Indeed. Providing you meet the residence requirements at the time of application you can even take your citizenship test and have your ceremony in London if you wish.

See above.

Guys,

Thanks for sending me down this path because at least I now have some kind of solid Citizenship basis on which to base myself and my partner's decision.

I've carried out the online test on this page:

https://www.ecom.immi.gov.au/citz/startIntervalCalc.do

Unfortunately, I fall foul of the following:

Quote:

absences from Australia of no more than 12 months in total in the 4 years prior to application, including not more than 90 days in the 12 months immediately prior to application.

Since I entered in July 2012, I've spent a total of just over three months collectively outside Australia. This now means the earliest I can apply for Citizenship is 30th October this year, not July. If I go to the UK in June for 10 days to attend my girlfriend's graduation (which is non-negotiable), this puts it back to 12th November at the earliest before I can apply. Given the fact we've already spent some 2.5 years apart, this is 8.5 months too long (I know some might say it's not that long, but to look at it another way it's not far off being yet another year). We'll discuss this together but my gut instinct is to sack it off and just play with the PR hand I've already been dealt. It's not the worst position in the World to be starting from.

Still, something to think about and a fact that's been established courtesy of input from forum users, so thanks again Guys. You've been really helpful.

My next step will be to explore my understanding of the partner visa rules further with both DIBP and a migration agent (George has already been good enough to respond to me).

Personally speaking, I think you won't get better than George

Let us know how you get on, the more complicated the case, the more interested us long-termers are in seeing it all work out in the end!

No worries. Will do so.

The one drawback of PR vs Citizenship is as the former, you must be inside Australia in order to sponsor a partner. As a Citizen, it looks like you could do it from anywhere in the World. The proof provided must be the same, but it's an important distinction.

I only read this yesterday on the DIBP website, so it's relatively new information for me - another reason why it made sense to investigate Citizenship. In order to sponsor my girlfriend, I must therefore return to Australia ahead of her in the future. One thing I need to check with Immigration is if she could lodge her application for a De Facto Partner Visa in London and then follow me out to Australia on a WHV. Got a horrible feeling there'll be some rule stating this is not possible, so this is another fact I'll have to establish given the partner visa process would probably mean another 12 months apart in the future if she couldn't follow me.

I love BE threads like this. Everyone helping out with info for a courteous poster who appreciates it and follows up.

Unless its changed very recently - in which case can you point me to the reference so we can make it more widely known - then you need not be in Aus as a PR in order to sponsor a Spouse. We have many people on here who have been in the UK, holding PR and have got married then moved to Aus with their Spouse after getting an offshore Spouse Visa for them. Some of those have even been on RRVs as the travel portion of their PR has expired.

I actually wouldn't be surprised to see it change, as we have had a huge amount of posters recently from high risk countries getting PR then getting married immediately afterwards and sponsorng their spouses to move to Aus with them.

I got it from this page:

Partner (Provisional) visa (subclass 309) and Partner (Migrant) visa (subclass 100)

I went to the Sponsors tab, and then "Who can be a Sponsor", and read the following about PRs who sponsor underneath this:

Australian permanent residents or eligible New Zealand citizens are expected to be living in Australia.

My personal take.

Hang on in Australia until November and then lodge your application for citizenship once you've made certain you meet the residence requirements. Once your application is lodged you can then return to the UK where you can undertake your citizenship test and ceremony at Australia House in London.

Once you are a citizen get your girlfriend to lodge her partner application in London and then you can both return to Australia together, you as a citizen on your new Aussie passport, your girlfriend on a WHV in her British passport. Your girlfriend's partner visa application will take 12 months to process which is the same length of time her WHV will be valid for.

Email your girlfriend's case officer in London after 11 months and ask them to agree a grant date just before her WHV expires. You both can then spend a week on a beach in Bali. Given the length of your relationship your girlfriend should receive a subclass 100 visa straight away and therefore be a permanent resident the moment she gets back which puts her on the track to citizenship herself.

Then why not get your girlfriend to travel here on a WHV. If things are still good between you, and you have the evidence to support an application for spouse visa, apply onshore.

I know she would have a limited time with an employer so maybe couldn't pursue her career straight away, but it would only be for a short while really

That line has been in there forever. Its guidance but they don't apply it rigidly - thats why it says 'expected' not MUST
Trust me, many people on the forum have moved to Australia as a couple, after sponsoring their partner while in the UK, as PR. And we had one recently who was on a RRV, in the UK who is sponsoring his wife.
DIBP like to see some commitment to moving, but they don't insist on you living apart just to get the visa. Yu show this by (for example) in your statement talking about how you have sustained the relationship long distance but now want to make a commitment. So you have moved to the UK temporarily tobuild up time living together, and to build more of a shared life. Once the visa is granted you plan to move back to Aus together and set up a shared home here.
Keep as many ties to Aus as you can, such as bank accounts, and then you can use these as proof of your intention to move back.

Guys, thanks for all the responses so far.

In all honesty, I want to go back to the UK as for many reasons, not just friends and family, I'd prefer to be there.

I would, however, like to keep as many options open as possible for returning to Australia in the future, so in many ways Citizenship makes sense. If I remain a permanent resident, there will always be the pressure around needing to spend 2 years living in Australia in a 5 year period in order to continue to be eligible for resident return visas. If myself and my girlfriend end up having children and settling down, this could mean giving up Australian residency if this happens in the UK. I'm under the impression that once becoming an Australian Citizen, you could spend many years outside Australia yet still return at any time (unless they change the rules for those with dual Citizenship who were not born in Australia).

I'd never thought about Citizenship seriously until the past week, courtesy of input from forum users, so would like to thank you all. I would not have had the patience to hold on until July 2016 (when I'd originally thought I'd become eligible) but November this year isn't too much longer provided my girlfriend can join me out here. She's Polish so is not eligible for the 417 WH Visa. However, she could get a 462 Work and Holiday visa if this year's quota allocated to Poland has not yet been filled - need to check that asap.

Just one thing though that is really important to me. This is a question for those with both British and Australian Citizenship. Did you lose any privileges associated with being a British Citizen (such as NHS healthcare) when you became an Australian Citizen?

I've tried to do some web-based research about this, and cannot find anything that looks negative. However, it's always good to ask those who've experienced the situation...

No, you don't lose any privileges by becoming a citizen of both countries, and yes it would mean you can return to Australia at any point in the future (according to current laws).
NHS care is dependent on you being a resident in the UK, not on your citizenship

Thanks Pollyana for such a quick response.

Re. the NHS side of things, I'd happily take my Aussie Medicare and Health Insurance over the NHS while residing in Australia, so that doesn't look like it would present a problem.

I'll add one other point, having already muddied the waters with the citizenship point. If you do decide not to wait until you qualify for citizenship, as the rules are currently, you effectively have the best part of eight years to decide whether to return to Australia.

You could get a five year RRV now. In three years (subject to minor adjustments for time o/s Oz), you will still qualify for a 5 year RRV as you will still by then have spent two of the last five years in Australia. Apply to renew your RRV then and you will have 3 + 5 years RRV validity.

I'd go for citizenship in preference to that every time, but it is a consolation prize if it turns out that your girlfriend can't get a visa for example. Of course the rules may change in future and mess that up....