# uk defacto visa for my aussie boyfriend....not sure we'll be able to get one??



## speakeasy (May 11, 2010)

Hi there,

If anyone has been through this process or knows about it and can help us, we'd be so apprecative.

I apologise in advance for this being a bit long-winded!!

Basically, I'm a British citizen living in the UK and my boyfriend is an Aussie citizen living in Australia. We've been together for 2 years now and go back and forth to see each other. We both work freelance and travel a lot with our jobs, which means that for instance my boyfriend had a job in New Zealand for 4 months, so I went over and spent my time there too and got a job etc.

At the moment, we are visiting each other on tourist visas and can only stay for 3 months or as long as we can afford to... as we both cannot work in each others' countries. We live together when we are together, but obviously this is not permanent.

Because we don't live permanently together we don't have proof that we live together. like bills etc. I opened us a joint bank account in New Zealand but apart from that and tonnes of photos we don't have much to prove that we're in a relationship. We hadn't really thought about all of this when we first met, so we're now trying to desperately come up with documentation etc. I tried to put him on my bank account here...but because he doesn't live here permanently it was not possible. I'm now in the process of trying to add his name to bills etc. but they wouldn't prove we've been together for 2 years.

Is it going to be impossible for us to get him a defacto status? Any advice on what we can do would be brilliant. It is getting to the point now where we are desperate to be able to live in the same country as each other and have normal lives living together!! And the UK would be the best for us job wise.

Sorry for babbling on!!

Cheers!


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## Spicehorn (May 20, 2010)

I'm currently in the UK on a Working Holidy Visa, and am trying to move on to the Unmarried Partner Visa. From what I gather, you need a truckload of documentation, from at least 3 different sources each, covering every month back 2 years. You're right in that adding names to documents now will not help. I've lived with my parner both in the UK and OZ for 4 years and we're still finding it hard to gather the documents!

Is your boyfriend of an age where he can apply for the Youth Mobilty Scheme? That was the best option for me 2 years ago. Either that or get married(!) or see if his occupation is on the shortage list. 

It's such a stressfull thing to go through, and information is unfortunatly hard to get. It's easy to feel alone and confused :confused2:


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## PandaPaws1991 (Jan 23, 2011)

Hi. I'm not sure if you've sorted this out yet. OK, so I met my boyfriend who is an Aussie 2 years ago too. He lives with me in the UK. How? The Youth Mobility Scheme. This is for people between 18 - 30. It means your partner can travel to the UK for two years and work. Look it up. We're getting married in two years, but you can get the de facto visa instead because you would have lived together for 2 years


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## alex.gregg (Jan 28, 2012)

I am in a similar position. I am an Australian resident who wishes to join my partner of 2 yrs in Scotland this year. With the youth mobility visa, I was under the impression that once that was up you had to return back to your country of origin. Is it possible to apply for a defacto whilst you are on this visa does anybody know?


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## KylieJ (Oct 24, 2011)

I am an Aussie, and my boyfriend is British. We applied for a UK de-facto visa and got rejected as we were three months off the two year living together requirement. We have been together THREE years... We appealed and won, so the visa has been approved, but only after the worst few months of my life! I think you're better off looking at other visas, they are very strict, or maybe the fiance one, if you get engaged?


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## alex.gregg (Jan 28, 2012)

Oh ok, so did you apply for that when you were already over there on a different visa? It is all so difficult!


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## Joppa (Sep 7, 2009)

alex.gregg said:


> I am in a similar position. I am an Australian resident who wishes to join my partner of 2 yrs in Scotland this year. With the youth mobility visa, I was under the impression that once that was up you had to return back to your country of origin. Is it possible to apply for a defacto whilst you are on this visa does anybody know?


Yes you can. However, as you need proof for 2 years of cohabitation, you must arrive on the first day of validity and apply within 4 weeks of expiry for your further leave to remain as unmarried partner.

Alternatively, come as a tourist first and live with your partner for a decent length of time, say two months. Make sure you collect documentary proof of cohabitation, such as adding your name on tenancy agreement, getting your name on council tax account or registering with GP as a temporary resident (with a letter to prove). Or joint financial commitment like joint life insurance policy or joint investment - I suggest opening a joint savings account offshore (such as in Channel Islands or Isle of Man) to get around residence requirement and record of each contributing regularly, by standing order for example. UKBA will allow times you lived together on tourist visas, provided supporting documents are available. Or your partner comes to Australia and does the same, keeping the period as close as possible to the start of your YMS. 
See http://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/s.../idischapter8/section9/annexz.pdf?view=Binary

I think the first option is simpler. So choose the start date carefully. As it's an overnight flight, you must depart on the day before and arrive exactly on the start date ('valid from') of your YMS visa. You can post-date by 3 months. And ensure that the start date of documentation is also the first day. To get your name on council tax account, just phone the council and inform them. While you may feel a day or two short may not matter, UKBA can cite it as a reason for rejecting your application as unmarried partner by strict interpretation of the rules.


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## KylieJ (Oct 24, 2011)

alex.gregg said:


> Oh ok, so did you apply for that when you were already over there on a different visa? It is all so difficult!


I wasn't sure if this was for me? But in our case, We sent the application from Australia, then my partner went back to the UK to start a new job, and I waited here in OZ for the answer, and then when they rejected us, I waited for the appeal, now they've approved us and now I am just waiting for my passport back and it will all be over and I can go back to London!!!


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