GillyG

We have been together for 4.5 years and got married last July. Our agent has suggested writing a report/letter to accompany the visa application to say how/where we met and how our relationship has changed/progressed over the years...any pointers on what should be included and how long it should be?

SillyOldBag

Hiya GillyG

My fiance and I had to write statements like this. His statement was about 4 pages long - mine was about 7 I think - I'm a witterer though and in my defence I did apologise at the end of it for wittering I don't think they really need to be that long - as long as they show the salient points and show that you love each other and have plans for a future. In terms of writing style - my fiance's was written as if he was talking to the case officer - mine was a bit of a mixture of a formal report (old work habits die hard!) and a heap of wittering thrown in for good measure to counterbalance the formal bits I don't think this really matters just as long as it contains the basic history and shows its a genuine ongoing relationship! Good luck with it all

Dazster

I did these for my wife and I before applying. I basically did my own first, and basically just wrote it as a kind of story of how/where we met and what we have been through since then - from my perspective. By the end it was ultra-corny! For my wives, I basically just re-wrote the same story but from my wife's perspective. I word-processed them and each one was about 3/4 of a page of A4.

Mind you, I don't have my visa yet so don't know if they're acceptable or not. No complaints so far though.

Cheers,
Dazster

kateandderek2

yeah, they want definite proof of ongoing relationship.

we were together for over 8 years, had joint bank acc and joint mortgage for 6 years but they still wanted photographic evidence. it was a bit like the movie green card except that we didn't have to fake the holiday snaps.

derek

GillyG

We have provided photos, joint bank statements, joint travel documents and this letter....if they want more evidence will the CO request it?

Gill

SillyOldBag

Yes they will if they need it. From speaking to someone at the London AHC before I sent my application in, if anything people tend to overload them with info - I think I did Its all too easy to get really stressed before you send your application in - just make sure it covers the time period you are talking about - an example from the beginning, middle and current and that should cover it. You've been together a lot longer than a lot of people who successfully get their visas so I'm sure you'll be fine!

moneypenny20

Don't go into a huge amount of detail, they really don't need masses. Me and hubby had been together 20 odd years but I kept 'our' statements to no more than a couple of sheets of double spaced A4. Obviously when it's a shorter relationship you probably feel the need to flog it more but it's not necessary.

Just the main points; when and where you met, holidays taken, major stuff done together, holidays taken with other couples, when and why you decided to get married, what you plan for your future together, how you work together as a partnership blah blah blah. Keep it simple, as though you are writing a letter to a friend you've not seen for years.

Don't send the originals of the photos etc, just copy them on to sheets of A4, makes it a lot easier for them to scan it all into their computers. If you've done wills for each other, get certified copies of them and include them - always a good one

mary1967

I found writing this difficult, but managed to write two pages in the end. Mine was more factual, OH's more 'romantic' I think he was disappointed with what i'd put in my first draft, so i ended up putting an extra paragraph about how much he meant to me just to please him

We also sent copies of joint statements, bank, mortgage, council tax etc. Also copies of invitations we'd kept, photo's of holidays showing the kids at different stages...............basically anything that showed we've been a couple for years.

Dazster

I used the Oz immi website instruction as a guide (no agent to keep me right). The detail is in the "Spouse" section. It's slightly ambiguous - apart from the part about providing certified copies of your marriage certificate which is clear:

http://www.immi.gov.au/skilled/gener...ondary-app.htm

I'm sure everyone who's posted here will be fine - given the amount of detail everyone has gone into. I think if you're unsure whether to include something, just include it anyway. It can't do any harm to provide too much information rather than not enough.

Good luck all,
Dazster

SW3105

Blimey - does everyone who applies for a visa need to do this? Is it only the main applicant who has to write this up? We're going to apply for the 175 skilled visa provided OH passes the skills assessement.

Dazster

This applies to everyone on a 175. And both you and your spouse will need to provide a signed statement. I wrote both, and then got my wife to read and sign her version (she was happy to leave it to me). Both statements told exactly the same story, but from our own individual perspectives - and like I said each one was about 3/4 a side of printed A4.

As for the rest of the instructions, we provided a joint bank statement, a recent wedding anniversary card, and the recent wedding invitation from my best mate's wedding (he'll kill me if I tell him!!). I didn't include any photos.

As I said earlier I don't have my visa yet, but my CO has been in touch to request one outstanding piece of paperwork which is unrelated to the spouse requirement. So I take this to mean he is happy with that side of things. Unless I've got a shock coming

Regards,
Dazster

SW3105

Blimey .. we have been together for 4 years, we don't have a joint bank account, all our friends are both our friends, we do have a baby daughter though - I'm sure she can vouch for us at 1 year old! (yes, we're living in sin as the Mother In Law likes to put it!)

We're on holiday in May so we'll be sure to get photo's together then.

Dazster

As long as you provide something which proves you have some joint financial ties, and something which proves you live at the same address. We provided a joint bank account statement to cover off both these. How about a joint mortgage/rent statement?

SW3105

We rent private from a friend, OH pays all the bills, I pay the childcare and give him a lump sum to cover the rest of the bills, then what's left is either savings plus some of it is mine and Clara's allowance for the month.
Both our payslips have our home address on, so we've got those for this and our previous address. There isn't really anything joint, perhaps we should do that, by the time it comes round, we'd have had a joint bank account for a year anyway then.

Dazster

Excellent idea I would say.