# evidence 12months living together?



## tracy (May 24, 2012)

Hi All,

Could anyone please help and check if i got enough of 'evidence ' to prove that me and my partner Alex are living together for at least a year?

So that I can add my partner as my dependent and Defacto partner in my application for visa under the general skilled migration scheme.

The difficulty i find is that since we are a gay couple, some easy evidence which can be taken for granted now seems difficult to obtain or we never realised it was important.

We;ve been living together for about 2yrs but we dont have any asset on both our name etc.. 
Here's a list of evidence that we have:



As from January 2012 this yr, i changed the address of my bank statments from my parents' home to our residential address (before that i didnt bothered to change the address and didnt think it wud be important)
The telephone bill is on my partner's name at the address we currently live in. 
2 we also created a joint bank account from January this yr..

3 Before we lived in another area but the bills , rental contracts, were all on Alex name - I once bought a bedroom furniture on my name and got them delivered to that previous address i- Do you think that can be used as evidence?

4 We also have a car which is registered under the name of my partner's family company name- however im the only one using the car to go to work everyday and i do have emails prooving that a parking is reserved for my car number at my office since 2yrs approx.
Alex 's mother is the director of the Company and can get a formal letter saying that the car is for both of us and not really for the company.

4 then we have some photos together ...at our house in previous address and current address etc...some from long ago - as we've been together for about 7yrs

So what do you all think? would that be enough? would we qualify for the 12 months living together?and as a couple?

THANKS a lot for any help,
cheers,
Tracy


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## holly (Dec 11, 2011)

I think yes. Especially from the furniture and the car ( though its a shame the car is provided by someone related to you) and the really old photos... BUT no one can really say how much evidence is enough. The CO will decide. 
Not sure if you need a strong year to be added as a dependant - but i mostly have knowledge of 820 not the other visas


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## russellie (May 16, 2012)

Hopefully Mauritius doesn't have tax laws like Oz, here you don't want to say the company car is used for other purposes too loud or the ATO will get you. 

You must have some other stuff - think hard. Did you take a holiday together and can you show receipts? Were you seperated for work and did you call/skype each other?

The telephone bill will be useful - do you use it to call each other's work or mobiles? Highlight them. How about you calling your family from the telephone in Alex's name? Also highlight. 

Before you had the joint account did you pay regular amounts of money into Alex's account for rent/bills/food? Print out your bank statements and highlight. 

Is a same-sex relationship widely accepted in Mauritius? Or do you have to hide your relationship from the general public/authorities? (Sorry I don't have any idea of laws in Mauritius). If it is not widely accepted you can use this as the reason you don't have a joint lease/joint names on stuff. Australia tends to accept less evidence if coming from a country where same-sex relationships are not as accepted as in Australia. 

Good luck.


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## robboat (Jun 12, 2012)

You will need to be very thorough with your relationship details and individual letters showing the history of your relationship.

Make it fun and think all the way back to just before you first met...then go from there - make notes as you talk so you have a list of details.
Make sure there is nothing ambiguous......if you cannot explain your relationship to a stranger then it needs some more work.

Immigration is looking to make sure the facts equal the faces.....
They are experts in finding details that do not add up because they look at stories all day long.

The other part you may have trouble with is financial support for the first few months in Australia.....make sure you have lots of $$$$ and can answer questions about what you would do if both of you did not get any work.....
Plan and talk about the issues and go through them - make notes.

Submit a complete application - no shortcuts.......

Good luck.....


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## myaccessaustralia (May 16, 2012)

Hi Tracy,

You might want to consider the following when it comes to showing that you have been living together:

1) I assume that you don't have a lease in your joint names. If so, ask the agent to see if he or she will write a brief letter to confirm that they have been living at the same address
2) If you only have evidence from Jan 2012 onwards, you may have issues, particularly if you are also telling the Department that you have been living together for 7 years - case officer will want evidence of this
3) Think of all the possible evidence that you can gather, junk mail, social invitations, pretty much anything with your date, address and date on it
4) If some documents don't directly evidence your relationship, such as the company car, you should explain what these documents mean in an accompanying statement - so you don't leave these documents up to the interpretation of your case officer

12 months of co-habitation is an important requirement to satisfy when you want to include a partner in a PR application - you should be confident that this is clearly demonstrated before lodging


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## JohnnyBlue (Sep 26, 2012)

Hi,
I am on a 457, and I am applying for a permanent 186 with my partner as a secondary applicant (which is included in the nomination and my application).
I have collected all documents (birth certificates, police checks, IELTS results, Medibank health visit, and relative translation).
I had a few questions:
1st- which documents should I use to prove our relationship as de facto? I have a bank account started more than 12m ago, and a lease contract dated June 2011, as well as a declaration that I sponsor the study of my partner so that she could get the student visa 473, which is more than 12 months old. I was planning to provide DIAC with 2 statutory declarations, but do we need also other docs (e.g. form 888 from friends)? In facebook we have also showing a considerable number of pictures together, but how do we collect this info in a format which can be used by DIAC?
2nd- While I will be considered a permanent resident, is she considered a permanent resident as well? This is important because currently she is an international student, and she is considered permanent than she will qualif for a Commonwealth Supported Place (although not for the HECS-HELP), and pay lower fees.
3rd - I am planning to lodge the visa next week, but in November we will be travelling together to Brazil. How do I communicate this to DIAC? is it an issue?


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## tracy (May 24, 2012)

Hi All,

thanks for all ur feedback - unfortunately was taken up with other matters and its only now that i am proceeding with my application under the new Skillselect system. Luckily i got invitation to apply for the *General skilled Provisional Visa 489 sponsored by a relative.*

i still have some doubt about adding my defacto partner as secondary applicant:

Do i have to give evidence that our relationship is at least 1year?

Or that we have been living together for at least 1year??

*
To Holly:*
For the car though officially registered under the name of my partner Alex 's family business, infact I did provide for the deposit amount (1/4 of total value and the amount was transfered from my bank account to the company's bank account ) and the balance was funded through a finance lease by the company which represents a kind of 'car benefit' to my partner too.

I can also prove the connection between Alex's family business and myself as i have often taken personal loans in order to help the company in financial difficulty and that dates back since 5 years ago and im still doing so now. 
If she wasnt my partner i would not have helped the company personally as i do not have any shares/interest in it.

*To myaccessaustralia*:

Some clarification about _*Living together *_

We have been living together since about 2008 only though our relationship dates from 2003.

From 2008- 2010: The rental lease and all other letters were on Alex name, i have as evidence bills for purchase of bed, television on my name and to be delivered to that address.

You see as *Russellie *rightly said, same sex relationship is not really accepted here in Mtius. The more discreet you are about your lifestyle, the better it is and yes we normally hide our relationship to the general public. We do not and cannot have any recognition as being a couple to the authorities.

Only some close family members are aware of our relationship and there are still some members of the family who still think that i am staying with my parents. Against this background, i did not change the address of my letters to our residential add until this year 2012.

From Sept 2010 we have moved in the building in which the buisness operates. The company rents a 2storey building (which was formely a house) - 1st floor used as office and we are staying on the 2nd floor in order to do some savings for the immigration as we do not have to pay any rentals.

So both the company's address and our 'residential address'- telephone bills on name of Alex (since sept 2010) and my bank statements (only since Jan 2012) are the same address.

If i can get Alex's father who is the Director of the company to sign a statement saying that we have been living together since 2010 in the building in which the company operates and rents, can it be considered as an evidence?

I will need to lodge my application by end of October 2012 and my letters show current address from January so that means a 10 months as direct evidence.

I also have photos of our birthdays with friends & relatives ,christmas in our previous house ..

Please do let me have your valuable advices and feedbacks.. Are above sufficient? this is the only part which i find difficult for my application, which im doing on my own without an agent.

Thank you, 
Tracy



holly said:


> I think yes. Especially from the furniture and the car ( though its a shame the car is provided by someone related to you) and the really old photos... BUT no one can really say how much evidence is enough. The CO will decide.
> Not sure if you need a strong year to be added as a dependant - but i mostly have knowledge of 820 not the other visas





holly said:


> I think yes. Especially from the furniture and the car ( though its a shame the car is provided by someone related to you) and the really old photos... BUT no one can really say how much evidence is enough. The CO will decide.
> Not sure if you need a strong year to be added as a dependant - but i mostly have knowledge of 820 not the other visas


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