# VERY UNOFFICIAL Defacto Visa Tips



## elkitten

*Very Unofficial Defacto Visa Tips*

I learned a whole lot about this Visa while going through the process myself. My application was "unusual" in that I had many unique circumstances and problems to deal with-we had no real joint assets/neat financial evidence, we had no neat proof of living together, and we had to put evidence together while he was in Australia and I was in the U.S.A. So here are some tips that I learned along the way which I hope might help you out too!

Some Rules:

DO NOT post about your own individual situation here-post it on the main board where everyone can help you and benefit from the answers you receive.

I AM NOT a migration agent/immi authority-I cannot guarantee that what worked for me will work for you and I am not responsible for what you choose to include in your application or not.

THIS IS NOT everything you have to do, these are just tips, make absolutely sure you read the all the necessary information before applying, and double check before sending.

DO POST any additional defacto tips or suggestions you have here!

I am a Canadian citizen, who applied in the U.S.A-this means I am from a Low Risk country, so High Risk country people may have to go even further in proving both their relationship and character. (It sucks, but that's the way it is unfortunately).

*Part 1: RESEARCH!!!! *(notice I won't put up any links because it is so important you research for yourself on the immi website-only you can really know if you are eligible and exactly what you will need).

-Read the Partner Migration Booklet and answer these questions: are you eligible? What sort of evidence will you need? How can you prove the 12 month relationship requirement? What sort of documents will you need to prove your identity (passport, birth certificate etc)? What documents will your sponsor have to provide? What character checks will you need? What will you need translated? Print out the booklet and make notes as you go-make notes of what you will need to look up and what you don't understand.

-Read and print the two application forms (47sp and 40sp). Is there any question on there that you will need to look up the answer?

-If you are from a High Risk country, one of the members here, Rav, found out that you do need to fill out a form 80 even if the immi website is not clear at all as to whether or not you will need one.

- Look up where your nearest immi panel Doctor is for your health check: you may need to travel a fair distance and it's a good idea to check asap. Call the doctors even to make sure they are still doing the medicals and how much they costs-they do not all charge the same thing so if you have a few options, call around. Also ask them how available appointments are-it might take a while for you to get in, so again, good to know and good to plan for. Print out or save the medical forms found on the immi website.

-Go on the websites of the places you will need character checks/police checks from. How long do they take? What do you need to provide? If you will need fingerprints, where will you get them (your local police station may do them for free) and how many fingerprint cards do you need? How much does each police check cost? Do you have to provide a bank draft in the local currency? If so, where and how will you get it?

-Will you need to get any documents translated? If so, go on the website of the embassy where you will be applying and they normally have a link as to how you can find an approved translator. You can contact a translator via e-mail early to see how much they charge and how long it takes.

-Did you notice that you need a whole bunch of passport size photo's of you and your partner? You need them to apply, for the medical, and for some police checks-write down how many you will need to save yourself a few trips to the photo booth!

-Who will you ask to write Statutory Declarations on your behalf? Contact them asap to ask and send them the form so they can start working on it. It might be helpful to write to them what you think they could include. Remember, they need to get it certified along with proof they are an Aussie citizen-this can take people a while to actually get out and do, so it's a good idea to ask them very early on! (hint: the more the merrier, you need at least two, but I supplied 7 because I could, so if you can, get a good few people to do it!)

-Where can you get documents certified? Will it cost you anything? In the U.S one must go to a lawyer or notary public (banks usually have a notary public), but in Australia there is a plethora of people who can do it for you and for free. It's important info to know at the beginning (a google search of "where can I get documents certified in X" will usually lead you in the right direction).

*Part 2: Whole lot of writing and evidence gathering!*

Now that you have a massive to do list and that you know what you will need to provide, it's time to get it all together.

-Wait to get stuff certified: all official documents (passport copies, birth certificate copies etc) and stat decs need to be certified. Save yourself a trip and wait until you are sure you have everything that will need to be certified-I got extra's of my passport certified too, just in-case.

-Figure out if you will do your medical and police checks now and hand them in with the application or hand them in after you have sent in the application. Certain places, Singapore for example, require a letter from your CO before you can send off your police clearance so you may not be able to do them all right away (if this is the case, ask your CO the minute they contact you for the letter you need). I did all of my checks and medicals within the month after my CO was assigned and had no problems in it taking longer, but it is up to you.

-KEEP IN MIND: It is super important to remember while doing this that your CO will not be a mind reader! Do you think that there is some explaining to do on some of the evidence you provide? I had a whole LOT to explain: my billing addresses were different from where my BF and I lived, there were date problems with statements because I had American accounts, the rental bond didn't have my boyfriends name on it, we had no bills in EITHER of our names and much, much more! I (as the applicant, not the sponsor) wrote a Statutory Declaration for each of the evidence "sections" (financial, nature of the household, social context etc) and had those statements certified. My CO later told me that this helped with the process a lot-just don't go overboard and write a saga for each piece of evidence! Keep it short, succinct and just explain what needs to be explained.

-Stat Decs from you and your partner: You can write these on your computer rather than on the stat dec form your friends and family will fill out for you. In the Partner Migration Booklet, there is a section that tells you what questions to answer. My declaration ended up being quite long and descriptive because it had to be due to my situation-this part is actually fun because it's nice to see what your partner will write about you! They don't both have to be super long, but make sure you both put some time and effort into it. Don't forget to get them certified!

-Get your "identifying" documents together-since you will probably need identifying documents for more than your application (police checks for example) make sure you make enough copies.

-Fill out the two forms (47 and 40sp)-make sure you both have your dates straight! I don't know about you, but there was a whole lot of "uuhhh's" being uttered when we were trying to figure out the exact date we started dating&#8230;

continued next post.....


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## elkitten

*-Financial Evidence Tips: *

-Don't have a joint lease? Bills? Did you travel together for a year or live with your parents? Did one of you support the other? Relax. What I did and what has worked for others is to very meticulously go through bank statements, for at least the past 12 months you have been together. Whether you paid bills, rented a campervan, paid for a flight to see your partner, bought them a Christmas present, paid for insurance, groceries, rent and so on, even if you don't have the actual bill/piece of paper that says you did, it will be on your statement. Highlight each relevant purchase/payment and put a one or two word description next to it. If you are in this situation, then definitely write a declaration that explains it all. You can also provide some bills (say one or both of your names aren't on it) and include them in this section-your CO could match the billing date to when the payments were made in the bank statement. Bills and even grocery stores also have "codes" that can be matched. ATM withdrawals will also have a location near them which can be matched to things you say in statements (eg: my BF and I traveled to NSW together&#8230; oh look there is an ATM withdrawal from NSW at the same date they went&#8230;get where I am going with this?)

-You will be surprised as to how much stuff is on your bank statements-one idea to do while you are highlighting is, for example, if you find a purchase of a present your partner gave you try to find the card or the letter that came with it&#8230; copy it and provide it with your application.

-Bank statements can also serve to show you have been living together even if your names weren't on the lease-if your billing addresses are where you both lived make a note of that in the stat dec for this section to bring the CO's attention to it.

*-Nature of the household tips:*

- This is pretty straight forward-write a statement as to who did what in the house/who paid for what (see partner migration booklet), get bills together (if you have them, if not refer back to the financial tips), and correspondence addressed to both of you if you have it. I ended up including letters and cards given to me by my boyfriends family since I did not have any correspondence or bills addressed to both of us, save for one card.

*-Social Context Tips: *

-You can get cards together, ticket stubs etc. You may have already shown joint travel in your financial section if you used bank statements.

-Can your friends and family prove anything you have said along the way? Get them to write that in their stat decs (eg: if you lived with your mother, get her to mention that you did) along with stuff to prove your relationship is real.

-Pictures: don't include too many (they don't like it apparently) but do include ones showing you with each others families, out with friends, and traveling together if possible. Have you known each other for ages? Include one of you two where you look visibly different than you do now.

-You can write a short explanation/stat dec here too in order to explain what you are showing your CO

-If it's a lot of small pieces, I stuck all of mine in a plastic baggy so they wouldn't all fly around and I labeled the bag.

*-Nature of your commitment to each other:*

-Need to include itemized phone bills? Put a key at the top to what each number is (eg: Bob's work number, Jane's house number). Remember, these CAN be hard to get and you might have to pay for them depending on your company and how far back you need to go.

-Need to show your intent that the relationship will last-if you are planning on getting a house together, you can include a quote from a bank for a mortgage.

*HURRAH!!! YOU'RE DONE!*

-Go through everything again to make sure you have BOTH filled out what you had to

-If you know when you will be getting any evidence/character/medicals NOT included in your relationship, write that at the end of your application.

-Put it all in the post or lodge in person if you can

-And now the waiting game starts&#8230;.

-*Interview tips:* look on this webpage, people have shared the questions they got asked!

-Don't be afraid to ask your CO questions, just don't pester them as to "did you look at it yet? Did ya, did ya?"

-Looking on this board can give you a hint as to how long it will all take, but it depends on when you applied and so on-some HR country people got theirs faster than LR country people, while other HR applicants have been waiting for months! The more complete your application is, normally for a LR country applicant, the quicker it can be processed.

Yikes, o.k so I think I wrote quite enough for now. Please do share your tips if you have them and I hope that what I wrote was helpful.

Good luck to all of you defacto applicants out there!

*REMEMBER:*

DO NOT post about your own individual situation here-post it on the main board where everyone can help you and benefit from the answers you receive.

I AM NOT a migration agent/immi authority-I cannot guarantee that what worked for me will work for you and I am not responsible for what you choose to include in your application or not.

THIS IS NOT everything you have to do, these are just tips, make absolutely sure you read the all the necessary information before applying, and double check before sending.


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## LovedUp

Haha elkitten your a funny one! See....migration agent in the making! Good form helping people out like you are.

I just wanted to add a couple of things:

*My partner is from a High Risk country but he wasn't asked to provide a form 80. I think it depends on your individual circumstances and maybe if they need just that little bit more convincing to approve your visa.

*The longest part for us to get together was definitely the statutory declarations. As elkitten said, get them organised early because people really do like to take their time. We also included stat decs from non-Australians who knew us well as a couple since we didn't spend any time in Australia. They were able to get their stat decs and copies of their passports certified by any notary public in their country of residence, i.e pharmacist, police, etc.

*Include even the smallest and seemingly insignificant pieces of evidence you have...but don't double up too much on the same kind of evidence, for example, 2 or 3 birthday or Valentine's Day cards you sent to each other will be plenty.

*If you don't already have any, see if you can get some of your family members to send postcards or Xmas cards etc addressed to the both of you to show that you are both considered part of the family.

Thats about all I think. Elkitten seems to have covered everything. Good luck everyone!


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## Wanderer

*By JeniferMarie*


> *Advice and info for offshore de facto partner visa applications *
> 
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Here is an outline of our visa application and the process for people who want to compare before they submit their applications:
> 
> A bit of background first - application made 27th November 2009 in Canada for a de facto partner temporary visa (offshore 309). Visa granted on 19th March 2010 - overall processing time - 16 weeks. We had been in a de facto relationship (in the eyes of immigration anyway) for 1.5 years and together for 2.5 years at time of application.
> 
> We did a lot of research before we lodged our applications and we had two main concerns - not enough evidence in the "social" catagory (we've been pretty tight on money here in Canada and going out/holidays were not a huge priority) - all we had were photos and some one way tickets for flights from Ottawa to Toronto. Our other concern was my partner's medical as he is overweight (BMI 40+) and has a previous history of depression.
> 
> Evidence we provided
> Application forms
> Joint bank account statements
> Joint electricity bills
> Cable bills in sponsor's name
> Letter from landlord detailing rental agreement
> Personal statements
> Plane tickets for a flight together
> Photos with friends and family in Australia and Canada
> Statements from 2 friends and 8 family members
> Letter from sponsor's employer
> Sponsor's tax returns from Canada and Australia
> Sponsor's bank account statements from Australia
> Police check from Canada (local not RCMP)
> Police check from Australia (AFP)
> 
> The worst bit of the application is definitely getting all the evidence together, we started collecting ours in August 09 with an aim to have it all ready for submission by early October 09. We had everything that we could do from Canada ready by that date, but it took another 6 weeks for all the Australian pieces to filter in (statements delayed by post, aus police check application got lost in the post). Id definitely recommend to anyone applying offshore that they should allow an extra 1-2 months for evidence collecting.
> 
> Our concerns about the medical were unfounded, the doctor was very positive when my partner had his medical done and told him he was as fit as a fiddle in spite of his weight. We did wait for the medical to be requested and looking back now, I think front loading the medical is definitely a better way to go if you're confident about the rest of your evidence (we were worried about the social bit, so wanted to pass our relationship evidence section first.)
> 
> We also learnt that the application is assessed in stages - 1. relationship requirement, if you pass this then 2. police/security checks and 3. medical checks. So if your application is ready apart from police checks or medical, you can submit and it won't delay the processing because these won't be reviewing until you satisfy all the relationship criteria.
> 
> Our visa was granted in exactly sixteen weeks - our CO estimated 12-16 weeks in her initial allocation email. Every timeline on here I saw for Canada was 8-10 weeks, so I presumed that the CO was overestimating to be safe and we would have ours in 8-10 weeks too. So we spent the last two months stressing that something was wrong with our application. Timelines are great to get an idea of what to expect, but listen to your CO, they're the ones who know best (even if it doesn't feel like that at the time).
> 
> Hope this helps some other people whilst they're preparing and waiting and best of luck.


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## gnrlies

hi, thanks for the information it was helpful in compiling our application.

I would like to share some of the things we have learned in the process. I would like to stress that we have not received our visa yet, and are not approved, but most of the information I will write here comes from advice given to us at the consulate and our case officer. I will stress though that this is my interpretation of what we were told rather than anything official.

The feeling I get is that every consulate is slightly different in the way they approach applications. I had read a lot of information containing information about what they want / don't want and how strict they are, and the strange questions they were asked at interviews. This information was anecdotal and based on individual experiences at their respective consulate. My experiences were very different in many cases. We had no intrusive questions, and the consulate seemed very relaxed overall about document requirements etc. The point I would like to make here, is that the best thing to do is to ask the consulate, attend their information sessions to find out what they regard as the acceptable standard. I sense that each consulate is shaped by the senior immigration officers sent from Canberra. It is my belief that case officers operate to the standards of the senior officer when anything is questionable. This should explain differences between locations.

We applied in China. For anonymity I will not specify the consulate. We found them to be very reasonable on a lot of issues. They understood that documents can be hard to obtain in China. Notably we were unable to acquire a police clearance for China for the entire period because my partner had only been working officially for around half the time spent there. They were very understanding and even forewarned us that this document will be near impossible to obtain. They said it would be okay if we couldn't get it. In the end she signed a statutory declaration stating she had not committed any crimes. Similarly, they were very understanding about the challenges couples might encounter when it comes to finding financial evidence. Because everything in China is often off the books it is very hard to acquire receipts, bills etc with both our names on it. Again, they said in advance that they understand that this is a reality for couples in China. There were a number of other cases where this occurred. The moral of the story for a future applicant is that by this example, the consulates are aware of regional challenges and the document checklist and items specified in the guidebook are flexible at least to some extent.

On a number of occasions the consulate told us that they are looking at the bigger picture when it came to our relationship. They were not considered about things at the margin like whether we had spend 355 days together rather than the mandatory 356 (that was given as an example although not applicable in our case). My understanding is that they will not reject an application based on a compliance technicality if they feel that the couple broadly meets the requirements. This is one area where consulates may differ, so it could be wise to gauge this prior to testing it. I believe the case officer will upon meeting you for the first time, know fairly instantly whether the visa will be granted or not. There would be certain types of relationships that would require much more scrutiny (like applicants who have applied for more than one partner in the past 10 years, couples who cannot speak a common language, couples with a significant age gap etc) but if the relationship is genuine they will no it immediately. The subsequent processing seems to be an audit to ensure that things are the way they seem, and that the applicant is of good character. 

The consulate told us that if any documents were missing they would contact us. In this respect more is not necessarily better. We provided a lot of things that weren't necessary. I don't know that this is a bad thing in terms of the consulate, but it did take us a significant amount of time to prepare. As such less is more might not be as bad an approach as one might think. For example, so long as there is sufficient evidence to prove you are financially integrated, there may not be any point in sourcing and providing additional evidence unless they ask for it. They also told us a piece of advice that was contrary to what the website says. The website states that an application is reviewed based on the documentation submitted as of the application date. I.e. no additional documents can be included after submission. The consulate told us that they would happily accept additional documents after submission. Again, this probably depends on the processing culture within the consulate. 

When preparing the application we were very concerned about a lot of technical things. Like whether originals or photocopies are acceptable, whether email print outs are okay, how creative can we be with our evidence. I think the answer to those questions is that anything goes. If it proves a point then it is admissible. They will ask for originals in some cases, but otherwise they are happy with copies, emails, etc.

I hope this helps at least one person, but if not thanks for reading.


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## SoniaSonia

*Offshore How I lodged my De Facto visa in the UK*

Dear All

I've been researching on various forum sites about collating, collecting evidence for my de facto relationship with my partner who is Australian.

It's certainly taken me a long time but I definitely could not have done it without this particular site. So I've summarised below what I've done and what I've learnt. The biggest stumbling block or should I say hardest to organise was getting the stat decs from friends/family especially Australian ones. It's friends finding the time to get their passports certified. But if you read the 888 form very carefully you can use people that know you that are not Australian, (I just think your application is stronger if you can use Aussie friends/family). Also in the UK you have to pay to get things certified unlike Oz, so if you're over there get heaps of copies done!

So can I suggest get that done first, (you can date it later) because for the person to find time to certify their passport or birth certificate takes some time. Secondly get your police checks done. I did mine the cheap way and just got a Subject Access form for £10.00/ten pounds UK and knew I had to wait 40 days. I downloaded the forms and sent it off with my birth certificate and phone statement from Australia to arrive at my mum's in the UK, (that's another story). 
Also I had to get one from NZ, so I got all the forms I needed, faxed them to Wellington from the UK and got it before the UK police check!!!. BUT before all this I sent off for my certified birth certificate as this is the best form of ID.

By reading this forum, as I'm the UK applicant I collected everything I could about our relationship and my partner got all the phone bills and got copies of his passport certified and letter from work and passport photos. Since I was the applicant to be honest I did most of the work and the research, bless him.

I also researched the Relationship Register for NSW. Got all that done, sent off with all the relevant certified forms and $189 approx early November 2010 and voila got it the day I left for the UK on the 7 December and my partner bought it over for me. It takes ages as they wait for 28 days for either one of us to change our minds, plus I had to chase it. BIG NOTE - Births Deaths Marriages will only deal with/talk to the person named first on the paperwork. So even though I did all the work, they wouldn't talk to me when I was chasing them up as to when I would receive it. Get a couple of these copied and certified to send off with you de facto application. (Also it's cheaper than ordering an extra copy from BDM).

I have spent at least 2 months doing this paperwork and it's time consuming. I had to do extra work in my case because I am apart from my partner as my mum is very ill, so we decided that I would lodge it offshore, cos I won't be going back home for some time. Also if you do internet banking etc change back to paper cos getting a statement from your account WITH your address on, is soooo hard. Well it was for me.

I did my medicals yesterday, (Weds 9/2) with a wonderful lady doctor and another lady doing the x-ray in London. You have to sign an information sheet re HIV and they take copies of your passport. (For the ladies, please do not go when you are menstruating). Then you see the lady for an x ray, give a urine sample. Then you meet with the Dr. My doctor was a lovely lady. You get weighed, measured, blood taken, eyes and ears checked etc. Make sure you are not dehydrated as it's harder to find a vein. Once done, was advised by the receptionist that it would take up to 4 days to get to Aus House. You also have to advise where you are lodging and what visa the meds are for e.g. partner visa. Medicals cost me £228.00and I just booked it on Monday

I have lodged everything today, (10/2), paid my £1130 by credit card. The young guy advised I would hear something within 2 weeks. I'm sure I should have asked more questions but was so happy to get it all done.

UPDATE - 23 Feb 2011

I've sent off for my UK police check (the more expensive one as the subject access was not accepted). For the photograph element I had to ask a friend who's abroad to sign my pic. I've also had to post the paperwork for the Australian police check to my partner. I couldn't get a money order anywhere here where I live in the UK, none of my banks did a money order and after speaking to the AFP in Canberra they confirmed that they only accepted a money order or Aussie cheque. So my partner will have to send the money and paperwork off to them for me.

I went to Australia House this week and handed in my Birth Certificate and another stat dec from Australia from my partner's brother. I have less than 49 days to get the police checks back to my CO.

Today I received most of the evidence I sent back from my CO in the post - which I am assuming must mean that I've got through one part of the checking process!

Will update when I have more info.


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## Mic2608

First of all thanks Elkitten! This is a great thread that everybody who is in the process of applying for a partner visa should read before opening thousands of other threads asking the same questions over and over again!

I have a few more things to add that might be relevant for some:

Maybe first quickly to my story:I'm German,my partner Australian.I've been in Oz for a few years now (on WHV I & II),then ETA for 6 months, applied for the partner visa onshore (NSW processing centre) in April and got my visa approved within 1 week!

I front loaded my application with medicals and police checks and we got our relationship registered, because we didn't have enough 'hard evidence' to prove the min 12 months living together.

(I've heard that since jan 2011 you can't supply your medicals up front anymore.Instead you have to wait until you have a CO assigned and he asks for it.But I can't confirm that one as I did my medicals last year)

It seems that interviews are pretty rare these days if you apply onshore, that's why I think it is very important how you present your application.
There seem to be different opinions about that one out there too but summarizing:

- don't use stables/ plastic folders - use paper clips instead
- make it as easy for your CO as possible

KEEP IT SIMPLE THOUGH

Even though the checklist is kind of a table of content I would write one especially if you have lot's of supporting documents.

My application looks like this:

- Cover letter
- Partner Visa Application Checklist

1) The Applicant  
-Form 47 SP

2) Proof Of Identity
-2 recent passport size photographs
-certified copy of passport
-certified copy of birth certificate
-certified copy of NAATI accredited Translation German → English

3) Character
-Form 80 Personal particulars for character assessment
-original AFP Police Report
-original Police Report (Germany)
-certified copy of NAATI accredited Translation German → English

4) Medical

5) The Sponsor 
-Form 40 SP

6) Evidence Of Sponsor's Identity & Status-
2 recent passport size photographs
-certified copy of passport
-certified copy of full birth certificate
- Proof of Sponsor's Eligibility (Tax Assessment Notice,Payslips,Letter from Employer...)
- Sponsor Statement

Evidence of genuine & continuing relationship

7) History Of Relationship
- 2 Statements

8) Photographs

9) Financial Aspects Of Relationship
-Statement (explaining the following supporting documents)
- Evidence of joint finacial commitments & responsibilities
(joint bank account/ joint bill/ joint insurance etc)

10) The Nature Of Our Household
Statement (explaining the following supporting documents, outlining how the housework is distributed)
(joint Lease Agreement/ Reference letter from our previous landlord/joint utilities account/ correspondence addressed to us ...)

11) The Social Context Of Our Relationship
Statutory Declaration Form 888 from friends and family
-evidence of joint travel (bording passes, train tickets, hotel tax invoices...)
-evidence of joint participation (2 fishing licenses, 2 libary cards, tax invoices of joint courses (sport, language courses etc)

12) The Nature Of Commitment To Each Other
Statement (explaining the following supporting documents)
- registered relationship certificate
(evidence of email contact in time of separation/ evidence of super beneficiary)

I've hole punched the lot and put it in a simple tubeclip manilla folder

I found the pages 39/40 of the partner immi booklet very helpful in organising all the bits and pieces of evidence....

btw sorry I'm not sure if my post is better off here or in the sticky 'how to present my application'

Please comment or correct me if you know something I don't!

I hope this helps some of you

All the best and good luck with your applications!


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## marieburke83

wow that was a great help.. thank you


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## aussiegirl

*PLEASE NOTE*
This sticky is not the place to ask for advice and talk about a particular problem. Posts should only contain tips on providing evidence for the de facto visa. If you want to talk to a particular poster, send them a private message or start your own thread.

THANKS


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## mcrutti

Thank you so much elkitten! This post is filled with great information; I've already bookmarked this page for future reference. It will be invaluable as my partner and I begin our migration to Oz.

Good luck to all,
Cheers!


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## kofebear

Found the information in this thread to be very very useful, especially the information about the statements you have to make about your relationship and the household, which is outlined in the migration booklet, but not explained in huge depth.

Submitted our application a few days ago, got 6-10 months wait, hoping it will all be worth it!!

Thanks again!!


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## mossyrocks

*.........*

we have a ridiculous amount of msn and phone convo printed out to paper, am talking about 700 pages worth. am just wondering if its best to take excerpts out and/or highlight the most relative parts? or just give them the entire thing which tbh is HUGE and seems too much...


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## SarahM

mossyrocks said:


> we have a ridiculous amount of msn and phone convo printed out to paper, am talking about 700 pages worth. am just wondering if its best to take excerpts out and/or highlight the most relative parts? or just give them the entire thing which tbh is HUGE and seems too much...


Definately do *not* provide the 700 pages worth. When it comes to Skype chat histories, msn conversations, call logs, ect, make a representative selection, ideally taking a couple of examples over a long period (eg, a couple from Jan,Feb,Mar,Apr....).

It's better to have a couple of examples for each time frame, rather than 10 from one month, for example.

Then you could highlight specifically relevant parts, for example if you exchanged addresses, or talked about your plans together...


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## caiza

Hey guys, 
I found this forum at a time when I wasn't even sure if I want to risk to apply for the de facto visa and loose a lot of money. With your help and a lot of work and time I finally had the guts to do it.
I applied on Wednesday 24th of August in person in the Berlin Embassy and got approved on Monday the 29th of August!!! I still can't believe it. So glad I found you and hope I can help with my experience:

*Short background info:*
Started dating my partner (Australian) end of 2009 and lived together for 3 months in Oz. He came over to Germany to live with me August 2010. He moved in my shared house (we both share a room). We never put him on the official lease because there was a chance that the land lord wouldn't approve him. So no official rent contract and in reality i payd rent alone. Because it's a shared house, bills for power and gas or on different names too. 
My partner sent over his saving to my bank account. When he arrived he opened an own account. A part of his money stayed in my account for holidays, food and bills. So we didn't have a shared bank account. What we were worried about as well is the fact that we both don't have massive savings and neither of us has a job in Australia yet. So we put a fair bit of effort in the sponsor section too.

*What we did: *
For each section we wrote a short statement explaining the proofs and everything that might not be 100% clear. We dated it and signed them both.

*Financial aspects:*
- As mentioned before we attached all bank statements of the last year and marked any expenses that were relevant (bills, food, rent, travels). We used a colour code for the different sections and referred in our statements to the pages on the statement. 
- Just 2 months before I applied we authorized him for my account. Means he signed a paper and from then had the rights to do anything to this account. Lucky as we were this document didn't show a date!
- In the beginning of the year we bought a really cheap van (500 €) so we attached the contract (bought in of my parents).
- Copies of bills in the name of me and my house mates

*Nature of household*
- Me and my house mate are on the main lease for this apartment. 2 other room mate have a sublease with us. We then made a sublease with my partner as well and attached all contracts.
- My main address (on id and passport) is not the place we live in. I got my house mates to write a statement outlining that my partner and I were living together in this apartment since August 2010.
- Mail from the bank sent to my partner, mail of the gas provider sent to me (official mail)

*Social Context*
This was actually a section that didn't really worry us.
- 2 Stat Decs: from my partners father and from my partners brother (Australian citizen)
- Statement of my mother about the relationship and a statement of a close friend of mine, both were written really nice 
- Proof of joint membership for a motor club
- Proof of joint travels: that was a lot, we had 1 page for each trip with dates, explanation, 2-3 photos and attached the booking confirmation, boarding pass or whatever evidence we had
- photos of both of us with family and friends, we tried only use the most relevant ones, some old ones were we look very different, together with friends, also we were lucky because my partners parents met my parents and we had a group shot with all of us
- Some postcards and unofficial mail sent to both of us

*Nature of commitment*
All we had for this section was a statement in both our names about our future plans and what the relationship means to us.

*The Sponsor:*
- Statement from sponsor, about his working prospective when he goes back and about my educational background and work experience
- Work and earning proof (Group certificates, Notice of Assessment from ATO)
- Proof of education (Bachelor of Environmental Science and Management degree) 
- Resume and reference (letter of recommendation from last job)
- Proof of active job searching (Email confirmations of applications)

We were really far into the process when we realised that the Berlin embassy has a different checklist and some further forms that had to be filled in. Here is what we handed in (according to the checklist for Berlin):

*Checklist for the applicant*
- Form 47SP - Application for migration to Australia by a partner 
- From 80 - Personal particulars for character assessment
- Form 886 - Settlement Details

Included documents:
- 2 recent passport-sized photographs
- Certified copy of passport 
- Certified copy of birth certificate 
- original police clearance certificate from Germany 
- Medical examination(s) already sent in by panel doctor

*Checklist for the Sponsor *
- Form 40SP - Sponsorship for migration to Australia

Included documents:
- 1 recent passport-sized photograph
- Certified copy of the birth certificate
- Certified copy of passport 
- Sponsorship Statement 
- Sponsorship evidence

*Checklist for the Relationship Evidence *
- Relationship Pro-Forma (From Berlin Embassy asks for)
- 2 signed written statements detailing the history of our relationship
- Evidence that we have been in a de facto relationship for the prior 12 months
Including the sections: financial aspects, nature of household, social context and nature of commitment (for details see above)

We tried to go low on the staples but I really wanted everything neat and in order  I used those plastic sheet protectors that are open on the side for each section. When we handed everything in the lady at the visa desk seemed impressed and said it looks like its all there.

So from my experience it was worth any second we spent on reading, collecting, sorting, rewriting. I made sure that what we have is perfect and makes sense. So as elkitten showed: even if you cant provide that hard facts you are asked for, there may be a way to get everything together.

Thank you so so much again! Without this forum and especially this post I coulnt have done it.


----------



## miniature.moose

Congratulations Caiza! You give us all hope of shorter processing times. I didn't realize you could submit it in person at the Berlin office. Do you have to make an appointment? We're living in Hamburg so it would be worth it to go there in person to speed up the process rather than having to wait a minimum of 6 months. I thought you had to send the medical stuff (because of eHealth) and the stat decs (because of the new 6 week validity period) afterwards though... did they mention anything about this? Any help would be great as your situation seems quite similar. Thanks in advance and congratulations, again!


----------



## caiza

miniature.moose said:


> Congratulations Caiza! You give us all hope of shorter processing times. I didn't realize you could submit it in person at the Berlin office. Do you have to make an appointment? We're living in Hamburg so it would be worth it to go there in person to speed up the process rather than having to wait a minimum of 6 months. I thought you had to send the medical stuff (because of eHealth) and the stat decs (because of the new 6 week validity period) afterwards though... did they mention anything about this? Any help would be great as your situation seems quite similar. Thanks in advance and congratulations, again!


hey! i dont think handing it in in person made a real difference. they have a visa desk for inquiries and thats were we took it to. its only a receptionist working there though - she isnt involved in the whole process. about the medicals: we went to the visa desk (you can call them too) and asked if I can do them beforehand and they said as long as i go to the oficially listed panel doctors its no problem (but you better call them since its under review according to immi). When I called the clinic they told me what forms I have to bring. They send my results straight to the embassy.

It said on the website to not hand in the 888's (I wasnt aware of the 6 week period- and I thought i read everything ) but we had them already done so just handed them in too.

Good luck to you guys!


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## fmikael

Thank you so much for the info!
me and my partner have been together for three years in a long distance relationship, but we always managed to meet 2 to four times a month! now he is in Australia and we are starting to look into migration! your forum is very helpfull!

Good luck to everyone!


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## EMMACOUGH

My student visa is due to expire on the 6th November 2011- My partner is awaiting a decision on a 457 sponsorship visa. I am hoping to go on this(hopefully he has an answer soon!) Can anyone tell me- if i get this defacto application in before 6th and I go ona bridging visa, will I be allowed to work ?? I am from Ireland which is a low rish country


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## willywilly

*Yes You can!*



EMMACOUGH said:


> My student visa is due to expire on the 6th November 2011- My partner is awaiting a decision on a 457 sponsorship visa. I am hoping to go on this(hopefully he has an answer soon!) Can anyone tell me- if i get this defacto application in before 6th and I go ona bridging visa, will I be allowed to work ?? I am from Ireland which is a low rish country


Hi Mate, Yes you can! Once your temparory de_facto (visa subclass 820 for same sex) visa is granted and after your student visa is expired you will have unlimited work rights. So do not worry about work limits. The only thing you have to put an application for a DE-FACTO PARTNER VISA AND GET APPROVEL. And the other thing is once you applied for the De-Facto you will get a bridging visa for very little time and thats the waiting time its less than 6 months for most of the situation. For me it took 4 months as my application was not complete and had to send more documents. But if you put your application with all the documents you will get ur UK 820 IN LESS THAN A MONTH! CHEERS


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## thejumpingkoala

Used the tips here as well which helped enormously toward a successful PR grant for a defacto relationship 
Thanks for all the time and effort!


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## miniature.moose

I have one very important tip. Make sure you check that your credit card doesn't have a daily limit before making the application and if it does, arrange with your bank to temporarily remove or increase the limit for a few days. I didn't realise but my partner's CC had a credit limit of 500 Euros per day - I had no idea. We spent months working on our application, not to mention lots of money on police clearances, notarised documents, etc, only to get an email a couple of days after posting our application saying that we had submitted an invalid visa application. We have a week to sort it out before our visa gets dumped (hoping they send it back to us at least but who knows). We have increased his CC limit and resent the CC authorisation forms and are now waiting to hear back whether our application is now valid. It seems like such a simple thing but it's easy to overlook. Definitely look into this BEFORE submitting your visa- hopefully spare you the disappointment and anxiety we're facing. Good luck!


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## devxon

Thank you, very good information!


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## runee

Hi
Even I have a same problem. My boyfriend id in Australia and I'm planning to go next year but we don' have any evidence like cards and all that. I had but I losted but we share birthday cards and valentine's day card via email. Basically ecards. Now I have a question that will it also work as an evidence?

Ragards


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## barneycousteau

Here's a good tip:

Even if they don't ask you to get an AFP check, get one as soon as you lodge your application (it's only $43), and send it as an attachment to your application form. 

Cheers


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## Flipsenorita

I had a similar problem!!

Applied to DC office..my partner is the applicant..i used my credit card but didn't know my bank had frozen my card the same day th app got received ! Just our luck that somewhere i used my cc was under federal investigation for fraud & wouldnt unblock my card..

Same thing we had a week to make payment..very frustrating & worried! I transfered the money to my parents account & used their card..waiting waiting & no answer after a week..so called to see if they took payment...found out the girl who sent the original email about 1st declined card was on holiday leave & hadnt done anything!!

My advice is to keep calling the embassy! The little card fiasco had delayed our app by prob a month.. 



miniature.moose said:


> I have one very important tip. Make sure you check that your credit card doesn't have a daily limit before making the application and if it does, arrange with your bank to temporarily remove or increase the limit for a few days. I didn't realise but my partner's CC had a credit limit of 500 Euros per day - I had no idea. We spent months working on our application, not to mention lots of money on police clearances, notarised documents, etc, only to get an email a couple of days after posting our application saying that we had submitted an invalid visa application. We have a week to sort it out before our visa gets dumped (hoping they send it back to us at least but who knows). We have increased his CC limit and resent the CC authorisation forms and are now waiting to hear back whether our application is now valid. It seems like such a simple thing but it's easy to overlook. Definitely look into this BEFORE submitting your visa- hopefully spare you the disappointment and anxiety we're facing. Good luck!


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## NieNL

Also something pretty obvious: keep a copy of your application form.

Form 80 asks a few questions which are identical to the original application form. Especially when you have done a lot of travelling and/or living abroad in the last 10 years it is a pain in the rearside to produce the right list of dates and places all over.


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## AmyFB

Great help! Thanks so much!


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## RogerA

Hey guys just want to ask if same sex de facto can also register their relationship? I do have joint bills and rental lease for 12 months but I was thinking to register our relationship so my application is stronger.
Please advise me on this thanks.

Also I want to ask is a "partner wills" would be good to put with my application? 

Thanks heaps
RA


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## Gerry

Same sex couples can register their relationships in some of the states. Here's the info for NSW:

NSW Registry of Births Deaths & Marriages


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## larzipan

*almost finished application*

Hi,

So my partners application for partner visa is almost complete except for her medical and police/fbi check. Should we send in her application now just to get started and then forward results of her medical and police check after?

Just because we live in the US but I am leaving in a month to go back home to Aus because my visa runs out... Just wanna get opinions before we do anything!


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## huggoo

fill in forms on your pc using a pdf editor such as adobe acrobat or pdf xchange. this makes form filling and editing a LOT easier, especially if you and your partner live apart. use version control if you want to ensure that you know exactly which form was sent to the embassy.


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## KrystHell

Hi there,

Quick question. I am in the process of applying for the prospective spouse visa and I read the booklet. It says the stat dec have to be done bby Aussie residents/citizens only.

However, I've read through a few pages and some of you had family members from back home doing declarations...I'm now very confused. We were under the impression that was not feasible! 

Can you let me know whether I can get my mum (who's French and lives in France) to do a declaration for example?

Thanks a lot.


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## whatnext

You need 2 stat decs from Australian permanent residents/citizens but you can add extra stat decs on top of that. The additional ones can be anyone but they don't hold as much weight as the Aussie ones. You can have your mum fill in the French equivalent of a stat dec and have it witnessed it certified so it's a bit more official.


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## KrystHell

whatnext said:


> You need 2 stat decs from Australian permanent residents/citizens but you can add extra stat decs on top of that. The additional ones can be anyone but they don't hold as much weight as the Aussie ones. You can have your mum fill in the French equivalent of a stat dec and have it witnessed it certified so it's a bit more official.


Thanks a lot Whatnext.

We're going to get my partner's parents, his sister, and 4 Aussie friends to do this. My mum hasn't met my partner in real life so I assumed it would make more impact to have his family and our close friends do the stat dec.

I was just asking because he's coming to France in April and my mum could fill one once she has met him.


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## whatnext

It would still be good to have one from your mum even if it just a statement. Would be nice to have something from your family confirming your relationship. Having said that we only supplied stat decs from my mum and dad, I'm the sponsor, and it wasn't an issue.


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## KrystHell

whatnext said:


> It would still be good to have one from your mum even if it just a statement. Would be nice to have something from your family confirming your relationship. Having said that we only supplied stat decs from my mum and dad, I'm the sponsor, and it wasn't an issue.


The thing is she never physically met him given I've been away for the past year. Last time I was in France was last February for a holiday.

I might get her to do a stat dec anyway. Do you reckon she can get away with doing it in English? She's fluent so it wouldn't be an issue for her and we wouldn't have to get it translated.


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## miniature.moose

She can definitely do it in English if she's comfortable with that. Save yourself a bit of money on getting a certified translation.


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## whatnext

It doesn't matter that she hasn't met your partner. It's notably addition to your required stat decs so she can still write one saying she is aware of the relationship, they have met over Skype or spoken on the phone and that she knows this is a genuine relationship for you.


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## jhong_gfv

hi! hope someone can enlighten me with regards to my concern. 

Currently my partner is working in New Zealand and last week by request of a prospect employer he went to Australia for an interview and luckily they accepted him. He will be applying 457, and he is considering to include me on his application. Of course his soon new employer knows bout my partner's plan. He's been in New Zealand for 4years now, and just had a 15days vacation last May 2010. We're still not married but I have documents to prove that prior he first left the Philippines last 2008 we are already living together for 1year and 5months and I we still have the original copy of rental agreement. Then after that I moved to my mother's place, together with that was the changing of address of my partner permanent address that will depict on his Tax Identification Number, Medicare, and SSS (Social Security System) as well his police address and Postal ID.... all of it is the same as mine. We also have joint bank account and I was also able to keep some of the western union receipts and only one trip ticket together. and some pictures. 

My questions is... how those everything will undergo? do my partner need to attach those proofs during his lodgment? Is it possible for him to include me during his lodgment while im here in the Philippines? I was gathering all proofs as I can coz initially we are planning to follow him in NZ till the opportunity for OZ came. We both dont have any idea how this thing will go thru. Im hoping someone can give me a preview... thanks in advance and god bless us all


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## Spikey

One of my relatives has the opportunity to work for a company who are able to obtain a 4 year visa for him as he has a particular skill. The only concern he has is that he does not want to stay for the full four years with one company - although he would certainly stay long enough to benefit the company for their endeavours. He wants to spend around two years in the East and two years in the West. Can anyone say how long you are tied to the company who obtains the visa before thinking of moving to another employer?


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## celesteluna

very informative, thank you for sharing.


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## KierKaijuKaos

Not sure if its been asked already, but does every single piece of evidence need to be witnessed?

Putting everything together at the moment..... I have been with partner for 3 years and never really thought about collecting evidence of our relationship, was too busy having a relationship, this site is proving to be very helpful though!


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## honest

*thank you!*

Dear elkitten,

I just wanted to say thank you for posting this very detailed information about putting a partner visa application together. My partner and I were concerned that we didn't have enough solid evidence such as shared bank accounts, assets etc. and so we followed your advice of going through bank statements and highlighting EVERYTHING and providing receipts etc. etc., especially as my partner is Argentinean.

Thanks to your tips and a lot of careful research we presented a very detailed application, which explained everything in stat decs in sections. We just found out yesterday that my partner's visa was approved!! Yay! We waited just 6 months and were not required to do an interview!

Again, thank you, and for anyone wishing for more information on applying for the 309/100 Partner visa from Argentina, I am happy to provide details of all the work we did in preparing our application.


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## superman89

Hey guys, I had a question about my situation.
My Gf age 20 will be sponsoring me, we have joint bank accounts from over a year and half with regular deposits and withdrawals, I have got the house lease under my name and utility bills under hers. We are planning on applying for a defacto relationship Visa. In march we registered our relationship in the NSW court hoping that will allow us to apply it before the 12 months period time since We haven't got the proof that we lived together for 12 months. So I am wondering 
1: if we can still apply for the visa under 12 months period time? 
2: What visa will I be on as soon as I apply? as currently I am on Student Visa which expires on March2013.
3: My Gf doesn't work shes a full time student so would I be eligible to apply for more working rights to support us? Or they will be asking for more financial proofs such as AOS?
4: This whole process will be unknown to my Gfs parents, as due to personal problems we would tell them later in few months time not right now, would that be any problem? since shes already 18+.
5:There are certain times where my gf doesn't live with me as she has family here in australia, but we do see each other regularly, would they do any type of checking’s or surprise visit?
6: We will be presenting 3 or max 4 statutory declarations from friends who will support our relationship.
7: We have saved up few receipts that are important to us will be giving those with a brief description with it, and around 20 pics together or with friends;
8: what is the processing time? is it 2 years after we apply for the visa or is it 2 years after we receive the Case officer? As in after I get TR?
Guys please let me know if I am on the right track and if i need to do anything else?


Thanks

4:


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## respall

Hi, Everyone! Just a quick heads up! I note the last post on this thread is dated 22-06-2011 5:50pm. There have been many changes since then so please be very careful when lodging any Partner visa application off-shore or on-shore. E.g. New e-health procedures, Birth and Marriage evidencing in particular off-shore posts such as the Philippines, etc. Thank you!


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## respall

Ooopppssss . . . I something happened . . it jumped to a post yesterday! Sorry!


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## Coronagirl64

KierKaijuKaos said:


> Not sure if its been asked already, but does every single piece of evidence need to be witnessed?
> 
> Putting everything together at the moment..... I have been with partner for 3 years and never really thought about collecting evidence of our relationship, was too busy having a relationship, this site is proving to be very helpful though!


Hiya,

Only the legal type of documents need to be certified; passports, birth certificates, marriage and divorce certificates etc. Form 888 Stat Dec's also have to be certified. Other information to prove and support the relationship just needs to be a copy.

Hope that helps,

Kathy


----------



## sabuhrman

*Thanks!*

This has been so unbelievably helpful and I am so thankful that you had taken the time to post this! It took away so much stress!


----------



## ania

*need help !!*

Hi everyone, thank you very much for your post. Just want you to know how very helpful you've been.
I hope one of you can help me. We are based in UK im Polish my partner is English. He was recently granted his visa and we want to relocate asap as it was always his dream to live in OZ.
We have a 5 months old baby and really don't want to live apart. Is it true that for him to be able to sponsor me he has to live in OZ and I have to stay I UK??


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## Guldsandal

*Bridging visa and permission to work*

Right now I am on a tourist visa, and can not work.

When I hand in my application for 820 visa - do I hand in my application for a Bridging visa at the same time?

When I have gotten the bridging visa, do I THEN apply to get the "No Work"-restriction removed, or do I do it on the first time, I apply for a bridging visa?

Thanx


----------



## fmikael

Guldsandal said:


> Right now I am on a tourist visa, and can not work.
> 
> When I hand in my application for 820 visa - do I hand in my application for a Bridging visa at the same time?
> 
> When I have gotten the bridging visa, do I THEN apply to get the "No Work"-restriction removed, or do I do it on the first time, I apply for a bridging visa?
> 
> Thanx


Hey there.
a Bruidging Visa will kick in, only when your Current visa expires, and it serves you as a bridge until an assessment on ur situation is made, and a Permanant resedancy is granted to you.
Depending on what the old visa that you have your Bridging visa will have the same benifits as the old one, but from what I understand there are some cases where you apply to get a work.permit, but it is still up to the Case officer.
Again I am not professional but I hope that I Helped.
Good luck.


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## gersie

*Easy way to navigate partner visa application process*

After months of preparing for this, here's my tip! To make this process easier for yourself, do what I did-write yourself up a table of contents for your application and the documents you will need to gather for this. I have pasted mine below, it is fairly standard and you could use it too only you will need to adjust it in the "Evidence of Relationship" section. I have put in what documents we can provide,. if you have joint car, house etc, add those in too. Hope this helps, I posted this because I know what a huge task it can feel like at the beginning! 
NOTE i am not an immigration agent and I am not claiming this is perfect it is just my piece of advice!

Cover Letter

Partner Visa Application Check list

Table of Contents

1)	THE APPLICANT
1.1	Form 47 SP
1.2	Proof of identity
1.2.1	Birth Certificate (Certified Copy & Certified NAATI Translated Copy)
1.2.2	Passport-biographical page and all stamped pages (Certified Copy & Certified NAATI Translated Copy)
1.2.3	Previous passport-biographical page and all stamped pages (Certified Copy)
1.3	Character
1.3.1	Form 80 (Personal Particulars for character assessment)
1.3.2	Australian Federal Police Check Report (Original)
1.3.3	German Police Check Report (Original & Certified NAATI Translated Original)

2)	THE SPONSOR
2.1 Form 40SP
2.2 Proof identity and age
2.2.1 Birth Certificate (Certified copy)
2.2.2 Passport-biographical page and all stamped pages (Certified copies)
3 Proof that sponsor normally resides in Australia
2.3.1 Current Lease agreement (Certified copy)
2.3.1 Current Australian driver's license (Certified copy
2.4 Evidence of sponsor's income
2.1	Tax assessment notice 2011 (Certified copy)
2.2	Tax assessment notice 2012 (Certified copy)
3	RELATIONSHIP
3.1	Evidence that the sponsor and the applicant have been in de facto relationship for 12 months.
3.1.1	Deceleration from the homeowner (sponsor's father) of time period in which both the sponsor and the applicant resided at the address together. 
3.1.2	Proof of sponsor and applicant living in first address (bank statements)
3.1.3	Lease agreement for second address
3.1.4	Rental receipt from second address
3.1.5	Letter's addressed to applicant and sponsor at second address.
3.2	History of relationship
3.2.1	Sponsor's History of relationship statement (signed and witnessed)
3.2.2	Applicant's History of Relationship Statement(signed and witnessed)
3.3	Evidence of relationship
3.3.1	Financial aspects
3.3.1.1	Proof of joint bank account
3.3.1.2	Sharing of finances (bank statements)
3.3.1.3	Phone contract
3.3.1.4	Phone bill payments
3.3.1.5	Electricity bill
3.3.1.6	Rent (on bank statements, receipts)
3.3.2	The nature of the household
3.3.2.1	Statement outlining the basis on which responsibility for housework is distributed
3.3.2.2	Joint rental payment
3.3.2.3	Electricity bill
3.3.2.4	Correspondence addressed to both of us at the same address
3.3.3	Social context of the relationship
3.3.3.1	Statutory declarations from friends
3.3.3.2	Statutory decelerations from family
3.3.3.3	Evidence of joint travel
3.3.3.4	Facebook post's from friends?/fbook mutual friends
3.3.3.5	Photographs 
3.3.4	Nature of commitment to each other
3.3.4.1	Statement about future plans
3.3.4.2	Correspondence during times apart (Facebook, Skype etc)

Attachments
Four passport photo's of Applicant
Four passport photo's of Sponsor


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## crasht

Hi Everyone and thank you so much for the tips here. I have used them and believe our application will be stronger for it. We didn't want to use an agent when so many others have been successful without one.

I wanted to re-iterate that you should really make sure that you check the checklist for the Australian Embassy in the country you are applying for your visa class. The reason for this is that there are differences between what the immigration checklist from the Australian site has compared to the Chilean Embassy in which we are applying through (for Colombia).
One example is that the Australian checklist for the 300 visa requests Certified copies of the passport identification page. ie black and white copy of the photo page.
The Chilean Embassy requests COLOUR copies of the whole Passport for Colombian visa's. This has added a small delay to sending in our application.

This is one example and I imagine there might be more in various other countries so definately check that. It was mentioned here in an earlier post, I just wanted to highlight it a little more.

Otherwise, from what I can tell from everyone that has been approved, the effort and time you put into this is definately worth the relief and absolute thrill when that approval comes in. 

Best of Luck everyone.


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## Ranzi

RogerA said:


> Hey guys just want to ask if same sex de facto can also register their relationship? I do have joint bills and rental lease for 12 months but I was thinking to register our relationship so my application is stronger.
> Please advise me on this thanks.
> 
> Also I want to ask is a "partner wills" would be good to put with my application?
> 
> Thanks heaps
> RA


Hi RA,

I believe it is advisable to register your relationship, we did as of short of a year ago in NSW, my partner and I have been in a long distance relationship since August 2010. we lodged our application late May 2012 and she has her interview in 48hours. We both have also provided Wills to show our strong commitment. It was very hard to collaborate evidence for us as we dont live together, so anything extra's as registration/wills are strongly advisable. fingers crossed we wont have a long wait ahead as its been extremely hard as it is. Good luck with yours.


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## JIM GORR

*which visa to apply*

Hi, 
I really liked this web site. There are so much information here. 
However to my great surprise, there are not many Russian or Post Soviet country users here.. 
That's why I need to ask a question. Would appreciate if you share anything about it.

1.	I live in Adelaide and my future wife is in Uzbekistan. We have been together for quite a while . We want to get married and legally bond our relationship. However she hasn't been to Australia yet. The problem is I want to get married and wait until visa decision made to make a wedding ceremony. Then bring her here to start her studies. We won't be living at the same place because I will be in Australia because of my work commitments. That's why which visa would best suit me? . Prospective Marriage (subclass 300) or Partner (temporary) subclass 309?

2.	And what is the processing time currently in Moscow? I looked up previous threads and didn't meet any Russian Embassy applicants. 
Thanks


----------



## Adventuress

Hi Jim Gorr,

Coincidentally, I had a family friend from Adelaide who, a few years ago, married his wife from Uzbekistan. When you get up to five posts I will be able to send you private messages regarding this, but I don't want to discuss their story on the public forum.

It sounds as though your best bet would be the Prospective Marriage visa. Since you're not living together it would be very difficult to gather enough evidence for any sort of spouse visa (married or de facto), and anecdotal evidence on the forum shows that it's much easier to get a prospective marriage visa because it doesn't come with any of the rights and privileges that a partner visa does. Since you've already met (I assume?) and your relationship is long-standing, it seems there will be little reason to deny her a prospective marriage visa.

Then when she is already here, you can get married and apply for the partner visa, and she will be able to stay with you in Australia until a decision is made on that. I'm not sure that she will be able to study any courses of long duration during that time.

On the other hand, if you get married now and apply for a partner visa, she will have to be outside Australia for the whole time until the decision is made (could be 9-12 months).

In any case, you could also have her apply for a tourist visa to Australia to visit you, but if this is given, it will likely be given with a 'no further stay' condition, which will prevent her from extending her stay and also from applying for any other visa. But it will be a way for you and her to spend some time in the same country and for her to be introduced to Australia.


----------



## Greeneye81

*Migration Consultant*

Hi Elkitten,

I have 2 questions:

1. Have you lodged your application through an Immigration Consultant or did you do it on your own?
2. Were you able to find a job (permanent) on a bridging visa work type B?

Thanks

GE



elkitten said:


> *Very Unofficial Defacto Visa Tips*
> 
> I learned a whole lot about this Visa while going through the process myself. My application was "unusual" in that I had many unique circumstances and problems to deal with-we had no real joint assets/neat financial evidence, we had no neat proof of living together, and we had to put evidence together while he was in Australia and I was in the U.S.A. So here are some tips that I learned along the way which I hope might help you out too!
> 
> Some Rules:
> 
> DO NOT post about your own individual situation here-post it on the main board where everyone can help you and benefit from the answers you receive.
> 
> I AM NOT a migration agent/immi authority-I cannot guarantee that what worked for me will work for you and I am not responsible for what you choose to include in your application or not.
> 
> THIS IS NOT everything you have to do, these are just tips, make absolutely sure you read the all the necessary information before applying, and double check before sending.
> 
> DO POST any additional defacto tips or suggestions you have here!
> 
> I am a Canadian citizen, who applied in the U.S.A-this means I am from a Low Risk country, so High Risk country people may have to go even further in proving both their relationship and character. (It sucks, but that's the way it is unfortunately).
> 
> *Part 1: RESEARCH!!!! *(notice I won't put up any links because it is so important you research for yourself on the immi website-only you can really know if you are eligible and exactly what you will need).
> 
> -Read the Partner Migration Booklet and answer these questions: are you eligible? What sort of evidence will you need? How can you prove the 12 month relationship requirement? What sort of documents will you need to prove your identity (passport, birth certificate etc)? What documents will your sponsor have to provide? What character checks will you need? What will you need translated? Print out the booklet and make notes as you go-make notes of what you will need to look up and what you don't understand.
> 
> -Read and print the two application forms (47sp and 40sp). Is there any question on there that you will need to look up the answer?
> 
> -If you are from a High Risk country, one of the members here, Rav, found out that you do need to fill out a form 80 even if the immi website is not clear at all as to whether or not you will need one.
> 
> - Look up where your nearest immi panel Doctor is for your health check: you may need to travel a fair distance and it's a good idea to check asap. Call the doctors even to make sure they are still doing the medicals and how much they costs-they do not all charge the same thing so if you have a few options, call around. Also ask them how available appointments are-it might take a while for you to get in, so again, good to know and good to plan for. Print out or save the medical forms found on the immi website.
> 
> -Go on the websites of the places you will need character checks/police checks from. How long do they take? What do you need to provide? If you will need fingerprints, where will you get them (your local police station may do them for free) and how many fingerprint cards do you need? How much does each police check cost? Do you have to provide a bank draft in the local currency? If so, where and how will you get it?
> 
> -Will you need to get any documents translated? If so, go on the website of the embassy where you will be applying and they normally have a link as to how you can find an approved translator. You can contact a translator via e-mail early to see how much they charge and how long it takes.
> 
> -Did you notice that you need a whole bunch of passport size photo's of you and your partner? You need them to apply, for the medical, and for some police checks-write down how many you will need to save yourself a few trips to the photo booth!
> 
> -Who will you ask to write Statutory Declarations on your behalf? Contact them asap to ask and send them the form so they can start working on it. It might be helpful to write to them what you think they could include. Remember, they need to get it certified along with proof they are an Aussie citizen-this can take people a while to actually get out and do, so it's a good idea to ask them very early on! (hint: the more the merrier, you need at least two, but I supplied 7 because I could, so if you can, get a good few people to do it!)
> 
> -Where can you get documents certified? Will it cost you anything? In the U.S one must go to a lawyer or notary public (banks usually have a notary public), but in Australia there is a plethora of people who can do it for you and for free. It's important info to know at the beginning (a google search of "where can I get documents certified in X" will usually lead you in the right direction).
> 
> *Part 2: Whole lot of writing and evidence gathering!*
> 
> Now that you have a massive to do list and that you know what you will need to provide, it's time to get it all together.
> 
> -Wait to get stuff certified: all official documents (passport copies, birth certificate copies etc) and stat decs need to be certified. Save yourself a trip and wait until you are sure you have everything that will need to be certified-I got extra's of my passport certified too, just in-case.
> 
> -Figure out if you will do your medical and police checks now and hand them in with the application or hand them in after you have sent in the application. Certain places, Singapore for example, require a letter from your CO before you can send off your police clearance so you may not be able to do them all right away (if this is the case, ask your CO the minute they contact you for the letter you need). I did all of my checks and medicals within the month after my CO was assigned and had no problems in it taking longer, but it is up to you.
> 
> -KEEP IN MIND: It is super important to remember while doing this that your CO will not be a mind reader! Do you think that there is some explaining to do on some of the evidence you provide? I had a whole LOT to explain: my billing addresses were different from where my BF and I lived, there were date problems with statements because I had American accounts, the rental bond didn't have my boyfriends name on it, we had no bills in EITHER of our names and much, much more! I (as the applicant, not the sponsor) wrote a Statutory Declaration for each of the evidence "sections" (financial, nature of the household, social context etc) and had those statements certified. My CO later told me that this helped with the process a lot-just don't go overboard and write a saga for each piece of evidence! Keep it short, succinct and just explain what needs to be explained.
> 
> -Stat Decs from you and your partner: You can write these on your computer rather than on the stat dec form your friends and family will fill out for you. In the Partner Migration Booklet, there is a section that tells you what questions to answer. My declaration ended up being quite long and descriptive because it had to be due to my situation-this part is actually fun because it's nice to see what your partner will write about you! They don't both have to be super long, but make sure you both put some time and effort into it. Don't forget to get them certified!
> 
> -Get your "identifying" documents together-since you will probably need identifying documents for more than your application (police checks for example) make sure you make enough copies.
> 
> -Fill out the two forms (47 and 40sp)-make sure you both have your dates straight! I don't know about you, but there was a whole lot of "uuhhh's" being uttered when we were trying to figure out the exact date we started dating&#8230;
> 
> continued next post.....


----------



## superman89

Hello Everyone, I just want to double check if I am on the right track since I am quite new to this and was unsure about few things.
Well my Sponsor is my Australia GF she is 20 years old full time student and I am 23 International student. We both have been in a relationship from last 2 years? We can provide 1 year lease electricity bills and phone bills on her name. And on top we have also certified our relationship from the Court 6 months ago to make our file stronger. But now We believe would be better to go for a spouse visa instead of a DEFACTO,. 
-	Is it true the process will be less complicated for Spouse than Defacto? The forms are same the documents checklist are same too? As in the timeline with Spouse is less than Defacto? Sine I am on Student Will I straight out go to Temporary Residency or Bridging Visa like in Defacto?
-	As per Working Conditions, since my GF doesn’t work in a Spouse Visa I believe they will let me do more work? 
We have photos together, bank joint accounts, letters on our name, car insurances, and superannuation too.
-	So I am wondering, since we won’t tell my GF’s family about the marriage at court would that create any problem? Since she is already 18+? We ll have few friends at court who will be also the witness, and in photos as well we have only photos of us together, we don’t have any with family. Would that create a problem too? 
Thanks for replying guys, 
-


----------



## blubb125

Hi there

We have only just lodged our partner visa application and this forum was very helpful when we had to get all the evidence together.

I'm Swiss and my fiancé is Australian. We both live in England together but his work and travel visa is running out early in November. I plan to go to Australia with him and wait until the visa is being granted. Hopefully it won't take too long.

Here's what evidence we have supplied:

Application Document Checklist
Payment Mandate Form

*The Applicant*
Form 47SP
List of countries visited during the last 10 years
Certified copy of passport
Certified copy of birth certificate and translation of birth certificate
4 Passport-size photographs

*The Sponsor*
Form 40SP 
Certified copy of passport
Sponsorship undertaking statement
Proof of employment history (incl. statement to explain that he was traveling for some time as well)
2 Passport-size photographs

*History of Relationship*

*Evidence of relationship - Financial aspect*
Used Vehicle Invoice
Car Registration Certificate
Certificate of Motor Insurance
Travel Insurance
Joint current account (opening statement)
Joint savings account (opening statement)

*Evidence of relationship - The nature of household*
Statement 
Tenancy Agreement (furnished and all bills included)
Deposit Protection Certificate
Joint current account statements (explaining all expenses)
Correspondence from families and friends

*Evidence of relationship - Social context of relationship*
Facebook (showing that we have many common friends and photos, and also showing that our mum's are Facebook friends )
Statutory Declarations (2 from Australians and 4 Swiss)
Evidence of joint activities (concert tickets, musical tickets...)
Joint Travel (eTickets from airlines plus when we visited each other when we were apart)
Photos

*Evidence of relationship - The nature of commitment to each other*
Life cover nomination of beneficiary
Skype Call History for over 1 year when we were separated
e-mail account extracts showing how we sent each other emails when we were apart

I'm conscious we don't have too much evidence but that's really everything we could gather!


----------



## tokai86

abit of tips for people try to lodge onshore, try to lodge complete or decision ready application. if you believe your application is complete or decision ready application, put a note on top of your application to notice them that your application is a decision ready application.

hope it might help!! good luck


----------



## ksss1

How do you prove skype conversations and mobile messaging?


----------



## aussiegirl

I think there is a function in skype to print conversations? As for phone messages you could take a picture if the screen.


----------



## KierKaijuKaos

*Stressed Out!*

So I put my application in at the end of July, it was incomplete, as I had to wait for the UK police check, which was then lost in the post, it turned up 53 days later, the second one I ordered took 10 days, so I handed that in to complete my application as of the end of August.

I know they said up to a year to process, but when or how do I find out if I've been assigned a CO or how do i find out any information at all about the application? I know I should just sit and wait, but that's all I am doing at the moment. I am trying to get work, but as soon as they hear I am on a briding visa, they aren't interested, so all I can do is sit and stress at the moment, lol

It doesn't help that 2 friends who have gone through the same process got theirs in a month.


----------



## Miss Swan

KierKaijuKaos said:


> I know they said up to a year to process, but when or how do I find out if I've been assigned a CO or how do i find out any information at all about the application? I know I should just sit and wait, but that's all I am doing at the moment. I am trying to get work, but as soon as they hear I am on a briding visa, they aren't interested, so all I can do is sit and stress at the moment, lol
> 
> It doesn't help that 2 friends who have gone through the same process got theirs in a month.


You can call 1800 040 070 to request for a VEVO password. VEVO doesn't really do much for you except show you your current visa status. I've read about partner visa cases where there was approval but the applicant was never informed of being allocated a CO and she found out by logging on to VEVO and looking at her visa status.


----------



## KierKaijuKaos

Miss Swan said:


> You can call 1800 040 070 to request for a VEVO password. VEVO doesn't really do much for you except show you your current visa status. I've read about partner visa cases where there was approval but the applicant was never informed of being allocated a CO and she found out by logging on to VEVO and looking at her visa status.


Ah OK, thank you for that! I shall call them on Monday morning, Its very frustrating being kept in the dark.


----------



## sluzberg

Hi,

As I frequently read this site whilst putting together my partner's defacto visa application, I thought I would post my tips and what we submitted as we were successful in getting his visa approved in less than a week, so we must have done something right!

Our background is I am Australian and my partner is British. We have been together for a little over 2 years and living together for 1 year and 2 months. We lodged our visa onshore in person in Melbourne on the 25th September and received the visa grant letter in the mail on 2nd October (the letter was dated 27th September!)

We categorised everything (like other people have mentioned here) and paper clipped the relevant sections together. We put post-its on anything which needed explaining (although most of it was self-explanatory) We put a large bulldog clip around all the paperwork and submitted it like that.

The part of our application which we were most paranoid about was the proof of living together for a year. We had been living together for 1 year and 2 months when we lodged, however for the first three months we lived at 3 separate addresses and only had 2 pieces of correspondence each addressed to us during this time. To compensate for this, we had friends who had been to our houses write the addresses we lived at and dates in their witness statements (as well as including it in our own statements).

My first tip is to double and triple check everything, especially the application forms. Write neatly (or type) and ensure you have answered every question correctly. Some of those forms are long and detailed and it is easy to make mistakes. Double check each other's forms. Just make sure you get them right! This sounds like simple advice, but as I work in an environment where we deal with a lot of forms on a daily basis, you would not believe how many people make simple mistakes or how many peoples writing is unreadable.

My second tip is to provide the necessary documents, but don't flood them with irrelevant info. I met a girl once who told be she submitted 400 photos of her and her partner in her application and couldn't help but think that sounded a bit too over the top. I think DIAC get the idea after a few!

Here is a list of documents we submitted:

Form 40sp
Form 47sp
Form 80
Stat decs from each of us detailing our relationship history and how the relationship works
Certified copies of both passports & birth certificates
Police checks
Health check
2 x Passport photos each (with our names written on the back)
Letter and payslips from my work

Genuine relationship proof
7 x Stat decs from witnesses (all Australian citizens) with certified copies of their passports (5 x friends and 2 x relatives)
Our tax returns listing each other as a spouse
Car registration in my name
Car insurance documents listing both of us as drivers
Receipt for new tyres for the car in partner's name 
Joint bank account statement showing everyday expenses
Boarding passes/accommodation bookings from 3 holidays taken together
Tickets to a concert with our names on it
Emails to various family members talking about the relationship
Emails to each other during periods of separation (our periods apart were only 3 weeks on 2 separate occasions)
Phone bills showing calls to each other during periods of separation
Skype log during periods of separation

Proof of living together for at least 1 year

Various pieces of mail addressed to us over the course of the year at the 3 addresses we lived at
Bank statement showing my partner transferring rent money to me (before we had a joint bank account)
Facebook event invite to our housewarming party
8 x photos printed from Facebook showing us with people who made witness statements and dates
Bills in joint names showing our address
Bills in individual names showing our address

I hope this helps! Remember that the better the quality of your application, the more likely you are to get a faster processing time. Good luck!


----------



## KierKaijuKaos

*Thanks!*



Miss Swan said:


> You can call 1800 040 070 to request for a VEVO password. VEVO doesn't really do much for you except show you your current visa status. I've read about partner visa cases where there was approval but the applicant was never informed of being allocated a CO and she found out by logging on to VEVO and looking at her visa status.


I have got the password set up and went online to check, sadly no amazing news but at least it has given me a visa grant number and expiry date (indefinite) which should help me along when finding work. Fingers crossed something happens soon. I don't want to be one of these guys waiting for 13 months +, we just want to get on with building a life together! over 3 and a half years together already and I don't want it to end any time soon!


----------



## bma

sluzberg said:


> Hi,
> 
> As I frequently read this site whilst putting together my partner's defacto visa application, I thought I would post my tips and what we submitted as we were successful in getting his visa approved in less than a week, so we must have done something right!
> 
> Our background is I am Australian and my partner is British. We have been together for a little over 2 years and living together for 1 year and 2 months. We lodged our visa onshore in person in Melbourne on the 25th September and received the visa grant letter in the mail on 2nd October (the letter was dated 27th September!)
> 
> We categorised everything (like other people have mentioned here) and paper clipped the relevant sections together. We put post-its on anything which needed explaining (although most of it was self-explanatory) We put a large bulldog clip around all the paperwork and submitted it like that.
> 
> The part of our application which we were most paranoid about was the proof of living together for a year. We had been living together for 1 year and 2 months when we lodged, however for the first three months we lived at 3 separate addresses and only had 2 pieces of correspondence each addressed to us during this time. To compensate for this, we had friends who had been to our houses write the addresses we lived at and dates in their witness statements (as well as including it in our own statements).
> 
> My first tip is to double and triple check everything, especially the application forms. Write neatly (or type) and ensure you have answered every question correctly. Some of those forms are long and detailed and it is easy to make mistakes. Double check each other's forms. Just make sure you get them right! This sounds like simple advice, but as I work in an environment where we deal with a lot of forms on a daily basis, you would not believe how many people make simple mistakes or how many peoples writing is unreadable.
> 
> My second tip is to provide the necessary documents, but don't flood them with irrelevant info. I met a girl once who told be she submitted 400 photos of her and her partner in her application and couldn't help but think that sounded a bit too over the top. I think DIAC get the idea after a few!
> 
> Here is a list of documents we submitted:
> 
> Form 40sp
> Form 47sp
> Form 80
> Stat decs from each of us detailing our relationship history and how the relationship works
> Certified copies of both passports & birth certificates
> Police checks
> Health check
> 2 x Passport photos each (with our names written on the back)
> Letter and payslips from my work
> 
> Genuine relationship proof
> 7 x Stat decs from witnesses (all Australian citizens) with certified copies of their passports (5 x friends and 2 x relatives)
> Our tax returns listing each other as a spouse
> Car registration in my name
> Car insurance documents listing both of us as drivers
> Receipt for new tyres for the car in partner's name
> Joint bank account statement showing everyday expenses
> Boarding passes/accommodation bookings from 3 holidays taken together
> Tickets to a concert with our names on it
> Emails to various family members talking about the relationship
> Emails to each other during periods of separation (our periods apart were only 3 weeks on 2 separate occasions)
> Phone bills showing calls to each other during periods of separation
> Skype log during periods of separation
> 
> Proof of living together for at least 1 year
> 
> Various pieces of mail addressed to us over the course of the year at the 3 addresses we lived at
> Bank statement showing my partner transferring rent money to me (before we had a joint bank account)
> Facebook event invite to our housewarming party
> 8 x photos printed from Facebook showing us with people who made witness statements and dates
> Bills in joint names showing our address
> Bills in individual names showing our address
> 
> I hope this helps! Remember that the better the quality of your application, the more likely you are to get a faster processing time. Good luck!


Congratulations on your super quick visa grant! We have very similar evidence (expect we have never been apart and we're married) and it was even put together in a similar way. We've been waiting for almost six months (Sydney).

Congratulations once again!!


----------



## GermanGirl

sluzberg said:


> Hi,
> 
> As I frequently read this site whilst putting together my partner's defacto visa application, I thought I would post my tips and what we submitted as we were successful in getting his visa approved in less than a week, so we must have done something right!
> 
> Our background is I am Australian and my partner is British. We have been together for a little over 2 years and living together for 1 year and 2 months. We lodged our visa onshore in person in Melbourne on the 25th September and received the visa grant letter in the mail on 2nd October (the letter was dated 27th September!)
> 
> We categorised everything (like other people have mentioned here) and paper clipped the relevant sections together. We put post-its on anything which needed explaining (although most of it was self-explanatory) We put a large bulldog clip around all the paperwork and submitted it like that.
> 
> The part of our application which we were most paranoid about was the proof of living together for a year. We had been living together for 1 year and 2 months when we lodged, however for the first three months we lived at 3 separate addresses and only had 2 pieces of correspondence each addressed to us during this time. To compensate for this, we had friends who had been to our houses write the addresses we lived at and dates in their witness statements (as well as including it in our own statements).
> 
> My first tip is to double and triple check everything, especially the application forms. Write neatly (or type) and ensure you have answered every question correctly. Some of those forms are long and detailed and it is easy to make mistakes. Double check each other's forms. Just make sure you get them right! This sounds like simple advice, but as I work in an environment where we deal with a lot of forms on a daily basis, you would not believe how many people make simple mistakes or how many peoples writing is unreadable.
> 
> My second tip is to provide the necessary documents, but don't flood them with irrelevant info. I met a girl once who told be she submitted 400 photos of her and her partner in her application and couldn't help but think that sounded a bit too over the top. I think DIAC get the idea after a few!
> 
> Here is a list of documents we submitted:
> 
> Form 40sp
> Form 47sp
> Form 80
> Stat decs from each of us detailing our relationship history and how the relationship works
> Certified copies of both passports & birth certificates
> Police checks
> Health check
> 2 x Passport photos each (with our names written on the back)
> Letter and payslips from my work
> 
> Genuine relationship proof
> 7 x Stat decs from witnesses (all Australian citizens) with certified copies of their passports (5 x friends and 2 x relatives)
> Our tax returns listing each other as a spouse
> Car registration in my name
> Car insurance documents listing both of us as drivers
> Receipt for new tyres for the car in partner's name
> Joint bank account statement showing everyday expenses
> Boarding passes/accommodation bookings from 3 holidays taken together
> Tickets to a concert with our names on it
> Emails to various family members talking about the relationship
> Emails to each other during periods of separation (our periods apart were only 3 weeks on 2 separate occasions)
> Phone bills showing calls to each other during periods of separation
> Skype log during periods of separation
> 
> Proof of living together for at least 1 year
> 
> Various pieces of mail addressed to us over the course of the year at the 3 addresses we lived at
> Bank statement showing my partner transferring rent money to me (before we had a joint bank account)
> Facebook event invite to our housewarming party
> 8 x photos printed from Facebook showing us with people who made witness statements and dates
> Bills in joint names showing our address
> Bills in individual names showing our address
> 
> I hope this helps! Remember that the better the quality of your application, the more likely you are to get a faster processing time. Good luck!


Congrats on the visa grant! Our application was similar and I can only advice everyone who wants to apply in Melbourne to get your application done properly because ONE WEEK WAITING TIMES ARE POSSIBLE in Melbourne.


----------



## April.L

Hi guys, is it better to post it or apply it in person? I am in Melb, so it will be onshore. I can't decide if i want to post or apply it at the office, not sure which one would be better and quicker.


----------



## KierKaijuKaos

April.L said:


> Hi guys, is it better to post it or apply it in person? I am in Melb, so it will be onshore. I can't decide if i want to post or apply it at the office, not sure which one would be better and quicker.


Apply at the Melbourne office. I went to Dandenong... they just passed it along to Melbourne.... make sure you have photocopies of everything just in case they lose it.

I have just recently heard of a 'decision ready' application, which is done through a migration agent, which will speed up the process, I've also heard there are massive delays with processing! theychanged some of the other visa porcesses and its messed up the DIAC system. lame!


----------



## GermanGirl

I agree, apply in person. It seems to speed up the process.


----------



## superman89

Hey guys I wonder if anyone knows how to track Skype convos? As in we do talk a lot how should we print the Skype conversations? And we do message each other through whatsaap has anyone done in a specific way,?


----------



## crasht

KierKaijuKaos said:


> Apply at the Melbourne office. I went to Dandenong... they just passed it along to Melbourne.... make sure you have photocopies of everything just in case they lose it.
> 
> I have just recently heard of a 'decision ready' application, which is done through a migration agent, which will speed up the process, I've also heard there are massive delays with processing! theychanged some of the other visa porcesses and its messed up the DIAC system. lame!


That would explain why there seems to be a lag in application processing times recently to what I was expecting and a lull in approval messages.

Earlier this year applications from Santiago were betwen 3-5 Months. 5 months max for a more complex case, 3 months has been standard for simple applications. Although I don't know exactly the details of all of them, I would regard our own as a simple application (have met and travelled together on vacation around Sth America, no previous marriages, no children on either side, statements from family on both sides and we have recognised Australian security checks current for both of our work positions), yet there has been no news apart from requesting the Medicals be done and confirming that all documents have been received.

The other current applications as well are awaiting news from there and not many at all for 300's have recently has been approved in less than 4 months from anywhere going off the timelines being posted (Make sure you update your timelines everyone).

I just hope that they catch up to the average if this is the case and start to hear many people being approved in a very short time to reach their quota allocated for the year.

By the way, where did you hear that information?

Good luck everyone, new week, new approvals.


----------



## direct

*Is this an Aha moment*

Or am I just being dense?

I am Australian Permanent Resident since 1974

My partner is retired Brasilian ex-lawyer

We want to apply for either (Spouse, De-facto, or Fiancee) visa.

We have been together for six years.

We have return tickets to fly to Australia in Feb 2013.

She will apply for tourist visa in order to travel with me in Feb with anticipated 90 day NFS restrictions. Before leaving Brasil we had decided to start our permanent visa application (say Jan 2013) so that it would be well under way before we have to leave in May at the end of her 90 day tourist visa.

We had planned it this way so that we would be apart for the minimum amount of time. However... a recent poster from Denmark seemed positive that he would be able to change his visa (NFS) to a bridging visa whilst onshore and he has not been challenged on this by any of our resident experts which led me to thinking.... IF this was possible would that then mean that we could make our partner visa whilst visiting on her tourist visa ---ONSHORE but that this would only be granted if she went offshore to receive ie. NZ? We would not be changing our visa status but making a new and more permanent visa application.


----------



## waallaby

*De Facto application with an EXCLUSION period*

First, can I just say how much I wish I would have found this forum BEFORE submitting? What an asset!

Alright, so the nitty-gritty back story in a nutshell (it's a long one) is that I'm from California and was studying in Sydney on a 4 year student visa. I met my boyfriend during this, in Aug 2011 and he's who I'm applying for the de facto with. I got very sick with bronchitis because of a university excursion to some caves and tanked my finals. I got put on academic probation and lost my US Student loan eligibility and visa revoked. Well, 'revoked' when it wasn't meant to. The university did NOT notify me of the ability to appeal the decision at the DIAC in Sydney until I had already returned to California to avoid getting in trouble / having my visa cancelled and still being in the country. I lost my mind I was so angry, so I used the power of twitter to voice this and lo and behold - the Minister of Immigration himself responded. He had his team contact me to see what they could do. Turns out, they could only help 28 days after this cancellation - and it had been 32. So NOW I'm banned / excluded from Australia for 3 years.

I was devastated as you can imagine, but thankfully someone (who shall not be named cause they may have broken the rules) from the Minister's Office informed me that my exclusion _DID NOT_ apply to partner visa's. She kept saying, 'while I cannot provide migration advice, *ahem* I think a PARTNER visa would be in your BEST INTEREST'.

Thank god for her. So here we are, I've been forced away from my boyfriend since St. Patrick's Day and not even allowed to visit. We lodged our partner visa last week and it was accepted on the 19th. The Ottawa embassy (since Washington DC redirects your calls 90% of the time) advised I write a cover letter requesting a temporary visa under compelling and compassionate circumstances to allow me to visit while our Partner visa is being processed. Here's hoping.

I ended up filling out a paper visa application for work and holiday so that I could come be with him in our home and work for a bit and so we could be together for the holiday. But after checking the status and my call being redirected to Ottawa _again_, I was advised by a very stern woman that that Work/Holiday is not the right one for this situation and would be denied. She said my partner visa had been registered but not the W/H yet. She offered to call Washington DC and have it shredded on my behalf. So I agreed - and 30 mins later someone from DC called me and made sure that's what I wanted. THAT WAS THE FIRST I HEARD FROM THEM! *thumbs up*

Anyway, this woman that called was very kind and shredded that application and said I could still try for a tourist 676 or apply in person. California to DC just to apply in person - that's expensive. Ottawa woman said e676 tourist as well. That's $115, vs no-fee regular tourist. So I asked DC woman about e676 vs 676 and she said 676 is the paper version and would take 5-6 weeks.  The e676 (same but online) has a ONE day turn around. It's Dec 21 - I wanna fly on/after Christmas, so I'm gonna try for the electric one. Ottawa woman works with visas and DC woman I think was clerical. Anyway, Ottawa woman told me I'll have a case worker and official e-mails etc by first week of January. I sure hope so. In the mean time, I'm gonna apply for e676 today. I'll let you know how that pans out.

Finally, In our Partner application, I followed the check list as close as I could, post-it tabbed each paper-clipped section, and added photocopies of all certified docs at the end, to facilitate processing (as suggested on the USA embassy site). I didn't have ANY co-bills, so that makes me nervous. Our house has 2 other flatmates and the lease is in one of their names, and my partner and I just pay him cash. We're moving into our own place when I return though. I had phone records, texts, photos, stat decs (10 statements, 2 888 certified statements), FBI and police checks, and went ahead and had a medical check done for the hell of it. It wasn't by a panel doc, but it didn't cost me a thing and I needed a physical from my doc anyway.  If it helps, good - if not, I'll have to drive 2 hours to a panel doc NOT covered by my insurance.

DC woman said average time is 5-12 months, the immi website said low risk (USA) is 5 months, and the USA Embassy website said 'while Washington tends to process faster, please check processing times on immi website'. I'm really hoping it's quick - and that I at least get a tourist visa so we can spend Christmas / New Years together. Expensive holiday, but I'll be allowed to stay for 3 months, and that's a chunk of processing time I'd otherwise spend missing him. Any advice / encouraging words?


----------



## kttykat

waallaby said:


> .... Turns out, they could only help 28 days after this cancellation - and it had been 32. So NOW I'm banned / excluded from Australia for 3 years.
> That is terrible
> 
> .... She kept saying, 'while I cannot provide migration advice, *ahem* I think a PARTNER visa would be in your BEST INTEREST'. That is amazing that someone actually helped you out like that
> 
> I'm gonna apply for e676 today. I'll let you know how that pans out. Good luck with it
> 
> Our house has 2 other flatmates and the lease is in one of their names, and my partner and I just pay him cash. Get statutory declarations if you haven't already explaining the rental conditions
> 
> I'll have to drive 2 hours to a panel doc NOT covered by my insurance. Do it now anyway, you must get a panel doctors medical
> 
> DC woman said average time is 5-12 months, the immi website said low risk (USA) is 5 months, and the USA Embassy website said 'while Washington tends to process faster You are applying just after a flood of applications trying to beat the price rise but I have seen the odd one processed in a month


Hope it all works out for you,

Kttykat


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## waallaby

kttykat said:


> Hope it all works out for you,
> 
> Kttykat


Thanks Kttykat, It didn't even cross my mind there would be a flood of applications until this morning. I knew there was a price increase, but I was already going to apply so I deemed it irrelevant. Man, I hope that doesn't bog everything down. I was going to apply in September, but a spare $2,500 wasn't the easiest to make appear.


----------



## kttykat

waallaby said:


> Thanks Kttykat, It didn't even cross my mind there would be a flood of applications until this morning. I knew there was a price increase, but I was already going to apply so I deemed it irrelevant. Man, I hope that doesn't bog everything down. I was going to apply in September, but a spare $2,500 wasn't the easiest to make appear.


Immigration themselves have done all they can to hide the fact that the prices are rising soon. There is only one mention of it in the immigration site buried in an odd spot. Despite saying that form 990i has been updated (fee form) that has yet to happen.

Kttykat


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## waallaby

kttykat said:


> Immigration themselves have done all they can to hide the fact that the prices are rising soon. There is only one mention of it in the immigration site buried in an odd spot. Despite saying that form 990i has been updated (fee form) that has yet to happen.
> 
> Kttykat


Yeah, I definitely saw the increase was coming on the website, I'm far too thorough for my own good - but brushed it off. Should've realised there would be a rush.  Nothing I can do now though, got it in as soon as I could regardless. Gotta stay positive, right?


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## kttykat

waallaby said:


> Yeah, I definitely saw the increase was coming on the website, I'm far too thorough for my own good - but brushed it off. Should've realised there would be a rush.  Nothing I can do now though, got it in as soon as I could regardless. Gotta stay positive, right?


Well at least you beat the price rise  that is good.

Kttykat


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## Laegil

Hey I just have a quick question and didn't know where else to post it. 
My partners employer changed since we applied for the Visa. He is still working as a contractor, but for a different company. Do we need to notify DIAC?


----------



## kttykat

Laegil said:


> Hey I just have a quick question and didn't know where else to post it.
> My partners employer changed since we applied for the Visa. He is still working as a contractor, but for a different company. Do we need to notify DIAC?


I don't think DIAC would care about it, since you are applying for a partner visa IMHO, as long as he has employment it shouldn't be an issue.

Kttykat


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## Laegil

Ok, thanks. I thought that might be the case, but you never know what they want to know about you...


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## AnnaPField

Thank you so very much for this invaluable thread. It's helped massively in compiling my list of things to get done and am already gathering all necessary information.

I'm currently on a working holiday visa (arrived Nov 3rd 2011) and my partner and I are planning on going 'de facto.' He is an Aus citizen.

We have been together for 4 years but have only started living together here in Aus when I arrived on the 3rd. 

I have read that you can't apply for a defacto visa until you have lived together for a year. Im worried that my WH visa will expire before we are able to apply for a defacto. Does any one have any advice on my options?

Many thanks


----------



## Laegil

AnnaPField said:


> Thank you so very much for this invaluable thread. It's helped massively in compiling my list of things to get done and am already gathering all necessary information.
> 
> I'm currently on a working holiday visa (arrived Nov 3rd 2011) and my partner and I are planning on going 'de facto.' He is an Aus citizen.
> 
> We have been together for 4 years but have only started living together here in Aus when I arrived on the 3rd.
> 
> I have read that you can't apply for a defacto visa until you have lived together for a year. Im worried that my WH visa will expire before we are able to apply for a defacto. Does any one have any advice on my options?
> 
> Many thanks


Hi,

I thought you arrived 2011? Or did you mean 3rd November 2012?

Depending on where you live you can register your relationship which waives the 12 month living together requirement (although you still need to provide lots of evidence about your relationship). You can look it up here: http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/18779-how-register-your-relationship.html


----------



## AnnaPField

Thanks so much!

Yes, I did mean 2012!

Registering our relationship here in Victoria sounds relatively straight forward from the info on the relevant website. Thanks so much for that advice.


----------



## Kantata

Ugh... this is what happens when you stay up too late reading immigration forums and mentally running over all the things you submitted with your application. You start to second-guess whether you _really_ put everything in there.

So here's a question, and I apologise if it's already been answered. I did a search here but wasn't able to narrow anything down. On the immi website it says that "For the Australian Government to determine whether you are of good character, you may be asked to provide police certificates for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last ten (10) years since turning 16." Which is fine, I got my police clearance certificate from the RCMP and handed it in with my onshore 820.

But, I've been living in Australia for the last two years on consecutive WHVs. Should I have also included an AFP check, since I've been living here "for 12 months or more"? I couldn't find any more detailed information on the immi website other than that one paragraph on the "Character Requirement" page.

Jeez, why did I only notice this now.


----------



## KrystHell

Kantata said:


> Ugh... this is what happens when you stay up too late reading immigration forums and mentally running over all the things you submitted with your application. You start to second-guess whether you _really_ put everything in there.
> 
> So here's a question, and I apologise if it's already been answered. I did a search here but wasn't able to narrow anything down. On the immi website it says that "For the Australian Government to determine whether you are of good character, you may be asked to provide police certificates for each country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last ten (10) years since turning 16." Which is fine, I got my police clearance certificate from the RCMP and handed it in with my onshore 820.
> 
> But, I've been living in Australia for the last two years on consecutive WHVs. Should I have also included an AFP check, since I've been living here "for 12 months or more"? I couldn't find any more detailed information on the immi website other than that one paragraph on the "Character Requirement" page.
> 
> Jeez, why did I only notice this now.


I know I had to supply them with my NSW police clearance when i applied for the partner visa onshore.
They even mentioned it on the acknowledgement letter that if I had not already done so, I needed to supply them with a police clearance asap.
Have you received your letter? Are they asking for any further documents to be supplied to them?


----------



## Kantata

Aw, mother of pearl. There it is on the acknowledgement letter. *sigh* Well, I better go arrange that thing. Thanks KrystHell, that cleared it up for me. 


UPDATE: That process was a heck of a lot easier (and cheaper!) than getting the Canadian clearance. Think I'll go spend the next week smacking my forehead.


----------



## Treesnake

Hi Guys, im getting ready to submit my partnership visa. Been reading alot on this forum, great help. 

My fiance is currently on her second work holiday visa, half way through. Do you guys know if there is any posibility to have the 6month per employer removed condition when submitting the defacto visa? 

How many pages is recommended each of us write for the history of our relationship? and whats a good recommended amount of photos? Ive heard anywhere between one page, 5 photos, to 15pages, 400 photos. Do you also think it would make much difference having scanned photos, then printed on normal paper, or having the photos properly printed out and then glueing them to paper with description ?

One more, how important is form 80? I havent actually found anywhere where it lists that you have to include it? Reason being, when my partner originally came to Australia, she came with a close friend, they were technically in a relationship. That form asks who did you come to Australia with, and the relationship to you. I just dont want IMMI to think she came to Australia, changed partners just to stay here do you know what I mean ? Shes from germany, im half aussie, half german, ive been here since I was 1yr old  

Cheers for you help!


----------



## KrystHell

Treesnake said:


> Hi Guys, im getting ready to submit my partnership visa. Been reading alot on this forum, great help.
> 
> My fiance is currently on her second work holiday visa, half way through. Do you guys know if there is any posibility to have the 6month per employer removed condition when submitting the defacto visa?
> 
> How many pages is recommended each of us write for the history of our relationship? and whats a good recommended amount of photos? Ive heard anywhere between one page, 5 photos, to 15pages, 400 photos. Do you also think it would make much difference having scanned photos, then printed on normal paper, or having the photos properly printed out and then glueing them to paper with description ?
> 
> Cheers for you help!


I believe her bridging visa will kick in once her Working holiday visa has expired. The Bridging visa A doesn't have any work conditions. Until then I don't believe she can do anything to remove the working conditions she has on the working holiday visa.

The history of the relationship doesn't have to be a novel. Be factual. I think they just want to know how the relationship developed. I know my husband and I wrote 3 or 4 pages (typed, not handwritten) each but that's also because the last year was really eventful. Include any relevant details that shows your relationship is genuine and continuing.

As far as photos are concerned, I honestly don't believe they care that much about those so I'd say about 10 photos would be more than enough. If you can find 10 photos from 10 different events/holidays/places you've been to, then that's perfect. Include the date and place and that should keep them happy! I know we got ours printed I glued them to an A4 piece of paper with date and place written underneath. 3 to 4 photos per page.

I know I had to include the form 80 in my application. It does say so on the checklist you can find on the immigration website

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/_pdf/820-801-checklist.pdf

Page 4 character requirements

Hope this helps.


----------



## MarisaO84

Hi guys,
I'm after some advice also on de facto visa. My partner is going to perth in 8 weeks and hoping to get a job that will sponsor him in order for myself and our 2 year old daughter to follow out at a later date. Will we have to show evidence also? What does this entail? We have been together 5 years with a two year old. Do we need police checks from home to take with us? What else as far as paper work do we need? I have no idea how it works, so any advice as to how it all works would be great!
Thanks in advance  
M


----------



## bma

MarisaO84 said:


> Hi guys,
> I'm after some advice also on de facto visa. My partner is going to perth in 8 weeks and hoping to get a job that will sponsor him in order for myself and our 2 year old daughter to follow out at a later date. Will we have to show evidence also? What does this entail? We have been together 5 years with a two year old. Do we need police checks from home to take with us? What else as far as paper work do we need? I have no idea how it works, so any advice as to how it all works would be great!
> Thanks in advance
> M


Hi Marisa,
I assume your partner is going to Perth on a visitor visa? If that's the case, he needs to be very careful on the border, he can't have paper copies of CV in his bags, tools or anything that connects him with work (because he doesn't have a proper visa). He needs to present himself as a proper visitor/ tourist, otherwise he could have problems at the border.
If he gets his sponsorship, he'll be able to put you on his visa while you're still back home, so no need for you and your child to fly to Australia as tourists.
Here's more information about the visa: Temporary Business (Long Stay) - Standard Business Sponsorship (Subclass 457)

All the best!


----------



## Miss Swan

Treesnake said:


> Hi Guys, im getting ready to submit my partnership visa. Been reading alot on this forum, great help.
> 
> My fiance is currently on her second work holiday visa, half way through. Do you guys know if there is any posibility to have the 6month per employer removed condition when submitting the defacto visa?
> 
> How many pages is recommended each of us write for the history of our relationship? and whats a good recommended amount of photos? Ive heard anywhere between one page, 5 photos, to 15pages, 400 photos. Do you also think it would make much difference having scanned photos, then printed on normal paper, or having the photos properly printed out and then glueing them to paper with description ?
> 
> One more, how important is form 80? I havent actually found anywhere where it lists that you have to include it? Reason being, when my partner originally came to Australia, she came with a close friend, they were technically in a relationship. That form asks who did you come to Australia with, and the relationship to you. I just dont want IMMI to think she came to Australia, changed partners just to stay here do you know what I mean ? Shes from germany, im half aussie, half german, ive been here since I was 1yr old
> 
> Cheers for you help!


Hi treesnake,

Not possible, unfortunately. When her WHV expires, she will be on a bridging visa which has the same conditions as the previous visa (WHV). So the 6 mth/employer will remain.

My version came to about 8 pages, my partner's, 2-3  As long as you have sufficiently answered all the important parts that's stated in the partner visa booklet, you'll be fine. I extracted my photos straight from the camera and pasted 2 to one page with descriptions of people, place and time. But you can put 4 to a page - that's more recommended.

It's very important. You have to fill that up and submit together with your application. Be as truthful as you can and explain anything that seems sus in your relationship statement.[/


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## MarisaO84

Hey bma,

No he will be going on a HWV  so all legal. 
Just wondering how it works as far as evidence etc for defacto. And how long it would take to process in order for us to join him. Hoping its nit too long as cnt wait to leave lol
Thanks


----------



## bma

Miss Swan said:


> Hi treesnake,
> 
> Not possible, unfortunately. When her WHV expires, she will be on a bridging visa which has the same conditions as the previous visa (WHV). So the 6 mth/employer will remain.
> 
> [/


Hey Miss Swan, congratulations on your visa once again. About the bridging visas A for partner visa applicants - since the end of November 2012 the bridging visa A for partner visa applicants come without any work or study restrictions.

More info at the following website: Migration Regulations 1994 - Specification under paragraphs 010.611(1)(c) and 020.611(1)(b) - Class of Persons - November 2012


----------



## bma

MarisaO84 said:


> Hey bma,
> 
> No he will be going on a HWV  so all legal.
> Just wondering how it works as far as evidence etc for defacto. And how long it would take to process in order for us to join him. Hoping its nit too long as cnt wait to leave lol
> Thanks


Hi Marisa,
that's a relief.  Well, you'll be a dependant on his 457 visa and apparently the immigration is not as strict as with the partner visa applications.

For a partner visa application the evidence needs to be presented in four categories for the past 12 months of the relationship (prior to applying):
- financial aspects;
- the nature of the household;
- social context of the relationship;
- the nature of your commitment to each other.

I'm not sure about the 457 visa, though. I'm sure somebody else will help with the answer about the period you have to provide the evidence for (I'd be surprised if it was that long - 12 months).

About your partner adding you to his 457 visa - if I remember correctly, the employer will have to provide a statement, saying they will support the addition of his partner (you) to his 457 visa.

About the evidence:
- joint finances (a joint account);
- if separate accounts, transactions between your accounts
- bills to the same address, mail to the same address
- superannuation beneficiaries
- joint ownership
- nominated drivers on the car insurance policies
- membership in the same club (bowling, dancing, gym)
- wills

All the best and I hope your partner finds a good sponsor


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## MarisaO84

Ah your a star! Great advice..thank you. Yea fingers crossed it all goes to plan. Excited to get the call from him for us to book our flights eekkk lol


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## Treesnake

Thanks KrystHell/Miss Swan

I havent seen that info about Form 80. It doesnt seem to list it anywhere else, including at the back of form 40SP, 47SP, (checklist)

Probably will go ahead and do it so there are no delays.

Another quick question, I have so far written my stat dec in a word document, and also scanned in 10 or so photos, with written explanation next to them. I was going to then print this out, sign it, and have it witnessed. 

Q. In a stat dec. can you normally include photos? Or should it be written, signed, and the photos printed out seperately? I just thought including photos when I was writing about our history would paint a better picture so to say, just not sure if you can legally do it in a stat dec? Any ideas? Cheers


----------



## KrystHell

Treesnake said:


> Thanks KrystHell
> 
> I havent seen that info about Form 80. It doesnt seem to list it anywhere else, including at the back of form 40SP, 47SP, (checklist)
> 
> Probably will go ahead and do it so there are no delays.
> 
> Another quick question, I have so far written my stat dec in a word document, and also scanned in 10 or so photos, with written explanation next to them. I was going to then print this out, sign it, and have it witnessed.
> 
> Q. In a stat dec. can you normally include photos? Or should it be written, signed, and the photos printed out seperately? I just thought including photos when I was writing about our history would paint a better picture so to say, just not sure if you can legally do it in a stat dec? Any ideas? Cheers


To be honest, I am not sure but I think you're best sticking to keeping them both separated. 
Photos are pretty much self explanatory especially if you include a little description and a date.
Your CO should be able to understand the dynamics of your relationship in reading your stat dec only. Or I would assume this is what they're looking for.

Re Form 80: I read in another thread that it will be mandatory for all countries soon so I suppose you better have it ready and send it along with the rest of the paperwork. 
I did it only because it's mentioned on the checklist. I had no idea it was not mandatory for all countries until someone mentioned it on here.


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## Lindaa

Here is what we submitted with our application, along with an explanation for each "chapter". Maybe some of it will be of help to others 

We started gathering evidence in September 2012 and were ready to lodge in January 2013. It was a LOT of work, but our application was handed in Decision Ready so we already have a case officer that is ready to finalize the application (they are just awaiting my return to Australia, as I am currently overseas).

We handed it in at the office in Brisbane.


1. THE APPLICANT
- Form 47SP
- Birth certificate (certified copy)
- Passport (certified copy incl. all stamped pages)
- Form 80
- Australian Federal Police Check Report (original)
- Norwegian Police Check Report (original)
- Bank Statements from Norwegian bank (showing savings, certified)
- Medical Examination (sealed envelope) 
- Two passport photos of Applicant (certified)


2. THE SPONSOR
- Form 40SP
- Birth Certificate (certified copy)
- Passport (certified copy)
- Letter from employer on total length of employment (certified copy)
- Letter from employer on salary from 2010 (certified copy)
- Tax assessment notice 2012 (certified copy)
- Australian Federal Police Check Report (original)
- Two passport photos of Applicant (certified)

3. PROOF OF DE-FACTO RELATIONSHIP
- Partner Registration Certificate (certified copy) 


History of the Relationship
- Applicant’s Statutory Declaration (signed and witnessed)
- Sponsor’s Statutory Declaration (signed and witnessed)


Nature of the Household
- Current lease agreement (certified copy)
- Letters, bills etc. addressed to applicant/sponsor at current address (certified copies)

Evidence of the Financial Aspect
- Proof of joint bank accounts (certified copies)
- Joint accounts’ bank statements (certified copies)
- Applicant’s bank statements (certified copies)
- Sponsor’s bank statements (certified copies)
- Confirmation letters from Telstra, AGL, Origin etc. showing both have access to the 
accounts (certified copies)
- Invoices in both names (certified copies)


Social aspect of the relationship
- 2 Form 888 from Australian citizens (witnessed / certified copy of passport)
- 2 Form 888 from Non-Australian citizens, living in Australia (witnessed / certified copy
of passport)
- Evidence of joint travels (original photos and e-mail receipts)
- Facebook wall posts (originals)
- Photographs (originals)
- Cinema tickets (e-mail receipts, originals)
- Tickets to concerts (e-mail receipts, originals)
- Coupons to restaurants (e-mail receipts, originals)
- Joint memberships (certified copies)


Nature of commitment to each other 
- Overview of Facebook relationship between Applicant and Sponsor (original)
- Private Facebook messages (originals)
- Evidence of Sponsor listed as Applicant’s emergency contact (certified copy)
- Drawing Sponsor made for Applicant (certified copy)
- Cards to Sponsor, from Applicant (certified copy)
- Cards to Applicant from Sponsor family (certified copies)
- Card to Applicant/Sponsor from Sponsor's family (certified copy)
- Card to Applicant's family from the Sponsor's family (certified copy)
- Post card to Applicant/Sponsor from Applicant's parents (certified copy)
- Wedding invitation to Applicant/Sponsor from Sponsor's friend (certified copy)


We probably wouldn't have had to get everything certified as we did, but we did not want to take any chances. It was a lot of work to get all the certifications done, but we found a very helpful judge and the local pharmacy assisted a lot (both for free!).

As other people might have mentioned the MOST time-consuming was getting those four declarations from friends and family. They did things wrong and had to do it again etc. 

The very first thing we got done was getting all the papers from my home country, as that usually takes some time.


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## 33ewt

Lindaa... I was hoping I could ask you a few question on the de facto visa as im from Brisbane too  however since I'm a new member I can't private msg you, just wondering if you can send me a quick private msg? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Trin


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## Lindaa

33ewt said:


> Lindaa... I was hoping I could ask you a few question on the de facto visa as im from Brisbane too  however since I'm a new member I can't private msg you, just wondering if you can send me a quick private msg? Your help would be greatly appreciated. Trin


Unfortunately, I can't message you either until you've done 5 messages in the forum (some say 6)...


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## 33ewt

Oh... Hihi, I see you're a fan of westend? Have you visited Oxley st, hawthorne? They have good coffee  I'm not sure if this is against the rule but I'll bite, cause I'm not much of a poster... Here's my email: 

Ps. Mods: I apologies in advance if however what I did is against the rules... Sorry


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## Lindaa

33ewt said:


> Oh... Hihi, I see you're a fan of westend? Have you visited Oxley st, hawthorne? They have good coffee  I'm not sure if this is against the rule but I'll bite, cause I'm not much of a poster... Here's my email:
> 
> Ps. Mods: I apologies in advance if however what I did is against the rules... Sorry


As you can see, your e-mail address didn't appear. I suggest you post a few more times in the forum so you can send private messages


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## 33ewt

Hihihi... I'm trying XD


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## Guest

Very helpful


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## buffingp

How did you present your application? was it in that exact order?


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## Lindaa

buffingp said:


> How did you present your application? was it in that exact order?


We presented it in that exact order, yes. But there are many different ways of doing it, as you will see from other people's table of contents on this thread. For us this made the most sense.

As I said we also wrote a short statement for each main chapter explaining the following content/evidence - keeping in mind that the case officer didn't know us at all and could only decide on the basis of what we told them and how we explained the evidence we had.

We also referred to some of the sections in our own statutory declarations (where appropriate) to make it easer for the CO to see the connections between the history of our relationship and the evidence we were presenting.


----------



## Chloe

Hi everyone!
I am on the process of applying the de facto visa. My boyfriend is on a graduate visa which can give me one and a half year more to stay.

I am just wondering for the statement from the friends and relatives, what does it mean by statutory statement? Is it Form 888 or just a statement written by our relatives and printed on an A4 paper?

Many thanks!


----------



## Eizzi

Chloe said:


> Hi everyone!
> I am on the process of applying the de facto visa. My boyfriend is on a graduate visa which can give me one and a half year more to stay.
> 
> I am just wondering for the statement from the friends and relatives, what does it mean by statutory statement? Is it Form 888 or just a statement written by our relatives and printed on an A4 paper?
> 
> Many thanks!


It means form 888, at least for Aussie citizens/perm. residents. For non-Aussies either an equivalent form from their country or just a self-composed statement will do, as long as it's witnessed/certified in accordance with the laws of that country. I think they prefer 888s but obviously those applying from overseas may not know many Aussies beyond their partner, and I think immi understand that.


----------



## Chloe

Thanks Eizzi!
That really helps!


----------



## monkonjay

My friend who is from a high risk country came here on a visiting visa and asked for protection visa while he was here due to problems he was facing back home. After a year of waiting, he was asked to leave the country. Within that time, he discovered that his partner was pregnant. He did decide against all odds to stay unlawfully. Will he be eligible to apply for De facto visa when the child is born?


----------



## Pxer

monkonjay said:


> My friend who is from a high risk country came here on a visiting visa and asked for protection visa while he was here due to problems he was facing back home. After a year of waiting, he was asked to leave the country. Within that time, he discovered that his partner was pregnant. He did decide against all odds to stay unlawfully. Will he be eligible to apply for De facto visa when the child is born?


I don't think having a child is going to help him with a de facto visa. The fact that he is here unlawfully will probably make it impossible for him to get approved. It would've been best to leave legally and do things properly. It's an unfortunate situation.


----------



## bma

Pxer said:


> I don't think having a child is going to help him with a de facto visa. The fact that he is here unlawfully will probably make it impossible for him to get approved. It would've been best to leave legally and do things properly. It's an unfortunate situation.


There have been cases on this forum, where people who had been in Australia unlawfully shared their experience in obtaining their partner visa.

There was a lady from China, she had been in Australia without a valid visa, if I remember she overstayed for many years if not decades... She met a guy, fell in love, were living together and applied for a visa. Her partner went to the immigration office with her to inquire what to do in their case (cause she was in Australia unlawfully), and she was given a bridging visa on the spot in order to apply for a partner visa onshore.

In my humble opinion, I would work on getting us much evidence of this couple's shared life, their genuine relationship etc., so they have lots of evidence by the time the child is born. I would definitely talk to a top registered migration agent (not to DIAC) to discuss the best strategy, especially if the person is from high risk country (Africa). Paying for migration agent's service to decide on best strategy seems much better option than being deported and then having to wait for a 309 visa for years....

That's my opinion, but not actual advice, cause I'm not a migration agent.


----------



## monkonjay

you are simply knowledgeable.


----------



## Chloe

As I mention earlier, I will apply for a dependent visa (my boyfriend holding 485 graduate visa). Basically, I gathered most of the evident that we needed to prove our relationship is true. But there are a few questions I wanna clarify before I lodge my application.
So, I called the immi this morning, waited for 1 hour without anyone picking up after being direct to another line for two times. Then I went to the office in Sydney in person in the afternoon. They told me I can only ask the questions by call since they are not responsible for graduate visa. 
That was quite disappointing as it seemed that the officers here are not helpful at all..


----------



## bma

monkonjay said:


> you are simply knowledgeable.


One more thing... as mentioned, I suggest your friends speaks to a good migration agent asap. I'd talk to George Lombard in Sydney; I've used him before for an advice, he's supposed to be really really good. I'm in no way associated with his office, so don't take this as an advertisement...

I'd also like to say that just because that Chinese lady was lucky and got granted her bridging visa on the spot, don't assume it's going to be that easy. On the contrary, assume the worst, and get really informed and prepared. Don't wait until the baby is born, though... Inquire about your options and the probable plan straight away.

Good luck and keep us posted.

(Again, I'm not a migration agent, this is my opinion only )


----------



## rhirhi

I think bma is right....you definitely need a migration lawyer for this one....technically the man has broken Australian law  he could face being immediately deported if he's found out.... I'm sure it he can prove his case on why he can't go back and his relationship evidence with a good migration lawyer you might have some luck


----------



## PhilippaLee

With regard to statutory declarations - my partner and his family are australian citizens and have said they would do the forms. However I am a Botswana citizen and my partner and myself spent quite a bit of time in my home country and I was going to ask members of my family to do stat decks, but of course they are not Aussie citizens... Do I still use the stat dec form or how should these be formatted???


----------



## GBP

PhilippaLee said:


> With regard to statutory declarations - my partner and his family are australian citizens and have said they would do the forms. However I am a Botswana citizen and my partner and myself spent quite a bit of time in my home country and I was going to ask members of my family to do stat decks, but of course they are not Aussie citizens... Do I still use the stat dec form or how should these be formatted???


I think you can write up a stat dec that is legal in your country and get a lawyer in your country to witness and sign on it. There is no point to use the form 888 since the person that make the stat dec is not Aus citizen or PR.


----------



## SiteManager

ok, so does this means that for the "statutory declarations", shall I just copy the NSW BDM De Facto certificate signed by JP ?


----------



## hopingtostay

Hi there,

I am in the process of completing my application form. I have been residing in Australia for the last 18 months (aside from trips abroad to visit family and friends) on a first, then second working holiday visa at my partners family home.

We have some unusual circumstances with our application and I was hoping to get some advice..
We have been together for 5 years and whilst we were living in the UK and after I completed University we spent a year living at various places with some friends. This was from 2010-2011 and soon after the GFC. Though we did some odd jobs throughout the year it was never enough to be able to rent. I was for all purposes at no fixed abode in this period. I am wondering if it is ok to write this on the form 80 (which is required by the Australian consulate in Berlin) and if anyone has experience with this? We are both avid travellers and took the time to save the little money we had to travel and then relocate to Australia. I am going to write all this on a covering letter with my application form. It also obviously comes up in our love stories.

We are going travelling for 6 months in August via a visit to Germany to visit my family and where I wish to submit the application (to the high embassy in Berlin). My only address for correspondence is our address at which we currently live (my partners family home) here in Australia. I will be contactable primarily by email throughout the processing period.. Does anyone know if this could cause problems?

On the form 47sp it asks for your current residential address, when I apply I will not be at any address (as we'll be travelling) and I wonder if I can put the address in Australia for this?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## AmericAussie24

*Defacto*

It is SOO much easier to go to OZ on your WHV, spend the 12 months & then apply for the defacto relationship. In order to apply for this you need to be in your relationship/living together for a full 12 months. Good luck


----------



## bratty_bebeh

*Re: Joint Account and financial aspect of the relationship*

Is it really necessary to have and to show a joint account in applying a de-facto visa? Is it also really necessary to show evidences that one is supporting financially the other to prove that the relationship is genuine. As I've noticed on most of the blogs/forums I've read that applicants have this as supporting evidences. Me and my partner are currently in the process of compiling our supporting evidences for my visa application for us to live together in Australia. We're in a loving relationship for 12 years now. Our case with regards to the financial aspect of our relationship is that, we don't have a joint account, as we both don't need a regular financial support from each other because we're both employed and our wage and benefits allows us to live reasonably even without considering the regular financial support of each other. We share finances only when we travel together and we have supporting evidences on this as well as bank transfers. Do you think our evidences are not strong enough or weak to prove that our relationship is genuine? Do anyone here have the same case like us that you were able to get your visa approved? Appreciate your feedback....


----------



## CollegeGirl

Bratty - you didn't mention if you lived together. Do you? If you've lived together for years, you might have better evidence than you think (see below). You do have to show you both financially contribute to the expenses of the household, but here's my suggestion:

Write up a statutory declaration specifically for the financial part of things. In that, detail who pays what expense each month. So, if he pays the rent and the electric bill each month while you pay for the groceries and the phone bill, detail all of that. Then provide bank statements that back that up. If you usually step in and help pay the rent if things are tight in a certain month, say that and back it up with your bank statements. That's the kind of thing you want. If you've bought each other gifts, include receipts for those. The point is to show that your household finances are shared. Also make sure you include evidence that you live together (like mail addressed to each of you at the same address). 

DIAC will often look at couples who split everything exactly down the middle and think they appear to be nothing more than roommates paying their respective half of the costs. That's what makes the financial aspect so key. Generally one roommate is not going to always buy the grociers for both of them, or step in and pay for the other's bills if things are tight that month, but partners will.

Now, if you haven't lived together - that's a whole other kettle of fish. Have you?


----------



## bratty_bebeh

CollegeGirl said:


> Bratty - you didn't mention if you lived together. Do you? If you've lived together for years, you might have better evidence than you think (see below). You do have to show you both financially contribute to the expenses of the household, but here's my suggestion:
> 
> Write up a statutory declaration specifically for the financial part of things. In that, detail who pays what expense each month. So, if he pays the rent and the electric bill each month while you pay for the groceries and the phone bill, detail all of that. Then provide bank statements that back that up. If you usually step in and help pay the rent if things are tight in a certain month, say that and back it up with your bank statements. That's the kind of thing you want. If you've bought each other gifts, include receipts for those. The point is to show that your household finances are shared. Also make sure you include evidence that you live together (like mail addressed to each of you at the same address).
> 
> DIAC will often look at couples who split everything exactly down the middle and think they appear to be nothing more than roommates paying their respective half of the costs. That's what makes the financial aspect so key. Generally one roommate is not going to always buy the grociers for both of them, or step in and pay for the other's bills if things are tight that month, but partners will.
> 
> Now, if you haven't lived together - that's a whole other kettle of fish. Have you?


Hi College Girl, thank you for the reply. We're not living together but we see each other yearly and living in my apartment here in Thailand due to work commitment. She's working in Australia and I am working here in Thailand and the nature of our work doesn't allow us to stay for extended period of time to each other resident country. With regards, to financial aspect as I've mentioned on my earlier post, we only shared expenses when we're together but having a common fund like joint account or regular support to each other we don't have that as we're both employed and capable to support ourselves with out the regular financial support of each other. With regards to household matters, my monthly apartment rent and utilities are being paid by the company I am working with so if we're together we just shared on groceries, food and travel together. So I am seeking help on how we should present this circumtances. Appreciate your advice.


----------



## CollegeGirl

I hate to say this, but your case sounds pretty close to impossible. A de facto relationship is a couple living as a husband and wife in everything but marriage certificate. The primary and most important way of proving that is by living together, and you must have lived together for the 12 months prior to your application in order to apply (unless you register your relationship first, and even then it's generally advisable to live together for at least a few months before applying). For the rare couple that has absolutely no way to live together (like, for example, gay couples who would be persecuted for living together in the applicant's country and are legally unable to marry) one of the most important ways to demonstrate the relationship is strong financial ties. It doesn't sound like you have either - and frequently, if you haven't lived together at all you're going to have a very, very hard time getting an approval. I suggest you talk to a registered migration agent before you apply and risk losing all your application money (because it sounds to me like that's what would happen). It's my opinion that DIAC would likely see your relationship as "dating" rather than de facto.


----------



## rper88

*Sponsor payslips*

Hi there

I'm in the process of applying for my defacto visa with my Australian partner and have a question about the eligibility of the sponsor.
It states that the sponsor is required to provide payslips for the past two years, do these have to be Australian payslips?
My partner has been living with me in the UK and working here for the past 12 months and can provide payslips for this period, and Australian payslips for the 12 months prior to that. Would this be accepted?
He could alternatively provide payslips for the last two years that he lived in Australia.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Many thanks.


----------



## aussiegirl

If your partner is working in the UK then it makes sense they payslips should be from this employment. Immigration just wants to see your sponsor is capable of holding a job and supporting you once in Australia.


----------



## walterbiggins

*Urgent help needed!*

Hi guys!

Im new on here, and from what i have read you guys are very helpful! 

I have a problem and was hoping that you helpful bunch would be able to help me and point us in the right direction! 

The story - 
Im originally from the uk, and ended up doing a 1 year working holiday visa in the beautiful australia, and ended up meeting my partner there (who is an aussie resident). Unfortunately in december, my visa was about to expire so i had to return to the UK. Me and my girlfriend stayed in touch both realising how much we really did love each other and decided to meet up and see each other in Canada! After a few weeks there we both left to our original countries (for personal matters), and later met up in NZ, which is where we both are today!

As of the 1st August, we have been dating a year now, and both really want to move BACK to australia! (she misses the family and friends etc).

Now, we both want to be in Australia ASAP ( preferably both working ASAP) , to get the ball rolling and so that we can start to live our lovely lives! 

Do any of you lovely people know which is the a- cheapest, b- quickest and c- easiest way to do this?

We have looked into defacto visas, partner visas, all sorts really but not too sure wether to apply for it here in NZ, or in australia etc.

ps. i heard it could take upto 6 months for the visa to come through, so if i applied for it in Australia so the girlfriend could see her family, would i only be allowed to stay in Australia for 3 months on a visiting visa?

sorry for the whole story but we are both really confused, and rather frustrated after weeks of looking into this.

We hope you guys can help us and hopefully get us up and going!!

Many thanks in advance,

Joe & Tianna!!!


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hi Joe & Tianna. Welcome to the boards. 

Unfortunately you used the word that I think is the exact word DIAC might assign to your relationship at the moment - "dating." A de facto partner visa is not for couples who are just dating. It's for couples who are living as married couples, just without the piece of paper. In order to apply, you'll need to have lived together the previous 12 months or have registered your relationship, and you'll need to be able to demonstrate supporting each other financially, etc. 

Unfortunately when it comes to partner visas, there is no such thing as cheap, fast or easy.  Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.


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## CollegeGirl

What state does she live in? Like I said, relationship registration might be possible if defacto is the only way to go for you.

If you're not opposed to putting marriage on the table, though, take a look through the "Which Partner Visa Should I Apply For?" thread in the top section of this forum.


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## walterbiggins

what do you mean register our relationship? thanks for the quick reply!! We have been living together now for nearly a year and we have a joint bank account which we both pay into for bills and rent. Would this be ideal?? Thanks again!!

J & T


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## walterbiggins

She lives in Albury Wadonga, so NSW!!


----------



## CollegeGirl

Oh, you're in good shape, then.  I'd still register your relationship as they're sticklers for EXACTLY 12 months without it. It's easy to do in NSW. Check with Births, Deaths and Marriages.


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## CollegeGirl

(NSW is the easiest to register in.)


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## walterbiggins

college girl your a star for helping! but may i ask, how would we go about registering our relationship? ive never heard of anything like this haha. Thanks so much, your a real help!


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## CollegeGirl

You're so welcome.  I told you up there, though I probably wasn't clear - it's after midnight here and I'm turning into a pumpkin.  You do it through Births, Deaths & Marriages. 

Incidentally, if you go over on a tourist visa and decide, after a couple of months, to apply for the 820 while you're over there, you'd be put on a Bridging Visa A which would allow you to stay onshore while your application is processed. AND it gives you full work rights. You'd just need to apply for a Bridging Visa B if you needed to leave the country for a little while while it was processing.


----------



## meesha121

Hi Joe - as CG stated NSW does seem to be the easiest state in regards to eligibility for Relationship Registration however one thing to consider is that at least 1 of the couple must reside in NSW and this person needs to provide evidence of a residential address in NSW, namely a lease agreement, rates or utility notice. Thus depending on how long your partner has been residing with you in NZ you may need to wait until you have somewhere to live etc in NSW before having enough evidence for relationship registration


----------



## vrvl

quick question.. 
when submitting evidence such as gas bills, phone bills, phone records, emails, etc, most of mine are online statements.do i get them certified? if so how?


----------



## CollegeGirl

vrvl said:


> quick question..
> when submitting evidence such as gas bills, phone bills, phone records, emails, etc, most of mine are online statements.do i get them certified? if so how?


No, there is no need to certify these.


----------



## jessie1984

CollegeGirl said:


> You're so welcome.  I told you up there, though I probably wasn't clear - it's after midnight here and I'm turning into a pumpkin.  You do it through
> 
> Incidentally, if you go over on a tourist visa and decide, after a couple of months, to apply for the 820 while you're over there, you'd be put on a Bridging Visa A which would allow you to stay onshore while your application is processed. AND it gives you full work rights. You'd just need to apply for a Bridging Visa B if you needed to leave the country for a little while while it was processing.


So does this mean that even if you enter on a tourist visa you are allowed to work once you have applied for a de facto visa? Could you please direct me to where this is on the immigration website? This would make a huge difference to me.


----------



## CollegeGirl

No - you can NOT work while you're on a tourist visa. If you are on a tourist visa and apply onshore for an 820, you will be granted a bridging visa A, which will kick in AFTER your tourist visa ends. So if you're on a tourist visa that only allows you to stay onshore for three months, it will kick in after those three months are up. If you're on a visa like an ETA which is good for a full year but only allows you to stay for three months before you have to go offshore again, the BVA would kick in after the three-month stay you're currently on.


----------



## minut65

Hi everyone

Applying for 309 visa and was just wondering if our history statement from me and my partner has to be handwritten??

Thank you!


----------



## rhirhi

minut65 said:


> Hi everyone Applying for 309 visa and was just wondering if our history statement from me and my partner has to be handwritten?? Thank you!


Hi,

No it doesn't have to be handwritten. It can be typed. The only thing you have to do is sign it


----------



## minut65

rhirhi said:


> Hi,
> 
> No it doesn't have to be handwritten. It can be typed. The only thing you have to do is sign it


Thank you!!


----------



## minut65

Hi  does rule that stat dec shouldnt be older than 6 weeks apply just for onshore visa??
Also - I am from Czech Rep, living in UK - should I lodge my Czech police check with my visa even if it's 3 month old now? Or should I wait till they will request it because this will affect my date of entry to OZ? I think I would rather wait witk UK one but not sure how much is Czech one important to them if Im not living in Czech Rep for last 6 years...


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hi minut - Yes, you're correct that stat decs do not have to be under six weeks old for offshore applications. Are you a permanent resident in the UK and lodging in London? If so, you'll need to wait to supply your police checks and medicals until they ask for them.


----------



## danegirl

I have another quick question about the stat decs. 

Our two compulsory Form 888's will be done no more than 6 weeks prior to lodgment. However, we were planning on getting extra stat decs from my partner's parents and siblings - can these extra stat decs be older than six weeks? It won't be by much, if at all. 

Also, we are going to tell them to get their stat decs/passports certified by someone in Denmark. Can we then just get a photocopy of this certified document? Or do we need the original certified document i.e. will need to be sent by post & time will have to be factored in? 

Thanks :S


----------



## andersonate

Hi everyone

Has anyone recently applied and been granted a visa who is from the US? I applied in May and was told 5-12 months was the average waiting time. I am wondering if anyone has recent experience with this, or if anyone knows about the US gov't closures impact on an Australian visa application from a US citizen. I assume there is little to no impact, but I've been wrong many times before and probably still many to come. 

I've read on here of people actually having interactions with their CO, anyone with recent experience of this. When I have contacted the immigration dept I have never been able to talk to my actual case officer and have been directed to use email in the future. 

Similar experiences? Or is this just me?


----------



## CollegeGirl

Nate - there are two threads that will probably help you.

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/23506-washington-dc-timeline-bradsterusa-163.html

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/27105-pmv-309-timeline-washington-d-c.html

Unfortunately, while the shutdown hasn't affected visa processing, personnel issues within the embassy have. Most people are waiting 7 months or more right now.


----------



## andersonate

thanks for that.


----------



## buzzdee

*working on bridge visa?*

Hey fellas, 
great forum, great content. Quick question:

I'm currently on a working holiday visa.

If I lodge my defacto application onshore, just before my working holiday visa expires - I guess I'm being put on a bridge visa? - does this bridge visa allow me to work?

Thanks in advance,
Seb


----------



## CollegeGirl

Yes, you will be put on a bridging visa once you lodge your de facto. And as soon as your WHV expires, and your bridging visa kicks in, yes, you will be able to work without restrictions. Generally bridging visas take about 10 days from when you apply for your de facto visa. So, once that happens and your WHV is expired... work as much as you want.


----------



## mon

Thanks for this elkitten!

I finally got all of the de facto partner visa paper work together after months and months, and sadly was told 3 days after applying that the information we provided was "not sufficient to substantiate" that we have been in a de facto relationship for 12 months. 

The bone of contention is that he and I have not lived at the same address for 12 months, much like you and your partner. I have asked that they continue processing the application. I also mentioned in my email that the several times I called and spoke with the immigration department I was told that we did qualify, and that they did not want every single phone bill, bank statement, Skype chat, or photograph documenting our relationship, but that they just wanted the "cold hard facts" which we did supply.

My partner and I have been together for over 2 years, and travelled back and forth between our countries a number of times, as well as taken elaborate holidays, and begun plans to buy real estate together once I get to Oz. We documented all of this information in our letters and provided approximately 5 of the 16 air travel receipts that we have accumulated over the course of the last two years. I have also been actively looking for employment in Australia, and mentioned this in my letters. Since the submission date of our application I have received very strong interest from 3 organisations looking to hire me once I arrive in Australia (professional positions that draw a substantial income) - could I include these letters of interest to further our case? 

It is unfortunate that this road block has occurred, and slightly frustrating that the instructions we have now received are to apply for a marriage visa. We are not planning a wedding, we simply wish to live together. I am frustrated, and exhausted. The good news is that your post certainly made me realize that perhaps we haven't yet come to the end of this battle and that overwhelming them with receipts, bank statements, and the like will further our case. Am I right in taking that action/stance? Or is it best to try an alternate route, such as a temporary foreign worker visa? (which I understand takes yonks to get processed)

Pray for me.


----------



## meesha121

Hi mon - I am really sorry to hear about your bad news. Perhaps it would be best to consult a migration agent on this one as it sounds very likely that your visa is going to be refused unless you can provide evidence that you have 'lived together' as a defacto couple for the 12mths prior to lodging your application. Unfortunately DIAC are very strict on the 12mth living together requirement for defacto partner visas unless you are eligible to have the 12mths waived ie by being married and a few other circumstances. 

When you say you provided 'cold hard facts' - what you need to provide is 'cold hard facts' that you have lived together for the last 12mths. If you don't have evidence of this then I'm not sure that providing any more phone records or receipts are really going to change the outcome. 

I think you might need to explore other visa options that allow you to live together in the same place for 12mths in order to be eligible to apply for the defacto visa again in the future


----------



## mon

Thanks meesha121,
What would you recommend I apply for? I am 32 and do not qualify for the working holiday visa, and I really do want a life when I get to Australia so the "tourist visa" is out since it wont allow me to work or make money. 
As I said, I have been actively approached by several organisations wanting to hire me once I arrive and have my visa cleared. Getting a work sponsor is incredibly difficult (having also looked in to this after receiving the news that our de facto status does not qualify us). Any help would be great.


----------



## CollegeGirl

You need a migration agent, mon. You can't just be hired by an Australian company - your occupation has to be on either the CSOL or SOL, and the company has to be set up to sponsor you. 

Right now you have a lot of balls up in the air - partner visa, work visa - and you may or may not qualify for any of them. MARA-registered migration agents can tell you what your best option is and will often not charge for an initial consultation.


----------



## Ggen

Hi I'm planning to apply with my boyfriend who is in the Philippines. Thanks for the tips!


----------



## ezzylala

Hello everyone

I was wondering if anyone had any experience with submitting a De Facto visa minus the overseas Police Clearances (the Australian one has been completed)? Unfortunately, the UK and South Africa are dragging on and I must submit by this weekend.

Has anyone had any negative experiences from doing this?

Thanks


----------



## CollegeGirl

It's fine to submit without them. In fact many people wait until they're requested because processing times are so long these days.


----------



## S'n'E

*Anyone been granted?*

Hi Everyone!

I applied on the 21st of December 2012 in Sydney. From that day I haven't heard anything from the immi even though I have updated them about all my changes of circumstances. No case officer assigned, no interview yet.

I would like to know how things are going for people who applied onshore around that date. Could you please share your experience?

I applied for a de facto visa as I am in a same sex relationship.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hi S'n'E! You may want to consider starting your own thread - you may get more information. Wait times for 820 applications are now at 13-18 months, so your case is not out of the realm of normal yet. Did you provide medicals and police clearances yet? I'd think they would have at least asked for those by now if you didn't.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Not all 820 applicants get interviews, and you don't always get notified when a CO is assigned, so nothing unusual there, either.


----------



## minut65

Hi everyone, I have quiet unusual question - we are applying for defacto relationship visa, I know if visa will get granted they will give us date to enter country - however, if we wont be ready to move yet, can we just go for holiday to OZ ( we will enter before date I will be given ) but come back to live in UK for lets say another year and than move? Is this possible? I would really appreciate if someone could answer me this.


----------



## CollegeGirl

Hi Minut. Yes, it is definitely possible. In fact, you can be anywhere in the world when they reassess you and grant you permanent residency two years after you applied for the 309.. Just make sure they have your current address so they can send you the paperwork if you're still out of the country at that point.

Do keep in mind that if you stay out of the country TOO long it can create problems... 

For example, your PR will allow you to travel in and out of Australia as you like for five years, but at the end of the five years, you'll need to be able to demonstrate that you've lived in Australia for at least two of those years in order to be able to get back into the country (on a return resident visa). 

Also, you won't qualify for citizenship until you've spent four years in Australia, at least one as a permanent resident.


----------



## minut65

CollegeGirl said:


> Hi Minut. Yes, it is definitely possible. In fact, you can be anywhere in the world when they reassess you and grant you permanent residency two years after you applied for the 309.. Just make sure they have your current address so they can send you the paperwork if you're still out of the country at that point.
> 
> Do keep in mind that if you stay out of the country TOO long it can create problems...
> 
> For example, your PR will allow you to travel in and out of Australia as you like for five years, but at the end of the five years, you'll need to be able to demonstrate that you've lived in Australia for at least two of those years in order to be able to get back into the country (on a return resident visa).
> 
> Also, you won't qualify for citizenship until you've spent four years in Australia, at least one as a permanent resident.


Thanks for your answer CollegeGirl! We are definitely planning to move to OZ, we are just not sure we will be ready to do it once my visa will be ( fingers crossed ) granted. We would like to have a choice to move down there when we want to, not when they told us to, if you understand. I was worried they need to see in 'their system' that I am working in there, living in there or something like that. So once visa is granted, I enter country just for holiday and go back to UK where we will stay for another year or so, nothing will change and we can move to OZ when we are ready and there wont be any problem, am I correct?


----------



## CollegeGirl

You're correct!


----------



## minut65

Hi everyone  Can someone please explain me exactly how to pay ?? We are just about to lodge in London, we found out it should be done by credit card or bank cheque - what I dont understand is do I just send that cheque with whole visa paperwork?? Also how should I fill questions 83,84 and 85 on 47SP? Thank you for help!


----------



## CollegeGirl

minut65 said:


> Hi everyone  Can someone please explain me exactly how to pay ?? We are just about to lodge in London, we found out it should be done by credit card or bank cheque - what I dont understand is do I just send that cheque with whole visa paperwork?? Also how should I fill questions 83,84 and 85 on 47SP? Thank you for help!


Yes, you just include your bank cheque with your application if paying that way.

Where is your confusion on questions 83-85?

Question 83 would be "No" since you haven't paid yet.

Question 84 - Follow the instructions. If you have specific questions, ask away.

Question 85 - If you're paying by bank cheque, tick "bank cheque." If you are paying by credit card, fill out your credit card information.


----------



## minut65

CollegeGirl said:


> Yes, you just include your bank cheque with your application if paying that way.
> 
> Where is your confusion on questions 83-85?
> 
> Question 83 would be "No" since you haven't paid yet.
> 
> Question 84 - Follow the instructions. If you have specific questions, ask away.
> 
> Question 85 - If you're paying by bank cheque, tick "bank cheque." If you are paying by credit card, fill out your credit card information.


Thanks again CollegeGirl  I know it looks pretty clear but we were so happy we are in the end with all the paperwork and I think we are in the stage when we thinking about every single question way to much. Thanks for making it clear!


----------



## Toshiyuki

hello,
I'm currently applying for an Australian Partner Visa onshore in Melbourne.
About the police checks, we sent the application without it as we need to wait for another 2 months for the police checks to get here.
So went through without attaching the police checks with it.
Will the Immigration ask us to send them the police checks later?
Please help, need answer.

Thank you.


----------



## aussiegirl

Hi Toshiyuki, 

After they receive the application the case officer should give you a case/ file number. When the checks finally come, you need to send them to immigration with your file number so they can add them to the right application.

If you didn't mention when you sent your application that the checks weren't included they may email or send a letter asking for them so you'll have to wait and see.

If you're worried try calling to tell them your situation.


----------



## Homer

*Waallaby*



waallaby said:


> First, can I just say how much I wish I would have found this forum BEFORE submitting? What an asset!
> 
> Alright, so the nitty-gritty back story in a nutshell (it's a long one) is that I'm from California and was studying in Sydney on a 4 year student visa. I met my boyfriend during this, in Aug 2011 and he's who I'm applying for the de facto with. I got very sick with bronchitis because of a university excursion to some caves and tanked my finals. I got put on academic probation and lost my US Student loan eligibility and visa revoked. Well, 'revoked' when it wasn't meant to. The university did NOT notify me of the ability to appeal the decision at the DIAC in Sydney until I had already returned to California to avoid getting in trouble / having my visa cancelled and still being in the country. I lost my mind I was so angry, so I used the power of twitter to voice this and lo and behold - the Minister of Immigration himself responded. He had his team contact me to see what they could do. Turns out, they could only help 28 days after this cancellation - and it had been 32. So NOW I'm banned / excluded from Australia for 3 years.
> 
> I was devastated as you can imagine, but thankfully someone (who shall not be named cause they may have broken the rules) from the Minister's Office informed me that my exclusion _DID NOT_ apply to partner visa's. She kept saying, 'while I cannot provide migration advice, *ahem* I think a PARTNER visa would be in your BEST INTEREST'.
> 
> Thank god for her. So here we are, I've been forced away from my boyfriend since St. Patrick's Day and not even allowed to visit. We lodged our partner visa last week and it was accepted on the 19th. The Ottawa embassy (since Washington DC redirects your calls 90% of the time) advised I write a cover letter requesting a temporary visa under compelling and compassionate circumstances to allow me to visit while our Partner visa is being processed. Here's hoping.
> 
> I ended up filling out a paper visa application for work and holiday so that I could come be with him in our home and work for a bit and so we could be together for the holiday. But after checking the status and my call being redirected to Ottawa _again_, I was advised by a very stern woman that that Work/Holiday is not the right one for this situation and would be denied. She said my partner visa had been registered but not the W/H yet. She offered to call Washington DC and have it shredded on my behalf. So I agreed - and 30 mins later someone from DC called me and made sure that's what I wanted. THAT WAS THE FIRST I HEARD FROM THEM! *thumbs up*
> 
> Anyway, this woman that called was very kind and shredded that application and said I could still try for a tourist 676 or apply in person. California to DC just to apply in person - that's expensive. Ottawa woman said e676 tourist as well. That's $115, vs no-fee regular tourist. So I asked DC woman about e676 vs 676 and she said 676 is the paper version and would take 5-6 weeks.  The e676 (same but online) has a ONE day turn around. It's Dec 21 - I wanna fly on/after Christmas, so I'm gonna try for the electric one. Ottawa woman works with visas and DC woman I think was clerical. Anyway, Ottawa woman told me I'll have a case worker and official e-mails etc by first week of January. I sure hope so. In the mean time, I'm gonna apply for e676 today. I'll let you know how that pans out.
> 
> Finally, In our Partner application, I followed the check list as close as I could, post-it tabbed each paper-clipped section, and added photocopies of all certified docs at the end, to facilitate processing (as suggested on the USA embassy site). I didn't have ANY co-bills, so that makes me nervous. Our house has 2 other flatmates and the lease is in one of their names, and my partner and I just pay him cash. We're moving into our own place when I return though. I had phone records, texts, photos, stat decs (10 statements, 2 888 certified statements), FBI and police checks, and went ahead and had a medical check done for the hell of it. It wasn't by a panel doc, but it didn't cost me a thing and I needed a physical from my doc anyway.  If it helps, good - if not, I'll have to drive 2 hours to a panel doc NOT covered by my insurance.
> 
> DC woman said average time is 5-12 months, the immi website said low risk (USA) is 5 months, and the USA Embassy website said 'while Washington tends to process faster, please check processing times on immi website'. I'm really hoping it's quick - and that I at least get a tourist visa so we can spend Christmas / New Years together. Expensive holiday, but I'll be allowed to stay for 3 months, and that's a chunk of processing time I'd otherwise spend missing him. Any advice / encouraging words?


Hi waallaby, 
Need help with the compassion compelling letter. Thanks.


----------



## stephanievan

*Help - Defacto Visa*

I am American living in Australia on a Working Holiday, applying for a DeFacto with my Aussie boyfriend.

This may seem silly but I have been wondering this whole time... how do you submit your application? What are some of the acceptable ways to present your application? In a binder? Bunched in a very large paper clip? I would like it to be easily handled and read.

Also I now see people saying they "uploaded" things. Where do you upload things (such as police check results).

Also when you do get assigned a case officer?

I really thought I was on top of things, but maybe I am completely lost! 
Someone please give a suggestion - thanks!


----------



## CollegeGirl

DIBP actually specifically says not to use paper clips or binders or folders, etc. We used one big bulldog clip to hold it all together, and smaller bulldog clips for each separate section. 

You can now submit your application online instead of via paper - I personally would do that if I were doing it now myself. Look on DIBP's website - the place to apply online is pretty easily found.


----------



## tulauras

Why do you say you'd do it online? I feel like scanning all the hard copy bits of paper would be annoying, and was still going to go hard copy. But is that worse? Or did you find it particularly annoying as you had a lot of stuff to print?


----------



## CollegeGirl

Well, for starters it's possible it might speed things up. That alone would be enough incentive for me. But I always like doing anything I can online anyway - and most of what we had for our PMV application was either already on our computer or easily scanned since I own a printer/scanner/fax machine.


----------



## xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxmexiwi

CollegeGirl said:


> Well, for starters it's possible it might speed things up. That alone would be enough incentive for me.


I think online has definite advantages - especially as you can continually upload more information - I guess if you have a well sorted application then that isn't important - but handy to scan that wedding invitation for you as a couple that arrives a few weeks after you submitted the application.

Online is a boon for offshore PMV applications, I don't have to send all my bits of paper to the Philippines so my fiancee can collate it all and submit it, then drop any extra ones off to the visa centre.

She has a printer/scanner so she just scans and uploads oir scans and sends to me to combine documents then I upload.


----------



## Move Migration

Great tips from the original post, but I think most importantly, remember you are presenting your story to a stranger. Make it easy for them to understand your history and circumstances. Tell your story, make it clear.


----------



## Star Hunter

mexiwi said:


> I think online has definite advantages - especially as you can continually upload more information - I guess if you have a well sorted application then that isn't important - but handy to scan that wedding invitation for you as a couple that arrives a few weeks after you submitted the application.
> 
> Online is a boon for offshore PMV applications, I don't have to send all my bits of paper to the Philippines so my fiancee can collate it all and submit it, then drop any extra ones off to the visa centre.
> 
> She has a printer/scanner so she just scans and uploads oir scans and sends to me to combine documents then I upload.


I agree and can also think of lots of other advantages as well. To start with, having to scan the hard copy bits isn't a hassle since I was never planning to submit originals anyway so would have to make copies anyway. For my printer/scanner there is no real difference time wise to scanning or copying. I get to save on ink and paper though which is a definite plus!!

Scanning in colour means we don't need to get everything certified - another plus. The online system has little boxes for you to type in a description for each piece of evidence, plus a drop down menu to help (things like reciept, will, household insurance etc are things listed) which can make things even more timesaving. No worrying about writing on post it notes or writing statements explaining what evidence is what and how it fits in.

The online checklist itself is much more comprehensive and outlines the evidence required in much more detail ie, it has sections for the usual stuff - nature or household, financial, social, committment - but then breaks it down further so we have sections for "communication while apart" and "proof of joint residence" etc. makes it much easier to ensure that every aspect they want evidence wise is covered.

We can go back into our application whenever we want and double check the evidence, see which categories might need some extra evidence.....just for peace of mind or any other reason.

No courier costs, or stressing out about whether the application will arrive at it's destination in one piece! Almost instantly after submission we got an acknowledgement email and bridging visa.


----------



## KatieQ

Working through the form 47sp and wondering how crucial it is to fill in all the info about families, I'm applying for onshore de-facto and am unsure why they need all this information especially if they will not be coming with me. Thanks! Also love all the advice I've seen and trying to keep calm about this but I've been very anxious this week sorting through it all and trying to process this big change in my life. What do others have to say about this?


----------



## S'n'E

Hi everyone,

I just dropped by to say that my De Facto visa has been granted today after 15 long long months.


We haven't heard anything from the immi for more than 13 months so we started writing some emails to the WA partner office and not even the automated reply was coming back. It seemed too strange so I called the 13 - something phone number and guess what I found out? My application WAS NEVER MOVED TO WA but it has always been sitting here in Sydney somewhere...basically the email I received on November 2013 stating that my application would from that moment in time processed in WA was a mistake, a mess up...I don't know.

Anyway, the very kind lady who answered the phone told me she would have contacted the temporary partner office in Sydney to ask if they could prioritize my application. 10 - 15 days ago I received an email stating that the partner temporary manager authorized my application to be prioritized. Period. No CO assigned..nothing..

Today my partner was called by a very nice lady from the immi to be asked a couple of questions. " I am about to grant your partner her visa, I just need to ask you a couple of questions.... "

Fifteen minutes later I found an email in my inbox stating my Temporary Visa 820 was granted....


----------



## Amelia Louisa

Just wanted to thank eKitten and all of the repliers to this thread who have provided information or advice.

I am in the middle of setting up my application pack right now and when I saw that I needed to provide evidence I had a panic attack at the prospect, what to include, what is pointless, how much is too much. 

Reading this thread has really helped me write a table of contents to work through to ensure I have all the necessary information and that it would be delivered to immigration in an easily understandable format.

Thanks all of you for your plethora of advice and tips


----------



## andyman_82

I live in Australia (Aus Citerzen) and my partner lives overseas...due to my travel work I have been in a relationship with him and spend 2 nights a week with him oveseas. We both have seperate residents as my job requires me to live in Australia and his requires him to live overseas. However next year we want to apply for a partner visa to live together in Australia.
Has anyone applied for a partner visa and not technically lived together. Were they granted a visa?


----------



## kangaroogirl

andyman_82 said:


> I live in Australia (Aus Citerzen) and my partner lives overseas...due to my travel work I have been in a relationship with him and spend 2 nights a week with him oveseas. We both have seperate residents as my job requires me to live in Australia and his requires him to live overseas. However next year we want to apply for a partner visa to live together in Australia.
> Has anyone applied for a partner visa and not technically lived together. Were they granted a visa?


There is a 12 month minimum time to live together for the partner visa if you aren't married. They can waive this under certain circumstances such as compassionate reasons or if you've registered your relationship in Australia.

I don't believe that work commitments would satisfy their criteria for waiving that. Even if they did, you need a truck load of evidence to show mutual ongoing commitment financially, socially, how your household runs etc. Unless you live together you can't show these things.

You could speak to a migration agent about your situation and ask their opinion. We have a couple on the forum and you could ask in the Ask Mark! thread at the top.

My personal opinion is you'd be more suited to a prospective marriage visa 300 (PMV) which is designed for people in your circumstances.

http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/300.asp


----------



## andyman_82

Thanks for your reply, 
Today I met with a migration agent, they told me the situation is very unique and that the requirement states you need to live together for 12 months.
The problem is I live in Australia and my parnter lives overseas. So how can we live together for 12 months? My partner isnt eligable for any visas to come and work in Australia unless we look at a student visa..
We are a same sex couple so we cant apply for a prospective marriage visa unfortunately.
We do spend 2 nights a week together overseas as I travel to his country for work each week... 
Its a very unique situation and not sure what the immigration department will say. 
Is it worth ringing them and explaining the situation to see if we would fit the criteria?


----------



## JessicaSchultz

Hi there

I have a few questions about Statutory Declarations.

We are getting 4 x Australian citizens to write us Stat Decs. 3 live in Australia so will follow Australian guidelines. The other lives in Singapore and will go to the Australian Consulate in Singapore to get it witnessed/certified.

My question is about non-Australian friends or relatives. We live in the UK and therefore many of our close friends here are either English or South African.

For example - I would like to get our house mate to write a declaration confirming that we lived with him as a couple and that we shared household bills and responsibilities etc. I'd also like to get my friend here in the UK (she is South African) to write a declaration confirming the social context of our relationship - that we are viewed as a couple and are invited and attend social events as a couple.

I am not sure however in what format these declarations should be in? And who needs to witness or certify them. 

When I applied for my Police Clearance Certificate here in London they provided a list of people whom could certify the photo I submitted. Do you think the same list will stand for witnessing and certifying the above mentioned declarations? 

Please help!


----------



## Dinkum

Congrats...


----------



## rheia

JessicaSchultz said:


> Hi there
> 
> I have a few questions about Statutory Declarations.
> 
> We are getting 4 x Australian citizens to write us Stat Decs. 3 live in Australia so will follow Australian guidelines. The other lives in Singapore and will go to the Australian Consulate in Singapore to get it witnessed/certified.
> 
> My question is about non-Australian friends or relatives. We live in the UK and therefore many of our close friends here are either English or South African.
> 
> For example - I would like to get our house mate to write a declaration confirming that we lived with him as a couple and that we shared household bills and responsibilities etc. I'd also like to get my friend here in the UK (she is South African) to write a declaration confirming the social context of our relationship - that we are viewed as a couple and are invited and attend social events as a couple.
> 
> I am not sure however in what format these declarations should be in? And who needs to witness or certify them.
> 
> When I applied for my Police Clearance Certificate here in London they provided a list of people whom could certify the photo I submitted. Do you think the same list will stand for witnessing and certifying the above mentioned declarations?
> 
> Please help!


Our UK-based (non-Australian) friends wrote their statements as statutory declarations and had them witnessed by a solicitor.

We went for this format:

_Statutory Declaration

I, ................................................................ (name) of ...................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................... (address)

do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare as follows.

[statement]

And I make this solemn Declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of The Statutory Declarations Act 1835.

Signed: ........................................................  Date: ................................
 Declared before me : Signed: ..................................................................
Name (in block letters): .............................................................. Date: .................. Designation: .............................................................. Address: ..................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
_


----------



## danegirl

JessicaSchultz said:


> I am not sure however in what format these declarations should be in? And who needs to witness or certify them.
> 
> When I applied for my Police Clearance Certificate here in London they provided a list of people whom could certify the photo I submitted. Do you think the same list will stand for witnessing and certifying the above mentioned declarations?
> 
> Please help!


The statements that we got from people outside Australia were just signed and dated statements from my partner's family in Denmark. My sister is also in the US at the moment and she got a notary public to witness her statement. I would google something like UK certifying copy of original document and see what comes up - I guess the list of people given you by the police would probably be a good place to start. However, they don't have to be certified, it's not a requirement for statements from family and friends (apart from the two Form 888's) - so if you can't find it out, I wouldn't panic.

In terms of the form, we just asked our friends and family to write what they knew about our relationship in paragraph form. No set structure - make a list of the things you want them to cover and give it to them before hand though!


----------



## JessicaSchultz

Thank you so much danegirl and rheia X


----------



## kangaroogirl

We just had our overseas friends and relatives complete the same form 888 and had them notarized, and included a certified copy of their passports.


----------



## ali wasiq

Hi I am new in this FORUM as Our Visa De fecto Subclass 309/100 was lounged on 01.oct.2012 in Islamabad Pakistan and CO requested for med/PCC and additional documents On 21.Dec.12 and we submitted Med/PCC and other documents on 10. JAN.2013. As They Forwarded Application For External Check (Security Checks) on 28.Jan.2013. And now it has 14 months that the application was forwarded For External Check. And last Month On 17.Feb.2014 Co emailed and request for An Updated PCC and we submitted Updated PCC On 5.Mar.2014. And when we call to CO they says that we are waiting for external checks to complete. Did anyone Knows How Much time It will take more. Thanks..


----------



## jenpixie88

*Partner visa's for a partner that isn't an australian resident*

Hello

All this visa stuff is confusing me a little so hoping people here can help out.

Both my partner and I are from the UK and want to move across to Australia. It looks like my partner will be offered a job soon so will be applying for a temporary skilled visa and therefore sponsored by his new company (fingers crossed). However based on my skills ( i working in marketing) i'm doubtful i'll be able to go over on the same type of visa. There I was wondering if I could go on a defacto visa. We have been together for 3 and half years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## CollegeGirl

When you say you've been "together," do you mean living together? If you've been living together a year or longer,* and sharing finances/household responsibilities, social circles, etc., and you have evidence to prove all that, you'll probably qualify to be added as a de facto partner on his skilled visa. Depending on the type of visa he's going over on, his employer may need to approve sponsoring you as well.

*Some visa types only require six months of evidence of living together for de facto partners.


----------



## shelleymae

elkitten said:


> *Very Unofficial Defacto Visa Tips*
> 
> I learned a whole lot about this Visa while going through the process myself. My application was "unusual" in that I had many unique circumstances and problems to deal with-we had no real joint assets/neat financial evidence, we had no neat proof of living together, and we had to put evidence together while he was in Australia and I was in the U.S.A. So here are some tips that I learned along the way which I hope might help you out too!
> 
> Some Rules:
> 
> DO NOT post about your own individual situation here-post it on the main board where everyone can help you and benefit from the answers you receive.
> 
> I AM NOT a migration agent/immi authority-I cannot guarantee that what worked for me will work for you and I am not responsible for what you choose to include in your application or not.
> 
> THIS IS NOT everything you have to do, these are just tips, make absolutely sure you read the all the necessary information before applying, and double check before sending.
> 
> DO POST any additional defacto tips or suggestions you have here!
> 
> I am a Canadian citizen, who applied in the U.S.A-this means I am from a Low Risk country, so High Risk country people may have to go even further in proving both their relationship and character. (It sucks, but that's the way it is unfortunately).
> 
> *Part 1: RESEARCH!!!! *(notice I won't put up any links because it is so important you research for yourself on the immi website-only you can really know if you are eligible and exactly what you will need).
> 
> -Read the Partner Migration Booklet and answer these questions: are you eligible? What sort of evidence will you need? How can you prove the 12 month relationship requirement? What sort of documents will you need to prove your identity (passport, birth certificate etc)? What documents will your sponsor have to provide? What character checks will you need? What will you need translated? Print out the booklet and make notes as you go-make notes of what you will need to look up and what you don't understand.
> 
> -Read and print the two application forms (47sp and 40sp). Is there any question on there that you will need to look up the answer?
> 
> -If you are from a High Risk country, one of the members here, Rav, found out that you do need to fill out a form 80 even if the immi website is not clear at all as to whether or not you will need one.
> 
> - Look up where your nearest immi panel Doctor is for your health check: you may need to travel a fair distance and it's a good idea to check asap. Call the doctors even to make sure they are still doing the medicals and how much they costs-they do not all charge the same thing so if you have a few options, call around. Also ask them how available appointments are-it might take a while for you to get in, so again, good to know and good to plan for. Print out or save the medical forms found on the immi website.
> 
> -Go on the websites of the places you will need character checks/police checks from. How long do they take? What do you need to provide? If you will need fingerprints, where will you get them (your local police station may do them for free) and how many fingerprint cards do you need? How much does each police check cost? Do you have to provide a bank draft in the local currency? If so, where and how will you get it?
> 
> -Will you need to get any documents translated? If so, go on the website of the embassy where you will be applying and they normally have a link as to how you can find an approved translator. You can contact a translator via e-mail early to see how much they charge and how long it takes.
> 
> -Did you notice that you need a whole bunch of passport size photo's of you and your partner? You need them to apply, for the medical, and for some police checks-write down how many you will need to save yourself a few trips to the photo booth!
> 
> -Who will you ask to write Statutory Declarations on your behalf? Contact them asap to ask and send them the form so they can start working on it. It might be helpful to write to them what you think they could include. Remember, they need to get it certified along with proof they are an Aussie citizen-this can take people a while to actually get out and do, so it's a good idea to ask them very early on! (hint: the more the merrier, you need at least two, but I supplied 7 because I could, so if you can, get a good few people to do it!)
> 
> -Where can you get documents certified? Will it cost you anything? In the U.S one must go to a lawyer or notary public (banks usually have a notary public), but in Australia there is a plethora of people who can do it for you and for free. It's important info to know at the beginning (a google search of "where can I get documents certified in X" will usually lead you in the right direction).
> 
> *Part 2: Whole lot of writing and evidence gathering!*
> 
> Now that you have a massive to do list and that you know what you will need to provide, it's time to get it all together.
> 
> -Wait to get stuff certified: all official documents (passport copies, birth certificate copies etc) and stat decs need to be certified. Save yourself a trip and wait until you are sure you have everything that will need to be certified-I got extra's of my passport certified too, just in-case.
> 
> -Figure out if you will do your medical and police checks now and hand them in with the application or hand them in after you have sent in the application. Certain places, Singapore for example, require a letter from your CO before you can send off your police clearance so you may not be able to do them all right away (if this is the case, ask your CO the minute they contact you for the letter you need). I did all of my checks and medicals within the month after my CO was assigned and had no problems in it taking longer, but it is up to you.
> 
> -KEEP IN MIND: It is super important to remember while doing this that your CO will not be a mind reader! Do you think that there is some explaining to do on some of the evidence you provide? I had a whole LOT to explain: my billing addresses were different from where my BF and I lived, there were date problems with statements because I had American accounts, the rental bond didn't have my boyfriends name on it, we had no bills in EITHER of our names and much, much more! I (as the applicant, not the sponsor) wrote a Statutory Declaration for each of the evidence "sections" (financial, nature of the household, social context etc) and had those statements certified. My CO later told me that this helped with the process a lot-just don't go overboard and write a saga for each piece of evidence! Keep it short, succinct and just explain what needs to be explained.
> 
> -Stat Decs from you and your partner: You can write these on your computer rather than on the stat dec form your friends and family will fill out for you. In the Partner Migration Booklet, there is a section that tells you what questions to answer. My declaration ended up being quite long and descriptive because it had to be due to my situation-this part is actually fun because it's nice to see what your partner will write about you! They don't both have to be super long, but make sure you both put some time and effort into it. Don't forget to get them certified!
> 
> -Get your "identifying" documents together-since you will probably need identifying documents for more than your application (police checks for example) make sure you make enough copies.
> 
> -Fill out the two forms (47 and 40sp)-make sure you both have your dates straight! I don't know about you, but there was a whole lot of "uuhhh's" being uttered when we were trying to figure out the exact date we started dating&#8230;
> 
> continued next post.....


Thanks so much for this advice, this is a very tricky part of the process.


----------



## Move Migration

rheia said:


> Our UK-based (non-Australian) friends wrote their statements as statutory declarations and had them witnessed by a solicitor.
> 
> We went for this format:
> 
> _Statutory Declaration
> 
> I, ................................................................ (name) of ...................................................................................................................... .......................................................................................................... (address)
> 
> do hereby solemnly and sincerely declare as follows.
> 
> [statement]
> 
> And I make this solemn Declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true, and by virtue of the provisions of The Statutory Declarations Act 1835.
> 
> Signed: ........................................................  Date: ................................
> Declared before me : Signed: ..................................................................
> Name (in block letters): .............................................................. Date: .................. Designation: .............................................................. Address: ..................................................................................................................
> .................................................................................................................................
> _


You should use the DIBP's prescribed form for Stat Declarations - Form 888 (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf)

Then get a qualified person to sign it.


----------



## starlight

Move Migration said:


> You should use the DIBP's prescribed form for Stat Declarations - Form 888 (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf)
> 
> Then get a qualified person to sign it.


Even when the declaration is not written by an Australian citizen?


----------



## Move Migration

starlight said:


> Even when the declaration is not written by an Australian citizen?


Yes, if you read the instructions on Form 888 it states:

Note: If the visa applicant is outside Australia and is unable to
have an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
complete this form, *any person who knows the applicant and
their partner or fiancé(e) may also complete this form*.
The person completing this form must provide evidence of their
current name, age and, *where applicable*, Australian citizenship
or Australian permanent residency (for example, a certified copy
of the birth certificate, Australian passport or passport
containing a permanent visa). All copies must be certified

Please note that Form 888's are only recommended additional documents. These statutory declarations will have persuasive value however, it is still better to get Australian PR's or Citizens to fill these in.

If we are to get back to the main question however, a statutory declaration of that particular jurisdiction should be used, if you are not using Form 888. It will still be valid. So, if my qualified person is in the UK, I would be able to use either Form 888 or the form prescribed by the UK.


----------



## starlight

Move Migration said:


> Yes, if you read the instructions on Form 888 it states[...]
> Please note that Form 888's are only recommended additional documents. These statutory declarations will have persuasive value however, it is still better to get Australian PR's or Citizens to fill these in.
> 
> If we are to get back to the main question however, a statutory declaration of that particular jurisdiction should be used, if you are not using Form 888. It will still be valid. So, if my qualified person is in the UK, I would be able to use either Form 888 or the form prescribed by the UK.


Thanks, I should have read the form more carefully - I have Form 888 from Australian citizens already, would it be beneficial to attach another one (from my mother for example who is not Australian obviously) even though I have already submitted my online application a couple of months ago?


----------



## Move Migration

starlight said:


> Thanks, I should have read the form more carefully - I have Form 888 from Australian citizens already, would it be beneficial to attach another one (from my mother for example who is not Australian obviously) even though I have already submitted my online application a couple of months ago?


If you haven't gotten a case officer yet and your mother's viewpoint will give a more complete picture of your application then sure, it would help.


----------



## starlight

Thank you very much


----------



## lauralou

Oh my goodness - I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum, it’s very helpful!

I do have some questions though – and I was hoping someone might be able to help.. 

Me and my partner are finally starting the de facto application process (well, we’re slowly starting to put together all the required paperwork) – we met over in the UK whilst he was there on a two year youth mobility visa (I’m originally from Finland and was living & working in the UK at the time), and then moved back to Australia where I am now on my first working holiday visa (my partner is an Aus citizen). We have been in a relationship for two years now, and have lived together for one year exactly (5 months in the UK + 7 months in Australia). The thing that is giving me a lot of anxiety at the moment, is the fact that we do not have any bills/rental agreements to show as evidence. Basically, when we first moved in together in the UK I just moved in to his room/flat that was provided by his workplace. The rent was taken directly from his pay every week. We also did not pay any utility bills as these were also included in the rent. Then, when we moved back to Australia, we moved straight in with my partner’s parents, where we have pretty much been living ever since, to save money for our partner visa etc.. We’ve opened a shared goal saver bank account, where we both have been putting money every week (mostly towards actually paying off this costly visa application cost heh), but other than that we don’t really have any “hard” evidence of shared bills etc like I said. What should we do? We were thinking of getting a statutory declaration from my partner’s old boss/landlord in the UK to state that we lived together (not sure how this could be certified), as well as from my partner’s parents here in Australia… We have kept any letters, including bank statements, that have been delivered to the same address etc. We are also going to register our de facto relationship in Qld within the next couple of weeks.
Any thoughts/advice? Help would be very much appreciated.. 

-Laura


----------



## lildevil872

lauralou said:


> Oh my goodness - I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum, it's very helpful!
> 
> I do have some questions though - and I was hoping someone might be able to help..
> 
> Me and my partner are finally starting the de facto application process (well, we're slowly starting to put together all the required paperwork) - we met over in the UK whilst he was there on a two year youth mobility visa (I'm originally from Finland and was living & working in the UK at the time), and then moved back to Australia where I am now on my first working holiday visa (my partner is an Aus citizen). We have been in a relationship for two years now, and have lived together for one year exactly (5 months in the UK + 7 months in Australia). The thing that is giving me a lot of anxiety at the moment, is the fact that we do not have any bills/rental agreements to show as evidence. Basically, when we first moved in together in the UK I just moved in to his room/flat that was provided by his workplace. The rent was taken directly from his pay every week. We also did not pay any utility bills as these were also included in the rent. Then, when we moved back to Australia, we moved straight in with my partner's parents, where we have pretty much been living ever since, to save money for our partner visa etc.. We've opened a shared goal saver bank account, where we both have been putting money every week (mostly towards actually paying off this costly visa application cost heh), but other than that we don't really have any "hard" evidence of shared bills etc like I said. What should we do? We were thinking of getting a statutory declaration from my partner's old boss/landlord in the UK to state that we lived together (not sure how this could be certified), as well as from my partner's parents here in Australia&#8230; We have kept any letters, including bank statements, that have been delivered to the same address etc. We are also going to register our de facto relationship in Qld within the next couple of weeks.
> Any thoughts/advice? Help would be very much appreciated..
> 
> -Laura


Hi Laura,

I am also in a similar situation as you and will be applying for the 820 visa perhaps end of this month. my Aussie partner and i met online in 2009 and in May 2010 we oficially got together and have been together ever since. I moved in early December 2013. We have registered our relationship in NSW.

Here are some of my evidence that may give you new ideas to help you.

1. Phone bills highlighting phone records of us calling each other

2. Ticket stubs from concerts, theatres and events we went together from 2010-current

3. I got a record of my personal details from my boss where i have listed my partner as my emergency contact perhaps your partner could do the same with his job

4. We also named each other as our super annuation benefeciaries

5. I have applied for my partner to be a subsidiary credit card holder under me

6. I am currently thinking of getting an online will naming my partner as one of my benefeciaries

7. We both also have a virtual mail forwarding address in the US which i have added my partner's name too and we both order stuff from US and ship it to that address and forward it to our Australian address

If your partner's boss could write the stat declaration stating you were living with him that would be great and adds value. Perhaps his parents could do the same for you too stating you live with them. You could also provide receipts of grocerry shopping that you guys have done regularly at the same grocerry place near your residential address? Everyone's situation is diffeent and all immigration needs to know is that you guys are in a genuine ongoing relationship. Good luck!!!


----------



## CollegeGirl

If you have correspondence that was sent to each of you at the same address for each month of the 12 months, you'll at least be set with the living together requirement. The shared finances requirement, though - that's going to be a little tougher, but at least you have one shared account. Add in registration and you MIGHT be okay. Can your partner list you as beneficiary on his super? Try to be creative with your evidence.


----------



## lildevil872

CollegeGirl said:


> If you have correspondence that was sent to each of you at the same address for each month of the 12 months, you'll at least be set with the living together requirement. The shared finances requirement, though - that's going to be a little tougher, but at least you have one shared account. Add in registration and you MIGHT be okay. Can your partner list you as beneficiary on his super? Try to be creative with your evidence.


@collegegirl you're always so quick in responding with your ever so helpful advise/tips. Kudos for doing such a great job in helping others


----------



## CollegeGirl

Aw, thanks.  I just really like helping people! I actually prefer your response to my own above in this case.  Once I'm employed (I hope SOON) I won't be quite as quick to respond, unfortunately, and may not be on as much. But for now, as a bored stay-at-home housewife, I have nothing but time on my hands when I'm not job-searching! Hahaha.


----------



## monkonjay

lauralou said:


> Oh my goodness - I am so happy to have stumbled upon this forum, it's very helpful!
> 
> I do have some questions though - and I was hoping someone might be able to help..
> 
> Me and my partner are finally starting the de facto application process (well, we're slowly starting to put together all the required paperwork) - we met over in the UK whilst he was there on a two year youth mobility visa (I'm originally from Finland and was living & working in the UK at the time), and then moved back to Australia where I am now on my first working holiday visa (my partner is an Aus citizen). We have been in a relationship for two years now, and have lived together for one year exactly (5 months in the UK + 7 months in Australia). The thing that is giving me a lot of anxiety at the moment, is the fact that we do not have any bills/rental agreements to show as evidence. Basically, when we first moved in together in the UK I just moved in to his room/flat that was provided by his workplace. The rent was taken directly from his pay every week. We also did not pay any utility bills as these were also included in the rent. Then, when we moved back to Australia, we moved straight in with my partner's parents, where we have pretty much been living ever since, to save money for our partner visa etc.. We've opened a shared goal saver bank account, where we both have been putting money every week (mostly towards actually paying off this costly visa application cost heh), but other than that we don't really have any "hard" evidence of shared bills etc like I said. What should we do? We were thinking of getting a statutory declaration from my partner's old boss/landlord in the UK to state that we lived together (not sure how this could be certified), as well as from my partner's parents here in Australia&#8230; We have kept any letters, including bank statements, that have been delivered to the same address etc. We are also going to register our de facto relationship in Qld within the next couple of weeks.
> Any thoughts/advice? Help would be very much appreciated..
> 
> -Laura


 Every case is different and will be treated as such. His parent can do a stat dec stating that you live with them from such a time to this time and that all utility bills are in the name. I had to do the same thing recently when I applied. such things like joint bank statement, joint travel invoices, do you still have your ticket from UK to Australia? did you traveled together to Australia? Letters received at your current address in your name as well as your partner. invitations to parties, weddings and so on. it doesn't have to be utility bills. any hotel invoices? domestic flights tickets? Lastly from Dec 2013 you can now apply online. simply copy and paste this link ImmiAccount in your browser to open an account. once you have done that you be able to applied online. This service is not available to BVE holders.
Hope I have been of help to you.


----------



## nickw

Hi all,

I just have a question regarding the 12 Month living requirement for the 820/801 (De facto) visa. I've spent a lot of time going through the other threads and Immi website and i haven't yet found the complete answer.

Does the requirement require you to be living together in Australia? We have been living in Germany together for the last 10 months and have a rental agreement (in German of course) with both of our names on it. 
We hope to also get our landlord to sign a letter confirming we have been living together at the address for the whole period.
My partner will also be returning to the USA for 3 weeks to visit her family before she arrives in Australia where we will be living together again. 
Will this interrupt the 12 month requirement?

Registering our relationship is not possible because we will be living in WA. 

Thanks,

Nick


----------



## CollegeGirl

nickw said:


> Hi all,
> 
> I just have a question regarding the 12 Month living requirement for the 820/801 (De facto) visa. I've spent a lot of time going through the other threads and Immi website and i haven't yet found the complete answer.
> 
> Does the requirement require you to be living together in Australia? We have been living in Germany together for the last 10 months and have a rental agreement (in German of course) with both of our names on it.
> We hope to also get our landlord to sign a letter confirming we have been living together at the address for the whole period.
> My partner will also be returning to the USA for 3 weeks to visit her family before she arrives in Australia where we will be living together again.
> Will this interrupt the 12 month requirement?
> 
> Registering our relationship is not possible because we will be living in WA.
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> Nick


No, it doesn't have to be in AU. Anywhere in the world is fine as long as you're together. A short holiday won't mess things up as long as you're keeping evidence of staying in contact, and continuing to live together after.


----------



## lauralou

Thanks for your replies and advice lildevil, collegegirl & monkonjay. Really appreciate your views on our situation. 

Whilst me and my partner do not really have any utility bills & rental agreements at the moment, we do have soooo much more! Luckily we have kept all our travel/accommodation bills (we travelled a fair bit together in Europe), receipts of our flights from UK to Australia, photos, any event invitations with both our names on them, ticket stubs, the list goes on.
We do also have each other as beneficiaries on our supers, like you guys suggested too.

Anyway, each case is different, just got to work with what you got!

Thanks again, guys.


----------



## nickw

Thanks for your reply CollegeGirl. 
I thought that might have been the case but I wanted to make sure. 

Another question, we have a lot of letters/bills/bank statements etc. that we will be using as evidence that we are living together but it's all in German. 
Given the quote we've been given to translate a two page letter (around $120) I really don't want to have it all translated. 
If I upload them as evidence and our names and address are shown on the letter and I just briefly mention what the letter is in the comment. Will they accept this?

Thanks,
Nick


----------



## Move Migration

nickw said:


> Thanks for your reply CollegeGirl.
> I thought that might have been the case but I wanted to make sure.
> 
> Another question, we have a lot of letters/bills/bank statements etc. that we will be using as evidence that we are living together but it's all in German.
> Given the quote we've been given to translate a two page letter (around $120) I really don't want to have it all translated.
> If I upload them as evidence and our names and address are shown on the letter and I just briefly mention what the letter is in the comment. Will they accept this?
> 
> Thanks,
> Nick


This won't be acceptable. The DIBP publishes the guidelines on translation because they need to verify non English documents. If you submit these with no translation, they will not be taken into account at all and you might as well submit an empty application.

If you're going to do your own application, and pay that visa application fee, make sure you do it correctly. There's no point risking a few thousand dollars to save a few hundred bucks. Migration agents usually have access to cheaper translation services or if you are in Australia, you may be eligible for free translation services at Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National)


----------



## nickw

Move Migration said:


> This won't be acceptable. The DIBP publishes the guidelines on translation because they need to verify non English documents. If you submit these with no translation, they will not be taken into account at all and you might as well submit an empty application.
> 
> If you're going to do your own application, and pay that visa application fee, make sure you do it correctly. There's no point risking a few thousand dollars to save a few hundred bucks. Migration agents usually have access to cheaper translation services or if you are in Australia, you may be eligible for free translation services at Translating and Interpreting Service (TIS National)


Thanks for your reply. 
I completely understand your point and I certainly don't intend to pay for an application that is doomed from the start. 
Unfortunately we have a significant amount of documents and at that price I was quoted, it's going to be thousands of dollars of translation services.

Once again thanks for your reply and I'll be looking into our other translation options when we get closer to application time.


----------



## starlight

nickw said:


> Thanks for your reply.
> I completely understand your point and I certainly don't intend to pay for an application that is doomed from the start.
> Unfortunately we have a significant amount of documents and at that price I was quoted, it's going to be thousands of dollars of translation services.
> 
> Once again thanks for your reply and I'll be looking into our other translation options when we get closer to application time.


Where did you get this quote from? I got a few documents translated (also in German) from a NAATI registered translator and I paid $30 each.

Edit: I'm getting a bit worried now too because I also provided them with a few things like bills, bank statements in German. I thought the main thing was to show both our names and the address. Of course I got my birth certificate and stuff translated and we have lots of other evidence in English.
I'll get the couple of bills now translated but honestly, what do they expect with the bank statement? Mine is more than 20 pages long and kind of repetitive (rent, groceries, train tickets,...). I can see how the first page would need to be translated because it has the name of the bank and general information on it but the rest if mainly like "[name of the grocery shop] says thank you for shopping with us" or things like that. 
Any advise how to do it best? Only a few relevant pages of the bank statement?


----------



## nickw

starlight said:


> Where did you get this quote from? I got a few documents translated (also in German) from a NAATI registered translator and I paid $30 each.
> 
> Edit: I'm getting a bit worried now too because I also provided them with a few things like bills, bank statements in German. I thought the main thing was to show both our names and the address. Of course I got my birth certificate and stuff translated and we have lots of other evidence in English.
> I'll get the couple of bills now translated but honestly, what do they expect with the bank statement? Mine is more than 20 pages long and kind of repetitive (rent, groceries, train tickets,...). I can see how the first page would need to be translated because it has the name of the bank and general information on it but the rest if mainly like "[name of the grocery shop] says thank you for shopping with us" or things like that.
> Any advise how to do it best? Only a few relevant pages of the bank statement?


Hi Starlight,

Your concern was the exact reason for my post. Like you say, I understand that important documents should be translated (our city registration and de-registration for example) but things like bank documents, I'm not sure.
We would like to show the rent payments from my partners back account that has both of our names in the comment, but how to present that to IMMI, I have no idea.

I was hoping someone else who has been down this path would know more, and I would like to think that the CO would ask you to get something translated if they felt necessary and not just disregard it.

Also, can you PM me the name of the translator you used? The one I got a quote from is NAATI registered, but seems to be a little expensive.

Thanks, Nick


----------



## starlight

nickw said:


> Hi Starlight,
> 
> Your concern was the exact reason for my post. Like you say, I understand that important documents should be translated (our city registration and de-registration for example) but things like bank documents, I'm not sure.
> We would like to show the rent payments from my partners back account that has both of our names in the comment, but how to present that to IMMI, I have no idea.
> 
> I was hoping someone else who has been down this path would know more, and I would like to think that the CO would ask you to get something translated if they felt necessary and not just disregard it.
> 
> Also, can you PM me the name of the translator you used? The one I got a quote from is NAATI registered, but seems to be a little expensive.
> 
> Thanks, Nick


I did get a few bills and part of my bank statement translated now and uploaded them today. 
The bank statement is how I expected it "[supermarket xy] says Thank you" and stuff like that. I also only got a few pages translated, I honestly don't see the point in having the whole thing translated, obviously the first page with both our names on it was important and a couple of pages with relevant stuff. 
Sure, I'll PM you the name


----------



## australi

I am applying for a de facto partner visa. My partner and I just moved interstate and he hasn't found a new job yet. He has been unemployed since May 2014, but he had a good job before that with a decent salary for a majority of the financial year 2013-2014.

Do you think it would be acceptable to submit his group certificate showing a good salary? Is it completely necessary to have a letter from the employer and current payslips? Thanks!


----------



## Mish

australi said:


> I am applying for a de facto partner visa. My partner and I just moved interstate and he hasn't found a new job yet. He has been unemployed since May 2014, but he had a good job before that with a decent salary for a majority of the financial year 2013-2014.
> 
> Do you think it would be acceptable to submit his group certificate showing a good salary? Is it completely necessary to have a letter from the employer and current payslips? Thanks!


I never submitted payslips and a letter from my employer. I just submitted my payment summaries for last couple of years.


----------



## ajmaddison88

Hey this is my first post on the forum, but I have been reading for quite a long time.

I am about to apply for my Partner Visa in 10 days. I just wanted to run some stuff through to make sure I will be OK.

First of all me and my Partner started dating on 13/08/2013 (I know that doesn't count) but we moved in together on 25/10/2013. Because she was already renting the property I didn't get my name on the lease or bills, but simply bank transferred rent every 2 weeks. I have proof of bank transfers to her account titled rent.

My visa expired December 2013 so she moved to the UK with me on 04/12/2013. We were planning on getting our own place but my parents said we could stop at theres to save money for a mortgage back in AUS. 
We set a joint bank in the UK, we both worked over there so have payslips to the UK address, as well as NHS letters in our name to the address.

My partner moved back to AUS 12/03/2014 due to family emergency. I moved back on a tourist visa on 24/04/2014. During the seperation we Skyped, facebook messaged and I sent her a presents from the UK. I have receipted with both the UK address and AUS address.

Now we are back in AUS together and have been living at her parents address, again to save money for a mortgage. I can't work till 24/07/2014 so she has been working - but we both saved a lot to cover us while I can't work. We have set joint bank accounts in AUS, as well registered our relationship in QLD as of 30/05/2014.

So basically we have been living together for 8 months, in a relationship for 11 months. 

Our proof is -

Joint bank accounts both UK & AUS.
Bank statements showing transfers between our personal banks
I paid for her UK visa so have proof of that
Registered in QLD as of 30/05/2014
Payslips showing UK address
Letters address to both of us at UK address
Letters address to us in AUS address
STAT decl from 4 AUS family members
Flights together
Disney Land Paris tickets in both names
Rceipts of groceries
Photo's of us with family and friends 

then the usual passports, medical, police checks etc...

is there anything else anybody could think of??


----------



## andy9398

*De Facto/bridging visa*

Hi guys, First of all i would like to thank you guys for all the help I had through my Partner Visa Application.
My partner and I applied for the facto (same sex) in March 2014 and I'm currently on bridging visa. It has been nearly 4 months and i haven't gotten any response from the immigration just yet. I wonder if you guys have any tips to accelerate de process to the next stage which will be temporary visa... Thank youuuuuu...


----------



## Rhindra

Hi!

This is my first post and although I've submitted my application, I have a quick question on some of the evidence required for the de-facto partner visa.

My partner and I are struggling to find any evidence to answer the shared finance requirement. Basically he has not yet settled the financial element of his divorce (proceedings have been going on since September 2012 - we have been together since November 2012). As such, we have no shared finances because his ex-wife is likely to come after anything that is in his name (including the contents of any bank accounts that we share, house that we own etc...), so we have kept everything separate.

Any hints and tips about ways around this would be extremely helpful. All I can think of is making a copy of my bank statement where I have been paying him rent, but that seems a little lightweight!

Thanks

Nikki


----------



## LizBee

*Joint financial records*

Are you living together? Maybe you can show bank statements of how the rent is deducted from one person's account and the other partner pays them back their half? Or something similar.
Also if he had any insurance policies, investments or pension plans, he'll need to contact the investment companies and have his ex-wife removed as the beneficiary. Nominating you as the new beneficiary shows commitment to a joint life.


----------



## Pxer

Rhindra said:


> My partner and I are struggling to find any evidence to answer the shared finance requirement.


Hi! Welcome!
For the better part of our relationship we had very little shared as well. We had seperate bank accounts.
So I went through my statements and highlighted every time I paid for something that was for both of us-groceries, eating out, the movies, etc- or I paid for something that was for my partner-necessities such as clothes, shoes, reading glasses, etc. We did the same on her bank statements. So even though we had seperate accounts it shows that we share finances and use our money for each other. 
Hope this helps.


----------



## EmilyM

Hello ELKitten and everyone! I'm new to this forum. I am in Australia, currently trying to get everything ready to actually apply for Australian Residency. I'm from the USA. 

Just curious to anyone who applied using the ONLINE application- How did you send off all the evidence of your DeFacto relationship? For example,did you write notes by photos and then scan all that into a document and scan all the other evidence, like statements and invitations? 

That may seem like a silly question but any help would be lovely and much appreciated!
Thanks!


----------



## CollegeGirl

EmilyM said:


> Hello ELKitten and everyone! I'm new to this forum. I am in Australia, currently trying to get everything ready to actually apply for Australian Residency. I'm from the USA.
> 
> Just curious to anyone who applied using the ONLINE application- How did you send off all the evidence of your DeFacto relationship? For example,did you write notes by photos and then scan all that into a document and scan all the other evidence, like statements and invitations?
> 
> That may seem like a silly question but any help would be lovely and much appreciated!
> Thanks!


No such thing as a silly question.  For the photos, I put them all in a Word document (and typed captions for each saying who was in them, date, what was happening, etc.) and then converted it to a PDF document. I would highly suggest, if you can, combining documents - for example, I put all our financial evidence in one PDF document, all our cards people gave us at our wedding in one document, etc. Do keep in mind that each document can only be 5MB. I used compress.smallpdf.com (it's free), though a few folks here have mentioned that didn't work for them as it still didn't make their files small enough. I did, when I scanned my docs, make sure they weren't photo-quality to start with so they'd be smaller, so maybe that's the trick. Or you may be able to find a different program that works better for you, if that one doesn't.


----------



## juju3005

*Defacto questions*

From the relationship fact sheet...

"Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.

For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.

Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship."

What I take from this is that you don't have to have lived with the person for the entire period. I have only lived with my partner for the last 2 months, but we have numerous different types of proof stating that we have been in a relationship for the entire 12 month period.

I have only been on a visitor visa the last 6 months, and have not been able to work. Will this make a difference? My partner has almost exclusively paid for everything, and I have a job lined up when I am able to work.

Cheers!


----------



## lildevil872

In the eyes of he immigration "defacto" is living together like a married couple would and sharing finances, a same place, etc.. Immigration does make exceptions to the 12 months rule 1. if you have a kid together or 2. have registered your relationship or gotten married. But even with that 2 months would not be enough to satisfy the defacto rule. I am sure you probably could get past this but it would be very difficult and would probably require a whole ton of evidence. Not working isn't a problem as the immigration department does understand that certain couple have financial difficulties etc.. as long as you can prove with extensive evidence that you and your partner has been in a defacto relationship. Hope what i said made sense


----------



## juju3005

lildevil872 said:


> In the eyes of he immigration "defacto" is living together like a married couple would and sharing finances, a same place, etc.. Immigration does make exceptions to the 12 months rule 1. if you have a kid together or 2. have registered your relationship or gotten married. But even with that 2 months would not be enough to satisfy the defacto rule. I am sure you probably could get past this but it would be very difficult and would probably require a whole ton of evidence. Not working isn't a problem as the immigration department does understand that certain couple have financial difficulties etc.. as long as you can prove with extensive evidence that you and your partner has been in a defacto relationship. Hope what i said made sense


Yes it did. We have evidence of a joint bank account, shared mail at the same address, plane tickets to an overseas holidays, concert tickets, joint invites, shared friends, phone/ facebook records showing daily contact.

I also have a stat dec from my partners father showing the house situation ( I currently live with her parents to save money) We do not have a lease or bills in our name for this reason. Should this be a problem?

A migration agent told me that it sounded like I had the majority of the required documents in order to apply, so just waiting until the 31st of October when we pass the 12 month relationship requirement!

In your opinion, how long should a statement on the partner and situation be roughly?


----------



## juju3005

Also I am from a low risk country ( USA). Not sure if this makes it any easier...


----------



## Lula1

Hello, I am new to this forum and read the suggested pages with great interest, thank you to everyone who has contributed. I have a couple of questions, just a little background fist.

I am a NZ citizen and have been living in Australia with my partner here in Australia for the last 10 years. My NZ partner recently became eligible for Australian citizenship via the RRV visa process that is now available to New Zealanders, and I am applying for PR via the partner visa.

I quickly submitted my application at the end of December to get in before the price shot up, and have added the attachments.

I understand from previous threads that my sponsor (partner) needs to submit his form and we need to submit stat decs in the form of Form 888.

I've searched on the immi website for Form 888 and am unable to locate it. So firstly can anyone provide a link to this? 
Secondly, specifically what information are Immi looking for in the stat decs? or is this already outlined as questions in Form 888.

Thank you in advance.


----------



## Akragth

Form 888: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf

They're looking for evidence that supports the social side of your relationship. So how that person knows you both, how long they've known you, any activities you've undertaken together (e.g. going to the movies, or a bar, or whatever) and things along those lines.


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## briittany

On the topic of evidence, I've been able to bring up almost every single text message between my boyfriend when we first started talking, around 1year 2 months ago - talking litreally all day every day.. What should I include? I don't want to be too excessive and print out the whole lot! I'm able to include an itemised phone call outgoing number highlighting our conversations the last few months we have been in Australia. What did everyone include in this instance?


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## Etharion

Greetings and in advance sorry for any confusion in my writing, I shall do my best to make things clear! 

I was so glad finding this site as it has tons of useful information, and more than anything stuff that is mentioned in this section.

I would love some tips and help regarding a 309 partner visa.

Background info:
I am a Croatian/Australian dual citizen, currently in Croatia.
My girlfriend is Croatian and we want to move to Australia, thus trying to get the 309 visa.

We have been officially together at the same address for the past 5 months, yet we have been in a relationship for 4 years before that (since early 2011).

We live in the same city, barely 15 minutes from each other and even before we saw each other on almost a daily basis, never more than a couple days without seeing each other. We both lived with our parents, and I'd either be sleeping over at her place, or she at ours.

Our parents, family and friends will all be helping to provide statutory declarations to verify everything for us.

Our worry, as many I have seen on this site, is that we barely have any important papers in our names together.
We live together at her parents house so no ownership or bills or utilities payed. No car or insurances.

Joint accounts like in many countries aren't a thing here, and at most we shall try to see if we can kind of "authorize" each other for the use of our bank accounts and hope that a paper of that shall serve as a sort of proof.

We do have the usual stuff, plenty of pictures together, all our mutual friends, organizations we are in, trips to concerts, movies and such, receipts from computers and gifts, a Christmas card or two, boarding passes when going abroad overland, receipts from some groceries, a microwave. 
We shall get stat decs from both my own parents (Aus citizens), a aunt or two (also Aus) and probably her parents and some friends who aren't Australian citizens. 
And of course all the basic documentations.

We plan on doing it online, so we don't have to certify copies as i asked the consulate and they said its fain to just scan the originals, and also that we don't really have to translate almost anything (have to double check that but I am positive its what they told me, something about it being handled here in Europe so that most of it is ok). So this saves both time and money making it rather simple i guess.


Now I would simply like to ask for hints and tips, do you think we missed something important? (maybe some things i missed to add here but ok  )

Main worries are not having the kind of papers mentioned house/lease papers, cars, insurance and the likes..

Another main issue is we were worrying about financial aspects. As one of the main reasons we want to move is that the standard of life is much better in Australia than in Croatia, we do not have a lot of money here, and want to give it all our best to make something happen with ourselves down there.
I am always working any odd jobs that come my way, having been everything from salesperson, shop assistant, warehouse worker, theater assistant, and hopefully now a casino employee. 
My dearest is a freelance artist of amazing talent always taking on commissions and already several projects behind her such as artwork for boardgames.
Investigating here i found mentions that finances are not something scrutinized at under the whole visa process? 

Just today i have found the, to us, terrible news of the huge price increase for the 309. As i mentioned we do not have a ton of money and it will hit us hard.

With our assets half prepared, i even had the crazy thoughts on if we should try and rush to borrow some money from the family and apply the visa before July 1st to avoid the cost, and finish up adding last touches of evidence and such after.

The main problem is we only have 5 months on paper of living together, but as i said we have been in a serious relationship for MUCH longer and have lots of ways to prove it (cept for important ownerships). 

Any thoughts on the issues? :/ Are we crazy to think about rushing it now and risking it, or should we just..slowly somehow manage and raise the extra money to try when we have the full 12 months on paper.

Thank you for the rant...a very worried once and hopefully soon to be again Aussie


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## Move Migration

Just to keep everyone updated on the recent development in defacto cases:

The Full Federal Court has found that living together is not a requirement needed to meet the definition of a "de facto partner" in the Migration Act .

The decision can be read here:
http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s5cb.html


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## nickw

Move Migration said:


> Just to keep everyone updated on the recent development in defacto cases:
> 
> The Full Federal Court has found that living together is not a requirement needed to meet the definition of a "de facto partner" in the Migration Act .
> 
> The decision can be read here:
> http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ma1958118/s5cb.html


Any idea's what this might mean for anyone who has 820 (Defacto) applications in progress?


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## Nytshade77

Mic2608 said:


> First of all thanks Elkitten! This is a great thread that everybody who is in the process of applying for a partner visa should read before opening thousands of other threads asking the same questions over and over again!
> 
> I have a few more things to add that might be relevant for some:
> 
> Maybe first quickly to my story:I'm German,my partner Australian.I've been in Oz for a few years now (on WHV I & II),then ETA for 6 months, applied for the partner visa onshore (NSW processing centre) in April and got my visa approved within 1 week!
> 
> I front loaded my application with medicals and police checks and we got our relationship registered, because we didn't have enough 'hard evidence' to prove the min 12 months living together.
> 
> (I've heard that since jan 2011 you can't supply your medicals up front anymore.Instead you have to wait until you have a CO assigned and he asks for it.But I can't confirm that one as I did my medicals last year)
> 
> It seems that interviews are pretty rare these days if you apply onshore, that's why I think it is very important how you present your application.
> There seem to be different opinions about that one out there too but summarizing:
> 
> - don't use stables/ plastic folders - use paper clips instead
> - make it as easy for your CO as possible
> 
> KEEP IT SIMPLE THOUGH
> 
> Even though the checklist is kind of a table of content I would write one especially if you have lot's of supporting documents.
> 
> My application looks like this:
> 
> - Cover letter
> - Partner Visa Application Checklist
> 
> 1) The Applicant
> -Form 47 SP
> 
> 2) Proof Of Identity
> -2 recent passport size photographs
> -certified copy of passport
> -certified copy of birth certificate
> -certified copy of NAATI accredited Translation German → English
> 
> 3) Character
> -Form 80 Personal particulars for character assessment
> -original AFP Police Report
> -original Police Report (Germany)
> -certified copy of NAATI accredited Translation German → English
> 
> 4) Medical
> 
> 5) The Sponsor
> -Form 40 SP
> 
> 6) Evidence Of Sponsor's Identity & Status-
> 2 recent passport size photographs
> -certified copy of passport
> -certified copy of full birth certificate
> - Proof of Sponsor's Eligibility (Tax Assessment Notice,Payslips,Letter from Employer...)
> - Sponsor Statement
> 
> Evidence of genuine & continuing relationship
> 
> 7) History Of Relationship
> - 2 Statements
> 
> 8) Photographs
> 
> 9) Financial Aspects Of Relationship
> -Statement (explaining the following supporting documents)
> - Evidence of joint finacial commitments & responsibilities
> (joint bank account/ joint bill/ joint insurance etc)
> 
> 10) The Nature Of Our Household
> Statement (explaining the following supporting documents, outlining how the housework is distributed)
> (joint Lease Agreement/ Reference letter from our previous landlord/joint utilities account/ correspondence addressed to us ...)
> 
> 11) The Social Context Of Our Relationship
> Statutory Declaration Form 888 from friends and family
> -evidence of joint travel (bording passes, train tickets, hotel tax invoices...)
> -evidence of joint participation (2 fishing licenses, 2 libary cards, tax invoices of joint courses (sport, language courses etc)
> 
> 12) The Nature Of Commitment To Each Other
> Statement (explaining the following supporting documents)
> - registered relationship certificate
> (evidence of email contact in time of separation/ evidence of super beneficiary)
> 
> I've hole punched the lot and put it in a simple tubeclip manilla folder
> 
> I found the pages 39/40 of the partner immi booklet very helpful in organising all the bits and pieces of evidence....
> 
> btw sorry I'm not sure if my post is better off here or in the sticky 'how to present my application'
> 
> Please comment or correct me if you know something I don't!
> 
> I hope this helps some of you
> 
> All the best and good luck with your applications!


Thank you so much Mic2608 for the outlined table of content


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## Skybluebrewer

Wow! Thanks for all this information. We've been trying to gather evidence for our subclass 300 which - as I'm sure you all know - is not as thorough as other partner visas. Thanks for the tip on the pictures though. We have a ton and it was difficult to pick out just a few, but I put them together in a Word document with basically a short story of our background.


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## anjstacansi

I'm starting my visa application soon. Just doing a bit of research in everything, a bit confused on how to do it. But reading some threads here make it a bit more clearer to me. Thanks


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## anjstacansi

*hi*



juju3005 said:


> From the relationship fact sheet...
> 
> "Living together is regarded as a common element in most on-going relationships. It is recognised that, for various reasons, couples may sometimes have to live apart. Provided the separation is temporary and the couple had, at some point since commencement of the relationship lived together, their relationship might still satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship.
> 
> For this reason, the one year relationship criterion does not require the couple to have physically lived together for the entire 12 months, but rather to have been in a de facto relationship for that period.
> 
> Partners who are currently not living together may be required to provide additional evidence that they are not living separately and apart on a permanent basis in order to satisfy the requirements of a de facto relationship."
> 
> What I take from this is that you don't have to have lived with the person for the entire period. I have only lived with my partner for the last 2 months, but we have numerous different types of proof stating that we have been in a relationship for the entire 12 month period.
> 
> I have only been on a visitor visa the last 6 months, and have not been able to work. Will this make a difference? My partner has almost exclusively paid for everything, and I have a job lined up when I am able to work.
> 
> Cheers!


I think we are on same situation.. may I know what happened on your application?

we have been together for 2 years and a half now.. last January 2015 I moved to Australia then I left on February 2015 because I have a work in Philippines..then we have constant communication.. then I flew to Australia September 2015 until now still here.. its already 12 months.

I'm just confused because we've been away for 6 months from February to september because I don't have the visa to Australia and my partner doesn't have money to fly to Philippines


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