# Tourist Visa rejected :(



## fairgo (Jun 17, 2012)

Hi everyone....I am new here and very sorry if I make any mistakes...not sure how this forum exactly works....I have read a few posts already (out of a sea depth of great information here)

So here is my story: My wife is an Iranian citizen...while I am Australian.

We applied for her tourist visa (before getting married) hoping that after she arrives in Australia....we could get married here.. (which I now realised is perhaps a mistake...the correct visa for that was Fiance....however a lot of people discouraged me from that, saying it has a very low chance of acceptance for iranian nationals in Australia. Not to mention the "No further stay" imposition.

Currently: Her tourist visa got rejected (we didn't mention anything about our relationship on the form, but simply that she is coming to visit freinds & sightseeing)

I went back to Iran, and now trying to get our marriage officially registered (in iran) before applying for a spouse Visa. I heard that previously it used to get approved as fast as 3-6 months...but new rules will be taking effect soon and it may take 9-12 months in reality (as confirmed by the Australian embassy here in Tehran)

My question is, is it wise/possible to apply for tourist visa again (after applying for the spouse visa?)

Her visa was rejected on the following basis:

1) Not enough ties with Iran

2) income much lower then Australia ($650 per month) I am assuming this means she has a reason to stay in Australia longer then her welcome?

3) no immediate family in Iran (kids/husband)

4) no evidence of properties to show enough financial commitment to return to Iran.

5) no travel history overseas and hence do not have a history of
compliance with immigration law.

6)These factors combined with the current unrest in Iran

I really can't stay without her long...and don't know what to do....my visa in iran is soon about to expire....

A) Would it hurt the spouse visa application in anyway if we apply for tourist visa again....

B) and would our tourist visa have any chance at all? what things do we need to show to make the case stronger. (I am aware that she will probably need to go back to iran to get her spouse visa before coming back again....and we are willing to do that)

C) Is there anyway to expedite the spouse visa....and/or to make the case stronger? (one problem is that I have mostly known her via internet....which I blv is a very big negative? however I did meet her...and my family went to visit her....we had an engagement and a proper marriage...and now have lived together under the one roof for about 2 months....

I do have lots of photos...phone call bills...financial transactions....gifts...chat history/log (if that helps at all?)

Please guide us.....really stuck and feeling down....

Thanks!


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## myaccessaustralia (May 16, 2012)

Hi, tough situation that you find yourself in. You might need to see a professional but I will try and answer some of the questions you have asked.

Given the reasons why the tourist visa application was rejected, I don't see much point in applying for it again cause you will probably get the same outcome.

I always suggest that you need to be absolutely honest in your application - if you try to hide anything like your relationship in her tourist visa application, this may come back and cause you issues in the future because the department keeps everything on record

You can't really expedite a partner visa application - you can lodge it complete and decision-ready which should give it priority processing

The prospective marriage visa (Subclass 300) shouldn't have a no further stay condition imposed if granted, but it is likely that such a condition will be imposed on a tourist visa

Hope that helps and good luck!


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## fairgo (Jun 17, 2012)

Thank you for your quick reply....yes I believe mentioning the relationship would have been a good idea...but we thought tourist visa doesn't need such information...which was clearly a mistake 

one clarification pls:

"a complete application"...by this you mean: doing the medical and police clearance beforehand? (and by the way the police clearance is only required for my wife in Iran....or also for me?)

Thanks heaps!



myaccessaustralia said:


> Hi, tough situation that you find yourself in. You might need to see a professional but I will try and answer some of the questions you have asked.
> 
> Given the reasons why the tourist visa application was rejected, I don't see much point in applying for it again cause you will probably get the same outcome.
> 
> ...


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## myaccessaustralia (May 16, 2012)

Hi,

the decision-ready checklist for a partner visa can be found here: http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/_pdf/820-801-checklist.pdf

This is the onshore version of the partner visa (i.e. applicant needs to be in Aus when the application is lodged and when DIAC makes a decision on the application)


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## bma (Sep 28, 2011)

Hi Fairgo,

I understand how difficult this must be for both of you. Unfortunately, you haven't got a good advice the first time so you need to be extra careful and not rush into anything. I understand that you two can't be apart for long, but nevertheless, you need to approach to the whole situation reasonably, otherwise you'll make things even worse.

My partner has applied for his partner visa, so the experience I have is based on what I read on forums and the information I got from migration agents.

In my opinion applying for a tourist visa in your situation was wrong. I've seen many threads on tourist visas and people from Mexico, South America, certain countries in Asia, Morocco, Egypt, Arab countries get their tourist visas denied regularly. My impression is the immigration authorities want to prevent people from these countries entering Australia and applying for visas onshore.
If you check different threads on this forum, you'll see that many applicants for spouse visa from these countries have their partner visa application denied. And when you read about the reasons for that, you don't know whether to laugh or to cry, usually they're absurd. For example, I read that among the reasons for the denied application of the Moroccan applicant was that their wedding in Morocco wasn't lavish enough and wasn't in the Moroccan style (therefore it's probably fake).

Fairgo, you wrote you're now trying to get your marriage officially registered (in iran) before applying for a spouse Visa.

Based on what I've read so far, that would be wrong. You can't afford a quick wedding as it increases the chance for your partner visa application to be denied again. What you need is a solid partner application and you have two possibilities:

309 partner visa: Partner Visa: Offshore Temporary and Permanent (Subclasses 309 and 100)
or
300 prospective marriage visa (fiance): Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300)

Read the Partner Migration booklet (Partner Migration Booklet) and read the stickies on this forum about partner visa applications:

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/2997-very-unofficial-defacto-visa-tips.html

http://www.australiaforum.com/visas-immigration/7166-partner-visa-best-way-present-application.html

You'll see that the application is very complex, even people who are married for years and have children still need to present the evidence their relationship is genuine.

Unless you have really solid evidence to prove your relationship, your 309 partner visa application would probably be denied. Photos and call bills is additional evidence, financial transactions is really good evidence, but still you have to prove the length of your relationship (read the stickies and the booklet).

I think your best option would be to go for 300 prospective marriage visa, your evidence should be more than enough for the application to be approved.

Also I would strongly advise you to speak to one of the best migration agents - there are a few names that I came upon that seem to be the best. When I needed an advice, I spoke to one of them; it cost $220, but in my opinion it was worth it. But it's true they've only confirmed what we realised ourselves, based on the forum posts.

In my opinion what you need to do now is read all you can about partner visa application (the links I gave you are "must read"), don't rush into anything cause you can make things much worse. Try to find those threads on the forum from the (Egypt and Moroccan) people whose 309 have been denied (but have been successful at the tribunal).

I can imagine how you feel; try not to feel down, be aware that if you do everything by the book, you'll be happy together in Australia soon.

All the best!

Edited:

I see I missed something in your post. So you are actually married?? Where and when was the wedding? Cause if the marriage was not recognized in Australia, you could still apply for a prospective marriage visa...


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## fairgo (Jun 17, 2012)

Thank you BMA  for your detailed reply....

When I said I am trying to get the marriage officially registered...its actually not as easy as in Australia....I am at it from 2 months already!!!...went to 5 different government offices...taking everything from blood samples to urine samples to fingerprints etc etc....not to mention an interview where they suspected me to be an Australian SPY!!!

I think Australian government hopefully knows how hard it is for an Australian to get married in Iran....

and I DO have a immigration lawyer but he is not as good as I initially thought (what a waste of $3000!)

tell me...if the application is denied (God forbid) ....would we be able to re-apply after having a kid together....

currently...we have spent about 1 month as fiance....and about 2 months as husband and wife....under one roof... (all the other part...was online....) I know its not enough ...
But my lawyer was strongly suggesting that fiance visa is not a good option for iranians because it gives Australia more a chance to deny the application....

and so far he has got about 6 people in similar situations approved via spouse visa...

this is so confusing....but thanks again for your input....very insightful


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## bma (Sep 28, 2011)

fairgo said:


> Thank you BMA  for your detailed reply....
> 
> When I said I am trying to get the marriage officially registered...its actually not as easy as in Australia....I am at it from 2 months already!!!...went to 5 different government offices...taking everything from blood samples to urine samples to fingerprints etc etc....not to mention an interview where they suspected me to be an Australian SPY!!!
> 
> ...


Hi Fairgo,

unfortunately it is very common to pay big money to migration agents and not have a positive outcome. My partner and I lost at least $3100 because of a bad advice from a registered migration agent who advised us to go for an onshore application (instead of offshore), to fly out of Australia every three months (on a tourist visa) and so on.

I'm not saying you should ditch your agent, but it's crazy you paid so much money and your partner visa application hasn't even been lodged.

What you need now is to find out whether your marriage is legal in Australia. If it's not, than you can really apply for a prospective marriage visa and get married in Australia. Regarding waiting time - it takes about the same as 309 partner visa application.

But I'm not an expert, I think you should speak to an expert as soon as possible. Some migration agents offer 15 minutes of consultation for free, some charge an advice... As I said, I paid $220 for an advice. And then the partner visa application you can do on your own...

I've heard that these agents are really good:

George Lombard
George Lombard Consultancy Pty. Ltd.

Allan Collett
Go Matilda

Certainly, don't rush into anything... Good luck and keep us posted.


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## Adventuress (Jan 8, 2012)

Hi fairgo,

I'm really sorry to hear about your difficulties - I know first-hand how painful it is to even face the prospect of having to be apart from your partner indefinitely.

I want to give you my husband's account of applying for a tourist visa to Australia from a 'high-risk' country.

A little background: my husband is Jordanian, we have been married three years and in a relationship for four, and have been living together in Jordan for much of that time (though with several lengthy periods of separation). My husband didn't have a formal job, was not a student, nor did he have any assets to speak of in Jordan - in essence he had no tangible reason to return to Jordan if he left.

Since I had to go back to Australia for a period of about three months earlier this year, we thought that since we finally had the money, we might apply for my husband to come with me for the first time in his life, on a tourist visa.

We applied in November 2011 in Jordan. We made the regular application, except I also included a signed letter indicating that I as his wife (and incidentally the main breadwinner) would give him my full and unconditional support while he was in Australia. To this letter I attached a copy of my latest bank statement, showing that I had the financial means to offer this support (not all that much, to be honest, perhaps just over 10,000 AUD). I also asked my mother to send a statutory declaration indicating that she would offer him (us) accommodation at the family home in Australia, and also that she was able to provide food and 'other support'.

To be honest we were not all that optimistic that the visa should be granted, considering he was from a high-risk country, married to an Australian, and essentially had absolutely nothing to bring him back to Jordan.

However, a week after we applied we were called in together for an interview at the embassy. My husband was called in first and I waited outside. He told me later that he had been asked his reason to visit Australia - he replied that he wanted to meet my family for the first time (in four years!!) and to see Australia for himself. He was also asked if he expected to work in Australia - he replied no, and when pressed why he explained that he knew it was not legal and plus he didn't have the English language skills to be able to find work easily.

Next, I was called in and the interview proceeded with us together in the same room. The first question I was asked was why we had not applied for a partner visa. I looked dubiously at the guy as though his question had an obvious answer and simply said 'Because we live here [in Jordan]' and explained a little further that we had made a life together in that country and that we were not ready to emigrate to Australia. That seemed enough for the interviewer.

I offered the interviewer to see our original marriage contract, in which he was very interested. He seemed more or less convinced of our case, and asked if we had brought my husband's passport with us (we had). He then said that he would need to have the final approval of the senior officer, and that should the visa be granted my husband would not have the option to apply for a partner visa while in Australia. He also added that if my husband did not overstay his tourist visa it would put any subsequent application for a partner visa in a positive light not only for him but for any of his family members who wanted to come to Australia later.

With that we were ushered back in the waiting room, the senior case officer came in and took a brief look at us through a window, and then my husband was granted his tourist visa on the spot.

***

I hope this might offer you and others applying from 'high-risk' countries some hope and some ideas.

I can also commiserate how hard it can sometimes be for a foreigner to marry a local in such places.The first time we tried to get married we were denied permission because the judge wanted more proof that I wasn't already married (seriously, how does one prove a negative? I was also _very_ young at the time), not to mention questions of religion etc etc etc. Needless to say, we were gutted, as we had only been trying to do the right thing i.e. get the relationship, that already existed, legalised, only to be told 'no, sorry'. Ugh, long story full of heartache. If you need to talk to someone who has a chance at understanding what you're going through, please don't hesitate to pm me.

Unfortunately, being from a 'high-risk' country, everything will take a lot of time and patience, but all the same I wish you and your partner all the best in your life together and all the best of luck getting to Australia together.


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