Visa Issues?

[BaconGirl05]

Hi everyone,

I need advice on some visa information. Right now, I am planning to go on the Work and Holiday visa to Australia. That will be happening in January of 2016. When I get there and find a job, my boyfriend and I will be in Queensland and have our own place together. Shortly after being there, we will register our relationship and that will be the start of our De Facto. By the time my Work and Holiday visa would be up (a year after I enter Australia), I am going to apply for the Partner Visa. The advice I need is about if this is a plan that would actually work? Is it a practical plan? What did you do when before applying for the partner visa?

I was reading the Work and Holiday visa information and it says that to apply, someone has to be a genuine visitor. Also, the information says that if I want to cancel my visa to apply for another visa, I must do this BEFORE entering Australia. This is what kind of confuses me. The partner visa I plan to apply for is the one that allows me to stay there while it's being processed.
How would I go about this?

Even though this is at least a year away, I would like to have the plan now so that I'm sure I'm making the right steps towards this. The final result will be applying for the partner visa. I've heard this can be a difficult process, so I want to be prepared.
Any advice would help, thanks

[Emilia]

Hello

I'm not an expert on Australian Visa requirements, but have done a lot of reading about it, seeing as my fiance and I will be applying for one soon!

To obtain a Partner Visa in Australia is quite difficult, so it is going to take a lot of planning and organisation on your part to fulfil all the requirements of the Visa.
You have 12 months to gather all the evidence you can to prove your case. From day one, I would be getting a folder together to put all your evidence in. The earlier you start, the easier it is going to be.

- Register your relationship as soon as you can. You are lucky that you are able to do this in QLD. I live in WA, and cannot do this
- Get both of your names on the rental agreement and all of the bills. This shows you live together.
- Take HEAPS of photos over the 12 months, especially with family and friends - this forms evidence of the social component of the application
- Start a joint bank account - This shows you support each other financially
- Towards the end of the 12 months, choose several people who will write statements about your relationship.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to providing evidence. I have heard of people who have had 400 pages of evidence of their relationship. These are just some ideas

Once you are in Australia living on the WHV and you are wanting to apply for the Partner Visa, you are not cancelling your WHV. If you are in Australia with one Visa and you apply for another, you receive a bridging visa whilst the next Visa is being processed so you can remain in Australia.
However, I don't know the legalities of changing from a WHV to a PV. From my knowledge, people on holiday visas must leave the country, then apply for a new visa offshore. This is something you would need to check with a lawyer.

[Redheart14]

Also work is scarce in Queensland at the moment. So depending on what you're looking for it may be hard to find something straight off.

[Petals]

As long as you do not have a "No Further Stay" restriction on your visa, you are legally allowed to apply for another visa once in Australia. Join an Australian Immigration forum so you can learn more about the process and evidence required for a partner visa. I'd suggest also that you do not hide the fact that you are in a relationship with an Australian as this can have negative effects on future partner visa application.

[BaconGirl05]

Hello

I'm not an expert on Australian Visa requirements, but have done a lot of reading about it, seeing as my fiance and I will be applying for one soon!

To obtain a Partner Visa in Australia is quite difficult, so it is going to take a lot of planning and organisation on your part to fulfil all the requirements of the Visa.
You have 12 months to gather all the evidence you can to prove your case. From day one, I would be getting a folder together to put all your evidence in. The earlier you start, the easier it is going to be.

- Register your relationship as soon as you can. You are lucky that you are able to do this in QLD. I live in WA, and cannot do this
- Get both of your names on the rental agreement and all of the bills. This shows you live together.
- Take HEAPS of photos over the 12 months, especially with family and friends - this forms evidence of the social component of the application
- Start a joint bank account - This shows you support each other financially
- Towards the end of the 12 months, choose several people who will write statements about your relationship.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to providing evidence. I have heard of people who have had 400 pages of evidence of their relationship. These are just some ideas

Once you are in Australia living on the WHV and you are wanting to apply for the Partner Visa, you are not cancelling your WHV. If you are in Australia with one Visa and you apply for another, you receive a bridging visa whilst the next Visa is being processed so you can remain in Australia.
However, I don't know the legalities of changing from a WHV to a PV. From my knowledge, people on holiday visas must leave the country, then apply for a new visa offshore. This is something you would need to check with a lawyer.

Thank you Emilia! This definitely helps a lot. My SO and I have already talked about gathering evidence from day one and keeping a folder so when we're ready to apply, we're already prepared. I know there is a lot of evidence, so it's a bit intimidating, but this is something that we definitely want to do. We're going to have both our names on the lease when we rent, and have a joint bank account. We'll definitely be taking lots of pictures with friends and family, and also have evidence of invitations with both of our names on it (family events).
It seems like there is a lot of work involved, so I'll make we're prepared

[BaconGirl05]

Also work is scarce in Queensland at the moment. So depending on what you're looking for it may be hard to find something straight off.

I'm actually going to be with a company that helps set me up with jobs. They work with people who want to work in Australia and help them with interviews and resumes. They also set up bank accounts and phone numbers. Basically they provide people with everything they need to get jobs and make them aware of job openings, including basic retail and fast food jobs. My SO however is going to work in childcare. He just finished his degree and is able to work in that field. The reason we want to move up to Queensland is because he lives in a small town in NSW and is not able to get the work he needs.

[BaconGirl05]

As long as you do not have a "No Further Stay" restriction on your visa, you are legally allowed to apply for another visa once in Australia. Join an Australian Immigration forum so you can learn more about the process and evidence required for a partner visa. I'd suggest also that you do not hide the fact that you are in a relationship with an Australian as this can have negative effects on future partner visa application.

Thanks Petals. I'll be sure to look at that when I get the visa. Also, I heard that when saying you're in a relationship with someone overseas, people have gotten turned away from entering the country. I do understand that being upfront about a relationship with an Australian is important, I'm just worried about being turned away...