ChrisHext

Hi all,

I would really appreciate some assistance on my application for the Partner Visa. I am a UK citizen applying from Australia.

1) I am currently on a WHV, and am employed through a job agency. My 6-month working limit is up next month, but the company I work at want to keep me on. Someone who has been through the Partner Visa process told me that when I submit my application for the Partner Visa, I immediately get placed onto the appropriate Bridging Visa, and that this would essentially "reset" my 6-month working limit. I have my doubts as to the validity of this statement. Can anyone tell me if this is true? If it is not, then I will have to see if the company I'm with will take me onto their books (i.e. I'll be employed by them not the agency).

2) Question 12 on the online application form asks for details of all immediate family members, and later on for the family of the sponsor. It is not clear as to whether it is referring to dependents, or just requesting general family information. It asks to know their Australian Visa status, and we have selected "other" (this is the closest option to "they have nothing to do with Australia"). Out of curiosity, why do they need this info? I'm happy to provide it, but I'm not sure what bearing my parents' wedding date has on my application! Is it just providing a level of detail to ensure we're not applying illegally?

3) Do I need to supply the UK police report with the rest of the application, or can it be put in the "not so urgent" pile and supplied at a later date? I have the form pretty much ready to send, but it needs to be sent to my parents in the UK for them to enclose a cheque and get it endorsed by a teacher for me, then they'll send it off and it'll be sent straight back to me. It'll just take a bit of time, and I'd like to get the application off ASAP.

4) Same as above, but with the health check. I had my wallet stolen a couple of weeks ago and need to apply for a replacement medicare card. I'd rather get the application sent while I'm waiting for the replacement, than have to wait until it comes, then book the health check, then wait for the certificate (assuming it isn't immediate?).

5) My girlfriend and I have been together for 5.5 years, and lived together since May 2010, so I'm not expecting there to be an issue with our application (I have plenty of photos, bills and documents with names and addresses on etc.), BUT I would like to confirm a couple of things. The apartment we are living in now, is shared with her parents. We lived on our own back in the UK, but upon moving here we moved in with them and I am not on the lease. She is. The Gas/Electricity bill and the Internet/Phone bill is in my name, so I have evidence linking me to this address. Will this cause issues? I guess it's partly down to how I explain it to them. Also, is it OK that her parents are the two Australian Citizens confirming our relationship? Do we need more? We don't know any more Aussies who actually really "know" us as a couple yet, though we know plenty back in the UK who do.

Apologies for all the questions, many of which I'm sure have been asked & answered in some form or another before! Thanks in advance

Chris

Pollyana

Once you have applied for a Spouse Visa you get full working rights, these days - changed a couple of years back.
They are asking about siblings and parents. Where it asks about dependents, you list any dependents. They want to know thinggs like marriage dates in case (for instance) there is a later application by the parets to live here sponsored by their children. Its all for double checking purposes.
Your UK police check will only be valid for 12 months, so I would wait until you C O requests it.
Again, wait until its requested. The visa won't be granted for several months.
Doesn't matter that its a shared apartment, as long as you two live there as a couple, husband/wife type couple You can annotate bills and statements to explain things.

You can also include a couple of statements from people in the UK who know you both, just adds more weight to the application

StSabre

Does his WHV have to expire before the bridging visa (which has no work restrictions) comes into effect?

If the WHV is still in effect, can the six month restriction be waived?

ChrisHext

As the person above kindly asked, is that as soon as I apply, or is that once the visa is actually granted? My issue is my WHV has the 6-month restriction on working for any one company, and I need to know if the 6-months will "reset" for another 6 months (or even better, not have any restriction) the minute I apply for the visa, OR do I have to wait until my WHV expires before moving on to the bridging visa? I would very much like it to be the former, as it means I can continue working at the same company without hassle.


Ok great, just thought I'd check - there's been barely any mention of dependents thus far in the form so it was a bit confusing when it didn't specify for what purpose they required that information (that I could see anyway).

Again, great, that's a weight off the shoulders. I think the waiting period for the visa is 6 months at the moment, but can never be too careful!

That's a relief, I guess if it's all explained well enough then there shouldn't be an issue!

Thanks for all the help, a firmer answer on the first point would be much appreciated but don't worry if you don't know! I'm sure I'll be back with more questions...

ChrisHext

Another question (!) I had was: when it asks what date we "committed to a shared life together to the exclusion of all others", what date is this asking for exactly? I put down the date we started going out, as from that point on we had no intention of seeing other people, even though we'd only just started going out. But is this question really asking when did we first move in together, i.e. it became a de facto relationship?

We aren't married or engaged, but have lived together for nearly 4 years. We don't have the exact date we moved in together as the rental contract for that first apartment has long since vanished, I just know it was sometime in May 2010.

Sorry if this seems like a silly question!

Pollyana

As I understand it, the Bridging visa kicks in when the WHV expires, so its from that point on that the work restriction would no longer apply. Howeer, might be worth checking that with an agent.

Pollyana

See my post above, best I can do I'm afraid. The ability to work after filing the Spouse paperwork, is fairly new. Possibly worth a call to a good agent - maybe George Lombard - and you may well find that DIBP will waive the 6 month rule if the Spouse application has been filed

Pollyana

Its looking for a date when you decided that you were committed to being in a relationship together, for the long term - so something like the day you decided to move in together. And just put an approx date, that'll be fine

ChrisHext

Thanks for the answers!

I phoned the Immigration Office this morning, and they confirmed that the Bridging Visa does NOT automatically kick in once I apply, that it will only start once my WHV ends.

However, they did say (as you mentioned might be a possibility) that I could apply to have the 6-month restriction waived off. To do that, I have to send off another form to request such an action. That form can only be sent after I have submitted my visa application, and requires the following:

• Employer Details (inc. ABN No.)
• Date the 6-months is up
• What period of permission you are requesting (with a proposed end-date for employment)
• Nature of work
• Reason for seeking permission
• Letter of support from employer

This form needs to be submitted a minimum of 2 weeks BEFORE your 6-month limit is up. It also specifically states that this is only for "exceptional and unforeseeable" circumstances (though it says visa applications are a valid reason) for "generally a short period of time (several days or weeks, not months)".

They did tell me that the chances of the request being accepted were generally pretty good.

Unfortunately for me, my 6-month limit is up in a month, and I don't think I'm going to be able to get the form submitted and the request sent off within the next two weeks, as would be required for me to submit such a request. So hopefully the company I'm working for will pay my job agency to take me onto their books - that's really my only hope...!

Thought that information might be useful to others in my situation anyway!

Pollyana

Very useful, thanks heaps for coming back with it and good luck with your own job situation.

GUDLUK

Dear Members, I hope you all are fine.

I applied for my wife Partner Visa 309/100 ONLINE on 20 Jan 2014. I have uploaded all the documents except Medicals. I am waiting for a case officer to request. My query is:
When should I expect a CO? (approximately)
How long does it take for visa grant after Medicals?
Does she need to go for Biometric Data Collection?
Her Police Certificate has a 6 month expiry date on it, does she need new after that?
When should she go for Medicals?

Any help on above question will be much appreciated. Also if there is anyone who applied ONLINE Partner visa via ImmiAccount please share the experience. Thanks everyone.

Pollyana

Police checks for Australian immigration are valid for 12 months, not 6.
There is no requirement for collection of biometric informarion by Australia, but her own country may ask for fingerprints for police check purposes.
Her CO will advise her when to go for medicals. As for timelines - the online system is very new and there are no clear timelines from it yet. She will just need to wait and be patient. Get her to check her junk mail folder in case the emails have gone in there by mistake.

Plenty of people in this thread have applied online, others have appolied via paper. Everyone is welcome to post, its not limited to online applicants

GUDLUK

Thanks Pollyana, I checked junk mail, nothing there yet. Also I mentioned Online just for better feedback for my type of applicants. I thought most the applicants here have applied by Paper. How long it usually takes to process a partner visa. I guess its different from Standard Time Frame given by Immi Australia

Pollyana

Online applications for Spouse Visas are very new, you won't find many -if any - experiences of timelines yet because people have only been applying by thes route in the last few months.

ChrisHext

Hi all,

Just wanted to share something I discovered this week, this may be useful to those completing the partner visa application online.

I have been worrying about getting documents certified as half of my documents are still back in the UK. I was going to get my parents to post them down to me so I could certify them here in Oz and then upload to the application. I then wondered if my parents could get them certified by someone in the UK and just email me the certified copies.

I phoned the Immigration office in Oz to check if this would be ok, and I was explicitly told that when applying online, NO documents have to be certified (well, save for the stat dec for the witnesses), so long as they are good quality colour scans.

I was very surprised by this, though perhaps that's just me and others knew that to be the case? But either way I would have thought it would (or should) be one of the first things they'd state to those completing the online application, unless I missed it somewhere along the line.

Can anyone confirm or deny what they told me? Just want to make absolutely sure! I'm going to call again this week and ask again, just to be sure.

Hope this helps fellow online applicants!