# de facto partner visa for australia



## mcginr (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi. I am Irish and am moving to Sydney with my kiwi girlfriend. I intend to enter on a one year working visa and once I am there I will apply for my de facto visa. I have researched this in great detail but would be grateful for some advice from anyone with practical experience with applying and being granted (or refused) a de facto visa. I also have a few quick questions;

1. I am waiting until I arrive in sydney before I apply for my de facto visa as logistically it seems quite difficult to do it from abroad, particularly as I will be traveling for the 3 months before I get there. Does anyone disagree with this approach?

2. I was granted a holiday visa last christmas for a week's visit. Does this in any way impinge on my entitlement to a one year or de facto visa?

3. The de facto visa application seems quite straight forward. It just seems that I need to prove my girlfriend and I have a genuine relationship for over a year. But this sounds too good to be true. Am I missing something? Perhaps they make it quite difficult to assess the legitimacy of your relationship?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who replies


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## kaz101 (Nov 29, 2007)

I haven't been through the defacto process but there are several posts on the subject so as well as waiting for replies you could also search the forum using the search facility (assuming you haven't already done this  ). 

Regards,
Karen


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## mcginr (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi Karen

Thanks for your reply. I have read through a lot of the other threads but the information isn't very comprehensive, and a lot the threads just got a reply advising the originator to search through other threads! But I appreciate your help, I'll keep searching to see if I can find the info.

Thanks

Ronan


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## Megera (Mar 20, 2009)

I'm not quite sure I understand what you mean by it being logistically difficult to apply abroad? 
We applied for my visa here in Canada and the only thing that was a pain was the fact that we live in the literal middle of nowhere and I had to spend a lot of money to get my medical done.
It might be more of a pain to apply in a place where you don't know anyone because it might be hard to get letters written or things notarized.
I think the only time it would be difficult is if you're from a high risk country where it takes 12+ months for visas to process. 

I don't think the government really likes people arriving in Australia on a tourist visa/WHV and then deciding that they are going to stay. There's a mention in the booklets and forms about having an appropriate bridging visa so make sure everything is sorted in that respect (your visa might say for example "not valid for extension" which would mean that you can't apply for your defacto while you're on a WHV). 

I don't think a week's holiday will negatively affect your application (it might if you committed a crime or over-stayed your visa). You do have to mention that holiday in your application though. 

As for the application process being "too good to be true"... Have you started writing letters and collecting documents? lol I can honestly say that isn't the thought that came to mind while we were applying. If you have enough proof and satisfy all the requirements then it might not be so difficult but quite a few people need to send more proof (which can be difficult if you think you've sent everything you can) and have interviews with immi before their visa is granted. I think we were so stressed out because my spouse's visa for Canada was running out and we didn't have a back-up plan if my Australian visa stuff didn't go through. 


Best of luck!





mcginr said:


> Hi. I am Irish and am moving to Sydney with my kiwi girlfriend. I intend to enter on a one year working visa and once I am there I will apply for my de facto visa. I have researched this in great detail but would be grateful for some advice from anyone with practical experience with applying and being granted (or refused) a de facto visa. I also have a few quick questions;
> 
> 1. I am waiting until I arrive in sydney before I apply for my de facto visa as logistically it seems quite difficult to do it from abroad, particularly as I will be traveling for the 3 months before I get there. Does anyone disagree with this approach?
> 
> ...


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## mcginr (Jul 29, 2009)

Hi Megera

Many thanks for your reply, and to your reply on the other thread!

I have worded my post pretty badly. Especially the "too good to be true" bit! I do appreciate that it will be a nightmare collating all the documents etc (I have just started). But really what I meant was that in theory the decision process seems quite easy i.e. we provide enough proof that we have been in a relationship for a year and then we get a visa. Is this correct?

The reason I think it will be logistically too difficult to apply from abroad is that we will be traveling around south america for the 3 months before we arrive in Sydney. And we leave for south america in two months so don't have time to do it in the UK. That's why I was going to enter on a 12 month work holiday visa. But you think immigration might not like this approach? I didn't realise that. I think I should ask an agent for their advice on this point as I can't find anything about it.

Can I ask about one of your points in the other thread? With regard to statements from friends/family, does it matter what kind of people they are? By which I mean does it hold greater weight if they are a doctor/lawyer compared to say a factory worker? (I don't mean any offence to factory workers by the way). Or should I just get as many statements as possible?

Thanks again for your help and advice.

Ronan


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## Megera (Mar 20, 2009)

Hi,

Yes in theory the process is straight forward that if you satisfy the requirements, the visa is approved. The part that's stressful is trying to satisfy the requirements!

Theoretically, if you are ready to apply now, you might have your visa approved by the time you leave for your trip. My application was approved in exactly two months - and that was with time wasted to travel to get my medical done. I know people in the UK that have gotten their visa approved in less than 2 months. This is of course if you satisfy the requirements and don't have to send in any extra information. 

Do you have all your travel arranged for your South America trip? Is it possible to delay it until your visa is approved?
You may want to ask an agent about entering on a working holiday visa and then switching it to a defacto. Since there is sometimes a clause on regular entry visas about not being able to transfer or extend the visa, I'd be cautious. 
What if you applied for a WHV for New Zealand and then applied for your Australian visa through the consulate in New Zealand? I know a few people that have gone this route. 

As for statements, I don't think it matters what their job is or if certain jobs hold more weight than others. You want the person that will write the best letter for you both to write it --- so for example if the factory worker has known you for longer and knows you better, get them to write it. 
I don't think the as many statements as possible approach is the best either. I think immi only wants two. There's a fine line between enough and too much information!

Best of luck!




mcginr said:


> Hi Megera
> 
> Many thanks for your reply, and to your reply on the other thread!
> 
> ...


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## mcginr (Jul 29, 2009)

Thanks for that. In hindsight I would have applied for the de facto visa a couple of months ago. But it just appeared from the immi website that interviews etc were obligatory (I now know different) so it just seemed easier to do it from there. Our travel to South America (and Sydney) is all booked so if I applied for the de facto now and they required more info I might not be able to arrange it from South America, and then I would risk landing in Sydney without any visa at all.

I will definitely take your advice and find out if immi will be ok with my approach. Your NZ idea is feasible (especially as we could stay with my girlfriend's folks!) but for financial reasons I need to get a job and start earning as quickly as possible in Sydney.

Sorry to hassle with more questions, but there are more! The declaration you and your partner wrote; is that just your store of how you met, fell in love etc? Did you write it like a little novel? Also I think you mentioned somewhere that you didn't have to do an interview but your partner did have to do one over the phone? Do you mind me asking what they asked him? Some posts have suggested that they ask some very silly questions!

Thanks again, very much appreciated.

Ronan


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## Megera (Mar 20, 2009)

You might only need to be in NZ for a month or two depending how long it takes for your visa to process. If you have a working holiday visa for NZ then you would be able to work while you're waiting.
I understand where you're coming from though. For me, I'd rather put off earning a lot of money for a month or two just to ensure that I'm going through the process correctly. 

I'm also assuming your girlfriend is an eligible NZ citizen so she can sponsor you for an Aussie visa? 

Our letters were a little more involved than a simple how we met story. In another thread I outlined all the points we touched on. But, it started with how we met and how my partner came to Canada, when we decided that we wanted to start a committed relationship, how the finances and household stuff is divided, how we met each other's family, travel that we've done, sacrifices to make our relationship work (ie: having him stay in Canada on a tourist visa for two years while we sorted out our visa stuff - I was the only one able to work), our future plans etc. There is a booklet on the immi site that baiscally outlines all the things your letter should contain. 
Both of your letters should have the same basic facts (make sure your dates match!) but they should be written separately and in your own words. 
If by writing it like a novel you mean in paragraphs then yes (it wasn't point form!) but there weren't chapter headings or anything!  My letter was 4 pages long and my spouse's was 2 (he also wrote a two page letter on financial stuff).

We didn't need an interview. A lot of people that applied in the UK have had to go through an interview (over the phone) and from what it sounds like, it just covered things in your forms. I have heard of other interviews though where they ask strange questions like toothbrush colours and what side of the bed you sleep on etc but while being on visa forums I haven't come across stuff like that. 






mcginr said:


> Thanks for that. In hindsight I would have applied for the de facto visa a couple of months ago. But it just appeared from the immi website that interviews etc were obligatory (I now know different) so it just seemed easier to do it from there. Our travel to South America (and Sydney) is all booked so if I applied for the de facto now and they required more info I might not be able to arrange it from South America, and then I would risk landing in Sydney without any visa at all.
> 
> I will definitely take your advice and find out if immi will be ok with my approach. Your NZ idea is feasible (especially as we could stay with my girlfriend's folks!) but for financial reasons I need to get a job and start earning as quickly as possible in Sydney.
> 
> ...


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## mcginr (Jul 29, 2009)

haha it was actually the "toothbrush colour" I was referring to! 

Yes my girlfriend is an eligible NZ citizen. I researched that one until I was happy, basically you just need to be a kiwi (and no criminal record etc) and that's about it.

That's great, I'm pretty sure I know what I'm doing now.

Thanks a lot for your help. I am going to spend the next few weeks collating everything as I want to be able to bring everything with me to sydney.

Wish me luck, and hopefully this will be the last of questions!

Ronan


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## vickramds.immi (Oct 6, 2010)

*Pls help*

Hi sir

Need a help for one of my cousin brother in Australia. Please read carefully bellow situation.

1. My brother is in Australia with holding a bridging visa and he has registered relationship with his girl friend (also from Sri Lanka) . They have known each other for last years and they live in same house for years in Australia.
2. My brothers girl also an Australian citizen.

3. Now they going to apply for partner visa because his current visa will expire on next month. But they haven't enough money for pay lawyer fees. Which is about 4000$ .
4. We have all requested document for the visa application (Onshore Partner Visa ) .
Please let me know if there is any special scenarios apply on this case. 

FYI : He has a MRT application in progress do he need to withdraw that before apply a new visa. 

And after MRT hearing if he have to leave australia with in 28 days can he apply another visa (partner visa) with in tha 28 days.

Regards


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