[FreddoBee]

My partner is in Oz on Visitor visa and we intend to apply for Partner Visa and are very confident of approval.

She has a return plane ticket to her country and I am considering getting a refund for the return leg of her visit. If I do that will Oz Immigration be advised by the airline and could it cause a problem?

Would it be better to book her return for a date as late as possible before her visa expires in the hope that our PV approval gives us time to cancel her return so we get a refund? We could certainly use the refunded money towards the cost of the PV.

Thanks for any help/advice

 

[Mish]

Immigration are not informed to my knowledge.

How much (if any) you get for a refund depends on the ticket that you booked. There are some that are non-refundable and some where you need to pay a small cancellation fee of like $50/75.

Also it would not be likely for the PV to be approved for the tourist visa expires as PV are taking 12+ months from what I have seen. She will get a bridging visa when the PV is lodged which will come into effect once the tourist visa expires.

 

[CCMS]

Since processing can take anywhere between 6 and 24 months, there is probably not much point in hanging on to the return ticket, unless your partner actually intends to use it for a home visit.

Even if the airline informed the Department or they would pick it up somehow on their systems, I can't see an issue with that. There is nothing illegal or improper about her intention to apply for an onshore partner visa.

 

[FreddoBee]

Immigration are not informed to my knowledge.

How much (if any) you get for a refund depends on the ticket that you booked. There are some that are non-refundable and some where you need to pay a small cancellation fee of like $50/75.

Also it would not be likely for the PV to be approved for the tourist visa expires as PV are taking 12+ months from what I have seen. She will get a bridging visa when the PV is lodged which will come into effect once the tourist visa expires.

Thanks for your reply. I can get a full refund less a fee of $80, which is reasonable.

 

[FreddoBee]

Since processing can take anywhere between 6 and 24 months, there is probably not much point in hanging on to the return ticket, unless your partner actually intends to use it for a home visit.

Even if the airline informed the Department or they would pick it up somehow on their systems, I can't see an issue with that. There is nothing illegal or improper about her intention to apply for an onshore partner visa.

Thank you, Nick. Much appreciated.