# De-facto Visa - Evidence of Sponsors Employment... YIKES!



## katt (Aug 21, 2012)

Hello! 

I am seeking advice from fellow Australians who have applied (or are applying) for a De-facto Partner Visa and whom haven't actually worked much in the 2 years prior to their application date.

The *Application Document Checklist* for *Partner Visa: Offshore Temporary and Permanent* includes:
_Photocopies of one of the following documents to show your sponsor's employment during the last two years:_ 
 Australian income and/or overseas tax assessment notice
 a letter from their employer confirming length of employment and annual salary
 payslips
if your sponsor is self-employed or self-funded from other sources, business documents or a letter from your sponsor's accountant.

My personal situation is that in the past 2 years I;
1. left my full time employment in Feb 2011 to work part time seasonal work while travelling with my partner in New Zealand. 
2. A close family member passed away so I returned to Australia. From March to May 2012 I was on Centrelink benifits. 
3. Have been living in my partners country since May and he is supporting me. 
All this = that I have not actually worked more than 5 months in the past 2 years 

So for our application, would it be better to explain this and have someone such as one of my parents sponsor my partner (have them complete an AOS?)? Does it matter if I am not his sponsor? Will the fact that I was on Centrelink for around 3 months affect the application? 

Any other advice, ideas, tips.... all very much appreciated.

Thanks!


----------



## Adventuress (Jan 8, 2012)

Hi katt,

It won't be possible for your parents to act as a sponsor, but they are able to give statutory declarations that they're able and willing to support him when he arrives. These should be accompanied with certified copies of evidence that they're able to do this - proof of income, proof of home ownership and what have you. The discretionary AoS has also been removed from partner visas as of the beginning of this year, so I don't think that's an option. But that may mean that they're more lenient in this matter.

I was in a bit of a similar situation to you and in my own supporting statement that went with the sponsor's form 40SP, I made sure to mention my previous work history, and emphasised that I've always been able to find jobs quickly in the past because of transferrable skills, and that I have higher education qualifications which might enable me to find a job with a higher salary. So you should address the same ideas for yourself - just make sure to make it clear to them that it should be no problem for you to become stable in no time, and that in the meantime your parents will be offering their support. It helped me to think of my supporting statement as a cover letter for a job application - you have to make yourself glow and seem fantastic!

Other members have posted on this topic before saying that according to the Immigration Department, the most important part of the partner visa application is your evidence for a genuine and continuing relationship - anything else is secondary. And all in all I'm sure the Department's aware that not everyone can have all their affairs neatly laid out at home while they're supporting an international relationship!

Best of luck.


----------



## Miss Swan (May 28, 2012)

Hi Katt,

My partner (the Sponsor) was in a very similar situation to yours as well. He was on Centrelink for the past 2 years and his employment history was extremely patchy (the longest he worked was 2 months I think!)

What I did was scrimp together whatever handfuls of payslips he had, included all statements of the Centrelink payments (to do this, my partner applied for online access to Centrelink where he could download his entire annual Centrelink statements from 2008 till present and we got them certified by a JP since those documents were computer printouts after all). In addition, my partner's mother-in-law also wrote a stat dec (like what Adventuress wrote above) to say that she'd support me if needed. Lastly I (the Applicant) included my bank statements to show that I still had savings and was not entirely penniless and could support myself if in dire straits.

So Adventuress is right - as long as you can show evidence of a genuine, continuing relationship, it doesn't matter that the Sponsor has to be the one with the monies. In your case, your partner (the Applicant) has been supporting you so you should state that in clear details in your relationship statement.

P.S. AoS is no longer available. DIAC took off this document some time back.


----------



## katt (Aug 21, 2012)

Thanks so much Adventuress and Miss Swan! You comments are really appreciated and I'm very grateful that you have both taken the time to reply!


----------



## daphsta (Apr 10, 2012)

Miss Swan said:


> Hi Katt,
> 
> My partner (the Sponsor) was in a very similar situation to yours as well. He was on Centrelink for the past 2 years and his employment history was extremely patchy (the longest he worked was 2 months I think!)
> 
> ...


Hi MissSwan,

When did you apply for the partner visa? Have they approved it? I am also in a similar situation and found your explanation very helpful.
Just something little off topic, which office in Brisbane did you lodge your application.

Thanks


----------



## Miss Swan (May 28, 2012)

daphsta said:


> Hi MissSwan,
> 
> When did you apply for the partner visa? Have they approved it? I am also in a similar situation and found your explanation very helpful.
> Just something little off topic, which office in Brisbane did you lodge your application.
> ...


Hi daphsta, I applied on 8 August this year and shouldn't expect to hear anything from them till next Aug/Sep. There's only one processing office in Brisbane and that's in Adelaide St 

Feel free to ask away if you've got any questions at all.


----------



## daphsta (Apr 10, 2012)

Miss Swan said:


> Hi daphsta, I applied on 8 August this year and shouldn't expect to hear anything from them till next Aug/Sep. There's only one processing office in Brisbane and that's in Adelaide St
> 
> Feel free to ask away if you've got any questions at all.


Oh yes, Adelaide St, Medibank is there as well. Will definitely ask again when something comes to mind. Thanks for your help.


----------



## lois (Nov 12, 2013)

Miss Swan said:


> Hi Katt,
> 
> My partner (the Sponsor) was in a very similar situation to yours as well. He was on Centrelink for the past 2 years and his employment history was extremely patchy (the longest he worked was 2 months I think!)
> 
> ...


Hi Miss Swan!

Thanks for your feedback on this.

I (the applicant) have had a steady job for the past 4 years since I finished university, and am currently in a well paid job in Sydney - however due to this visa I have hardly any savings. Do you think if I submit a bank statement of mine showing that I am paid regularly that this will be enough?

My partner (sponsor) has started a great job this week - however in his previous 2 years he has worked in bars/as a labourer/been on centrelink for a few months as well as a period of 4 months with no work (due to visiting me in the UK. I can show his tax returns for the past 2 years - do you think I should do a timeline of all the different places he has worked and try get letters from his previous employees or do you think the 2 tax returns as well as his contract for his new job would be enough?

Do you think this will affect our application? Im worried!

Thanks for your help


----------



## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

Our situation is similar - we are still awaiting an answer so I cannot tell you whether it ended up being a problem, yet. I can tell you what we did.

My Australian partner explained why he has been unemployed, his parents wrote statutory declarations also stating they are willing to support us both for as long as necessary, attached were copies of his mother's sufficient income to do this, and a separate declaration from her stating she is willing to sign an Assurance of Support if necessary to prove this.

We also attached my income in Australia (I have been employed for a year and three months now, more or less). 

I happen to be the current provider in the relationship, and have been for a while, and just because I am "the foreigner" and female wouldn't seem fair that that is not acceptable at all if we have people to back us up as well. I understand they need to have a guarantee I won't be a burden on the system but this should be more than sufficient evidence. 

Good luck on your journey! I know the stress this can cause. It doesn't feel fair that you can be a genuine couple, give up everything for each other - including one income when the Aussie partner comes to be with the other partner - and it is considered to be BAD when really it's a sign of love.


----------



## australi (Jun 30, 2014)

*Centrelink de facto*

Just wondering if anyone had current information on Centrelink.

I am applying for a de facto visa and have a job here in Australia. My sponsor, however, is between jobs and wants to apply for Centrelink. Would this affect my visa application at all? Would the 2 departments communicate to each other? I'm worried it won't look good for him to be applying for Centrelink at the same time I am applying for a visa.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!


----------



## lildevil872 (Dec 24, 2010)

Hi Australi,

It does not matter if your partner wants to apply for centrelink as there are many ppl here that have sponsored their partner while they were receiving centrelink. Yes government departments do cross reference information so best is to be honest in your application. When applying for centrelink your partner needs to declare that he is in a defacto relationship with you and they will take your salary into consideration and he would probably get a lower amount. All government welfare benefits are means tested i believe. 

Anyway once your partner applies for centrelink and declares that you guys are in a defacto you can gt a letter from centrelink stating they were notified about your defacto relationship and that is good evidence to add to your partner visa application.


----------



## australi (Jun 30, 2014)

Thank you for your reply lildevil.

I'm just worried because it seems contradictory that he is applying to sponsor me financially at the same time he is applying for benefits. I just don't want to jeopardize my visa!


----------



## lois (Nov 12, 2013)

australi said:


> Just wondering if anyone had current information on Centrelink.
> 
> I am applying for a de facto visa and have a job here in Australia. My sponsor, however, is between jobs and wants to apply for Centrelink. Would this affect my visa application at all? Would the 2 departments communicate to each other? I'm worried it won't look good for him to be applying for Centrelink at the same time I am applying for a visa.
> 
> ...


When we applied my partner (sponsor) had been on centrelink for about 4 months around 6 months before we applied, but he was in employment at the time we applied

You have to send bank statements with your application so the person assessing your application will be able to see that your partner has centrelink payments being made to him.

I don't think this should be an issue though, especially if you explain when he worked up until and what his plans are regarding work in the future, and how you intent to support yourselves. The fact that you are in work and he has been in work should be fine - i think - does anyone else have advice on this?

Thanks


----------



## lildevil872 (Dec 24, 2010)

australi said:


> Thank you for your reply lildevil.
> 
> I'm just worried because it seems contradictory that he is applying to sponsor me financially at the same time he is applying for benefits. I just don't want to jeopardize my visa!


I totally understand. Previously they require applicants to fill out an assurance of support form which requires a statement from a family member i believe declaring that he/she would financially support the couple if they ever face financial difficulties during the application process however they have removed that.

Technically your partner is sponsoring you a visa so that you are able to live here lawfully together with him so it doesn't necessarily mean he is supposed to support you financially. Don't worry it should be fine as long as centrelink is notified too and don't forget to include your recent payslips and perhaps a statement from your employer stating you have been working there etc.. this will show immigration that you can financially support yourself as they are more worried about applicant's that end up needing welfare benefits in the future as they cannot financially support themselves.

Good luck and hopefully you'll get approved soon.


----------



## lois (Nov 12, 2013)

We actually put in a stat dec from my sponsor's parents saying that although we were financially independant and they had never had to help us, they would be willing to do so in the situation that we might need it. 

Ours was approved in May so the Centrelink thing obviously wasnt a problem


----------



## Becky26 (Jun 18, 2013)

lois said:


> When we applied my partner (sponsor) had been on centrelink for about 4 months around 6 months before we applied, but he was in employment at the time we applied
> 
> You have to send bank statements with your application so the person assessing your application will be able to see that your partner has centrelink payments being made to him.
> 
> ...



That is correct!! 
From what I know, financial and work stability comes in handy and adds points to one's file but it definitely is not a deciding factor of the visa application. The most important factor is to prove the genuinity of your relationship with your partner.

Hope this helps. Good Luck 

Kind Regards,
Becky


----------

