Partner visa de facto subclass 309 Australia

[Bootsnugget]

Hi all,

I'm just about to embark on a partner visa application which will be submitted in Bangkok.

Breif backstory,

Met my thai partner/gf in early 2013 when I came here to work for 18 months.

We started going out and have been ever since.

She has been at the same job (wholesale jewellery industry) for 15yrs.

She moved in to where I was staying after about 3 months and stayed for most of 2013, all of 2014.

I then went back to Oz, we successfully applied for a 3 month tourist visa for her and she came over from April till end of June 2015, based on the first success we thought we could country hop to Bali, apply for another 3,6 or 12 month tourist visa from there and then continue on our merry way touring around Australia, but the visa was rejected on grounds of not showing enough evidence that she would return to Thailand.

So she went back to Thailand and back to work at her old job and I had to go back to Oz for three months.

I am now back in Thailand for three months.

We now want to apply for a partner visa defacto subclass 309.

My questions are,

A) Is there value in using a migration agent?

we really dont have a lot of "together or joint" evidence, how do people work through this in their applications? We have pics of travel etc.. can ger stat dec's from friends etc.. but as for joint bills, rental reciepts, electricity, assets, bank accounts we have zero evidence.

C) I there anyone who has applied recently that can shed some more light on the process and give some up to date tips please?

D) The medical check and the police check, are these applied for at a particular hospital or police precinct and do these checks have an official name or form number?

I see the application cost has blown out to $6895 now and no discount for applying out of Oz, ie Thailand.

All comments tips and experiences, both good and bad will be much appreciated.

Cheers Boots

[Supaluke]

Good start as an answer to your question would be the 29 pages of peoples experiences here in http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/736813-aussie-partner-processing-wait-times/

aussie-partner-processing-wait-times

Good luck with it all.