matt-and-jenny

Hi from a new member

My name is Matt, and I am emigrating to Brisbane next year. I am applying for a de-facto spouse visa as my partner Jenny is a permanent resident of Australia, although we have been in England for the last three years.

We have completed most of the application ourselves, but we got stuck on a few points and decided to use an 'ask-an-agent' service (www.myaustralianvisas.com). They prepared an application plan, that outlined the application process. Most of the plan we had done already but it raised a few points that we had not considered.

We have a number of statements from friends and family as supporting evidence of our genuine relationship. However we did'nt realise that they have to be in the form of sworn declarations. We have statutory declarations from friends and family in Australia that are made on an official, certified form (form 888) but these forms are for Australian residents. We have been advised to use the equivalent U.K. form but we are having trouble finding it! Has anyone else used sworn statements as part of their applications?

Any help would be great, plus if we can offer any advice we'd love to help

cheers!

Matt and Jenny

ukkoala

Hello to you from another fellow new member.

I am not sure of the answer to your question but in the time I find out (father-in-law is a solicitor here in the UK) someone may respond but I can find out for you.

In regards to your agent service I would be quite interested to find out if they are any good. My husband and I are going back to Oz for 2007 and as he is English we need to get the ball rolling but are still deciding on how we will proceed with the app process and have been looking at www.migrationexpert.com

Your views would be much appreciated.

Springo

Here is the format for the Stat Dec

I, ............................ of, ....................... do solemnly and sincerely declare that I


......................................






AND I make this solemn Declaration conscientously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835

Declared at



this ..................................
(Declarent's signature)

Before me,



You fill in the bits in the centre, and sign it in front of a solicitor.

Hope this is helpful

Sorry couldn't attach it.

Julia

mlbonner

Hi Matt,


Exactly as Julia as done for you. Though "in theory" (legally) you dont need sworn stat decs for UK statements, for an offshore application. Best to get them done if you can, just in case though.

Cheers

JAJ

Permanent residents wishing to sponsor for spouse visas must satisfy DIMIA that they are 'usually resident' in Australia.

This requirement does not apply to Australian citizens sponsoring spouses.

How this is enforced in the AHC London is unclear, but I would suggest you prepare yourselves for questions about this.

Needless to say, her resident return visa will also need to be valid.

Jeremy

matt-and-jenny

Cheers for all your replies. It feels like we have been doing this application forever but I think we are getting somewhere now.

UkKoala: I think our agent would be better for those just starting out, as he provided a plan that outlined all we had to do. We already had done most of the stuff in the plan and were more interested in the answer service. The plan was good, but there were a few points that were a bit contradictory that needed clarifying. However, it did raise some points that we would have overlooked. The answer service has been handy, but sometimes we have been referred to the AHC in London for answers. All in all though I'd say it is a reasonable service but I don't have anything else to compare it with. Maybe you should start a thread and find out what agents others have used.

Springo and mlbonner: thanks for that! Now all I have to do is go back to everyone who has written statements for me and ask them to do them again and get them sworn. It just goes on and on... How many statements do you think I would need? The more the better I guess.

JAJ: We were concerned about that. Our agent says we should be fine. Jenny has a resident return visa and we are providing evidence of her visa status. Plus we have the evidence that she provided to get the return visa that shows her close ties with Australia.

thanks for all your help - much appreciated - will buy you all a frosty one when we're back in Bris-Vegas!

Matt and Jenny

qkeoty

I love the end word....Bris-Vegas..that is a crack up.. i havent heard that in ages!... jess and james

mlbonner

Hi,
I think its important to try and get at least one from each side of the family where possible. There was a case a year ago, where this wasn't achieved (due to family differences) and they were asked for extra evidence instead.
We tried to chose our friends carefully, so I think ours consisted of;
- His mum
- My Dad
- My brother
- His friend who was there the night we met
- His friend who spent time with us on my first trip out here in 2001
- Mutual friend & housemate
- 3 of my friends who'd all stayed at least one night with us in Brisbane
- A letter from his 9 year old daughter

Probably didnt need that many, I think the minimum is 2 Australian ones. We didnt have any joint accounts etc though, so used the Stat Decs to try and help prove our relationship a bit more.

leerankin

Hi there

My fiance is at the minute completing his TRA form for skills assessment and it asks him to provide a statutory declaration for his gap in employment. Is it okay just to type up what you have below or is there a form you have to download??

UK resident hoping to migrate to Oz!

nmccallum

Hi JAJ

Sorry I don't understand the bit of resident return visa. My boyfriend, an Australian by birth, has been in the UK for 2 1/2 yrs on a working holiday visa with a 6 month extension. We are currently applying for a De Facto visa for me to go back with him.

What is the resident return visa? And does he need to get it? We are going through an agent, however they have not mentioned this at all. Also, we have had letters written by family members and friends, none of which are Statutory Declarations. I asked our agent if we needed them and she said no. Can you advise whether we DO in fact need them.

We're applying to the AHC in London.

Thanks

Pollyana

If he is an Aussie, he doesn't need a RRV - to simplify things, they are for people who have PR but are not citizens. He doesn't even need to know about it. He will have an Aussie passport, thats all he needs.

bundy

Here's a blank copy of the one I'm using. Feel free to pilfer!