Hi There

I had a few questions about the de-facto visa applying from outside Australia.
From what I understand I do NOT need the police certificates? This is only needed if you apply within Australia? I have read this on immi's website in two different places. I will however call and ask to be sure.
Are they helpful when you call? Have anyone experienced it? I will be contacting the London Embassy.

Another question I had was date of entry. I have a commitment to my job up until mid June. Can I dictate when I enter?
How long does the process take? When should I apply? I reckon I will have all documents ready in approx 1 month - having to get birth certs etc sent from different countries and have our friends sign the "888" forms, getting my X-Ray etc.

My main question is about the proof of relationship.
We have the following: Photos, utility bills, contract of apartment, bank accounts (2 one in NZ and one in Europe), wedding invitation and also flight intineries where we have flown together on holidays etc.
Is that all we need? We have lived together for about 1½ year and been together for almost 2½. The first year when we did not live together we rang and texted each other but we have no proof. Well I saved the cutest text messages on my phone - but how would you extract them?!

Also. When sending all this proof in, do you also write a story..? Or..?
X and I met at this and this time, we kissed the first time.. etc.
Or?
Do we both write one story each? How long should it be?
It says in the forms that we should be "emotional support" to each other.
How do you prove that?

Sorry about the ranting and all the questions - this whole thing just makes me very nervous. We met when I was on a working holiday visa in Australia (BF is Australian) and then moved together to NZ as I was not allowed to stay in Australia - now we are in Europe and he is here on a working holiday visa. I don't know what we would do if we don't get this visa as we are not allowed to stay in the same countries.

Thanks a mill and thanks for helping me with my other question.

Beatrice

Hi Beatrice,

WE have just applied for the prosepective marriage visa for my fiance but the process is pretty much the same. I'll try and answer as many of your questions as possible!

I would encourage contacted the London embassy via email in the first instance to ask questions. I found it to be particularly good as when you subsequently submit your forms they are aware of you from the get go. When my fiance went in they recognised his name from the emails.

As for being helpful... they give you the specific infomation for the questions asked. I wouldn't say that they go out of there way to be helpful, but they definitley answer your questions. I learnt to be VERY specific in the questions I asked!!

My fiance got all of the police records before we submitted the paperwork, it was one less thing that they could come back and ask for. Remember that you need to submit the police clearance for every country you have lived in for 12 months or more over the last 10 years. Depending on where you have lived this can take a while!

We were told not to do the health check until specifically requested by the embassy. The health check only remains valid for 12 months, so depending on when you get here and when you might apply for PR etc you may need to get more done. I had a friend who applied for a partner visa in London and they were not asked to go for a medical.

The proof of relationship is a hard one! The joint bank accounts and bills etc is great, but for that time you were apart it is very important that you can show that you remained in contact, and phone records are really really important so I recommend trying to get them. If you have had contact via skype or MSN print the history off and submit with your evidence.

My fiance and I both wrote a letter outlining our relationship. We basically went through and wrote down important dates in our relationship and what our plans were for the future etc. I think we each wrote about 2 pages. If you can get declarations from each others parents as well stating that they support your relationship etc then this is also good.

I'm not sure about the entry timeframe, but I think the question was asked in an earlier forum somewhere in here!

I know the process is daunting, but the thing I keep reminding myself is that we aren't doing anything wrong, we are simply people who fell in love and want to be together.. and no one can find fault with that!

BTW we are anxiously awaiting our approval.....The nerves don't get better once you have submitted the paperwork either!!! LOL

If it is any consulation, my same friends who submitted there paperwork for a prospective marriage visa in London had it approved in 7 days!!! That was about 3 months ago...

Good Luck!

Not sure about the police check. It wouldn't hurt to confirm either with the embassy or immigration directly in Australia. Contact details are in a sticky post in the visa section.

Not sure how long it is going to take to process, but the more complete your application is, the quicker it is going to get processed.

Your proof of relationship seems adequate enough to me. The minimum time for living together is one year, so even though you have been together for two years and can't prove it, it shouldn't be a problem. As long as you can prove living together for a year, that is all that is needed.

I have done this before, and I can't remember exactly what I wrote or how long it was, maybe 1-2 pages. Write how you met, when you started living together, when and where you traveled together, things you enjoy doing together etc. Maybe you could write a story how you helped each other go through some kind of crisis.

Just get your application in 100 per cent complete, don't lie on any of the questions and I can't imagine you will have a problem.

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Please post your visa application details in the visa timeline threads - Skilled visa applications Spouse/Defacto applications