eldablee

Hey guys, long term expat, first time poster,

I am currently awaiting for the minister of immigration to get back to me reg my last remaining relative visa application which was declined due to my biological father being in the uk etc...anyways getting beside the point...im on a bridging visa E waiting for mr minister man to make his mind up on my last remaining relative application.

now while this is going on, my partner David and I are looking into registering our relationship and lodging for partner visa (cant get married due to not being allowed by government just yet), we have only been together for a short time although been friends for quite some time. were already living together and already have joint bank account and both names on utility bills, all friends and family willing to validate our relationship in stat dec form, etc just a little concerned that because we have only been together a couple of months our relationship may not be deemed serious enough for the partner visa. any feedback on possible options open to us? and whether the registering of our relationship will show were serious about staying together when we have only technically been together for a short time.

my partner is willing to come back to the uk with me should i get deported and has applied for his passport to show this. but wed prefer to stay here if possible.

any feedback on what you think we may or may not be best off doing?

Cheers
Lee (pom) and David (Aussie)

Bermudashorts

Looks a bit complicated, have you had any professional advice?

I don't think you currently have enough evidence for a partner visa, the other thing is you might be prohibited from making an onshore application anyway due to your bridging visa E ... and of course if you leave Australia to lodge offshore you won't be able to get back in.

moneypenny20

You don't have a partner in the eyes of Immigration at the moment. You have to have a minimum of 12 months co habitation before they consider you De facto. So collect and keep all info regarding your partnership, including flight tickets, joint invites, bills to same address etc and you'll be good to go by the end of the year.

eldablee

my bridging visa E excludes all onshore visa applications apart from medical, protection and partner. so i should be able to lodge for partner my only concern is getting sufficient evidence together to show we are serious about staying together.

eldablee

this is why were looking at registering our relationship as this would waiver the 12 month co-habiting rule.

eldablee

no we havent had any professional advice, iv managed to stay here 5 years soo far without a migration agent and through lots of research and in depth planning on the visas and whats needed. this is the first time iv been concerned about not having enough info as its probably the last option available to me right now lol

we have bills in joint names, all text msgs and emails since we became official, joint bank account with joint savings and joint expenditure on rent and bills etc, lease in both our names and photos, invitations etc xmas cards in both names joint holiday bookings etc everything we have gotten that has both our names on we have kept basically. is this still not enough?

spouse of scouse

Hi there - have you read the below from the immi website? In your shoes I'd be following up the last point in red font, as it looks like your only option. Good luck

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/801-820.aspx
You can be granted a visa without having been in a de facto relationship for 12 months if:

•you can demonstrate compelling and compassionate circumstances, such as having dependent children
•your partner has been granted a permanent humanitarian visa and your de facto relationship existed before it was granted, and you told us about the relationship before the visa was granted
•your de facto relationship has been registered in Australia (this is not available in all states and territories).

eldablee

yeh this is something we are considering lodging for this weekend

Bermudashorts

Have you looked into whether you are allowed to lodge another onshore visa? This is often not the case for someone who has had a visa refused and is on a bridging visa.

Pollyana

In that case I would be gathering all possible evidence, and registering the relationship asap. Make sure though that he hasn't shot himself inthe foot by saying he is currently single on any paperwork for the other visa.