2loveis2remember

Hello,

I applied for permanent residency onshore this march through Skilled independent migration after the completion of my two year study. Before graduation I did so, and I was granted a Bridging visa A at the lodgment of the application.

At that time I was dating an Australian citizen, and we got married a month ago. Then, I decided to study a course at TAFE since I'm finding it hard to get a proper job due to my limited English and visa status. One thing that I noticed while looking at some information about courses at TAFE was that there was a huge difference in the course fees between those with the temporary spouse visa(subclass 820) and those with a bridging visa A, which I hold.

So, I went to the immigration office to apply for another permanent residency (this time through the spouse sponsorship), but they said that I can't apply for it since I have been in Australia more than 28 days with Bridging visa A. The only way I can apply for a spouse visa is to cancel my permanent residency, go back to my country and apply for a spouse visa offshore.

Now, my wife and I are in trouble since both of us are not so young to have our first baby and we want to start a family as soon as possible. If I have to go back to my country and wait for six to eight months, we are just concerned that we might be losing a better chance to have a baby. Actually, we are worried that we might not be able to have one. =(

Would anyone give me any advice please?

2love

Dorothy

Have you thought about seeking the advice of a registered migration agent? Many will give a free initial consultation and it may be worth a few $$ for you to get some good advice.

Bear in mind what you will get from the immigration office is not necessarily up to date or even correct.

Pollyana

I think they may be right, I'm not sure that you can apply for a Spouse Visa while on a Bridging Visa. HOWEVER, I would recommend exactly the same as Dorothy, speak to a registered migration agent as there may be something that can be done, bearing in mind your family circumstances.

Heathcote

A bridging visa is NOT a "substantive' visa which generally means you cannot lodge another onshore visa whilst on a bridging visa. The regualtions are however fairly complex and you may well want to follow the previous advice and seek professional advice.

2loveis2remember

Thank you all for your comments.

I have visited an immigration agency and found out that I can apply for an offshore spouse visa while remaining in Australia. I googled for some similar cases and in this forum I found that there is what is called Pre Grant letter, which tells the candidate to leave Australia to be granted with the visa they have applied for.

However, the immigration website says that,

------------------------------------------
You must be outside Australia when:

you apply for this visa
your temporary Partner (subclass 309) visa is granted.
------------------------------------------

I am a bit confused because the two difference pieces of informations are contradictory. When I tried to search for the information in the forum and on google I could not find any information about it.

Would you let me know how to search for the information or how to apply for an offshore visa while physically staying in Australia?

Thank you indeed in advance.

Pollyana

If a registered agent has advised you to do it then you'd be best asking them. There are onshore and offshore spouse visas, but to apply for an offshore spouse visa while you are actually onshore on a bridging visa sounds rather complex and probably outside the scope of the kind of info you'll find on here. I'd honestly think you'd be best checking the process with the agent to ensure you do it all above board.