Flicka

Hi

I am new to the forum so I apologise if this has been covered many times before however I have searched and can't seem to find others in our situation. If there is a thread that details this situation I would appreciate being pointed to it!

I am Australian and my partner is English. We have been together for four years and living together in the UK for 2.5 years and have plenty of stuff to back that up. We plan on moving to Oz later in 2005 for five years or so. Our other plans are that we will be buying a house when we get there and hopefully having some kids at some stage.

The dilema is that we have the option of either going with a defacto visa or alternatively he has been offered a transfer with work. His company are very experienced at sponsoring people and don't seem to have any issues with getting work visas (not sure what kind) through so they don't believe it will be a problem.

My question is which one should we use - I have been told that there are some advantages to being sponsored by his company but am not sure that outweighs the flexibility of being able to tranfer jobs etc. Any help you can give me on the advantages and disadvantages of both would be really helpful!!

Thanks F

Cat_Harrison

Hiya there,

I'm going over on a De facto Spouse visa.... I was thinking if he (your partner) has been offered a job, he may as well travel to Australia Via this method.

As 1) I presume it's being payed for by the employers

2) He would be set up with a job so it would be easier to settle.

Good Luck with any choice you make.

Cat xXx

mlbonner

Be careful with work visas, as while the company may be paying, is it a PR or a 457 visa (4 years, not guaranteed PR at the end of it). If its a 457, have a look at this thread for some views on it.
Also, you need to consider things like buying a house on a temp. visa can be more difficult, this could apply to both visas though as (in your case) the de facto is a two year temp before PR.
Another thing is, that if you're here and have kids and your partner is on a temp visa, while you and your kids could end up with Australian citizenship, it would not be as straight-forward for your partner.
I'm here on a de facto visa, its very straight forward and can be completed within a matter of weeks if your evidence is strong enough.

If you're confused, I would talk to an immigration lawyer - George Lombard and Allan Collett both write on this forum, and there are many other recommended ones too.

JAJ

1. The 'rule of thumb' is usually that if the company are prepared to sponsor for a *permanent* employer nominated visa, then take that option. Otherwise go for the spouse visa.
Some people like the 457 because of things like Living Away from Home Allowance but it may put back his eligibility for PR and Australian citizenship which is not necessarily what you want.

2. Assuming you're not legally married, be aware that if you have children in Australia, they will need to be registered as British citizens and will not have that status automatically. This is because unmarried British fathers do not automatically pass on their citizenship - the Home Office *will* nrmally register such children as British provided application is made before 18 - but a lot of people don't know this. Apply for their citizenship via the British High Commission in Australia as soon as possible after birth.

Jeremy

bondipom

When applying for a British passport for a new born does that automatically register the child as British?

JAJ

No. Usually a child born in Australia to British parents is automatically British and applying for a passport just *documents* that.

However in some circumstances, such as if only the father is British and he's not married to the mother, or if the parents are British 'by descent' then the child has to be registered as a British citizen by the Home Office before a passport can be obtained. This process normally takes 2-3 months.

The situation for children of unmarried British fathers (where the mother cannot pass on British citizenship) is documented here:
http://bhc.britaus.net/passports/pas...ult.asp?id=376

Except for one proviso that the page forgets to mention that where the father is naturalised in the UK, it's also possible for the child to be registered.

It's very important that people understand their rights under the law to get British citizenship for their children as there have been reports some consular staff have not advised people correctly.

Jeremy

Flicka

Thanks everyone who replied.

Jeremy - Thanks for all your help. One more question - You stated above that it would be better to choose the "permanent" employer nominated visa rather than defacto. Is that because the defacto is temporary for two years or are there other reasons?

Thanks again
F

JAJ

It's basically for that reason - in virtually all circumstances a permanent visa is better than a temporary one. However some temporary visas are better than others.

There are some tax advantages on some temporary visas, but these are limited and tax should not cause one to look away from more fundamental advantages and disadvantages.

De-facto spouse is not always temporary initially - you can get a permanent visa straight away if you have a long term relationship at time of application. This is defined as 2 years if you have a child together, 5 years otherwise.

Jeremy

MrsDagboy

Dagboy came over on an employer sponsored 457 visa & then got a spouse visa after 3 and a half years here . For us it worked well, he transferred within the company, so they paid relocation costs, airfares etc as well as the cost & hassle of the visa was borne by them & the 457 was extremely quick. Being tied to the company wasnt a problem as he likes his job & the company he works for & we never had any problems buying a house/car getting a credit card etc as some people have suggested.

I think it does depend on individual circumstances & whats on offer, but it worked out in our favour to do it that way.

MrsDagboy

One other thing - there's no reason that you cant come on a 457 & apply for a spouse visa once here as we did if you have any misgivings about being tied to the employer. (but alot sooner obviously )