Pollyana

Not saying that they shouldn't check, but I wouldn't want to advise on them as I don't know enough about skills visas. If you do feel that all spouse advise should be accompanied by advice on all other types available then I shall cease to post on them and leave it to the experts

kylieh

You said you had problems getting a mortgage in Australia with the Spouse visa.

Is this the case for the first two years on the Spouse visa until they get permanent residency?

We're about to apply in the UK for a defacto (Spouse) visa. Is there anyway to apply straight away for a permanent visa? I'd like to avoid problems buying a house and job hunting later down the line.

Also can anyone advise on the current waiting times for getting a defacto visa if you're in the UK?
I saw another post on waiting times -but to be honest, I couldn't understand it!

Thanks
Kylie

Pollyana

You just apply for the visa, and they can consider you for PR straight away. I'm sure there may be exceptions, but generally PR is only granted straight away if you have been together for more than 5 years, or 2 years if you have kids.

Waiting time can be anything from turnaround of mail time (2-3 days) upwards.

kylieh

I'm gathering the evidence to put in a defacto visa. I'm Australian and my partner is British.

How much evidence did everyone provide?

We live together and alternate between each other's house as his house is near his parents and friends plus it's about to be completely gutted when he gets planning permission. My house is closer to London for work and is new so nicer to live in! We're going to explain the reasons for living in two flats, but it's hard as limited bills in joint names, seperate mortgage payments etc.

Thinking of including things like bank statements showing the different locations when we've drawn cash out, eg paying for tube cards at both locations etc. We'll get stat decs from friends and family saying we live in two locations as well.

Any other ideas?

BTW - how long has it taken to get the visa through for defacto, if you're still in the UK?

Thanks for all your help.

Kylie

JAJ

You get permanent residence straight away if you have been living together at least 5 years, or 2 years if you have at least one child.

If this doesn't apply and you want permanent residence sooner, the only way is to look at other visa options, eg skilled points tested, state nominated or employer nomination.

bcworld

As Pollyanna said it can be as quick as a few days, mine certainly was. Try doing some searching here:

http://www.austimeline.com/aus/searchApps.jsp

Select UK as the processing location and UK as nationality then run the search for the various partner visa types - then you can see other peoples experiences - typically in London I'd say the processing times are very short.