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New Zealand family visa 461

6K views 12 replies 3 participants last post by  anstotquf2 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi, all!

I am going to apply for this visa 461 as my partner is Kiwi. We are in de facto relationship over 1 year and we want to live in Australia.

He came to Australia 2 years ago, and he has been here so far.

My partner rang the immigration to make sure what kind of documents that we have to get them by mail. The immigration said that all applicants have to fill in the form 147, form 80, the police check and the health check and he doesn't need to fill in the forms and the police check. But I've read some posts that some case officer asked their kiwi partner to fill in the form 80. It would take for ages to fill in the form 80 as you guys may know.

And what sort of evidence that I prove out genuine relationship? I guess the form 888 is not suitable for us as most of our friends are kiwi not Australian. But we need some Australian who have got their passport for the form 888 to be the witness for us.

Oops, my post is going around. Sorry about that.
Please give me some advice about my situation.
Thanks in advance!
 
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#2 ·
Hi anstotquf2,

I applied for a 461 visa in February and got it in April. This is not a sponsored visa, so your partner does not need to fill out anything at all. All you need from him is proof that he is a Kiwi (supply them with certified copies of his birth certificate and passport), that's it. The rest of the application must be filled out by you. And this includes:
Form 80
Form 147
Certified birth certificate, passport
Police Checks for all countries you have lived in the last 10 years
Evidence of de facto relationship
(Health Checks - if asked - I was not)
(I also included proof of health insurance since the 461 does not provide Medicare)

As for the evidence, I followed the guidelines provided for the partner visas. I compiled evidence of our living together - rental agreement, and that we are financially dependent on each other - joint bank account from which we pay for rent, groceries, car payments, etc. I also included evidence that we are in a lasting relationship that is social in nature - this included plane tickets we have bought together, mail addressed to both our names from friends/family, pictures of us with each other's family members and common friends, as well as 2 stat decs (form 888) filled out by two of our Aussie friends (should be Aussie Citizens, but can be Permanent Residents, passport photos attached, find someone - a coworker or anyone who can vouch that you are together) and certified saying we are a real couple.

I put that all in an envelope and heard back 3 months later when my visa was granted.

Let me know if you have any questions regarding the above. Happy to help,

elynneg
 
#3 ·
Much appriciate it!

Thanks elynneg :)

Congratulations! I am still trying to figure out what I need to prepare for this Visa. And your information is very very helpful for us.

Could I ask what sort of insurance have you got? I was looking for a private health insurance for 461 Visa, But most major insurance companies such as Bupa or Medibank don't seem that they have one. Especially I would like to have a baby with my partner, so I worry about this part very seriously as I can't get medicare on 461 visa.

We have got

- Joint car registration
- Joint bank account (for only savings)
Well, we have our joint account but we only save our both money into the account in case when we have to spend big money for a really important things at once. Usually when I pay for rent, groceries and car patrol first, and my partner pays the half of the money back as I get paid earlier than him. But not to sure how to prove this kind of stuff.

- Joint rent agreement (since 7th June)
We used to live with other flatmates, so we don't have anything that we can show that we have lived together. I have spoken to a migration agent last night, and he said that we could get a declaration from the flatmates.

- Joint water, electricity bill (since 7th June)
- Same address on mails for one year
- Same address on our payslips for one year
- Letters from my partner's family
- An airplane ticket
We went to New Zealand for holiday last year and I still keep the ticket, but my partner has lost it. :(
- Lots of pictures with his family in NZ
- A chirstmas card from my partner's nan in NZ

That's it I guess.

And luckly we can get form 888 from our Aussie friends too. :)

I didn't expect that someone's reply actually, but I feel very happy when I got your reply. Thank you again!

Venus
 
#4 ·
Hi Venus,

No worries. I tell you what I think about the things you mention - I am by no means an expert, but I know what I did and it worked!

As for the Insurance, I have a plan with IMAN (subsidiary of NIB), and they specifically cover the 461 visa. I've been with them for 1.5 years now since I've lived in Australia. I just have the basic plan, which covers the MSB fees (Medicare costs) for doctors appointments and blood tests, etc. It does not cover prescriptions (but those are cheap in general), but it does cover emergency room costs and ambulance. If you are planning to have a family, I would recommend you get one of the premium plans with more coverage. I am not sure what the waiting periods are for prenatal care/obstetrics, because there usually are some, so check into that before you plan your pregnancy.

I think you have a lot of evidence for the relationship. You may just have to be creative about how you show it. If you can prove you were both living at the same address for the last year, that would be best, however you can do that. Show them letters from official mail sources (like bank or other bill correspondance, something reputable). And as for the plane ticket, do you have the itinerary when you bought the tickets? I sent them just those, the emails from the eTickets. Because we made the reservations together, both of our names were listed on the electronic file. I didn't actually send the ticket stubs or anything.

Also, remember that you don't have to send everything at once. You can simply fill out the forms 147 and 80 and put with those 2 passport-sized photos and copies of your birth certificate (and partner's) and send it in. I didn't get my case officer for 2.5 months, and before then, no one was reviewing my files. However, you have the opportunity during that waiting time to send more documentation to your file at the Visa centre in Sydney. Therefore, if you think of something else you want to include or you haven't gotten your police checks or something yet, you can go ahead and logde and send more things when you can.

I found the people at the NZ Family Visa Centre reasonable. I changed jobs during my application and needed my work restriction dropped and they did it after I explained the situation (by email) within 2 business days of sending the request. So don't be afraid once you submit your application if you want to add something else.

Good luck compiling all the stuff. Let me know if you have any other questions.

-erica
 
#5 ·
Hi, Erica! :)


Thanks for the heaps of information.

We just got the previous eticket on both our names when we visited New Zealand together today fortunately. Yeah!

I have few questions today. I have been filling out the forms still. Form 147 is much easier than form 80. I have moved to other places so many times for the last 10 years as I am on working holiday visa for almost 2 years. So I have to use the additional page, but I can't use that in a neat way. So I just typed on the computer and printed out. Do you reckon it is ok to put additional attachment like that at the end of form 80?

I had a look at IMAN website this morning. ;) And if I am right, the basic plan covers pregnancy services as well I guess. So it would be good for me and my partner for the future. Had you applied for this insurance first and then applied for 461 Visa?

As you wrote, it would be better if I could logde first without the police check. But I guess I have to get a health check as South Korea is one of the high risk countries unfortunately. Did you just send the forms and other documents by mail and then did you get any personal number shows it is you? Because if I just send other documents later, then how the people at the department recognise me? My question sounds like silly though.

I will do my best to get ready for the visa here! :) Thank you very very much for helping me, Erica.


Good night!

Venus
 
#6 ·
Hi Venus,

Sorry for the delay; a few busy days there.

As for the form 147, I wouldn't worry too much how you present the information, just make sure it's all there. If you have any holes, I think they will find them, so it's best to print it however and include it however you see fit.

I looked back at my IMAN plan just to confirm the benefits. I got this plan when I was here originally on a 457 visa 1.5 years ago, and I had applied before I applied for my visa. They are used to that. You have to sign up, and you pay the first payment, but I believe they will refund that if you are not granted your visa. As for the specific benefits, my basic plan only covers labour services but does not cover obstetrics or new born services. They may have changed the plans since, but read the fine print or ask them specifically. Also, all pregnancy-related coverage requires a 12 month waiting period, so you can't claim those services until you have been with them for 1 full year. However, if you are partner has a Medicare card, I believe once the baby is born, he/she can have coverage other than from your plan (as he/she will be a NZ citizen), but also look into that.

And when you lodge your visa, you will get an email the day it is received and in this email they will provide you a case/client number. You can put that number on all documents that you place in the mail (or send electronically) and they add them to your file. So no worries there.

Good luck, it sounds like you are close to lodging. It feels good to put it all in the mail!

Erica
 
#7 ·
Hi Erica and Venus,
Thanks so much for this post, it's answered many questions I had in my mind in regards to completing the form 147. I'm American here in Australia already on a tourist visa. Just getting ready to make the appointment with Medibank for the health test. The police check I wasn't sure if they needed it from Australia or in NYC where I live. How did you get the info as to where to send the request? I'd rather have proof that I sent it when lodging my application next week. Thanks for your help.
Cheers,
Liz
 
#8 ·
Hi Liz,


Thank you for your reply.

I got my police check from Australia and South Korea as I have stay in both of counties over 1 year. I guess you might need to get the police check all the counties you've been over 1 year. I am still waiting for the police check from South Korea, and I've got one from Australia a few days ago. It doesn't take so long to get Australian one, it takes ages to get Korean one though.

I got the health check last Tuesday, and I just got a letter from Medibank health check centre today. South Korea is one of the high risk counties, so I just booked and took the health check before lodging my visa application. But if you have already Erica's replies, you might see that you don't need to get the health check as you are American. The US is one of the low risk counties.

I will help you like Erica did. :) Her posts are just amazing!

Cheers!


Venus
 
#9 ·
Hi Liz,

No worries. You are going to need to get a police check from the FBI and the AFP in Australia (if you have lived here, not sure about the duration though, maybe a tourist visa doesn't count as "living"). As for the FBI, I was fortunately home for Christmas last year and ended up getting my fingerprints done on the FBI card at a county police station in Ohio. Two of my friends here who got their fingerprints done in Australia both had their prints rejected by the FBI as unreadable, because they had used ink instead of the electronic prints they now use in the States. So if you can find a place to do the electronic ones, go for that. But this takes time, even for me, it took nearly 2 months to get the report. Have a read of these instructions:
FBI - Submitting a Criminal History Summary to the FBI

You've got to get the prints, and then mail them to the FBI, and then it takes 5-6 weeks from then for them to process and they mail the report to you.

If you have lived here, you also need a police check from Australia, and for that you need to go through the AFP: National Police Checks - Australian Federal Police

For that one, you don't need to do the finger prints, just the police check. I uploaded a copy of my passport and driver license and sent it all to them electronically, and they mail the outcome to you. They are much faster than the FBI. I think I got the certificate within 2 weeks.

Don't worry about sending an incomplete application. I sent in my initial application on Feb. 1 (with everything but the police check and health exam), and was notified on April 20th that they had finally gotten to my application. That's 2.5 months in which you have to send the required documents, during which they don't even open your file! They send you instructions when you lodge how to send additional documents.

Also, you may not need a medical exam. I have been on 2 types of visas, the 457 and the 461, and have worked in a hospital in Australia and I never once was asked to complete a medical exam, TB test, nothing. If you aren't worried about the cash, then do it, but it's okay to wait until they ask for it, as it is pricey.

Good luck - feel free to ask any questions.

Erica
 
#13 ·
Sorry for this late reply.

I have lodged my application this Tuesday. And I just got an email from Immigration that they have got my application today.

I was not able to send a police check from Korea and I did not know that I had to send my partner's statutory declaration. So I should ask my partner to fill in the form and get a sign from Justice of Peace.

How is it going by the way?


Venus
 
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