Australian Spousal Visas

[Misanthrope]

Currently seeing an American gal over here quite seriously, and in the planning idly thing - we hit upon the idea of settling for a year or two in Australia.

Little did I know, Australian immigration laws are ridiculously hard to navigate - even if you're a legitimate couple looking to spend a few years living and working in Australia.

Has anybody here had any experience with the process? We're not married or engaged, so we'd be applying for the defacto visa.

 

[Dean Moriarty]

It's been a while. But there's a sh*tload of documentation you need to put together and you would need to show evidence that you have been together as a couple for at least a year. By which they don't mean going on dates, they mean basically living together (and not as housemates IYKWIM) unless there was some specific reason why not, such as religious/cultural impediments.

 

[Misanthrope]

Well, in my case - we work in cities that are fifty minutes apart. Apartments are paid for by our employers, so we maintain them - but spend a minimum of 4-5 nights a week at one another's houses. Proving to be a pricey ask at $30 every time I make the round trip.

By the time we need to apply we'll have been an exclusive couple (which is important for the visa, obviously) for over a year. We'll have spent nine months of that commuting between towns to spend nights together, I'll have spent two months living with her in the United States, and we'll have spent three weeks apart to celebrate Christmases with our respective families.

We're both Roman Catholic so, if it comes down to it, we can claim the 'not living in sin' thing. But really, we're as close to living together as our geographical situation allows us to be.

 

[bartman]

Have had friends go through it... very exhaustive vetting process.

Take loads of photos of the two of you together. Photos with friends, photos with each others families (if they are visiting). Somehow preferably date-stamped. Also written testimonials of families and friends. Document the two months you spend travelling together thoroughly - keep receipts, book things in both your names, photos photos photos etc.

In lieu of having any joint bills etc from not living together... might be a bit hard to get through as de factos, without getting engaged imo (a very roman catholic thing to do)?

 

[miguel de cervantes]

If your gal is tertiary educated and under 30 she should have no trouble getting a working holiday visa which would enable her to stay for one year. In that time you could significantly strengthen any relationship claims. Not sure how it would affect getting a job though, restrictions may apply.

http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/working-holiday/462/

 

[Misanthrope]

In lieu of having any joint bills etc from not living together... might be a bit hard to get through as de factos, without getting engaged imo (a very roman catholic thing to do)?

Yeah, she wasn't so hot on the rushed/fake engagement just to secure a visa :lol:

If your gal is tertiary educated and under 30 she should have no trouble getting a working holiday visa which would enable her to stay for one year. In that time you could significantly strengthen any relationship claims. Not sure how it would affect getting a job though, restrictions may apply.

We've looked at that, and it's certainly an option. It would stop her from working in her preferred field, she thinks, but she's open to the possibility of doing less interesting work until we can fully establish de facto status.

 

[jed]

My wife and I went through the process 2 years ago. At the time, she was living in England, so she came over on a Prospective Marriage Visa, which gives you 9 months to get married. The unfortunate thing with this visa is that she must apply for it whilst she is out of Australia, so you'd both need to duck off back to the US for a few months. After our wedding, she then was granted a 2 year Spouse Visa, which expires for us in a year's time. At the end of that, she'll be able to apply for permanent residency.

Through our application process, we submitted personal emails back-and-forth (we figured that the faceless buerocrats in Canberra would have better things to do than get their jollies reading all the juicy bits), our itemised phone bills (highlighting each other's numbers to show all our calls and texts to each other), we sent MSN chat transcripts from my computer, dating back to the early days of our relationship, photos of everything we'd done together, everywhere we'd been, and bills & ticket stubs from things we'd done together (with names printed on). The hardest thing we found was trying to work out what "evidence" we had - when we started our relationship, the furthest thing on our minds was making sure there would be substantial evidence for a visa application.

 

[Misanthrope]

Yeah, we'd be applying for the defacto spousal visa - since rushing an engagement won't be something either of us will want to do. As it stands I could easily provide chat transcripts/Facebook wall to wall dating back to the day after we met; I could also provide blog entries on that if need be; plenty of photos; she has mail delivered to my house; and all that jazz.

I guess it's us planning well ahead. But it's better to be prepared than to realise in a year that this is what we want to do and have no evidence to support it.

 

[TooheysNew]

Just get a really big suitcase.

 

[Misanthrope]

I contemplated the illegal option. I can't imagine Australian immigration will have a great deal of luck tracking down a caucasian woman.

 

[mackdadday]

Im suprised youre heading back to Oz instead of teaching somewhere else. Whats the reasoning behind that?

 

[bazza]

Waiting to get an answer on one now

Basically have to show that you are a "real" couple and have been living together for at least 1 year.
Evidence includes:
- Joint lease/house
- joint bank account
- joint bills/letters to the same address
- declarations from at least 2 australian citizens

 

[Misanthrope]

Im suprised youre heading back to Oz instead of teaching somewhere else. Whats the reasoning behind that?

I miss Australia and want to have a year or two there before I go off again.

 

[Misanthrope]

Evidence includes:
- Joint lease/house
- joint bank account
- joint bills/letters to the same address
- declarations from at least 2 australian citizens

Of these, it's only possible for us to provide two, potentially three. Aliens are unable to rent in Korea - and while we both have apartments, they're both in the names of our employers. We do have a joint bank account and can easily provide stat decs to support our relationship. We've also got letters that have come for her to my address but since the address is not in my name - I guess I'd need a declaration from my employer to say it was my address.

 

[IanG]

Obviously same rules apply regardless of where you future wife is from. Call me ignorant if you will but I've heard suggestions that the ones that are more suspect are when one party is from a developing country. The old notion of marriage of convenience idea. But that isn’t the case here.

 

[mackdadday]

I miss Australia and want to have a year or two there before I go off again.

just dont get suprised if you get itchy feet after a month Americas gonna wow you.. the fooooooddd and beer selections in the thousands for beer

 

[Misanthrope]

just dont get suprised if you get itchy feet after a month Americas gonna wow you.. the fooooooddd and beer selections in the thousands for beer

I'll be in a really good part of the US for food and beer, too. My gal's already running off a huge menu of things I need to try.

Good thing she's got a gym at her place :lol:

 

[Misanthrope]

Call me ignorant if you will but I've heard suggestions that the ones that are more suspect are when one party is from a developing country. The old notion of marriage of convenience idea. But that isn’t the case here.

That is what I'd assume, as well. I can see the government's reluctance to let me bring a non English speaking, uneducated Laotian woman into the country - but this is a college graduate from the US with four years experience in her field.

 

[mackdadday]

I'll be in a really good part of the US for food and beer, too. My gal's already running off a huge menu of things I need to try.

Good thing she's got a gym at her place :lol:

the girls family i stayed with had a gym ı hıt three times a week hardcore..still chucked on 10kgs in 3 months but boy-o-boy ıt was worth it..keep an eye out for 'flat tyre'. americas best beer by a long long margin if you can find it.

 

[Dean Moriarty]

That is what I'd assume, as well. I can see the government's reluctance to let me bring a non English speaking, uneducated Laotian woman into the country - but this is a college graduate from the US with four years experience in her field.

Actually the rules are (at least were) explicit for de facto visas that they don't consider the educational/career background. Skilled migration is a separate stream and you can't combine the two. The only aspect where it makes a difference is that they assess whether your partner is likely to be very dependent on social security.

The one year test is intended to weed out the marriage of convenience people - that's why they want so much documentation and evidence. You are best to assume they will be suspicious of your relationship too.