pandy12

Hello

I am a newbie to this website and I was wondering if someone can give me an idea of the average waiting time to get a partner migration visa for Australia. My partner and i have been together for 5 years in August and have been living in the UK, he has Australian citizenship and he is itching to get back for the Aussie summer. He is also considering going on ahead if time ticks by and he cannot cope with grey skies for much longer!
However I realise that after looking at this website that timewise this may not be realistic timing, and we have been thinking about applying around now so that we can go for the 12 month visa.

However as the 5 year one has far more benefits, this is obviously the better option. But if someone can give us an indication of waiting time that would be useful.

Unfortunately due to the credit crunch we have to try and get work asap in Australia so sadly I would not be able to lounge around on beaches waiting for my visa whiist he is the only breadwinner, so going with him and applying in Aus is not really an option at the moment. But it would be interesting to know if applying in Australia is any quicker.

I have also been saving evidence of us being together or a while now but not for the total 5 years, and would also appreciate some advice on what sort of information immigration have asked for, that would be very useful.
I hope that i have put this on the right thread.

I look forward to any replies.
I would really appreciate any advice whatsoever considering we are in the initial stages of application! (such as just get going!!!)

Best wishes
Pandy

Pollyana

Spouse visa timelines are usually much shorter than Skills visas.
They also depend on where you are applying, and the nationality of the non-Australian partner.

If you are applying through London, as a British citizen, with a straight-forward application, your visa may well be granted in a couple of weeks (or even less!). Also, if you can prove 5 years of a committed de facto relationship you will probably get PR straightaway. EVen less than 5 years, so you get the temp spouse visa at first, is granted quickly in straight-forward cases.
Applying on-shore takes longer for processing.

pandy12

Thank you for your reply Pollyanna. that's great news, we need to get cracking.
My partner is a Brit with Aus citizenship that he got 5/6 years ago and we have not kids or other dependents at the moment! We live in the North of england at the moment so will be applying via London I assume. We have good evidence of being together as we bought a small plot of land in Bulgaria together 3 years ago and I have saved tickets from holidays and we have a joint bank account however there has not been that much going in and out! The only issue is that his elderly mum fell ill 4 years ago and has needed alot of care and support in the last couple of years so he has been living over in Yorkshire for the week and I see him at weekends. I did move there for a year so that we saw more of each other, but had problems renting my house and my temporary job came to an end so I had to move back here which is Lancashire. However some of his mail does go to the address in Yorkshire. I am just wondering what sort of evidence immigration may ask for if you have been together 5 years,
By the way, i was reading information on the Spouse Visa Circle and was going to put this query on here but I noticed that this thread closed yesterday. Any advice on getting medicals in this neck of the woods or a police check would be useful, I have regular police checks as I work with 'vulnerable people' so I am used to this.

I shall look forward to any further advice which would be much appreciated.

Kind regards
Pandy

Looking forward to hearing from anyone.

Pollyana

There is another Spouse visa thread running in the Barbie now, but we're trying to separate the visa queries from the lifestyle and chat, as the visa stuff is more likely to get answers in the Immigration forum.

If you go HERE
there are links at the bottom for Health /panel doctors etc in the UK.

AS for evidence - anything that shows you are in the rel'ship - flight itineraries, hotel and holiday bookings, bank accounts, bills in both names, letters addressed to each of you at the same address, wills made out to each other, that kind of thing. If you do a search for "spouse evidence" you should come up with several lists of what people have used.
Also, for the time you were aprt, anything that shows how you kept in touch - old letters, phone bills, evidence of time spent together whilst you ahd to live apart. Plus when you do your statement of the rel'ship make it clear WHY you had to live apart, and the fact that the rel'ship continued during that tme

pandy12

Thanks ever so much Pollyanna, I did look on the Spouse Visa Circle last night but it appears that the thread has been closed so that is why I put my query under immigration. Thanks for your advice about our long distance relationship, it will be lovely to be together when we actually get to Aus. I really appreciate your help .

Best Wishes
Pandy

Pollyana

The visa questions are more likely to get answers in here

esteeandrew

Have a look on www.austimeline.com and search for Spousal Visas. It gives you applicant's timelines since 2005. We've been waiting since 25 March!

pandy12

Hello Esteeandrew,

Many thanks for your reply, yes I had a look on the austimeline website and found it useful. I presume that you are applying for the spouse visa too? Do you mind me asking if its the temporary or permanent one? Good luck with your application, it will be well worth the wait in the end. We have been planning to go for the last 4 years!

Kind regards
Pandy

esteeandrew

Yeah we are applying for the De Facto one. Waiting is just so difficult!