Marisawright

NO, it is not a temporary visa. It is a PROVISIONAL visa. That's an important difference, so it's important to use the correct terminology. I don't think there has been any announcement about them yet.

I know that. But 489 and 491 visas are not temporary visas, they are provisional visas. I think they just haven't thought it through yet and there will be more detail coming out soon. They've already said that those with temporary partner visas will be allowed in, for instance, and that wasn't mentioned on the TV.

The question is, will they be allowed to enter the country, or does their 143 visa not count as "permanent" because it hasn't been activated yet?

You heard the press release wording. I'm sure there will be more detailed wording that covers all the small print, which we don't know yet.

No, they're not turning flights back, but there are indeed people stuck en route, because their connecting flight got cancelled before they could get on it. There was someone on the news this morning who was on holiday elsewhere in South America, got as far as Lima and is now stuck.

Ordinary home deliveries are suspended temporarily because panic buying has affected stocks. However there is a special exemption for people who need to self-isolate. You just need to ring the number on the Coles or Woolworths website.

I think that's a big assumption. I'm sure all the migration agents are scrambling to get the detailed wording from Immigration and will be posting soon to clarify the situation for those who haven't activated their visas yet.

No, because to travel as a citizen, you must have an Australian passport. To apply for a passport, you must have the certificate.

...on the other hand, there is no guarantee your employer will be willing to sponsor you when the time comes - or even that you'll still be eligible when the time comes. So personally, if I could afford to apply now, I would apply now.

The fee to apply to FIRB is a few thousand dollars which is not too bad. It's the stamp duty which is the killer. For instance, for a property worth $500.000, an ordinary South Australian would pay $21,000 in stamp duty. Because you're a "foreign investor", your stamp duty will be $56,000.

It won't matter if they are processing applications or not. You are not legally a citizen until you've had the ceremony and been given your certificate. Your only option is to apply for a RRV.

You will have to declare it as income on your Australian tax return. I suggest getting professional advice, but the likelihood is that you'll lose a big chunk of it to the Australian tax man. You may lose less in tax if you take it as an ongoing pension rather than a lump sum.

Indeed. After all, it is possible for couples to move in together even though they're not 100% committed. If you move in with a separated man and he makes no attempt to start divorce proceedings, Immigration may take that to mean he's not serious about the relationship yet. So getting the divorce initiated is crucial.

Sorry, I meant you couldn't register the relationship until he's divorced. So there is no way to get around the 12 month requirement - and the clock won't start ticking until the date you move in together. If you move in soon, then by the time you have to leave next March, you'll have 10 or 11 months of solid evidence of a genuine relationship, so it won't matter if you have to leave. Like I said, Immigration understands that even married couples need to live apart sometimes. You just have to explain that your visa ran out or that you had to move to study elsewhere. Make sure you have some concrete proof of the date you move in. Then start making changes to your finances to show you're a "real" couple (e.g. get your name on the lease, utility bills). A joint bank account is a good idea, although you can still keep your separate accounts and use the joint one as a "kitty" for shared expenses. The failure rate for partner visas is high, because there are so many fraudulent applications that Immigration treats every application with suspicion - even the straightforward ones. You will have two "unusual" aspects to your application - his separation and not living together for part of the time - so I would be inclined to play it safe and hire a migration agent (Paul is a good one), to make sure you present a watertight case. But that won't be till this time next year! Good luck with it.

"De facto" means "the equivalent of marriage". If you are just dating, even if you are 100% committed to each other, you don't qualify as de facto. I think Immigration is rather old-fashioned in not recognising that a separated person can start a new permanent relationship, but that's the way it is. If your partner is serious about your relationship, then he needs to start divorce proceedings asap. Then once the divorce comes through, you can register the relationship - but you'll still have to provide a lot of proof that your relationship is genuine when you apply for the visa. Immigration recognises that couples can't always live together even if they are de facto (because of work or visa problems for example) - but if you're living in the same town but not living in the same house, that would be a red flag to say that you're not really a "married" couple yet.

I think everyone expected that would be the case, because the whole point of the 491 was to stop the abuse of the 190.

What a silly piece of advice. Australia has stamp duty. If you buy a property, there is no way you would make enough capital gain in six months to offset the cost of conveyancing costs and stamp duty

See my reply on your other post.

You're probably aware that you need 65 points to be allowed to apply, but the process is competitive. Only the candidates with the highest points get picked. For some time now, there have been so many applicants with 90+ points, everyone else simply languishes in the queue until their application expires. https://www.iscah.com/will-get-189-invites-march-2020-estimates/

You can deposit. Not sure if you can withdraw though.

I've just done some thorough searching and I am 99.9% sure this is fake news.

Paul is a very experienced migration agent so listen to him. If you leave the country without a RRV then you have no right to return. Not worth the risk.

The only thing you might be missing is that you have a limited window to get here. Check the paperwork to see when you must arrive by. If you don't arrive by that date, you lose the visa. Other than that, you're good to go. Your only other problem might be getting a flight to get here!

You can't renew a bridging visa. They got a bridging visa ("BVA") when they applied for the aged parent visa, and it stays valid until they get the permanent visa (or, more likely, until they die - since the aged parent visa has such a long waiting time). What they must do is apply for a separate bridging visa ("BVB") every time they want to leave Australia, e.g. to go on holiday. There are pros and cons to it. Legally you're always a temporary visitor, even though you're living in Australia. That means you can't work, and have to get special permission if you want to buy a home. Brits are lucky because they are covered by Medicare for essential treatment, but they're not entitled to any benefits (which may not sound like an issue, but what about aged care?). The big risk is that if they are still alive when they get to the head of the queue, they'll have to pass a medical. If they fail the medical, they have to go back to the UK - where they won't be entitled to treatment under the NHS because they've been away too long, ditto benefits. Also, of course, they don't have a home in the UK and will have to start from scratch again, not an easy thing if you're in your 70's or 80's.

I had to look it up because it's never referred to by its official name, we just refer to the government guarantee. Apparently it's called the FCS (Financial Claims Scheme).