WBB

had an interesting conversation with my agent tonight, i was told that as of november 1st this year the sponsor has to be "usually resident in australia".

i will be applying for a spouse visa sub class 100

has anybody else heard this? just checked on the dimia website and there is no mention on there that i can dig up.

i was told that they are going to be quite tight on this one.

bondipom

Is that a PR sponsor or an Aussie citizen sponsor?

WBB

not sure i know the difference to be honest.

i know that i will not have to do the 2 year thing as our relationship is 9 years old and we have 2 kids, my gf is an aussie citizen.

Pollyana

Interesting one - if its true they've kept it very quiet. Nothing on the immigration site about it that I can see, nor on the expats immigration forum. Are you going to post this one over there Billy, and see if someone like Alan Collett picks it up? Could mean problems for a lot of people couldn't it,depending on their definition of "usually resident".

WBB

exactly polly, could mean major problems but i was told that there is no legal definition of "usually resident" so at the moment it is up in the air as to how dimia are going to play it.

btw i am using as my agent one of alan collets colleagues so this information has come from a respectable source.

will post the same question over there and see what people have heard about this.

bondipom

I think the change might be for Permanent Residents who want to sponsor.

WBB

i hope you are right bondi as this would put a bit of a spanner in the works.

Alan Collett

Technically the sponsor for a spouse visa has to be an Australian citizen, an Australian permanent resident who is "usually resident in Australia", or an eligible NZ citizen - and this has been so for the last few years.

Therefore if the spouse or partner is an Aussie citizen there is no need for him or her to be usually resident in Australia.

My Registered Migration Agent colleague Helen O'Hare and I were discussing the issue of "usually resident" recently - we understand that although the "usually resident" requirement is to be dropped for a parent sponsoring a dependent child from 01/11/2003, the requirement will remain in place as described above for partner and prospective marriage visa applications, in the light of which we believe the requirement for Australian permanent resident visa sponsors to be "usually resident" in Australia will probably come under closer scrutiny in the future.

There is no statutory definition of "usually resident", although there are some tax cases that discuss the concept of ordinary residence. As a general guide, being "usually resident" requires a person to have a home and to be working in a particular place.

Best regards.

WBB

thanks for a definitive reply alan it does clear things up a bit.

my girlfriend has lived with me for 9 years here in the U.K and except for an 11 month visit we had together in 1997 she has not been resident in australia, although she does have family there and would be welcome back at her parents home, this is our plan for the early days anyway.

i think we will just have to wait untill november and watch how things develop, does seem to be a bit of a grey area.

bondipom

Is your girlfriend an Australian Citizen?

WBB

yes, her whole family live there.

ptlabs

Alan,

I would add that the 'usually resident' requirement has been around before Nov 1, 2003 for an Australian permanent resident who wishes to sponsor his/her partner. Just because it may not be vigorously enforced [in certain overseas DIMIA posts] doesn't necessarily mean it wasn't there previously

Regards
Peter

Simone

Oh, phew. Nearly had a heart attack, ok not that close...
Luckily I'm an Australian Citizen (I have an Australian passport, so that proves it right?), but I keep forgetting, and it doesn't feel like it, because I was born in The Netherlands, and have now been living here again for the last 7 years! I have also got a Dutch passport.

But, I think'll be right. The embassy already told me I don't have to worry about not living in Oz, and about just finishing my bachelor degree before we go(and they'll be calling me a sponsor, ha! My boyfriend is even older than me, but we have a shared bank account, so that'll be the money for me to 'sponsor' him I guess!)

bundy

I'm in a similar situation to you , WBB...

Me and my partner have been together for 4 years (on Weds!!!). We spent one year of that living together in Oz, and three years over here in the UK. He is an Aussie citizen (born and bred), all his family are over there etc, and we intend to live with his dad to start off with when we return...

So it would be good to find out more about this

bondipom

If the sponsor is an Australian Citizen then usually resident in OZ is not applicable. Your case sounds similiar to mine (1 year OZ 3 years UK) and I got my visa. Best of luck and the above is irrelevant to your case.