urs_kemmann

Hi all,

does any one have experience with transitioning onto a 186 visa and taking your partner onto it as well?

My Situation
I've been on my 457 sponsorship visa for 14 months. I'm about to lodge an application to transition onto a PR (186 direct entry stream) in order to be eligible for Medicare and put myself into a better situation on the Australian job market. My girlfriend has recently come back to Australia (after using Work and Travel visa last year) and is currently on a Tourist Visa.

Objectives
- enable my girlfriend to stay and work as soon as possible
- for me to get onto PR (Medicare, no more restrictions to changing employer)

Questions
- does my girlfriend have to fill in the Online Visa Application through her http://www.immi.gov.au account (similar to the one I'm currently filling in)?
- once the application has been submitted, how can we get a bridging visa and / or work permission?
- could there be any benefit in having her join my 457 sponsorship visa, rather than the PR?
- does my girlfriend need to leave and re-enter the country in order to join my visa as a spouse?

Thanks in advance for any replies!

old.sparkles

I'm not sure about adding a girlfriend - spouse visas, and including someone as a spouse is for people in that sort of relationship. In the meantime, you need about 6 months cohabitation to add her to your 457 (if your employer agrees); and 12 months for PR.

I would ask shy you are looking at a 186 application if one of your objectives is to be free to explore the market and not be tied to an employer - surely in this situation the 189 would be a better option. If your occupation is not SOL - what about the 190.

urs_kemmann

Thanks a lot for the reply. The 12 months shouldn't be an issue, as we've been together for over two years.

I was looking into 189 and eventually decided against it. Why, well, I think in the situation I'm in 186 is the most time and cost efficient way to get the PR. Plus my employer has already nominated me (and my girlfriend) for it.

Does anyone have input regarding my above questions?

old.sparkles

Was your spouse mentioned on the previous 457 application?

How long has your spouse been in Australia seeing as she entered on a tourist visa?

Has she visited Australia previously?

TeeTMI

The 189 is possibly a bit quicker than the 189 direct but not much in it and the price is the same unless your employer is paying and then there is their fees as well.

There are a couple of issues with what you have said in your questions - I do suggest you do get some advice.

urs_kemmann

Thanks, old.sparkles and TeeTMI!

TeeTMI, what are the issues you see with my questions?

She was here 10/2011 to 10/2012 (Work and Travel visa). She then had to go back to Germany to finish her degree. She has been back here since early April on a Tourist Visa.

Pollyana

Ffirstly, this is nothing to do with Spouse Visas, Its about including a de facto partner on your own PR application - big difference, and terminology can be very important in a case like this.

I would echo TeeTMIs advice, get some professional help if you want to include her on the PR application. You may need to do some serious work on proving how the relationship has been ongoing with her abroad, as well as on why she has not been mentioned on your 457 application.

urs_kemmann

Hi all! Pollyana, thanks a lot for your reply.

You will not like this reply, but I'd rather spend a hundred days and nights researching this myself and finding the information online, rather than hiring a migration agent. The money they charge is ridiculous.

To be honest I wasn't sure about the difference between "spouse" and "de factor", just because I'm still learning English and never researched the difference.

So yes, this is about including a de facto partner on your own PR application and I actually made some progress with that yesterday.

The question in the online application, whether I'd like to "include any family members into the application" did actually include "de facto" as well (silly question wording, really - only if you click the question mark next to the question, you will find out about this). Once "yes" is selected, all relevant following questions will have an additional section for the de facto to fill in.

Pollyana, your comments regarding "serious work" to prove we're (and have been together) worry me a bit. A friend recommended we register our relationship (http://www.bdm.nsw.gov.au/bdm_mge/bdm_rel.html), which we've done (waiting for confirmation). So this has nothing to do with getting a de facto onto a PR and I have just wasted money? Does the actual evidence that we've been together have to be provided as part of the 186 application?

At what point will my girlfriend be able to apply for the bridging visa? After I've submitted the application and received a TRN?

old.sparkles

There is still a difference between a de facto partner and a girl friend. But the biggest hurdle is that she was in Oz from 10/2011 to 10/2012 and you have been in Oz without including her as a de facto from approx. 2/2013. You will have a big up hill battle to prove that you are in a relationship equivalent to being man and wife (not boyfriend / girlfriend) when it is unclear how long it has been going on and you have barely been in the same country.

Pollyana

No skin off my nose one way or the other

If the relationship is registered then it counts as a marriage. That will now go in your favour as you will no longer need to prove you have been living together etc Excellent move and it should make things much easier.
She doesn't apply for a bridging visa. I would expect it to kick in once her current visa expires, but once you have submitted the application you can check that with DIBP

urs_kemmann

Quick update on this one, I've submitted the online application. The bridging visa for me and my girlfriend arrived within minutes as a PDF attachment to an email. Very good news, as it means my girlfriend has a work permission now.

In the section where you submit attachments, there is a specific attachment type ("Registered Relationship") to upload the relationship certificate. I've uploaded our certificate here and hope I won't have to upload all the other evidence, such as tennancy agreement, shared bank account, etc. (I had to present this to get the certificate).

I'm still waiting for two documents I need to attach. Does anyone know how long I have to attach all documents? There is an upload category called "Decision Ready Checklist". I'd like to upload it once I've got all documents and can tick them off. Does uploading the Decision Ready Checklist mean they will be quicker to work on it?

Bermudashorts

Why do you think your girlfriend has work permission? Does it say that, going from a tourist visa to a 186 visa does not necessarily mean she has work permission. Also, she is not on the bridging visa until the tourist visa expires. The bridging visa is granted, but it is not active until expiry of the substantive visa.

I agree with earlier concerns about a) how you are going to prove this relationship when it seems you have been living separately for a while and b) why you are pursuing an employer sponsored visa when you seem to have intentions to explore other work options as soon as you have it.

urs_kemmann

Today we've received the Visa Grant notification. It says
Does anyone know when I'm allowed to change employers under these circumstances? Am I allowed to change right now, or do I have to wait for a certain period?

Bermudashorts

Are you serious? You have been granted a visa today and you immediately want to leave the employer that was good enough to do that. If I was your employer and you left my employment the day after your visa grant, I would report you to immigration and hope to get your visa revoked on the grounds of fraud.

spouse of scouse

The question's been asked umpteen times before, a BE search will bring up the threads.