hgba13646

Hi,
Can anyone point me in the right direction? I'm 33 and my Girlfriend is 29. Ideally we want to go to Australia for 12 months, it seems we can go for 3 months on a holiday visa. We don't want a working visa, we simply want to go for 12 months.

Can you recommend a website or visa department we can talk to?
Kind regards
Hendrix

Peter

http://www.immi.gov.au/
Look up long term stay visitor visa.

mlbonner

I think you might be over the age of WHV anyway, but if you werent/ your gf went for one then you/she doesnt actually have to work anyway - the idea behind them is to help you fund your travels, not progress your career or anything

hgba13646

Thanks for coming back so quickly.

Niether of us want to work whilst we are in Australia. I'm having trouble finding out how we can get a visa that lasts more than 3 months. Is this something we can do only once we are in Australia?
Regards
Hendrix

Peter

See my reply.

DarrenD

Hmmm. My understanding is that a long stay visa would cover only up to 6 months.

See extract from immigration website:

The visa options are:
short stay visitor visa, for stays of three months or less;
long stay visitor visas, for stays between three and six months

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/visiting_tourism.htm

You could take a long term visa, then leave the country and come back in again.

Of course, Aus immigration are likely o ask how you will support yourselves. Their suspicion is likely to be that you will enter on tourist visas then work illegally (I'm not saying you would, but it has been heard of for people to do this ...)

You would need to provide reassurance to immigration this would not be the case - and that includes any work, bar tending, cleaning, rep work etc.

You may need a specialist migration expert to help with preparing such a specialist request ?

BUT you also need to ask yourselves what you will do for 12 months without any work. What will fill your day? What will you do, how will you get around ?

Assuming you have won the lottery and are looking for ways to spend it, visitors visas shouldnt be an issue, just show them bank records.

saraliz

Form 983i (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/983i.pdf) which gives detailed information about requirements for visitors visas says: "Generally a Long Stay Visitor visa is granted for a stay of 6 months, however, a stay up to 12 months can be granted depending on the applicant's circumstances. A stay beyond 12 months is ONLY granted where exceptional circumstances exist."

This seems to imply that it may be possible for you to get a 12 months visitor visa. However, you will probably need to show them exactly why you want a visa for such a long period, and that you can support yourself over that time without working. I applied for a 6 month visitor visa while in Australia, and was told that a good financial 'benchmark' to prove you can support yourself is to be able to show that you have access to at least AU$1000 per person per month of your stay.

hgba13646

Thank you everso much your information was very usefull.
Regards
Hendrix