ElToro Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 I'm about to make initial enquiries with regards to applying for a visa to work and live in Australia and I thought that this forum could be a good start point in getting some advice. Hope you can help! Our circumstances: I'm British however my partner is Australian. I live in the UK, she lives in Europe with her role. We've been in a relationship for 18 months, all long distance. We've been to Australia twice in that time and we've got a joint bank account in Oz. We've got plenty of photos, flight bookings, stamps in passport, hotels etc from our many holidays/weekend trips to verify our relationship however we lack that crucial '1 year living together' stipulation to qualify for the partner visa. She has been offered a role in Oz and ideally we would both like to relocate there soon. I'm over 31 so don't qualify for the working holiday visa. Sponsorship could be an option but i'm not sure what's needed to qualify for this. It's possible i could get an offer from my current or previous company to work in Oz however i work in Marketing which is not a 'skilled' area. Given all of the above info, what's the options available? Is a partner visa out of the question? If a company want to make me an offer could they sponsor me or do I need to be in a trade where there's a skill shortage? Would the fiancee visa be an option or would the fact we've not lived together go against us? Thanks for any advice or suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 You can apply for a Prospective Marriage visa without ever having lived together, so if you are prepared to marry within 9 months of the visa grant date, that will be the easiest and best approach to take. Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) Prospective Marriage visa If you go the sponsorship route, your occupation must be listed as eligible for an employer sponsored visa and of course, you must find an employer to sponsor you and that isn't always easy to do. There are several marketing oriented occupations on the list of occupations eligible for a temporary 457 visa and if your background is appropriate to one of them and if your current or previous employer is willing to sponsor you in that role, that could give you the opportunity to live together for long enough to meet the Partner visa cohabitation requirements. Migration Regulations 1994 - Specification under paragraphs 2.72(10)(aa) and 2.72I(5)(ba) - Occupations for Nominations in Relation to Subclass 457 (Business (Long Stay)) and Subclass 442 (Occupational Trainee) Visas - February 2011 457 visa occupations 1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1 ANZSCO list of occupations - Use this to see a brief job description and required qualifications for any likely looking occupation on the 457 list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted February 26, 2011 Author Share Posted February 26, 2011 You can apply for a Prospective Marriage visa without ever having lived together, so if you are prepared to marry within 9 months of the visa grant date, that will be the easiest and best approach to take.Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) Prospective Marriage visa If you go the sponsorship route, your occupation must be listed as eligible for an employer sponsored visa and of course, you must find an employer to sponsor you and that isn't always easy to do. There are several marketing oriented occupations on the list of occupations eligible for a temporary 457 visa and if your background is appropriate to one of them and if your current or previous employer is willing to sponsor you in that role, that could give you the opportunity to live together for long enough to meet the Partner visa cohabitation requirements. Migration Regulations 1994 - Specification under paragraphs 2.72(10)(aa) and 2.72I(5)(ba) - Occupations for Nominations in Relation to Subclass 457 (Business (Long Stay)) and Subclass 442 (Occupational Trainee) Visas - February 2011 457 visa occupations 1220.0 - ANZSCO - Australian and New Zealand Standard Classification of Occupations, First Edition, Revision 1 ANZSCO list of occupations - Use this to see a brief job description and required qualifications for any likely looking occupation on the 457 list. Thanks Ozmaniac. It looks like there's considerable scope forsponsorship - there's a number of job titles that could suit me and I have plenty of work experience and i'm degree educated so I would hope this puts me in a good position. To secure sponsorship, would I need to receive a job offer prior to leaving the UK or can I go to Australia on a 3 month tourist visa and find a job (and sponsorship) then? Thanks for your help, this provides a bit of reassurance on the sponsorship side. Is the partner visa definitely out of the question? Prospective marriage would not be ideal but if all other options run out then needs must.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_shel Posted February 26, 2011 Share Posted February 26, 2011 Thanks Ozmaniac. It looks like there's considerable scope forsponsorship - there's a number of job titles that could suit me and I have plenty of work experience and i'm degree educated so I would hope this puts me in a good position. To secure sponsorship, would I need to receive a job offer prior to leaving the UK or can I go to Australia on a 3 month tourist visa and find a job (and sponsorship) then? Thanks for your help, this provides a bit of reassurance on the sponsorship side. Is the partner visa definitely out of the question? Prospective marriage would not be ideal but if all other options run out then needs must.... The partner visa is definitely out of the question because as you know you need the 12 months living together. Without that you are not seen as being in a defacto relationship and are just boyfriend/girlfriend which does not qualify you for the Spouse Visa. The only way around the 12 months living together is to get married. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 There is no requirement to live together for 12 months, or any other period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_shel Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 There is no requirement to live together for 12 months, or any other period. Is that right? Would you be kind enough to explain as an agent explain why all the information from DIAC specifys you do need 12 months living together? and why so many people come back here and on other forums saying they have been denied for failing to meet that very requirement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Is that right? Would you be kind enough to explain as an agent explain why all the information from DIAC specifys you do need 12 months living together? and why so many people come back here and on other forums saying they have been denied for failing to meet that very requirement? May I suggest you consult a registered migration agent for the correct construction of the relevant regulations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 It seems to me that some posters and wrussell may be at cross purposes. You don't need to live together at all prior to your marriage if you marry and then apply for a Partner visa. You don't need to live together at all prior to applying for a Prospective Marriage visa and you don't need to live together between getting the PM visa and marrying. You only need to live together for the 12 months if you are not married (Partner visa) or intending to marry with 9 months (PM visa) and wish to apply for a Partner visa as a de facto couple. If wrussell is saying that even that is not required for a de facto couple, I think we'd all be interested in knowing what he's getting at. He may be referring to the registered relationship provisions but they only apply in some states and not everyone is eligible to register their relationship: Australian Immigration - Legislation Change Update Exemption from 12 month relationship requirement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElToro Posted February 28, 2011 Author Share Posted February 28, 2011 Hi guys, thanks again for the info. I'd like to understand the situation with sponsorship further. Would I need to receive a job offer prior to leaving the UK? Is there any additional expense/hassle on behalf of the company by recruiting someone who requires sponsorship? (even if i pay my visa costs)? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Hi guys, thanks again for the info. I'd like to understand the situation with sponsorship further. Would I need to receive a job offer prior to leaving the UK? Is there any additional expense/hassle on behalf of the company by recruiting someone who requires sponsorship? (even if i pay my visa costs)? Thanks You don't necessarily need to have sponsorship before you leave the UK, but you of course need a visa of some kind before you can enter Australia. If you come on an eVisitor orTourist visa with the more or less sole intention of looking for sponsorship, that is a misuse of that type of visa and you shouldn't do it. If however you're coming to spend time with your partner and any sponsorship hunting is incidental to that, you should be OK. Just don't have a suitcase full of CVs, diplomas etc as you go through immigration or you may ring alarm bells about the purpose of your visit. You can always attach such things to emails and send them to yourself rather than carrying hard copies. The only employer sponsored visa you can apply for from an eVisitor/tourist visa is a 457 and the cost to employers for the sponsorship and nomination is minimal. They are however required to pay your repatriation expenses (if you request them in writing so you could probably work something out with the employer on that score) and costs incurred by the Commonwealth to locate and remove you if it becomes necessary. There is also an obligation to allow inspections and some reporting involved but nothing too onerous. Read the following to familiarise yourself with what is involved from their point of view: Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457) DIAC have also just released an easy to follow booklet for that visa: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books9.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wrussell Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 If wrussell is saying that even that is not required for a de facto couple, I think we'd all be interested in knowing what he's getting at. The applicable regulation requires that the parties must have been in a de facto relationship for at least the 12 months immediately preceding the visa application It is possible to be living together and not be in a de facto relationship and it is possible to be in a de facto relationship and not be living together. I was successful in a recent case where the parties had lived together for about 6 weeks, were in different countries and had not seen each other for 18 months immediately preceding the visa application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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