# Applying for Partner Visa on an ETA?



## Mrs Z (Aug 8, 2013)

Dear everyone,

Firstly I would like to thank those maintaining this forum. I obtained lots of useful information from here. However, I do have some other questions and doubts regarding the application of Partner Visa (Subclass 820) and I hope some of you are able to provide some guidance/advice. I thank you in advance.

My situation is this:

I met my fiancé, who is an Australian PR, in November last year in a dinner in our home country (when he was taking a break from his job in Sydney). His father and my mother have been friends for 3-4 years and they did the match-making (of course, without any force or coercion). We fell in love and started our relationship in December. 

In January this year, he returned to Sydney so we maintained a long-distance relationship. We contacted each other every day since we lived separately (chats, phone calls, messages, etc.). In April, I came to Sydney for the first time to visit him and for tourism, and we spent two weeks together. It was during that time that he proposed to me, so we became engaged in mid-April.

After those two weeks, I had to return to my home country since I didn't intend to stay longer than two weeks in the first place, and due to my work commitment.

In May, we decided on our wedding date, which will be September. We decided to get married in Sydney at the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages. I quit my job, sold my car, etc., to prepare for my move to Sydney to be with him.

So here I am in Australia. I have been here since July, on an ETA. In my arrival card, I stated that I came here to visit my family member (fiancé) and I stated that I will stay for about 90 days, definitely not more than 3 months.

After I came here, we booked our desired date of marriage and got it. We also opened a joint bank account where we contributed equal amount of money which is used to pay everything we share.

Since I'm not able to work, I take care of the household, doing all the laundry, cleaning, cooking, etc. He shares some of the house chores such as cleaning the toilet. 

Since I'm here on an ETA, I will have to leave Australia in October. We will submit our visa application at the end of September, and shortly after that (6 days later), I will fly back home. Will this cause any trouble in terms of the grant of bridging visa? (Should I be in Australia when the bridging visa is granted?)

My ETA originally expires in January next year. However, I saw online that they have changed my expiry date to October 10. Will they revert back to the original expiry date after I leave Australia in October?

After that, I plan to come to Sydney again in November, and wait till my ETA expires in January (if that's the case), then have my bridging visa becoming effective after that. Is this viable?

All our family members and friends are aware of our relationship. I have also obtained the police checks from countries I lived in more than 12 months before. Next I will do the medical check here.

After our wedding, I will nominate him as one of my beneficiaries in my life insurance (the rules in my policy are that he must be a legal family member before I can nominate him), while he will also name me such in his Superannuation.

To save money, we can only rent a unit here and share with other tenants. Both of us have a Master's Degree (does this even help?). He has a job which is sufficient for now to support both of us financially. But apart from a joint bank account, we don't share other things financially. I'm concerned that we may not be able to provide lots of evidence.

Thank you for reading up till here. I feel like I have 1000 questions on my mind now but I can only think of some now. I appreciate your help.

Mrs Z


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## Whitney (Jan 4, 2013)

I am not a migration agent and don't have definite answers. This is just info that I do know and a bit of speculation. 

Ordinarily, if you are here on an ETA you are required to leave and re-enter every 3 months (so I'm guessing Oct 10 is your 3 month date and January is the expiry date for re-entering every 3 months). When you apply for 820/801 on an ETA you are issued bridging visa A. This comes into effect when your current 3 month period ends. You don't have to leave the country. This change is automatic.

BVA is an onshore bridging visa. It does not allow for re-entry. In order to travel when you hold BVA you need apply for BVB which allows you to leave and return to Australia. I don't think that your BVA will come into effect if you are out of the country and you should be allowed to re-enter on your ETA and then the BVA will come into effect when that 3 month period expires (speculation). The alternative would be that because you are out of the country your BVA will be made invalid when your 3 month ETA expires.

I suggest you ring the DIAC or contact a migration agent get a definite answer on this one. Or maybe another member has seen this before and knows the answer.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Excellent summary of the situation by Whitney! There are a ton of posts on here about relationship evidence and the experiences of others in terms of different kinds of evidence. Far better to be in the country when the current 90 day stay after you lodge your partner visa expires, as that kicks in the BV-A as Whitney said, plus that means you have full work rights as of that point since BV-A's issued in conjunction with onshore partner visas now come with full work rights by default. You're far better generally on a BV-A (having to get a BV-B for offshore trips) vs coming back in on the ETA.

Would encourage you to pose specific questions to the forum - there are a lot of great people here. The DIAC Partner Migration booklet is also a great place to start in terms of learning the requirements for forms and relationship evidence you'll need.

Best,

Mark Northam


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## Mrs Z (Aug 8, 2013)

Dear Whitney, thank you very much for your prompt reply. I will go to the DIAC office soon to double check.

Dear Mark Northam, thank you very much as well. I finished reading Booklet 1 in May/June and then I found out recently that they have done some changes to the requirements perhaps in July. They added a few more forms required to fill in, and stated in the checklist that:

"Do not send photo albums, folders, computer disks, plastic sleeves, or long transcripts of skype or phone conversations as this will not be considered as evidence of your genuine and ongoing relationship."

...which made me wonder what else have been changed. I think I will have to re-read the entire Booklet 1. 

Thanks again and I will post more specific questions later.


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## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

That isn't a change, actually. Notice they say *long* transcripts. What they're saying is pick and choose the messages you share with them and don't overwhelm with irrelevant stuff. 

But yes, the forms did change in July, as did the visa fee for anyone applying with dependents. And it looks like the fee is going up again Sep. 1 - just FYI.


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## Mrs Z (Aug 8, 2013)

CollegeGirl said:


> That isn't a change, actually. Notice they say *long* transcripts. What they're saying is pick and choose the messages you share with them and don't overwhelm with irrelevant stuff.


Hi CollegeGirl, thanks for noting this. Appreciate it.


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## Mrs Z (Aug 8, 2013)

Hi guys, just a little update here.

I went to the immigration office (Sydney CBD Office) just now and spoke to an officer at the counter about my situation.

The kind officer said: "You don't have to go back." He confirmed that my Bridging Visa A will become effective after Oct 10, i.e. the current expiry date of my ETA, and that my ETA will cease after that, so long as I submit my Partner Visa application here in Australia before that date.

He asked me to ignore my original ETA expiry date (i.e. January 2014). He also confirmed that I will have full working rights with Bridging Visa A, and that I can work while waiting for a decision on my application.

In that case, I will have to change my October flight to a later date next year.

Guys, again thank you very much for your help.


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## MarkNortham (Dec 19, 2012)

Excellent outcome!

Best,

Mark Northam


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