Hi all i'm doing my defacto application now and though i have been saving all sorts of stuff over the year now i've come to put it all together there dosent seem much evidence

we have no joint bank accounts

i live in my partners house didnt seem to be any point putting my name on the mortgage

all i have is a few photos and joint names on the gas, electric, water and telephone bills.

i have evidence of holidays together a wedding invitation and a fortieth birthday invitation we have only been living together a year been together 2 and 1/2 years

did any one else pass with minimal information????

Kay

Hi Kay

I didnt have anything in joint names either. Don't forget about your Stat Decs, while by themselves they're not enough, they can go a long way to back up what info you do have.

Some good evidence is mail at the same address - doesn't have to be in joint names

Below is a list of what I submitted to get my visa

1. Main Forms
Form 40SP
Form 47SP
Form 886 Settlement Details

2. Health and Character
UK Police Clearance
Form 80
Medicals

3. Identification
Certified copy of Sponsors birth certificate
Certified copy of sponsor’s passport
Certified copy of applicant’s birth certificate
Certified copy of applicant’s passport
Passport photos of sponsor x2
Passport photos of applicant x4

4. Employment Details
Sponsors group certificate, certified copy
Letter of employment for Sponsor
Reference letter from Michelle’s employer in Brisbane
Screen print of jobs available in Brisbane suitable for Michelle
Copy of Michelle’s CV/Qualifications proving employability

5. Our Statements
Statement from Shane on our relationship
Statement from Michelle on our relationship

6. Supporting Statements
Statutory Declaration from Sponsors Mum
Statutory Declaration from mutual friend (Sally)
Letter from Sponsors Daughter (Kayla)
Letter from Sponsors friend (Anthony)
Statutory Declaration from Sponsors friend (Jason)
Statement from my brother (David)
Statement from my Dad (Richard)
Statement from my friend (Claire)
Statement from my friend (Hayley)
Statement from my friend (Natalie)


7. Evidence of living together
Bank Statement showing transfer of funds
Microsoft Money spreadsheet and description
Letters showing that 109 Quinlan Street was owned by Shane previous to 08/02/04
Letters (6) for Michelle at 109 Quinlan St
Letters (14) for Shane at 109 Quinlan St
Copy of form adding Michelle to Shane’s credit card


8. Evidence of social aspects and life together
Page of photos x3
AFL ticket, Sept 2000 in Brisbane
Pearl Jam tickets, Feb 2003 in Brisbane x2
Gym Membership, in Brisbane x2
Rugby World Cup ticket, Nov 2004 in Brisbane x2
Thank-you card to both of us from Natalie & Amy
Copy of gym membership showing Shane as next of kin
Handmade birthday card for Michelle from Kayla
Wedding invitation to us both for April 2003
Information received on possible wedding reception places


9.Evidence of joint holidays
Credit card statement showing hire car in New Zealand
Maui Rentals New Zealand
Plane ticket to Christchurch for Michelle Bonner, July 2003
Email for Shane Gilbert showing details of flight to New Zealand, July 2003
Travel documents for Michelle & Shane to Thailand and UK Jan/Feb 2004
Easyjet flights in France 2004
Easyjet flights in Spain 2004


10. Evidence of contact whilst apart
Phone bills
Relevant page of passport showing travel to Kuala Lumpur, June 2000
Travel documents to Australia Aug/Sept 2001
Email from Shane dated December 2000
Emailed photos from Shane dated November 2001
Emailed photos from Michelle dated September 2001
Cards from the flowers Shane has sent Michelle
Sample of cards Michelle has sent Shane

Evidence to prove co-habitation does not have to be joint but just has to show you both living at the same address at the same time. A gas bill for one of you and a mobile statement for the other is an example. The minimum you have to show is a years co-habitation.

Hi thankyou for your brilliant list i'll save it as a checklist

yep i've done my stat dec got one from my mum and sister my neice is doing the other do you think it matters that their all family?? also hope mine is not too slushy its a bit mills and boon

i could kick myself we spent 6 months in oz last year and i got no flight tickets or anything threw them all away not really that many photos of us together either as we tend to take photos of scenery not ourselves.... o pants... i have got bank statements of when we were out there.

why did you have to send employment details and references??

Kay

HI there,

I didnt have to send in employment details etc, but because our evidence didnt have much in joint names, I just sent in anything I could think of! As I'd previously spent some time working in Brisbane and had a job offer to go back to, I thought it might have helped!!

Do you have the stamp in your passport from your visit to Australia? I would imagine that is as good as an airline ticket. To show that we were in Malaysia at the same time (where we met) we just copied the relevant pages in our passports - it was 4 years later, so no chance of finding the plane tickets!!

I don't think if you're stat decs are all family is a problem. What about his side of thing, has he got friends? IMO a mix is good - knowing the family show commitment, knowing friends shows a social interaction, which is one of the key areas the DIMIA will be looking at (see booklet one for full details - http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1127.pdf)

DIMIA actually requests for lots of photos NOT to be sent in, so don't worry about that. Just a couple will do if you have them anyway.

Cheers

There has been some suggestion from some peoples experiences that a stat dec from a parent on each side would help. I had 3 from family 1 from a friend. Employment details are not necesary.

Mlbonners suggestions are excellent. For the photos I scanned and printed them on A4 labelled with date and context. Keeping it all on A4 helps the CO photocopy and scan the application.

I also needed proof of travel - so I phoned the airlines who we flew with and they were more than happy to send me a copy of our flight itinerary.

But when you send in a copy of your passport - also copy the pages where the immigration stamps are for Aus - so that they can see you went there. That's all I did - and I got my visa with no probs!!

Good luck

Thank you all for your advice its really helped me just waiting on the references now .... need a drink

Hi everyone,

My partner and I have a similar problem... We're scheduled for an interview in Berlin in mid-January and by that time we'll have had a lease together for 1 year and a joint bank account for 5 months... We have a few photos and lots of joint travel in these past few months... But almost nothing at the beginning of the relationship (except the lease), because we weren't thinking of having to prove everything at a later date! Are DIMIA sympathetic to that?

We have so much evidence for the past few months (since we decided to apply) that I almost feel like not using all of it, so that our application is not too lopp-sided (that is, I'm worried that we have almost nothing at the beginning of the 12 months compared to more than enough at the end).

We've booked our interview for exactly 1 year and 1 day after the beginning of our lease together, so we hope that will be enough to show the start of the 12 months.

Any advice?

Thanks!

Hi

The most important thing is that you've got your 365days evidence. Do you have any friends that were with you when you met? Perhaps they could do a stat dec accordingly? My partner & I met in Malaysia, we had visa stamps to prove we were there at the same time. A work collegue of Blokeys and a friend of mine wrote stat decs stating we had met, the time we intially spent together there etc etc
Do you have any emails, phone records dating back to when you first met?