Hello All

Just wondering if anyone can offer advice as to the following;

I am currently in Oz on a temp perm (de facto) spouse visa and we are considering tying the knot!

Once married, can i then apply for the 2 year waiting period to be lifted / shortened?

How might that application work?

Thanks
Dan

Pollyana,

This advice is not correct and I would be curious to know which section of the Migration Act 1958 or Migration Regulations 1994 you are using to justify your advice. Perhaps you can provide a reference. . . Better still, perhaps its best you not provide immigration advice until you have obtained the appropriate knowledge and qualifications. You are a moderator of this forum and you should be setting the standard in the best interests of your members, who, one day, may well be adversely affected by someone's unqualified advice.

R.801.221(6A) of the Migration Regulations 1994 provide provisions whereby the applicant can skip the two-year 'wait out period' and apply directly for the permanent spouse visa if they have been in 'long-term spouse relationship' for 5 years or if they have a child then 2 years:

(6A) Paragraphs (2)(d) and (2A)(c) do not apply to an applicant who at the time of making the application was in a long-term spouse relationship with the sponsoring spouse.

Definition of 'long-term' relationship is set out in r.1.03 of the Migration Regulations 1994:

"long-term spouse relationship, in relation to an applicant for a visa, means a relationship between the applicant and another person,
each as the spouse of the other, that has continued:

(a) if there is a dependent child (other than a step-child) of both the applicant and the other person- for not less than 2 years; or

(b) in any other case- for not less than 5 years."

Dan, not knowing the details of your relationship I am unable to advise whether this does or does not apply to you.

Geoff Ward
Migration Agents Registration Number 0851489

All true, but being legally married or de-facto does not in itself make a different to this element of the requirements.

Presumably the OP wouldn't currently have a provisional visa if he qualified for a permanent one from the off...

Which bit of Polly's comment is not correct?

Doesnt matter which bit is not correct. I have removed the post.
As the advice I gave came from an agent when I asked the question for a friend a few months ago I can only assume the rules have changed.

I suggest the OP pays for advice from a professional.

To clarify, I answered the question as posed by the OP, for his specific situation. I wouldn't have done if I hadn't considered my advice to be correct. Shame a that 99% of posters have now been told not to offer advice.

I shan't be bothering again..

I think that if that is the case, it is a sad day for British Expats. I have found your help/advice and well-wishes invaluable in the time that I have been reading/posting on this site.

I disagree that your comments were incorrect and I think that the tone/approach of this Agent were totally out of order and patronising in the extreme. If he had a point to make there are ways and ways of making it.

Not everyone can afford an agent, and an agent is not always necessary. There are of course situations where an agent is helpful for a variety of reasons, complexity of the case or where the person applying does not have the confidence to handle the matter themselves. Visa paperwork can be daunting and complex.

I do not wish to get into an argument about the value of agents, and appreciate that there are a number of agents who post their advice here for no fee and who are extremely generous with their time and information. If my own application had been more complex I wouldn't have hesitated to employ an agent. My thanks and appreciation go out to agents particularly George Lombard and Allan Collett.

However, I do think that geoff_migration consultant has rather missed the point a bit of this site, if only "qualified" persons were to offer their advice then this site would cease to exist and a valuable resource for many would disappear. Or is that what they would like?

Pollyana, your help IS appreciated by many and I hope that you will not be discouraged from posting. I have learned a lovely expression since being in Australia .... "they can blow it out their arse".

Thankyou and goodnight. .... well good-morning actually

Hear, hear. The voice of reason.

Ignore him Pollyana - he's been encouraging people to not share details on the forum for a while now. - which is the whole point of the forum.

As JAJ pointed out above you were totally correct in this instance and he was wrong.

Please keep posting - I know many people going through the spouse/defacto process especially as well as other visa types have found your advice invaluable.

Yep, this seems to be one of the worst examples of agents trying to scare people into using their services. Most of us didn't use an agent for our 100/309 applications, and I imagine that is something that Geoff would like to change.

Pollyanna should keep giving excellent advice, and the OP should check out the spouse visa circle thread.

Getting married in itself makes no difference.

But you might have options depending on:

- how long you have been together;
- whether you have any children;
- what is your skill level / occupation.

I think there is a little too much steam in this room. My apologies if my intentions were taken the wrong way. I am not in the business of scaring individuals in the least, rather I am in the business of ensuring people receive accurate advice, as I have seen many examples of individuals who have had terrible outcomes because of bad advice, which consultants are left to fix.

Out of principle, if I was not an agent I would not express my opinion as I don't believe it's right and it is a dangerous area to be walking. What may appear as an innocent piece of advice (not in Polly's case) can lead to undesirable and sometimes irreversible outcomes. Now, anyone who genuinely wants to help another would not want to mislead them intentionally or untinentionally.

If I was to build a house I would consult with an architecture, builder, electrician etc, because they know the relevant laws of their respective fields and I would want to be sure my house was built a sound foundation and structure to produce the best possible outcome, likewise with our clients.

On the subject of whether people chose to use an agent or not, that is a personal matter for the individual; however, it is encouraged by MARA for reasons aforementioned and more.

If I was only out to push people to use a migration agent then my firm would not do pro bono's, provide documentation and advice in forums as well as provide a range of options to suit individual circumstances and budgets, such as:

> One hour consultation
> Second opinion
> Complete representation
> DIY plus assistance

Like all professionals, one needs to place a value on their service, providing it is reasonable. That is not a crime.

The forum is for discussion of immigration matters. It is not a place for immigration advice. There is a distinction between the two.

Second, if you spend more time posting you should usually see that incorrect comments are usually corrected fairly quickly and the phrase "go and find an agent" crops up a lot.

Third, in this specific instance, I am not clear what was wrong with the answer given.


You might still want to discuss these issues in general terms in a public forum.

If no one expressed their opinion unless they were an agent this would be a crap forum. It would get to the point where noone would get any advice unless they were prepared to pay for it.

Most sensible people ask questions to get direction and then confirm the information with reference to the DICA website or consulting an agent if it is complicated.

If people follow advice given on a public forum without further research then they are behaving stupidly.

Without the opinions of people who have 'been there, done that' many people wouldn't even know where to begin.

Your firm sounds good and I'm sure you do a great job - but without posters such as Pollyana a lot of people would be paying out a lot of money for visas that are straightforward and easily manageable by themselves.

I personally didn't use an agent - I can form fill and collect information quite competently - but I did ask many questions on this forum and used people's experinces to further research my own journey.

I personally believe that you were incorrect in your first post. If you re-read the OP's oringinal post he stated 'I am currently in Oz on a temp perm (de facto) spouse visa and we are considering tying the knot!'

He then asked 'Once married, can i then apply for the 2 year waiting period to be lifted / shortened?'

Pollyana's answer was correct - 'no it will make no difference'

Your reply to Pollyana was more than a little patronising to say the least. Having been a member of this forum for a number of years I have seen how valuable Pollyana's advice is.

Your advice in addition may have helped the OP consider other routes to PR but didn't really require the first paragraph.

Just my opinion - and I'm not a migration agent so feel free to disregard.

Polly deleted her comment.

Polly stated in her comment to Dan that he cannot apply for the permanent spouse visa early/after marriage. That is not a discussion, that is advice.