# Leaving the country while 820/801 De Facto Visa application is pending



## puntaara (Jul 17, 2013)

Hey guys,

my girlfriend is Australian and we've been together for almost 7 years. We lived in Germany for a few years while I was finishing uni and came back to Australia in 2011. I came to Oz on a Working Holiday Visa, after a year we decided to apply for the de facto partner visa (820/801) and lodged our application in person at the DIAC office in Sydney in August 2012.

Up until now, 11 months later, we haven't heard anything about our application, we haven't even been assigned a case officer yet. I called the office a few weeks ago: nobody has even touched the application yet but that seems to be normal according to the DIAC.

Since our careers have been on hold for a few years now and we can't find appropriate work in Australia we decided to go back to Germany and pick up work there.

However, I still would be interested in getting the partner visa granted. Not only for the thousands of dollars we paid and weeks of work we put into the application but also just in case we decide to come back to Australia at a later stage.

The problem: 
In the partner visa booklet it says: 
"_If you lodge your application while you are in Australia, you must be in Australia when the temporary Partner visa (subclass 820) is granted._"

Does this mean that my partner visa application will be cancelled, if I leave the country now? Would the situation be any different if I leave the country on a Bridging Visa B (currently I'm holding a Bridging Visa A), i.e. would it be possible that the visa is granted while I'm offshore if the application is complete and no interview or the like needed?

I also found: 
_"For permanent Partner visa grants, [...] If you lodge your application while you are in Australia, you may be either in or outside Australia when the permanent Partner visa (subclass 801) is granted."_

and
_"In most cases, permanent residence cannot be granted less than 2 years from when you lodge your application. You may, however, be granted a permanent visa without having to fulﬁ l the usual two-year 
waiting period if:
• at the time you apply, you have been in a partner relationship with your partner for 3 years or more"_

Since we've been together for 7 years, I think I might be granted the permanent partner visa straight away. Reading the two paragraphs above, it sounds to me that it doesn't matter where you are for the grant of the permanent visa - or does that only apply to applicants who were granted the temporary visa beforehand?

I would appreciate any tips what we could do in order to get the visa granted even if we have to leave the country really soon. We've been waiting for such a long time now and just can't afford to wait "another month", and then "another" and so on....


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## Whitney (Jan 4, 2013)

You do meet the requirements to be approved for permanent residency without waiting for the 2 year temporary visa however that is still up to the discretion of the case officer. If you are only granted temporary residency (the 820 portion of the application) and you are offshore your visa will be automatically invalid and you will have to apply (and pay, and wait) all over again. 

I'm not sure what happens if you are offshore and granted permanent residency from the first stage of a 820/801 application. I would consult with a registered migration agent if you plan to be out of the country when your application is approved because you could be setting yourself up for a real disappointment if the application is still made invalid by being offshore. This isn't a question that I've seen on the forum before. If you do find the answer please fill us in so we know how to advise people in the future!


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Seriously, don't risk losing it all when you're just a few months away from Permanent Residency. If you ever decide you want to move to Oz again, you'll be kicking yourself that you didn't just wait it out. 

DIAC is telling migration agents right now that the average wait is 13 months onshore for the 820. A poster on this forum was told by DIAC recently that the wait was 18 months, though. 

It is absolutely mandatory for folks applying for the 820 to be onshore when the 820 is granted... it's non-negotiable. But as you pointed out, since you'll probably go straight to PR, I don't know if it would be different for you. Definitely ask a migration agent. DON'T ask DIAC, as they are famous for giving out incorrect answers and you have no recourse if you act on that incorrect information and it's wrong. I would suggest contacting Mark Northam. He's a registered migration agent who posts on this board, and he also has a website at mnvisa.com. Normally I'd just tell you to private message him here, but you don't have enough posts to be able to do that yet.

A Bridging Visa B allows you to exit the country for a few months and then return. But the "return" part is key. If you ARE required to be onshore when your visa is granted, if you let your CO know you're going out of the country briefly, they'll generally hold off on granting it for you until you get back onshore at the end of that Bridging Visa B. So what you COULD do if you're required to be onshore when it's granted is get a Bridging Visa B, go to Germany for a few months, and then come back and wait until your PR is granted, which by then should be no more than a few months at most. 

Find out from an RMA (registered migration agent) whether you have to be onshore or not. That's going to be the key component for you. If you do, then you have a decision to make.


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## puntaara (Jul 17, 2013)

Thank you very much for your replies! I'm sorry that I didn't reply sooner but I've been away from home (and my computer) for a few days. 

I will try to get in contact with a migration agent and will let you know what I found out. 

I assume the DIAC is somehow linked to the passport checks at the airport? So if I left the country without letting them know (i.e. without bridging visa B) - they still would be able to see that I'm offshore when the visa is granted, wouldn't they? 

Anyway, thanks again for your responses and I will keep you up to date!


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

They're not going to check to see if you're offshore before they grant. It's your responsibility to let them know when you leave the country and when you return.


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