cherry6

Hi,

My husband is currently applying for his spouse visa. We are in Perth (he came in on an ETA). Although we have 3 children together, and have been married for 8 years DIMIA still want us to provide loads of proof of us being together. Unfortunately we chucked a lot of stuff out when we moved to Australia so are having a bit of a tricky time with this one!
What I recommend you do if you are thinking of applying for a spouse visa is to keep ANY letters/invitations etc which are addressed to you both. This is one thing we never kept and are paying dearly for it now.

Cherry

JAJ

I presume your husband has already applied for a spouse visa - one *must* apply for a new visa within the 3 month stay allowed for an ETA. Otherwise you will have real problems.

With respect, you would probably have found it a lot easier had you applied for a spouse visa at the Australian High Commission in London, which is the proper route to get a spousal visa for those in the UK.

If you feel you need an agent to help you in your dealings with DIMIA, then call IARC in Sydney - http://www.iarc.asn.au - they should be able to refer you to some agents or community organisations in Perth that can help you.

I presume your children have been registered as Australian citizens by descent?

Jeremy

davidclifford

I am also applying for a spouse visa. I have been married for exactly 2 years now, today is my wedding aniversary, and we have one toddler and another baby due mid June. I thought this would have been enough to show that I was in a commited relationship with my wife but it is not enough for AHC in UK! We have a some documentary evidence of our life together but only started actively keeping stuff in anticipation of applying for a visa about 18 months ago. A lot of stuff that could have been good evidence was thrown away like air line tickets etc, as part of a general tidy-up. In the end we have sent off ALL our joint account statements and sent copies of car insurance with both our names from 2 years ago and got the Doctor to write a letter stating that my wife was registered at the same surgery as me 2 years ago. I am still waiting for my visa so I hope it has helped my case. It goes to show that it is an advantage to be a hoarder in these circumstances.

David

Peter

This is weird. I get told by Washington that since I've been married for 6 years with two kids, then the emphasis is on how I will support the missus in Australia. They weren't really interested in the nitty-gritties of how we met, co-habitation, etc, etc sinc the fact that six years and two offsprings are more or less proof in itself.

Dunno, maybe 'cos my wife is doing the 47SP from the US as opposed to Australia.

bundy

Ahh, the perils of spouse visas. Yes, they want the nitty-gritty. DIMIA want to know that you are going to stay a couple, as much as the fact that you are a couple, and that's where the intertwinning of your affairs comes in.

Luckily, Mr B and I have known that we would be applying for this visa at some point pretty much since Day 1 of our relationship, so we have 5 years of accumulated cr*p to offer DIMIA. I have kept everything. Literally. Six box files full of paper.

The only thing I can suggest is that you get hold of old copies of things like bank statements proving you were at the same address (these are held by your bank for at least 7 years). Contact councils for old copies of council tax statements if you were in the UK and both registered. Ditto the electoral roll.

loose

Hi, similar question....

A friend of mine is an Aussie citizen, but has lived over here in the UK for abut 10 years cos he's married to an English girl with 2 great kids. They're looking into moving to Oz, and can provide loads of copy statements etc, but will they need stat decs etc too for his wifes spouse visa application? Are these type of applications (ie 1 party an oz citizen) any quicker than most others?

Sorry to sort of hijack cherry, but it might help your situation too..........good luck by the way!

bundy

Yes, she'll need stat decs too.

And yes, it's usually the quickest form of visa (if you don't count the fact that you have to have been together for at least 12 months to be eligible). Processing time is anything from a couple of days to a couple of months

loose

ta chuck.

bondipom

The evidence needs to show both of you living at the same address at the same time. Eg a bank statement for one for Jan and a gas bill for the other in Feb. You should also gather as many stat decs as possible. If you have superannuation you can use the death beneficiary section as an alternative to a will.

Requests for more information are common. Your case demonstrates the inconsistency with which onshore partner applications are dealt with.

Onshore DIMIA applications by those on an ETA seem to be treated inconsistently with some being granted after an interview and other being granted over a large period of time.

Not sure if you need an agent but get creative on the evidence front. Threads by Anthony Kirby should help and relieve your stress.

bondipom

It is always a good idea to provide stat decs to avoid requests for more information. A lack of stat decs should not kill an application however they are an important part of the overall evidence. The shorter the relationship the more essential stat decs become.

cherry6

Yes my children are registered as Australian citizens by descent. So we are all Aussies with the exception of my hubby. So I think its unlikely they will refuse his visa, especially as he has good health and good police records. Just the petty stuff holding us up!

Also the stat decs, we dont know any Aussies, only UK people. I expect that DIMIA will have a problem with that too. What gets me with them asking for all this stuff is that they have already seen all this when my husband applied for the temp spouse visa a few years back!

Cherry

bondipom

Bureacrats eh. The UK stat decs will not be for nothing and the 2 stat dec by Aussies/PRs requirment is legally dubious.