paul100

Hello everyone,

I am a UK citizen currently living in Australia on a Working holiday visa.
My girlfriend is an Australian citizen.

I met my girlfriend over the internet 12 months ago. Two months later I
moved in with her in Sydney where we have been living together for the past
10 months. We have a joint bank account, utility bills, lease, statements
and plenty of travel together. We could also provide plenty of information
on how me met over the net.

My question is do you think this would be enough to satisfy the 12 month
relationship requirement. Or do the powers that be frown upon relationships
that begun over the internet? Do they insist on living together for 12
months?

All input and information is greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

Paul

mutant

Don't know for sure if you would meet the 12 Month thing but I do know that you are not slow in coming forward.

Siren & Brian

Well 10 months aint 12 months. but if you are planning on getting married then you could go on the fiances visa, and no they dont give a shit about the internet, aslong as its genuine.

rubbeldiekatz

ha ha true....well done mate

Vegemite Kids

Ha ha ha - well you are living proof of that Brian !

Jimbo9

Was it love at first post?

bondipom

You could wait until just before the 12 months of the WHV are over to maximise the co-habitation. Whatever happens make sure you get the application in before the WHV expires.

My advice would be to get the police checks now as they can take at least a month to come through. You are borderline so you most probably will get asked to interview and you should try and get at least 2, preferably more form 888s filled in by Australian Citizens or PRs as you are onshore. A stat decs from family in the UK would not go amiss.

The fiancee visa is only available to offshore applicants.

mlbonner

Hi Paul - the fact that your r'ship started over the internet really doesn't metter. You really do need the 365 days as a minimum to meet the 12 month de facto requirement though.

As BP has suggested, get organised now. If you're WHV does run out you'll need to apply for a Bridging Visa, this is when it gets complicated.

bondipom

Correct. The problem is DIMIA won't let you apply for a partner visa whilst on a bridging visa.

When you apply for your partner visa onshore DIMIA will issue you with a bridging visa with the same work conditions as the WHV.

The powers that be recognise that the internet has started many a relationship and do not frown upon it.

ptlabs

BP is right about the fiance visa - it's not availble for onshore applicants.

I'm not sure what BP was referring to when he mentioned "borderline". 10 months ain't 12. If you apply for a spouse visa now claiming a de-facto relationship using 10 months of living together, you won't get very far.

DIMIA does not have a policy against relationships started over the internet, so long as they meet the requirements as laid out by DIMIA. Read the Partner Migration Booklet for more information, if you haven't already done so.

Peter

bondipom

To clarify the case would be borderline when applying a few days from the end of the WHV.

paul100

Thanks for all the replies!

We don't want to get married just yet because we are still relatively young, so we think a de facto is the way to go.

I could wait until we have been living together for 12 months, but what will the immi dept do with an application from a person who's WHV is then expired. Will they automatically issue a bridging visa?

Do you think its best to apply off-shore? Has anyone had experience with this? How long does it take as a general rule (I am sure that Q has many answers)!?!

Ahhh the problems of love at first post

Thanks once again for all your time! I am will go work on getting my police cert now!

Paul

bondipom

You sound quite sensible and I was once in a similiar situation. We went to the UK for a few years and applied at the London AHC for a de-facto parter visa.

Offshore applications at the London AHC are straight forward and are frequently processed in under 2 weeks but may take up to 4 months.

My suggestion is to apply several days before the expiry of your WHV. If you apply after the expiry of your WHV you will probably get rejected.

When you apply for your partner visa you will be issued with the bridging visa.

mlbonner

Agreed BP. If you send a PM to Barbara_CH she may be able to give you some extra help. She recently applied (successfully) at Brisbane for a de facto visa. She was given a Bridging visa B in the interim.

paul100

Ah ha,

Its all starting to become clearer now

Thanks again for all your help and very quick responses.

Has anyone out there gone about proving a relationship started on the internet. What documentation did you provide?

Thanks

Paul