Partnervisa93 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 Hi, So, I have been with my partner for a bare year as a defacto couple. I moved in with my partner, the end of February last year into the house he had been living in for the past 4 years. (2 weeks ago we have moved into a new house, both of us have signed the lease and both of us are on the bills) We have received a back-dated copy of the lease with my name on it from the end of February last year till this year. Despite the Lease, My partner and I have very little official documents to back up our cohabitation as I was getting my mail sent to my brothers house up until November and I'm not on any bills. We have done so much over the last year, such as travel to Japan, met and developed strong relationships with each others family, road trips, concerts.. the lot! As I am soon going to be running out of time on my WHV, I need to start making decisions on the next step. My Question is, would the evidence I have at my disposal, supported by great 888 Stat decs etc be enough? Or is the lack of official proof of our cohabitation going to be too much to ignore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 32 minutes ago, Partnervisa93 said: Hi, So, I have been with my partner for a bare year as a defacto couple. I moved in with my partner, the end of February last year into the house he had been living in for the past 4 years. (2 weeks ago we have moved into a new house, both of us have signed the lease and both of us are on the bills) We have received a back-dated copy of the lease with my name on it from the end of February last year till this year. Despite the Lease, My partner and I have very little official documents to back up our cohabitation as I was getting my mail sent to my brothers house up until November and I'm not on any bills. We have done so much over the last year, such as travel to Japan, met and developed strong relationships with each others family, road trips, concerts.. the lot! As I am soon going to be running out of time on my WHV, I need to start making decisions on the next step. My Question is, would the evidence I have at my disposal, supported by great 888 Stat decs etc be enough? Or is the lack of official proof of our cohabitation going to be too much to ignore? It doesn't sound like a lot to go on, if you've only one lease document, but if you could also show any joint insurance policies, annotated bank accounts showing sharing of bills and groceries, that might help. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partnervisa93 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Thank you for your quick response. Do you think because the address is different on the statements, would that look risky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 1 hour ago, Partnervisa93 said: Thank you for your quick response. Do you think because the address is different on the statements, would that look risky? Potentially depending on how you present the information, ie your name may not have been on the bills - mine wasn't - but I had a monthly transfer of funds from my own account to my partner's, thus evidencing my share of the bills and annotated and referred to this in my statement and in the annotated bank statements. Your own personal statements may cover off some of the reasons but its hard to tell whether Immigration will accept this in lieu of a watertight well evidenced application. Have you spoken to an agent to double check this at all? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Partnervisa93 Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Yeah I have discussed this with an agent, whom would be a friend of ours, she seemed to think that if we put together a convincing argument of our commitment and tried to get as much info together with the lease we should be okay! I just don’t have 100% confidence in her having given an unbiased opinion! Thank you for your help, it’s much appreciated 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beffers Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 13 minutes ago, Partnervisa93 said: Yeah I have discussed this with an agent, whom would be a friend of ours, she seemed to think that if we put together a convincing argument of our commitment and tried to get as much info together with the lease we should be okay! I just don’t have 100% confidence in her having given an unbiased opinion! Thank you for your help, it’s much appreciated I'd be getting a second unbias opinion. Its too important to risk! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raul Senise Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 12 hours ago, Partnervisa93 said: Hi, So, I have been with my partner for a bare year as a defacto couple. I moved in with my partner, the end of February last year into the house he had been living in for the past 4 years. (2 weeks ago we have moved into a new house, both of us have signed the lease and both of us are on the bills) We have received a back-dated copy of the lease with my name on it from the end of February last year till this year. Despite the Lease, My partner and I have very little official documents to back up our cohabitation as I was getting my mail sent to my brothers house up until November and I'm not on any bills. We have done so much over the last year, such as travel to Japan, met and developed strong relationships with each others family, road trips, concerts.. the lot! As I am soon going to be running out of time on my WHV, I need to start making decisions on the next step. My Question is, would the evidence I have at my disposal, supported by great 888 Stat decs etc be enough? Or is the lack of official proof of our cohabitation going to be too much to ignore? Although evidence of trips, concerts and friendships helps, this is not strong evidence of a de facto relationship. People who are dating or even just friend can provide such evidence. Form 888s and statements are ancillary and by themselves do not prove a de facto relationship. The fact that your mail was going to a different address for much of the time you are claiming is very unhelpful. You need to provide strong, verifiable evidence of cohabitation and shared financial responsibility. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) 12 hours ago, Beffers said: It doesn't sound like a lot to go on, if you've only one lease document, but if you could also show any joint insurance policies, annotated bank accounts showing sharing of bills and groceries, that might help. Good luck. If you moved in with your ‘de-facto’ partner in Feb, why was your mail going to your brothers for the next 9 months? That’s the worry, it doesn’t make sense and that’s surely what the case officer will think. Did you not change the address on your driving license? It’s law that you do (the address on your license must be your current home address) Why would you want things such as bank statements/correspondence/important documents going to your brothers house when you live with your partner? I can’t imagine many people have everything sent to their brothers when they don’t live there. You are going to have to come up with a good reason why you have no trace of living there. You may not have been named on any bills but surely you contributed? Done a bank transfer/standing order to your partner once a month. That may help if you have a genuine reason for using someone else’s address rather than your actual address. Edited January 30, 2019 by Tulip1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 (edited) 15 hours ago, Partnervisa93 said: So, I have been with my partner for a bare year as a defacto couple. I moved in with my partner, the end of February last year into the house he had been living in for the past 4 years. (2 weeks ago we have moved into a new house, both of us have signed the lease and both of us are on the bills) We have received a back-dated copy of the lease with my name on it from the end of February last year till this year. Despite the Lease, My partner and I have very little official documents to back up our cohabitation as I was getting my mail sent to my brothers house up until November and I'm not on any bills. Reading between the lines, I wonder if you really were de facto, even though you were living together? It's understandable - you're on a WHV, you don't have a place to stay, so when you start a relationship it's only natural that you'll move in together. It doesn't mean you think it's forever (which is what de facto means - "the equivalent of marriage"). Your actions suggest you weren't sure it was permanent until late last year, because you didn't redirect your mail, or get yourself added to the lease, or make any formal arrangements to share the costs of the household. I'd say you need to hire a good agent. Edited January 30, 2019 by Marisawright 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tulip1 Posted January 30, 2019 Share Posted January 30, 2019 You’ve said your WHV will run out soon and yet you’ve just taken out a lease on a new place 2 weeks ago and you are named on all the bills. Either you are very confident you’ll be able to stay or your partner is happy to pay it all by himself when you leave. You didn’t do this for almost a year yet when your visa is almost up you put it all in motion. It doesn’t make sense. I think you need to contact an agent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.