# Partner visa question re: joint bank account



## toytoy (Feb 11, 2010)

Hey guys,
Im Australian, boyfriend is American, long story short, he is in australia on a work and holiday visa, we want to apply for the defacto visa at the end of his stay, we have been doing all the necessary things, but my one question is...

We opened up a joint bank account, which we had money in, but we bought a computer with the money that was in there. It was ment for like a savings account for the both of us, but as times are a bit hard at the moment due to work hours being cut back, we havnt been able to put any money into this account. We use our personal seperate accounts for payments from work to go into, and we pay mostly all our bills, ( which are in both our names) by cash.... So should we start using the joint account to pay things of with? i mean we wanted to use it for our savings for holidays, presents etc, and im a bit worried they will ask why nothing has been payed bill wise with our joint card... i know im probably being silly, but you never know if you never ask.

We have kept absolutely everything from the first day we met ( me being obsessive with reminders when i travel, luckily kept even reciepts of my flights, my ticket stubs for movies).... I also have a rent agreement in both our names, electricity bill in our name, internet and phone in his name, and xmas cards from my family and his with our names mentioned in them.... so any kind of help from anyone... would be great. 

I have read through the forums and i think its great to hear the stories, its nice to feel that we arnt alone in all this ! 
toy


----------



## xdorota (Dec 1, 2009)

Hi toy,
the joint bank account is only one of the many documents you may present to prove your relationship and living together. 

I've recently completed a successful Partner application where they had NOTHING in joint names, only a few official letters addressed to each of them separately to the same address and some transfers of money from one partner's account to another. Of course there were statements from friends and family and photographs. I am not saying it went very smoothly, they had to go through an interviewed but the visa was granted.

You already have an explanation as to why there is no money in your joint savings account. At worst you will be called for an interview and as long as you both remember where and how you met, your daily routine, names of each other's parents and siblings, approx dates of some major events that you claim to have been to together - you will be fine.

I believe it is not lack of paper evidence but rather pure luck that determines who gets an interview. Sometimes an application that seems too perfect might attract CO's attention as suspicious and they decide to check it out at an interview.

Good luck
Dorota


----------



## toytoy (Feb 11, 2010)

Thank you so much for your reply.
We always have said that we are in a legitimate relationship so it should go smooth.
Thank you so much and i will be keeping contact via this website.
toy


----------



## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

toytoy said:


> Thank you so much for your reply.
> We always have said that we are in a legitimate relationship so it should go smooth.
> Thank you so much and i will be keeping contact via this website.
> toy


It is a bit more than being able to say that you've always said you're are in a legitimate relationship as words are easy and COs need more than that.

If you have a joint bank account, I'd certainly be using it in preference to paying cash, your excuse for not doing so appearing to be somewhat flimsy.

Every Visa application is considered on its merits and you should be taking note of what is on the Immi site including Booklet #1 for that could save you not only dissapointment but loss of your application fee with a rejection.

I've not looked at recent Immi annual reports but a couple of years back the figures were something like 160,000 p.a. rejections for visas in total so it does happen.
Generally speaking you could say there is some tightening of immigration occurring and rejection rates may not necessarily diminish from what they have been.

Do your homework.


----------



## toytoy (Feb 11, 2010)

I do understand all this, and when i said " we have always said we are in a legitimate relationship" i did not mean that is what i would tell immigration. I have been keeping up with the immi website and not just recently, i have read all the booklets, but as i said my concern was that the joint account was used as a savings account, it was for purchases for both of us, a computer, and now we are trying to save for the application fee. I understand that this joint account would prefferably be used to pay bills with, and i will start doing that , but as i said, our main reason for it was for our joint savings.
I know it is not an easy process, i know it could be rejected, but i also know that it may not be, and i would rather look at the positive before the negative, if it happens to then we can work around that and move on to another plan. As i said, i have read over and over the booklet, but i was using this thread as a chance to speak to people that have been through it, may be going through it or like me are new to it.
thanks 
toy


----------



## toytoy (Feb 11, 2010)

Wanderer said:


> It is a bit more than being able to say that you've always said you're are in a legitimate relationship as words are easy and COs need more than that.
> 
> Do your homework.


We have kept EVERYTHING from the day we met, i keep a journal of important dates, that coincide with photos, ticket stubs, i keep a journal on places we go together, We also have christmas cards, invitation cards from family and friends, and we have a lease in our names, all bills in our names, amongst other things, I do understand what needs to be done. I am a Uni student, and money doesnt come easy, so the joint account was the savings that we both put in our money together and treated ourselves ( on the rare occasions) with. This is something i would do in any relationship, so id like to think im on the correct path, steer me if im wrong.
Toy


----------

