Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Greetings All, I mentioned in the " is honesty Always the best policy thread" Our situation in that Thorn having followed dept guidelines had informed our Housing Association that he would be coming to the UK for three months to help me submit my Visa & get everything ready for my move to Australia. His Return ticket is booked & payed for, & he is due at Heathrow in just under two weeks. Having informed the Housing they threatened to take away our little home, Thorn has been to several different meetings with various departments & the final result is that they WILL take our home away if he leaves the country for more than a month. This is being decided by one man who had a choice to allow our decision, but has chosen to make Thorn homeless again & this means I wont be able to submit my Visa & go to Australia. We have about a week to sell up the home Thorn has made for us in Brisbane , Everything will have to be sold. What we need to know is How can he stay in the UK he is coming on a Tourist Visa, with a three month return ticket. If after this he was to leave the country for say a week in Europe & then come back into the Uk could he remain in the UK for a period of time while we look into getting him a Spouse Visa for the UK instead. This is not what we wanted but we are having so many problems just getting the most basic requirements in Australia we can't even get started. We haven't seen each other for 18 months & Thorn has worked endlessly to get us established in Brisbane, but has been constantly let down in both Housing & work issues everything we have done has meant a legal fight with one dept or another. & this last one will more than likely drive Thorn out of his own country. This is what our lives have been filled with for the last two years endless battles with beaurocrats. We have very little money so our choices are heavily influenced by department policies all the time. We really appreciate any help we can get with this. What would you guys do, with a week to sell everything you own & a life changing decision to make ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dferri2000 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 What a terrible situation, so sorry you are in this position! Not sure I have any advice for you but hang in there I'm sure there are others on here who know more about the ins and outs of the visa processes in both countries. Fingers crossed you can find a solution without having to sell up in Brisbane x Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Neither of us have any social problems, or criminal records, You've heard how I was let down & pushed out of the place where I was trying to retrain for new skills to make myself more employable. All my Skills as an Artist & craftsperson count for nothing. You also may have remember the situation I wrote about where Thorn was totally stuffed over by the charity he was working for. So here we are two unconventional but honest people, genuinely married & devoted to each other, facing all the catch 22s of basically being poor is keeping us apart . We want to work & create our future, but without a home, you can't get out of the catch 22 spiral. Neither of our countries rules helping & we have done nothing wrong. We dont care where we live we just want to be able to work to build ourselves a life together. But how do we do that ? when we can't even stay in a home we fought so hard to get. This housing association doesn't throw everyone out. They are keeping a home for a neighbour who is in prison. I don't understand why we are in this position. Even the state rules say we were within the law, but the housing association say NO. & All the meetings with tenants unions etc hasn't got us anywhere. I know our circumstances are not typical but surely there must be some advice. Our real life is in an against the clock decision. I'm not generally short on ideas but we are up against a barrage of Government policies & we can't do as we would like. We have no choice but to work within the guidelines & yet doing just that has put us in this position. Is the UK a viable option, I've read they only allow spouses whose partner has a certain amount of money. We are begining to feel invalid as people, anyone else faced anything like that, we just don't fit into any category that counts. Yet we are both skilled honest people. So I repeat my question; What would you guys do in our position ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 This sounds awful. I'm not sure I understand properly though. Your husband is Australian citizen and you have been apart for 18 months ? Your not allowed a spouse visa ? Do they suspect your relationship is not genuine due to you living apart so long ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blobby1000 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Im confused but I wish you well, we need more "unconventional people" in Australia, I would have hoped you would be given a visa based purely on that. Best of luck and I hope everything turns out ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Guest 47403 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Sorry Rose I can't offer any advice, but good luck I'm sure (eventually) it'll all be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest37336 Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Hi Rose. Whilst not being able to help too much I feel it is such a shame that it has come to this. The rules and regs surrounding migration now are so difficult to meet, and even worse to understand. I wrote an article on this many years ago, and was published in what was then called 'The Passport Report', let me have a look and see if there are any salient points in the manual to help you, but I fear the rules have changed so radically over the past few years that it may be a futile exercise, but nonetheless I will try for you matey. Cheers Tony.:wink: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Let me try to explain our situation more clearly for those who don't understand. Thorn is Australian by birth. We met online a few years back. Before I entered Australia we looked at the Visas & because we hadn't physically met we couldn't apply for the prospective marriage Visa. Diac told me to travel to Australia on a Tourist Visa & once married Apply to upgrade my Visa. We did this & were told the waiting list for onshore marriage Visas was 9-18 months & so they said I'd be better off returning to the UK to put my affairs in order. So I returned to the UK with Thorn. At the time, He was renting a small house & the Landlady said she was more than happy for us to both return there. Thorn stayed in the UK for three months then returned to Aus & his Landlady, who was a friend & one of the people we were counting on for a stat dec, had changed her mind, so she decided no stat dec & that her house was up for sale & Thorn became homeless. It took ten months of battling to get house, after being let down so badly by this & prior private Landlords Thorn thought public housing would be more secure. So the fight for housing began, & it went right up to the premier of Qld before we eventually got this little unit in Inner Brisbane. This was just before the floods . Thorn worked very hard with Volunteering during & after the flooding. & got stuffed by the charity he was working for. So all these delays have kept us apart, firstly because you need a secure address before you can apply for a Visa & secondly trying to get back into full time employment. Having taken lots from advice from various friends in the Legal profession, we were advised that because we'd been apart for so long, we'd have to prove our relationship is genuine. So they said do whatever it takes to spend time together, & said put off the job search & go to the UK as this would strengthen my Visa chances & together we could sell up what remains of my belongings here. & I'd be ready to go. The state of QLD housing policy 2011 states "A Tenant may be absent for a period of up to three months, you must inform the department but you do not need to obtain our approval for this absence or supply any evidence of why you will be absent. Let us know the date your absence will start & the date of your return to your property & your contact details during your absence. & the name of someone we may contact during your absence incase we may not contact you." we have done exactly this... The dept of housing rules also say a tennant may be away for three to six months but have to provide reasons for the absence & this absence can include holidays & serving prison sentences etc. Now we fitted in with ALL the requirements of the Dept rules, we thought informing our housing association was a simple matter of Courtesy but No, we have been threatened that if Thorn is away more than a month, they will take our unit away. The return ticket is booked & is non changeable. It is proof he intends to return, They know our situation & all he is trying to do is secure my Visa Application, but a power greedy little beaurocrat has decided to mess with our lives. Hence my posting this Thread To ask are we better off forgetting my Application to Aus & instead applying for Thorn to remain in the UK. & because his ticket is booked in less than two weeks it doesn't give us a lot of time to decide whether to sell all our furniture & homely goods incase the housing people just repossess the unit while he is out of the country & throw all our belongings away. I hope that outlines the situation clearly. One set of circumstances led onto others adding up to a big catch 22 spiral. It's not been born of laziness, once you get into a situation so full of red tape it's very hard to get out of it. You can't imagine the amount of meetings that Thorn has attended, virtually every week, if it's not one official thing to sort it's been another. Once again All advice appreciated .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 If he has been to the tenants union has he tried the Ombudsman and even the Premier's department if they were instrumental in the initial decision. Go to his member of parliament. Is the issue that he is going away for 3 months or is it that he then proposes to bring a second person into the accommodation when it is single person accommodation (that would be the issue if he were in the same situation in Canberra). Do you have to re-establish yourself in Brisbane, could you move elsewhere, where public accommodation is perhaps less at a premium? I am sorry, this sounds like a hell of a situation to find yourself in! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 If he has been to the tenants union has he tried the Ombudsman and even the Premier's department if they were instrumental in the initial decision. Go to his member of parliament. Is the issue that he is going away for 3 months or is it that he then proposes to bring a second person into the accommodation when it is single person accommodation (that would be the issue if he were in the same situation in Canberra). Do you have to re-establish yourself in Brisbane, could you move elsewhere, where public accommodation is perhaps less at a premium? I am sorry, this sounds like a hell of a situation to find yourself in! The housing Assoc have known our situation from day one, no it's not single person place, it's a one bedroom unit & they know we are a married couple & I'm waiting to join him. We were given this place stipulating that I would be included. We have to start by establishing ourselves in Brisbane as that is the only address we have. If we had jobs & secure accomodation elsewhere then of course we would pursue that. However ATM The existing unit is all we have right now. Because our housing Association is a community based organisation they are trying to detach their rules from the QLD housing dept rules. However This housing association has nothing on paper stating what their rules are & haven't produced any physical documents to us , because they are going under a community housing banner they are trying to evade The QLD Housing Dept rules that can be clearly found & stipulate the rules as I outlined above. We've met all requirements as tenants so far & have had no problems until this issue came up. Thorn has another meeting tonight with another Legal person. we keep you all informed if we get any further. Ironically another tenant who is a neighbour, is currently serving a prison sentence, he however is allowed to keep his unit, so it seems they pick & choose which part of the dept rules they follow, as the section about prisoners keeping their units is in the following paragraph to the one we have used as our guidline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parley Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Can you appeal the bureaucrats decision ? I would look into that. Write a letter asking for the decision to be reviewed stating your reasons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawny Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Sorry Rose i have no wise words of any help, i just want to wish you well, regarding such a terrible situation for you, I really hope it works out for you both x :hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoldCoastMag Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 Is it worth "us" from BE writing letters of support to the local MP? I am so sorry to hear, bureaucracy is mindnumbing at times:hug: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Do you have any friends in Aus who would be willing for you to use their address/stay with them in the short term until you get on your feet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Thinking out loud here. From what I can gather, the main issue here appears to be money. For you to apply for a partner visa, Thorn has to sponsor you, i.e. prove that he can support you for the first two years until you're eligible for benefits. It occurs to me that you not being eligible for benefits may have something to do with the public housing problem. Being in public housing might make him ineligible as a sponsor anyway. Fighting this decision would probably cost you a fair amount of money that can probably be better spent elsewhere. Regardless, for you to apply for the visa, whether onshore or offshore, Thorn is basically going to need evidence that he can get employment for those two years. And/Or he is going to need his family (does he have any? are they on good terms?) to state that you can stay with them if needs arise, or that they are willing to help with the finances, should needs arise (kind of like a secondary sponsor). Alternatively, there have been sucessful visa applications where the applicant is the bread-winner, rather than the sponsor. If you have been employed in the UK, and could show reasonable expectations of being able to earn money in Australia, you might still be ok, even if you don't have much savings. I am assuming here that you are too old for, or have used up your Working Holiday Visa. If not, then apply for one of those, and get yourself out here. You and Thorn can then go on the backpacker circuit, and at the very least get some work fruit picking or the like. Once you've managed to get yourselves a bit more established (and you'd have up to two years to manage this) then you can apply for the partner visa. So the other possibility is to go the UK route? http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply/infs/settlementguide#22393460 seems similar, you'd need to show that you have accommodation in the UK, and that you can support yourselves without being a drain on the public purse strings. Basically, if either of you can manage to get yourselves a job offer in either country, doesn't have to be anything flash... you'd probably be ok to get a visa for that country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 After three further meetings & Thorn literally going to the four corners of town we obtained enough official paperwork & letters on our behalf from various advocates to make the Housing Association back down & allow Thorns trip to the UK, as we managed to prove it was for Visa purposes & all other authorities had been properly informed & had approved the trip on immigration grounds & we also had letters from a couple of Uni lecturer friends saying they were willing to regularly check on our unit whilst he is away. So at the eleventh hour the housing association were forced to back down & allow us to remain in the property. So we can breathe a sigh of relief. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Gothic Rose Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 & RockDr yes we are too old for the WHV on paper though in life we both look much younger than our physical age. & Thorn has no family so there is no avenue of support from that quarter. I'm willing to take up even casual work when I get to Aus & do hope to be establish myself into a better position once there. & have written a detailed account of my work plans on my Visa app so we are hoping this is enough. We do have a friend who said she'd be willing to offer AOS, but if at all possible I'd rather not have to rely on tying up a friends money for several years if it can possibly be avoided. I do where ever possible prefer to be self relient & obtain things on my own merit. I've never had an easy ride at anything & I'm not expecting any handouts now. I'm willing to work hard to build my future with Thorn I just dont want Extra beaurocracy making it harder than need be. Many thanks Your advice is much appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoldCoastMag Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 woohoo, that is much better news, good luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKC Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Excellent news! I am a true believer that these things come to make us stronger. Best of luck with the rest of your journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dferri2000 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Great news, hope its smooth sailing from now on for you both. Sent from my HTC Wildfire using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Good news! you'll get there eventually xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bleeding Thorn13 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 Firstly Thank you to Everyone who offered words of encouragement & support. & though we have had an eleventh hour reprieve in view of my trip to the UK. There is still much negotiation & mediation that is still taking place. I've further meetings to attend & much to be done. I long for a time when we can improve our circumstances & move out of this unit & be free of the endless stress that clouds our every move. I'm more than willing to pursue any oppotunity that will improve our situation. & though we have faced more than our share of bad luck, we are both strong people & will continue to conquer all obstacles until we can be together. No matter how hard, we will never give up. Once again thanks for the support it is very much appreciated. Thorn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest51810 Posted August 3, 2011 Share Posted August 3, 2011 It's so unfair for yous, all you want to do is be together. whats wrong with that!? best of luck to you both xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Good luck, I really hope things work out for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Briggy Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Aw bless you both. Hope everything gets better and better for you both. You deserve it soooo much. Good people with good hearts deserve happiness. I wish you both all the luck in the world with your journey. Big hugs:hug: Brig xXx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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