175 Visa & Defacto Issues

[spudmonkey32]

Hi All,

Wonder if anyone could shed any light on the following, and offer some advice.

My partner and I are in Australia on a 457 visa (I’m on her visa as defacto). We want to apply for Permanent Residency but independently not through her work as we want the flexibility to work and live elsewhere in the country. We’ve been advised by immigration that we can apply for visa 175 whilst we’re in Australia.

The main issue is that there may be a problem regarding proof of us being together more than 12 months – we were together for a short while (one month), then she went to Australia, then I joined her after 3 months of being apart. We were in constant contact throughout our time apart, and I couldn’t move to Australia any sooner due to work commitments. When I applied as a secondary applicant on her 457 visa there was no question over the length of our relationship – we just submitted joint bank statements for 6 months and several statements from friends and family.

So are they more lenient with a 457 visa, or by already obtaining that visa would that be an indication that they are satisfied that we meet the relationship criteria? If we have to wait until August to show 12 months of us living together is it worth applying now then by the time it gets processed August would have passed? Or do you have to fully meet all criteria at the time you submit the application? What about if my partner starts the application and then adds me on it later? We just don’t want to submit the application then get rejected due to them not agreeing with our relationship timeline and losing $2500.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, as we’ve had conflicting information from people we’ve spoken to at immigration.

Many thanks

Ian

[Guest siamsusie]

Hi Ian,

 

Bumping up your post, hopefully someone will answer soon

 

Susie x