It finally happened!!
Hey everyone!
It has been ages since I've been on here. I'm not too sure how active people are on here, but I wanted to update everyone on my situation.
For those of you who haven't followed me from the start, I started my long distance relationship back in 2011 (US and Australia) as on online relationship. We Facetimed everyday and would always message each other. My partner and I met in person for the first time in September 2014 and I visited him for 6 amazing months. After that, we were apart for a year before I decided to fly down to Aus in 2016 to surprise him for his 21st birthday. I only intended to stay for 3 months, but he proposed to me and we both decided that we didn't want to do long distance anymore.
We worked really hard for the next few months to gather evidence for a Partner Visa. We applied in August 2016. I was granted my temporary partner visa in March 2017. The Partner Visas here in Aus don't consider permanent residence until 2 years after the initial application date (August 2016). When August 2018 came around, I applied for my permanent residence. This included more paperwork and uploading new evidence to show that we were a genuine couple.
Based on the immigration website, it was saying that it would be about 22 months to process my application. So that's when the real waiting started. I figured that it would be quite awhile until I'd be getting permanent residence. We moved into our own place back in 2017 and both had full time jobs, so that's what I focused on. I knew that worrying about my application wouldn't make things go faster. We focused on our lives together and our work. However, knowing that my fate was basically out of my control was scary. Some days I would overthink and have doubts about whether I'd get permanent residence. The immigration website for processing times regarding visas was updated monthly, and each month it seemed as though the processing times for my visa would go up.
A significant thing happened during Christmas last year. My mom flew to Aus and was able to meet my partner for the first time. She stayed for 3 weeks with us. She loved him and they got along so well!
Fast forward to 01 August 2019, I was granted permanent residence to Australia!! OMG I can't even explain the excitement! My partner have been together for such a long time and to know that we can continue our life here is amazing.
We have also started planning our wedding and actually booked our venue back in June. We are so excited to start the next chapter of our lives together. Our wedding isn't until 2021 (plenty of time for my friends/family to save up to come to Aus) but I know it's going to go by quick. We've been engaged for quite awhile, but we finally got some engagement photos done early this year.
Us being in a long distance relationship feels like it was so long ago and it's such a bittersweet memory. I've been living in Aus for 3 years now and it just feels right. My life is here and everything is falling into place.
I suppose what I'm saying is that long distance relationships CAN work, even international ones. It's been a long process, but I wouldn't change anything. I can't wait to see what the future holds for me and my partner <3
It has been ages since I've been on here. I'm not too sure how active people are on here, but I wanted to update everyone on my situation.
For those of you who haven't followed me from the start, I started my long distance relationship back in 2011 (US and Australia) as on online relationship. We Facetimed everyday and would always message each other. My partner and I met in person for the first time in September 2014 and I visited him for 6 amazing months. After that, we were apart for a year before I decided to fly down to Aus in 2016 to surprise him for his 21st birthday. I only intended to stay for 3 months, but he proposed to me and we both decided that we didn't want to do long distance anymore.
We worked really hard for the next few months to gather evidence for a Partner Visa. We applied in August 2016. I was granted my temporary partner visa in March 2017. The Partner Visas here in Aus don't consider permanent residence until 2 years after the initial application date (August 2016). When August 2018 came around, I applied for my permanent residence. This included more paperwork and uploading new evidence to show that we were a genuine couple.
Based on the immigration website, it was saying that it would be about 22 months to process my application. So that's when the real waiting started. I figured that it would be quite awhile until I'd be getting permanent residence. We moved into our own place back in 2017 and both had full time jobs, so that's what I focused on. I knew that worrying about my application wouldn't make things go faster. We focused on our lives together and our work. However, knowing that my fate was basically out of my control was scary. Some days I would overthink and have doubts about whether I'd get permanent residence. The immigration website for processing times regarding visas was updated monthly, and each month it seemed as though the processing times for my visa would go up.
A significant thing happened during Christmas last year. My mom flew to Aus and was able to meet my partner for the first time. She stayed for 3 weeks with us. She loved him and they got along so well!
Fast forward to 01 August 2019, I was granted permanent residence to Australia!! OMG I can't even explain the excitement! My partner have been together for such a long time and to know that we can continue our life here is amazing.
We have also started planning our wedding and actually booked our venue back in June. We are so excited to start the next chapter of our lives together. Our wedding isn't until 2021 (plenty of time for my friends/family to save up to come to Aus) but I know it's going to go by quick. We've been engaged for quite awhile, but we finally got some engagement photos done early this year.
Us being in a long distance relationship feels like it was so long ago and it's such a bittersweet memory. I've been living in Aus for 3 years now and it just feels right. My life is here and everything is falling into place.
I suppose what I'm saying is that long distance relationships CAN work, even international ones. It's been a long process, but I wouldn't change anything. I can't wait to see what the future holds for me and my partner <3
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