's what I submitted for my defacto visa app:

 

Certified (some by a magistrate/some by a local solicitor)

 

 

• Confirmation of Death in Service payment from my partner to me
  
• Confirmation of Death in Service payment from my me to partner
  
• Partner's car insurance with me as named driver
  
• My car insurance partner as named driver
  
• Joint mortgage offer
  
• Remortgage correspondence from conveyancing solicitor
  
• First joint bank statement
  
• Council Tax bill from 2008
  
• Mine, my partner's and son's passport & birth certs
  

 

 

Uncertified

 

 

• Numerous travel and holiday itineraries going back to 2002
  
• Invoice from nursery addressed to both of us
  
• Amex statement showing partner's supplementary card on my account
  
• Stat decs (Our's, Both mums, A friend).
  
• Personal statement from me about my criminal record
  
• 3 x Character Refs from Friends saying i'm upstanding and no longer a crim!
  
• Partner's employer reference, job profile and a recent p60
  

 

Let us know if the creates more questions than it answers )

 

Should also add: my visa was granted (subclass 100) in June. No further information was requested.

[Guest SteEyns]

Everything Peach lists is correct. In addition we were asked for 3 years worth of statements for our joint bank accounts. If you pop in your bank it's about £10 to get these. Worth getting them.

 

Also you should both do a statement about your relationship, where you met, things you have done, who with. Cross reference this by mentioning the people who have done your stat decs, to pad it out.

 

We also sent wedding, birthday, christening invites (with both our names on) and a few christmas cards.

[supermatt]

Thanks for the tips.

 

I forgot to mention the personal statements. We're doing those too.

 

As it happens, we've only actually been defacto for just over 12 months, and hadn't planned on moving to Aus for another couple of years, but a couple of months back I lost my job and there's not much work going in my field at the moment, so we've opted for the move now.

 

So far I've got:

 

 

5 Statements from friends and 1 from her mum

 

 

Our personal statements

 

 

12 months of joint bank account statements in full (I was going to highlight things like restaurant and grocery transactions and also cross reference with some of the bills addressed to me, but paid from joint account)

 

 

Roughly 2 docs each per month for the last 12 months addressed to us at the same address as well as a couple of extra ones addressed to both of us

 

 

Travel bookings from all the trips we've made abroad in the last 2.5 years including visiting he family in Aus and Christmas with in in South Africa

 

 

Roughly 40 photos of us together including UK holidays, but also pics from France, Netherlands, Australia, South Africa and Croatia (also some with each others families)

 

 

2 wedding invitations to the two of us

 

 

I'm just trying to decide now whether I need any more info and if I should bother getting extra stuff, like email correspondence between us and itemised phone bills?

 

Matt

 

edit: fixing broken list

[Peach]

40 photos sounds like quite a few. The guidance from AH is to send a represantive sample (as they aren't considered strong evidence). Also, if you have more evidence (it sounds like you're complete from what you've written) it may be worth holding it back in case you do get asked by the CO for more..

[Guest SteEyns]

Also the worst that happens is you don't send enough and they ask for more.

 

I guess the thing is anything you send off you don't get back so bear that in mind.

[Guest GeorgeD]

40 photos sounds like quite a few. The guidance from AH is to send a represantive sample (as they aren't considered strong evidence). Also, if you have more evidence (it sounds like you're complete from what you've written) it may be worth holding it back in case you do get asked by the CO for more..

 

Peach is right...your joint bank account statements and other documents sent to the same address over the last 12 months are really what they are most interested in. These along with your statements are the key documents. You sound a lot more complete than most!

 

If photos back up any of your stat decs or travel bookings, then they are a lot more useful than random photos of the two of you on your own somewhere non-descript. You don't need to go mad with the photos, even scan them and put 4 or 6 to each A4 page.

[supermatt]

If photos back up any of your stat decs or travel bookings, then they are a lot more useful than random photos of the two of you on your own somewhere non-descript. You don't need to go mad with the photos, even scan them and put 4 or 6 to each A4 page.

 

Thanks again. I was angling to give photos at identifiable landmarks along with some of the travel bookings, and then add some randoms in just you you can kinda see how the way we look has changed so it doesn't look like we've spent 24 hours changing our clothes and hairdo's and taking pics.

[Guest SteEyns]

a la Green Card....? :wink: