[loganfindlay]

Hi there,

I'm new here, just trying to get my ducks in a row before applying for the Offshore 309 Partner Visa. I am nervous after reading some of the comments on here (and someone whose application was denied in a similar situation) about our evidence.. here's a bit of background on our situation:

-I am Canadian and my partner is an Aussie. He is currently living with me in Canada, on a Working Holiday Visa. He is just shy of 1 year into his 2 year visa, so we would like to get the ball rolling on our 309 offshore partner application so that it will (hopefully) be approved before his Canadian WHV expires - this way we will not have to be apart
-We have been dating since May 2015, when I was in Aus on a WHV
-I moved in with him in November 2015 and lived there for 3 months until my WHV expired - but we have no proof of this as he had a lease with his housemate, I quite literally just moved my bag into his room. I have a Christmas card from my parents addressed to me at his address in Sydney, but that's about it...
-Since he arrived in Canada in August 2016, him and I have been living in my parents' basement for the last (almost) year as the housing rental market in Vancouver is insane and we can save the most $$$ this way - again, obviously the downside is that we have no solid evidence of living together such as utility bills, lease in our names, etc.... my parents would be more than happy to write a stat dec. saying we've been living under their roof for the last year, but from your guys' experience - will this suffice? We won't have everything ready to submit the application until August at earliest, at which point it will have been a year of living together.

Obviously, we have other evidence (plane tickets from travel together, his family is coming to Canada in a week so we will have photos of our families together, I spent Christmas with his family in 2015, he came to visit me on a tourist visa in April 2016, etc), but the 1 year living requirement seems like it carries a lot of weight - want to make sure we meet that in the CO's eyes.

Wondering if it may be in our best interest to get an immigration lawyer. Just want to avoid spending the extra money if at all possible.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CCMS]

Wondering if it may be in our best interest to get an immigration lawyer. Just want to avoid spending the extra money if at all possible.

It is always a good idea to use a professional to deal with such complicated matters. You are going to hand over 7 k to lodge the application with no refunds in case of a refusal. Hiring a professional may save you a lot of money in the long run.

 

[JandE]

I think everyone worries if they have enough evidence. I worried until the day the grant came through.
One advantage with an immigration agent, (with Australian visa experience) is that they generally ensure they submit with the right evidence. That saves the applicant from worrying too much.

I sometimes wondered if I should have used one, just to avoid that worry.

 

[EDT]

Hi there,

I'm new here, just trying to get my ducks in a row before applying for the Offshore 309 Partner Visa. I am nervous after reading some of the comments on here (and someone whose application was denied in a similar situation) about our evidence.. here's a bit of background on our situation:

-I am Canadian and my partner is an Aussie. He is currently living with me in Canada, on a Working Holiday Visa. He is just shy of 1 year into his 2 year visa, so we would like to get the ball rolling on our 309 offshore partner application so that it will (hopefully) be approved before his Canadian WHV expires - this way we will not have to be apart
-We have been dating since May 2015, when I was in Aus on a WHV
-I moved in with him in November 2015 and lived there for 3 months until my WHV expired - but we have no proof of this as he had a lease with his housemate, I quite literally just moved my bag into his room. I have a Christmas card from my parents addressed to me at his address in Sydney, but that's about it...
-Since he arrived in Canada in August 2016, him and I have been living in my parents' basement for the last (almost) year as the housing rental market in Vancouver is insane and we can save the most $$$ this way - again, obviously the downside is that we have no solid evidence of living together such as utility bills, lease in our names, etc.... my parents would be more than happy to write a stat dec. saying we've been living under their roof for the last year, but from your guys' experience - will this suffice? We won't have everything ready to submit the application until August at earliest, at which point it will have been a year of living together.

Obviously, we have other evidence (plane tickets from travel together, his family is coming to Canada in a week so we will have photos of our families together, I spent Christmas with his family in 2015, he came to visit me on a tourist visa in April 2016, etc), but the 1 year living requirement seems like it carries a lot of weight - want to make sure we meet that in the CO's eyes.

Wondering if it may be in our best interest to get an immigration lawyer. Just want to avoid spending the extra money if at all possible.

Thanks in advance!

I will recommend you consult an agent for your piece of mind .
I , regret not using an agent for the second stage visa . Although our visa has not been granted yet , but I wish I had consulted one before submitted my evidence .

For the first stage visa , we did not use an agent , but the visa was granted in 7 months . I received a little help from a friend who had gone through the process twice .

Second stage visa, we used the same format of the 1st stage but bombarded the immigration with much more evidence, but the thought of not consulting an agent still hunt me because my husband has been waiting for his grant for 13 months now. God help us

All the best

 

[loganfindlay]

It is always a good idea to use a professional to deal with such complicated matters. You are going to hand over 7 k to lodge the application with no refunds in case of a refusal. Hiring a professional may save you a lot of money in the long run.

Thank you for your input, that's exactly my fear..7k down the drain. I will look into the costs of hiring a professional.

 

[loganfindlay]

Thanks for your advice. Fingers crossed that you and your husband will be granted it soon!!

 

[Skybluebrewer]

Word of advice... if you want to migrate to Australia, use a REGISTERED migration agent in Australia. They are the experts in Australian immigration as opposed to someone in Canada who would be an expert in Canadian immigration. A lot of changes have been happening recently with partner visas and an Australian RMA will be up-to-date and know how the changes could affect your partner visa app in the future.

 

[JandE]

Thank you for your input, that's exactly my fear..7k down the drain. I will look into the costs of hiring a professional.

You could ask CCMS, the one who you just replied to, to give you a quote.

Some of the migration agents that answer us on here, like CCMS, do seem to be very open and helpful.

 

[loganfindlay]

It is always a good idea to use a professional to deal with such complicated matters. You are going to hand over 7 k to lodge the application with no refunds in case of a refusal. Hiring a professional may save you a lot of money in the long run.

Thank you for your reply! It seems the general consensus is to use a professional. As recommended by someone on this post below, since you are a registered migration agent - what sort of quote would we be looking at (ballpark estimate is fine) should we decide to get a MA to assist with the application? Thanks in advance

 

[ampk]

I would if I were you with some time, gather your evidence and sort it out into the categories as per the partner visa application.

Then get some advice from this site on what you may have over looked as evidence, this might be things like an address given to an employer when in Australia on the WHV or emergency contact.

After this is when I would contact a RMA for an initial consultation (seems around $150 -$200), you will better understand the process and what they will try and explain to you.

Like there is no "living together" for 12 months, the requirement is to have been in a de facto "relationship" for a minimum of 12 months at time of application.

So you are looking for the document/s that place you as being seem as a couple, this could be as above like an address, work contact or a financial transaction or other.

 

[arod59]

I'm in the same boat as you...partner moved to China to be with me for a year but i already had the apartment and bills under my name. tried to open a joint bank account..no such thing exists there. it's been hard trying to find evidence that we lived under the same roof except for statements from friends and family :/