# Partner visa 820 granted



## jec53 (Feb 19, 2015)

We have just had our application for a Partner visa (820) approved and thought we’d share our experience here as we definitely benefited from reading other people’s posts. In preparing our application we got a lot of good advice on this site. Thanks everyone!

Visa application details:
• Partner visa (subclass 820)
• Applied June 2014
• Approved February 2015 (no questions asked, no additional information requested)
• Sponsor – Australian/British dual citizen
• Applicant – French on 457 visa
• Living in Melbourne
• Both professionals and fluent in English

At the time of application, we had been in a relationship for about 1.5 years and lived together for about 9 months. We were able to avoid the requirement of proving a 12 month relationship as we had registered our relationship in Victoria in May 2014.

(To apply for a relationship certificate in Victoria you have to prove that you have lived in Victoria for the previous 12 months. They were very particular about this. One of us showed a rental agreement and the other gave 12 months of bank statements that showed local grocery purchases every month. They insisted on original copies of bank statements with authentication stamps from the bank, which is a bit of a hassle now that most bank statements are electronic.)

We submitted a complete application, including the Form 80, police checks and health check.

Below is a summary of what we submitted.
• Application cover letter (including statement that application is complete)
• Form 47SP with passport and birth certificate
• Form 80 with police checks and health check (confirmation note containing HAP ID)
• Relationship Certificate (VIC)
• Form 40SP with passport, citizenship certificate and ATO Notices of Assessment for every year since the sponsor immigrated to Australia (to show proof of length of residence) 
• Evidence cover page (nothing fancy, just text)
• 2 x Form 888 – Two mutual friends (both Permanent Residents, not Citizens) with evidence of residency attached, both quite brief
• 2 x personal statements (History of Relationship) on Statutory Declaration forms (3 pages each)
• Financial Aspects pack with summary page – Sponsor’s PAYG statements from 2012 and 2013 plus most recent payslip; car insurance certificate showing both names; joint bank account statements for most recent four months showing equal contributions and outgoings such as rent, utility bills and groceries.
• Nature of the Household pack with summary page describing our living arrangements and housework sharing – Utility bills with both names, reference back to joint bank account statements showing joint payment of bills, removal van receipt to show applicant moving in with sponsor, applicant’s bank statements for eight months showing payment of share of rent and bills into sponsor’s account (prior to joint bank account being set up).
• Social Aspects pack (80 pages) with summary page — Sponsor’s parents' statutory declaration (see below); results from sporting events that we both attended (names highlighted); photos from 13 short holidays or weekend breaks showing us with friends (covering about two years); booking confirmations/receipts for flights, hotels, accommodation for both us and family we were holidaying with; official wedding photos from sponsor’s sister’s wedding in the UK; and similar information for two future planned holidays.
• Statutory Declaration from sponsor’s parents (1 page) briefly stating when they met the applicant (at their daughter’s wedding and during a holiday in Australia) and that they believe we were in a genuine relationship. Completed in the UK using an Australian Statutory Declaration form witnessed by a solicitor in the UK.
• Nature of Commitment pack (18 pages) with summary page – Booking confirmations of sponsor’s French lessons; documents showing that we’d made each other beneficiaries of our superannuation accounts; references back to evidence of us holiday with each other’s families and attending sponsor’s sister’s wedding.

All official documents were certified at a local police station, with official translations where appropriate. Other evidence (e.g. bank statements, insurance certificates, invoices) was submitted as non-certified copies.

The pack of evidence was compiled with MS Word, using numbered sections, with headings for each section and descriptions of attachments and photographs. Photographs were pasted into the document. Attachments were inserted into the pages after the relevant section.

The application was submitted in a large envelope with folded sheets to group each section. Forms were stapled together, otherwise all paper was loose.

Make sure you triple check everything and make sure you’ve provided everything asked for. Also check that Immigration hasn’t updated any of their forms online since you last downloaded them.

On expiry of the applicant’s 457 visa, a Bridging Visa A automatically came into effect allowing the applicant to work but not travel outside of Australia. We applied for a Bridging Visa B to allow overseas travel using the justification of attending conferences and going on holidays. The Partner visa was approved one week after we applied for the Bridging Visa B and before the Bridging Visa B was granted. We do not know if the application for the Bridging Visa B triggered the Immigration Department to look at our Partner visa application or if that was just a coincidence.

We hope that this is useful to someone out there preparing their partner visa application!


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## la.vie (Jan 21, 2015)

Thank you for this very good post. It does illustrates a variety of ways friends and family can contribute that I had not thought about. 

All the best for your future and the next phase of your application.


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## jp1985 (Apr 1, 2014)

Congrats jec53!!!

I think if you dont have a complicated situation and you have a complete detailed documents, the grant from VIC processing center is faster than NSW. I have a friend who lives in NSW now but applied in VIC (Melbourne) as she lived there at that time. Same-sex couple who have lived over 12months at the time she applied 820. Using an agent. Complete and detailed documents. No relationship registration. And she got granted in 2 months.


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## indianchunky (Feb 24, 2014)

Congratulations! 😊
May I ask did you apply online or paper?


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## jec53 (Feb 19, 2015)

indianchunky said:


> Congratulations! &#128522;
> May I ask did you apply online or paper?


We did a paper application as we thought it would be easier and less likely to have technical problems. We then tried to hand deliver the application to the Immigration office in Melbourne, but were told to go to the post office next door and mail it to them!


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## indianchunky (Feb 24, 2014)

Haha. Well it worked well 😊 I lodged in July online. Not as much documentation as you listed though. We are married, have a child and are about to build. I thought that should be enough proof. We'll see. 
Once again all the best. It's a huge load off your mind I imagine.


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## jec53 (Feb 19, 2015)

Thanks, definitely a relief to get it approved. Hopefully it's not long until you hear about yours. It sounds like quite a straightforward application and not hard to prove that you are in a genuine and ongoing relationship.

It was very difficult to know how much evidence to attach. I've read about some people providing much more than we did. I think the evidence that both of our families recognised our relationship helped, particularly our overseas trip to a family wedding.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Congrats on your approval! Very well done.  Enjoy your lives together in Australia.


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## Canegirl (Oct 7, 2013)

Congrats on you approval and thanks for sharing!


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## 530i (Jul 29, 2014)

Congrats how many documents did you upload?


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## jec53 (Feb 19, 2015)

530i said:


> Congrats how many documents did you upload?


We submitted a paper application so no uploading of documents required.


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## Trapdor (Feb 16, 2015)

Congrats and thanks for all the information - will be sure to do the same thing, I think it would be helpful for anyone still applying.


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