jesseca86

hi, my son is on a defacto visa with his girlfriend, it started in june this year but they have now split up, he was on a work sponsered visa before, he has been in austalia for 2 years 7 mths now. they phoned immigration to tell them they had split up, but was told it had to be sent in writing. a letter was sent 5 weeks ago, and was signed by both of them telling of the split. my son has moved out of the house he was sharing with her, and let immigtation know his new address. he has not heard anything yet, about where he stands with staying in australia, or what he can now do to stay, thats if he can! does anyone know how long it takes for immigration to reply.and what will happen now

Dorothy

What will happen now is that his visa will likely be cancelled and he will have to leave the country. If he wishes to stay here he's going to have to find another visa to do so.

Will his employer sponsor him again?

Bermudashorts

What on earth is he doing sitting around waiting for DIAC to get back to him! If he is on a temporary partner visa and the relationship breaks down he is no longer going to have a visa, he really doesn't need to wait for DIAC to tell him this.

What he should be doing now is reviewing his other options, I would suggest he starts with his employer.

Just on the off chance, he wasn't on a permanent partner visa was he? I am just asking because sometimes people can think a visa is dependent upon the relationship for ever, even if the visa is PR.

Pollyana

Assuming he was still on the temp part of the spouse visa, they really should have explored his options before telling DIAC. He almost certainly is now in the position of having 28 days in which to sort out another visa or leave Australia. Is he still working for the same employer, and would they sponsor him again? Might be his only way to stay. A chat with a registered agent might help him to sort that out.
He really shouldn't be sitting around waiting for DIAC though, as he has told them the relationship is over, he should now be sorting things out for himself - they won't do it for him.

Fozwife

I have just got my de facto visa through today after a long wait and unbeliveable amounts of incorrect & conflicting information. Make sure he goes back to the case officer that issued the de-facto visa first. If he lodged it in UK - make sure he speaks to them. If he lodges it in Oz - vice versa. The two do not communicate at all!
However if he lives nearby to an Australian consulate - just head there and be honest with them. The office in Melbourne were amazing with a few issues we had - generally helpful!!
Good Luck to him - must be horrible not knowing what is next.....

Bermudashorts

it is often reported that DIAC staff can give conflicting information and advice, that is because it is not their job, they are not their to advice on visa options but some will try every now and again. If somebody wants visa advice they just go consult a migration agent, not immigration department.

There is certainly no need to go back to the original case officer, it is nothing to do with him or her once the visa has been granted as is the case here. Walking into an immigration office is the very last thing I'd be doing without a strategy in place, it would probably only bring forward the time he has left to sort himself out before he has to leave the country.

Fozwife

Everyone has their different opinions and experiences - for me, the Australian Goverment and Immigration department do not want to throw anyone out - especially if you have been here for over 2 years. Both my case officer & the immigration department have been great in every aspect of my visa being issued. Just offering advice from what I have experienced....thats all!!!

zultan

They may not want to throw anyone out, but they're not giving a whole lot of discretion when it comes to applying the law. The OPs son needs to have a visa to stay in Australia, he won't get one because his CO is feeling helpful.

Pollyana

Having consulted an agent in the past (one of those who posts on BE) about someone in the same situation - temp spouse visa, relationship broken down - the point that was emphasised was that DIAC have to take the line that the visa is no longer valid therefore they have to give the holder 28 days to leave. For that reason I was told its important to get professional advice fast, and preferably before contacting DIAC at all. The sooner a strategy for getting a fresh visa can be put into place the better.
The biggest problem with contacting DIAC is that they cannot sit down with the applicant and review all possible visas, only an agent will do this. A Case Officer, will being helpful where possible, won't be aware of all possible ways to stay legally - its not part of their job.
As in this case DIAC have already been told of the relationship breakdown, talking to an agent should be a priority.

Bermudashorts

You seem to be talking about a nice experience you have had whilst your visa application is being processed. I am glad you have had good experience but it really has no relevance to the situation described by the OP. This is not about a visa application, this is about a very probable, almost certain visa cancellation. Its not the same and I do feel your advice is way off the mark. You might want to share your experience, I don't feel the need to share my experience over how I got my visa and how nice my case officer was to me, I want to give the best advice I can in the circumstances described by the OP.

Fozwife

Alright.....I apologize it seems for offering advice. My visa experience has been far from "nice" with many hassles - but I wanted to offer what I thought may be an options considering with how my case was looked after. Its been my first experience on British expats.com and I feel like I shouldn't have an opinion......for this I will no longer post as I would hate to upset older members.

zultan

That's kind of silly. It's okay to have an opinion, but unless it is based on fact - you probaby shouldn't present it as such..

Centurion

Your views are always welcome. It's amazing how many times "older members" get things wrong, myself included and sharing your own experiences are invaluable additions to the forum community.

Pollyana

Its actually good to hear from people who have had good experiences with DIAC - we are all too quick to complain when we get bad service, to hear the good ones makes a nice change I actually agree that DIAC probably don't want to throw anyone - including this guy - out of the country, but unfortunately they may have little choice. If he can go to them with a plan of which visa he wants to change onto then they will probably be able to help him, the snag is that they aren't likely to be able to advise him which visa is best for him, they can only act what he asks them to transfer him onto. If he can get onto another visa, time is critical in arranging it, hence the advice to go to an agent first, before telling DIAC about the relationship failing.

jesseca86

thanks everyone for you time, just wondering if my girlfriend has actually posted the letter, its been 5 weeks now, does anyone know how long it should take for them to contact me, thanks