Australian Substantive Visa, it seems easy to apply in OZ?

[CTO]

I am sure this has been asked many times before, but forgive me, did a search and search function seems to have changed.

I know you can apply for a partner visa for Australia, with the eventual aim here to migrate to Australia for my partner, in either Thailand, looong waiting time and work won't wait for me,

OR

Apply in Australia if the prospective partner has a "Substantial Visa"

Definition of that not on the Oz Immigration web site though they quote it a lot, that I can find.

Can the wife enter Australia (married 14 years, 2 kids with Aussie passports) on a regular tourists visa, then apply for partner visa (class 802 I think) from within Australia?

Does she have to leave to get the visa? (not an issue)

Thanks,

Again some great threads, but I am interested in applying within Australia, not from outside

[Gopro]

She needs to have a tourist visa or similar, other than a visa such as a bridging visa which is not substantive.

Note the tourist or other substantive visa must not have the condition 8503 which is called no futher stay. If this is applied to her visa, whilst she is onshore she cannot apply for a partner visa unless it is waived under exceptional cirmcumstances. Therefore she would have to apply offshore.

So to answer your question, yes she could come to oz and apply provided 8503 is not attached. Therefore she could stay whilst waiting the outcome.

Too add

In your case if you expressly state your taking the kids and moving to oz, and wish to apply onshore for the partner, they may grant you the tourist visa without that 8503 condition so she could apply onshore, noting they don't want to separate the family which is a considerable factor as you have kids.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Gopro

[Will27]

She needs to have a tourist visa or similar, other than a visa such as a bridging visa which is not substantive.

Note the tourist or other substantive visa must not have the condition 8503 which is called no futher stay. If this is applied to her visa, whilst she is onshore she cannot apply for a partner visa unless it is waived under exceptional cirmcumstances. Therefore she would have to apply offshore.

So to answer your question, yes she could come to oz and apply provided 8503 is not attached. Therefore she could stay whilst waiting the outcome.

Too add

In your case if you expressly state your taking the kids and moving to oz, and wish to apply onshore for the partner, they may grant you the tourist visa without that 8503 condition so she could apply onshore, noting they don't want to separate the family which is a considerable factor as you have kids.

Personally, I would advise against this.

In my experience, telling DIAC that your wife wants to migrate to Australia whilst you're

applying for a tourist visa, is usually a pretty sure way that condition 8503 will be imposed.

Just my take on it.

[jamesbrock]

Personally, I would advise against this.

In my experience, telling DIAC that your wife wants to migrate to Australia whilst you're

applying for a tourist visa, is usually a pretty sure way that condition 8503 will be imposed.

Just my take on it.

I agree. On the visitor visa application form, one of the pieces of evidence you need to supply is "information to show that you have an incentive and authority to return to your country of residence, such as property or other significant assets in your home country." Indeed DIBP state that the Tourist Stream is not a pathway to permanent residency.

Unfortunately, you will never be able to tell whether an 8503 condition will be imposed or not; it appears completely random. I had a mate in Chiang Mai who applied for a Tourist (s/c 676) visa for his wife the same day I did for mine (in fact our applications were virtually identical); his wife's visa was approved in two days, she got a 12 month multi-entry with an 8503 condition. My wife's visa took 14 days to get approved, and she got a three month single entry without the 8503 condition! Both were first time applicants for Australia, and his wife had - what I thought - a more compelling reason to return.

If you are fortunate enough to not have the condition imposed, you can apply onshore for a s/c 820/801; your wife will need to be onshore when it is approved.

Edit: typo

Edited October 14, 2014 by jamesbrock

[Gopro]

I did say "may"

Maybe your best option is to apply offshore and then ask for 12month tourist visa for her at the same time.

[Will27]

I did say "may"

Maybe your best option is to apply offshore and then ask for 12month tourist visa for her at the same time.

I realize that, but I think the OP would be better off not mentioning the migration issue at all.

Saying "In your case if you expressly state your taking the kids and moving to oz, and wish to apply onshore for the partner"

could actually be a reason to deny the tourist visa application as it could be deemed that she is not a genuine tourist.

IMO, OP would be better of applying for the tourist visa first and then make a decision on the spouse visa.

[Thaibrisbane]

I agree with Will27 that it would be better to apply for a visitor visa and then make a decision later. There are many reasons why you may consider getting the visitor visa without "no further stay" condition such as looking for a school for kids in the future, visiting and taking kids to their grand parents - which I guess are the truth in your case, instead of saying that you would prefer to apply a partner visa onshore.

You married 14 years ago and have 2 kids so your wife's application would be quickly approved if you could apply onshore. (It should be the same for applying offshore but I am not sure) Moreover, your wife would bypass a temporary partner visa subclass 820 and be granted a permanent partner visa subclass 801 without the 2 years waiting period as you have been in the relationship over 3 years and have childern together.

Form my experience, I applied for a same sex partner visa onshore with my Aussie partner as we have been in a relationship for nearly 10 years. My application was approved within a month. The application was sent by post to the closest immigration office and it took about 2 days to get a reply to my email that the application had been received. About 2-3 weeks later, I got another email that said my application was in process. Then, my partner visa was granted for both subclass 820 and 801 simultaneously few days later, however the subclass 801 only is in effect as it is a permanent one - I also checked on VEVO.

However, I spent about 2 months carefully preparing all documents such as police clearance certificates, health examinations, bills, Form 888, and statutory declarations that one for me and one for my partner, regarding our relationship and they were signed by JP etc. I also made time table of our relationship development so it would help a case officer to understand the relationship very quickly. As you may know a case officer has to deal with many applications per day so the best way to make one happy is to make your application easy to access and accurate

My recommendation is first get a visitor visa and if she gets a "no further stay condition", she should apply for a partner visa in Thailand. On the other hand, if she does not get the condition, it would be better to apply onshore.

Edited October 15, 2014 by Thaibrisbane

[David48]

You married 14 years ago and have 2 kids so your wife's application would be quickly approved if you could apply onshore. (It should be the same for applying offshore but I am not sure) Moreover, your wife would bypass a temporary partner visa subclass 820 and be granted a permanent partner visa subclass 801 without the 2 years waiting period as you have been in the relationship over 3 years and have childern together.

I agree with most you write above ... but not so sure about this part quoted above.

IMHO

[Thaibrisbane]

You married 14 years ago and have 2 kids so your wife's application would be quickly approved if you could apply onshore. (It should be the same for applying offshore but I am not sure) Moreover, your wife would bypass a temporary partner visa subclass 820 and be granted a permanent partner visa subclass 801 without the 2 years waiting period as you have been in the relationship over 3 years and have childern together.

I agree with most you write above ... but not so sure about this part quoted above.

IMHO

This is a quote from the immigration website;

" Generally, the permanent partner visa is granted two years after the application is made, if the couple is still in a married or de facto relationship. If the couple is in a long term relationship when they lodge the application, the two year period does not apply. A long term relationship is one that has existed for at least three years, or two years if the couple has a child.

In certain circumstances, it might be possible to grant the permanent partner visa sooner than two years, for example, if the relationship breaks down and the applicant has a dependent child or the applicant or dependent child has suffered family violence committed by the sponsor."

Link: https://www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/30partners.htm

Also, an application can be approved very quickly if you lodge the application as "a decision ready application" with which you must provide police certificates and health examinations before applying for the visa. However, it has never been recommended by immigration as the process may take longer than 12 months and the documents will have already expired. However, if you are confident in your relationship and could provide clear evidence, it is possible to do that. Anyway it is your own decision.

[Thaibrisbane]

I think there may be different queues for processing visas between subclass 820 (temporary) and subclass 801 (permanent). And we all know that the subclass 820 has a long waiting period. Thus, if you have a long term relationship this enables you to jump from the temporary visa queue to the permanent one. So this may be the reason for a faster approval. That what I guess.

[David48]

You married 14 years ago and have 2 kids so your wife's application would be quickly approved if you could apply onshore. (It should be the same for applying offshore but I am not sure) Moreover, your wife would bypass a temporary partner visa subclass 820 and be granted a permanent partner visa subclass 801 without the 2 years waiting period as you have been in the relationship over 3 years and have childern together.

I agree with most you write above ... but not so sure about this part quoted above.

IMHO

Also, an application can be approved very quickly if you lodge the application as "a decision ready application" with which you must provide police certificates and health examinations before applying for the visa. However, it has never been recommended by immigration as the process may take longer than 12 months and the documents will have already expired. However, if you are confident in your relationship and could provide clear evidence, it is possible to do that. Anyway it is your own decision.

Just a thought, and this is only my humble but current experience.

MissFarmGirl and I applied for a Partner Visa in late April of this year.

We have been in a relationship, to the exclusion of all others for 4 years now.

We have 2 boys together, who are Dual Nationals.

MissFarmGirl has visited Australia multiple times.

The Police Certificate was done the day the application was lodged ... the VFS service gives the applicant the form.

The Medical was done within 4 days of the application ... as you can't usually get the Medical done until the Case Officer has sent the required Form.

You might try and second guess what the Embassy wants ... but that's up to you. In Bangkok there are only 2 approved places to go to get the Medical Certificate.

Our application was 'decision ready' ... I worked in the Government for 5 years ... I know what they are looking for and know how to 'tick their boxes'.

Thaibrisbane ... we are all jealous of the short time it took to get your Visa ... your circumstances do seem to differ from the majority of those who apply for a Partner Visa.

Damn Jealous ... but good luck to you ...

[Thaibrisbane]

To David, I hope you have good luck and your partner gets the visa soon. I think she is eligible and able to get a permanent visa directly. However, I am not sure that the BKK centre could process the permanent partner visa. If not, she may have to wait and be granted a temporary one first and then get a permanent one later when she arrives in Australia. But I am sure how long that will take. I know a permanent partner visa is only processed at 2 centres which are in Brisbane and Melbourne.

Here is a link http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/visa-enquiries/_pdf/factsheet-partner-perm.pdf

There is no need to be jealous because at the end of the day if your relationship is genuine, your partner will get the visa. Getting the visa earlier or a bit later makes no difference in time when compared with the time in the future as a couple. It is just the beginning of your long relationship journey with your partner in Australia. Instead of worrying about the visa which could make you feel a day is as long as a month or a month like a year I think it is better to think and prepare how your partner could live and work in Australia. I believe you are doing that.

I found that there are websites like ladyinter.com or aussiethai.com that are quite helpful for new Thai migrants (and everyone who could read and understand Thai) to prepare themselves to live, work and communicate with the Thai community in Australia. For example how to get a free 510 hours English training course, how to apply for medicare etc. I also have some information about how to prepare and manage the documents for applying for the visa from those websites. (Some people got a partner visa even faster than me - only few weeks. However, most of them took about 6 months to a year, depending on their circumstances)

However, there is also in these websites some tricky suggestions, which I believe no one would want to experience, especially if you are an Australian partner. For example, "Now I am on a temporary visa I don't want to stay with my partner anymore, but I want to get a permanent visa. What should I do." And some response will tell them how to make their partner angry and wish to be violent and to document it in order to be able to claim a visa under a domestic violent situation. Well it is a free forum so every one could give their suggestions like here.

Thus, I think a 2 years waiting period before getting a permanent visa is a good solution for if your relationship do not go on well, you could cancel your partner visa anytime. On the other hand, when your partner already has a permanent visa, you could not cancel the visa, except if a document is fraudulent at the beginning of applying for a visa which could get you trouble as well.

To answer about the medical examination; Of course you could not contact a qualified hospital to get a medical examination directly without having an HAP number. The HAP number can be provided by a case officer or you can fill out online a health declaration form. Then it will generate a HAP number for your reference. Also, you must mention your HAP number on the partner visa form47SP in Question 71 part H.

About the Thai police check, I got some trick from the ladyinter.com that it is much easier, quicker, and has less restrictions around the document requirement. You use an agent provided by the Thai police service centre. The agent link is on the Thai police website. It is also recommended by Thai Embassy website in Sydney. Of course you have to pay extra (that's life in Thailand) but it takes much less time and preparation.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Thaibrisbane

[Thaibrisbane]

Oppp!!! " But I am sure how long that will take. " I just dropped "not". It should be " But I am not sure how long that will take"

[krisb]

Since kids and travel combined can be upsetting for everyone at the best of times, I would be ringing a migration/visa agent for some free advice.

The one time I spoke to a chap he was more than willing to give out helpful advice free of charge.

[CTO]

Thanks everyone, very good advise,

Krisb, had thought of that, it's a sad situation when neither the Embassy, their out source will give information out, the people in Australia won't take an over seas call, so some bloke who's trying to make a buck, gives away free advise, as the government won't!

Kinda reluctant to do that to take advantage of someone like that.

But the advise so far has been great, thanks again!