Still Game

I probably should have asked this in this section... mods please move?

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=727325

Evidence that your sponsor usually resides in Australia....And if you don't (obviously being married we live together - in Scotland)

Evidence that your sponsor usually resides in Australia
Evidence that your sponsor is aged 18 years or older and is an Australian citizen,
Australian permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen, such as:
• certified copy of birth certificate
• Australian passport or foreign passport containing evidence of permanent
residence
• evidence that your sponsor usually resides in Australia• for New Zealand citizens; evidence of length of residence in Australia and of
continuing links with Australia

I'm asking if you are an Australian citizen who wants to sponsor a non-Australian citizen (married to) does the 'evidence your sponsor usually resides in Australia" bullet point not matter. (I have a birth certif and Au passport)

Also, do you still need to provide sponsor’s employment during the last two years, a letter from their employer confirming length of employment and annual salary, payslips even if this was outwith Australia?

Prudi

OSV, I think we just kind of ignored that one as we were both living in the UK at the time. I think we just submitted all the docs (passport etc) and left it at that. I got the impression that the 2 years of employment bit was to show that you are capable of supporting your partner as his/her sponsor, so yes, we did submit all that.

brushmate and family - congrats!

njbrown

I did submit payslips as evidence and also my oz passport & citizenship documents as I was born here. Hope this helps onesmallvoice.
Congrats to granted visas, its a great feeling.

ponface

Congratulations.....i'm about 4 months into the waiting & my CO originally told me I should hear by early Sept........so, i should hear within a month.

Deanne Hammer

Thanks Pollyana for your reply that I've just read because we just had a week in the mountains (and off course collecting more visa evidence). I'll make sure we save some financial stuff to send them if they ask, and save some of the the old stuff for the next stage as well

Green Grass

Hi all. I'm planning an application for De Facto visa in London for my partner in January 2012. Is it still better to front load? DIMA form 1071i re Health Requirements tell you not to if you are applying from outside Australia.

Also, planning to apply for 12 month (perhaps less) 676 Tourist Visa for my partner at the same time, move over and then go off shore when visa is granted. I understand (from being on the forum previously) that I'd need to clear this with my case officer first.

Should I go on the assumption my case officer will be fine with this and make plans to move to Oz in February? Clearly I wouldn't want to be booking flights until I was certain but I mean organising everything else that goes with exporting your life across the planet!

And finally...how long are the 6 and 12 month Tourist Visas valid for? Do you have to use them by a certain date?

Pollyana

It won't be your visa or CO, it'll be your partner's - he/she has to do the application. Not sure about getting a 676, its quite common for people to get the e-visitor (3 month) while waiting for a de facto, that always seems OK. The 676 being longer term may be trickier, but yes your partner must tell the CO they are applying for it.
Also, be careful with the terminology, not just with the CO, but also when arriving in Aus if a 676 is granted - your partner cannot "move to Aus" on a 676 - if its granted they can "visit" Aus, with the conditions that if the visa expires before a decision is made on the de facto visa, then they have to leave.

Green Grass

Thanks Pollyana. My partner's English isn't perfect so I will be preparing the application on her behalf but I understand it is her application and it will be her CO.

After applying for DeFacto, does she have to discuss the e-visitor visa with her CO before applying for it or visiting Australia. Presumably after 3 months, she must go offshore and then back onshore again as the e-visitor visa is valid for 12 months with max stay each visit of 3 months. Thanks

PS I'm confused by the difference between the e-visitors (Subclass 651) and the ETA (Visitor) (Subclass 976). Perhaps I'm being daft but the look identical to me.

Pollyana

The e-visitor/ETA depends on what passport she holds. British passport holders for instance can get an e-visitor. Check the Immi site to see which one os recommended. If she gets either of them then yes she needs to tell her case officer that she is visiting Australia and has applied for/got an e-visitor or ETA.
And correct, she would have to leave after three months as thats the maximum time per visit. She would also need to be aware that if she leaves/re-enters there is always the chance (slim though it is) that Immigration will think she is trying to live here on a tourist-class visa and they may refuse entry if she does it too often. Hopefully the de facto visa would come through quickly enough to prevent this though.

Is there a panic to move to Australia? Why not stay a few more months in the UK after the application is lodged - might even make the tourist scenario unnecessary? (just a thought, there may be a good reason why this won't work in your case )

ponface

The 12 month visa is valid for 12 months......i.e. if it is granted on 1st January 2012 you have until the 1st January 2013 to enter Australia.....once you have entered you get 12 months from that date.....you can theoretically turn a 12 month visa into 2 years.

I personally would apply for the 626 visa first & see if it comes with a "8503 no further stay" restriction...........If it doesn't, then your partner could apply for the De Facto visa onshore......

bluebird121

Good luck.. I got my permanent visa yesterday after two years of a lot of paper work...thought I would never get there... next step is citizenship.as I love being here.!!

MeinMel

Congratulations bluebird!

navdeepkaur

congrats. can u tell me which office was ur case beni processed. mine is in brisbane.and when did u apply for second stage permanent spouse visa.i know its a long waiting game but i got some confidence now after seeing u got permanent residency

Green Grass

Sorry for delayed response Pollyana and thanks for your advice. There is no panic except that I'd like to change jobs and don't want to do that now in the UK and then move later next year to Australia. I'd rather 'grin and bare it' for a while in my current job but move to Australia once my partners De Factor application (with my sponsorship application) has been submitted, if that was possible. It is good to know that the Tourist Visa is an option post application.

Green Grass

Thanks Ponface. My concern with applying for a 626 and then moving to Australia and applying onshore for a DeFacto is that my partner would be arriving on a tourist visa and there would be a perception she did this with the intention of living in Austalia permanently on a PR visa. Applying for an off shore Defacto and then a 626 or ETA with knowledge of case officer of her intentions would appear to me to be a safer option. Also is it not the case that On shore applications are taking longer than the circa 5 months anticipated on applications to DIMA in London. Thanks