De Facto Spouse Visa => Permanent

the dee

I'm here on a de facto spouse visa which has given me 2 years provisional residency which then, so I've been told, should become permanent residency. Provided of course, I'm still with my partner/sponsor.

I've been here a year now and am starting to get worried about the second part of this visa application. I kind of assumed it would just be processed for me, they'd check that I'm still with Mr. Dee and say 'Here you go, have permanent residency'. Has anyone gone through the second phase of this visa process and know what's involved? MAJD was saying something about it at the Melbourne beers but I can't remember most of the details. Is it pretty straightforward? Or will they need all the same kinds of evidence of our relationship as last time?

We have both of our names on a lease, and plenty of mail coming to the same address. Does anyone have any more information?

The Sweeper

Hey there - the dept of immigration will contact you two months before the two year anniversary of the granting of your de facto visa. You will need to be at the same address you gave them as your intended destination address on arrival at Australia. If your address has changed, email them on:

act.ssp.processing@immi.gov.au

With your change of address details (and identifiers like name and date of birth and visa number or passport number).

For instance, my visa was granted in February 2007. I arrived in Australia April 2007. My two year prompt for permanency came in December 2008, two months before the two year anniversary of granting my visa (February 2009).

The second part of the application is similar to the first, but not as intensive. You will need to complete a statutory declaration of your relationship, which needs to be signed and dated by both you and your spouse. Each section of that stat dec will require supporting evidence.

For instance: "Give an account of your current living situation. Support that account with evidence of your living situation, e.g. utility bills addressed to you both, a joint lease etc."

On top of the statutory declaration, you will be required to get a police clearance check from the Aussie Police at Canberra. This takes up to 30 days to process, so apply for it as soon as the second stage letter comes through. It also costs some money - $40 or something I think - just get a postal order for that amount and submit it with the completed form requesting a police check. (The form is part of the second stage 'pack').

There is another form - a character assessment form, on which you complete all of your personal details, including details of names, dates of birth and countries of residence of your immediate family; a list of every country you've visited in the last 10 years, with dates from and to and reasons why; a list of every job you've held in the last 10 years and finally your full schooling details. Tedious form, about 14 pages.

What you submit back to the second stage processing centre is the statutory declaration, the character assessment form, your police clearance letter and supporting documentation - bank statements, joint leases, utility bills in both your names, evidence of holidays taken together like joint plane ticket bookings, and a few pictures of the two of you celebrating events with family and friends.

The second stage application takes up to 60 days to process, at or before which time they'll contact you if they require further information.

dSTAR

the dee wrote: »

Or will they need all the same kinds of evidence of our relationship as last time?

We have both of our names on a lease, and plenty of mail coming to the same address. Does anyone have any more information?

They will need further evidence that you are living together, joint bank accounts, holidays taken together, long terms plans, referees and such.

It is a pretty straight forward process and not like the movie Green Card where they come into your house and check your wardrobes, bathroom cabinets and such

[Edit: MAJD has pretty much covered everything. Its been a while for me and I suffer from a form of selective memory

the dee

Thanks for all the info guys. I'm going to let them know about the change of address now. Seeing as they had my Brisbane address and I've been living in Melbourne since July last year, do you think they'll hold it against me that I didn't tell them sooner?

the dee

Minesajackdaniels wrote: »

a list of every country you've visited in the last 10 years, with dates from and to and reasons why

:eek: Really? I don't think I have that information. Like weekends in London when I was 18? I don't even know what year I went to some countries in

The Sweeper

Re the change of address, if the Brisbane address was somewhere from which mail could and would have been forwarded to you, make that point. You can say "Started in Brisbane, which was my best friend's place, moved around a bit, now in Melbourne for forseeable future, here's the address" type thing.

The countries you've visited - I spent a vast amount of time for the five to six years I was in England going over and back to Ireland - I just listed that as, for instance, 2002 - 2007, multiple trips between England and Ireland to visit friends and family. The other ones, better be sure you have dates for any trip where your passport was stamped. Otherwise, just list as best you can.