Need help for marrying & moving to Australia

Hi everyone! New to the site and hoping to find some answers. Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Here's the situation:
I'm Canadian and my boyfriend is Australian and lives & works in Australia. He's got a good job and owns his own home in Victoria. We want to get married and for me to move to Australia. He is 29 and I'm almost 33.
He is coming to visit me for Christmas here in BC, Canada, but we're going on a separate holiday in January to California with a side trip to Las Vegas to get married.
What I need to know is what do I need in way of visas, etc. (my passport is up to date) so that I can go back to Australia with my boyfriend as his wife? He is my sponsor for a spouse visa, but do I apply for it now or after we get married? And do I apply for it while I'm still here in Canada or once I go to Australia? But I need to know what I need to go back to Australia right away with him at the end of January, if possible.
Help, please!

I can't answer your directly since I have no experience with this type of visa. But have a look at the immigration website for Australia. I had a quick look and it looks like there are several visa options:

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/family/ ... utside.htm

You'll have to check out the requirements for yourself to see if you meet them or not. If you're still stuck have a look at this site:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=32

This link is by far the best website I've come across for getting immigration help for Australia. I'm sure you could find some answers there.

I've checked out the immigration website and have printed out the forms I need to apply for a (temporary)spouse visa, etc.
What I need to know now is if I can go back & forth to Australia on just a visitor's visa until the spouse visa is approved so I can live there more permanently?

Do you need to be outside Australia when the visa is granted? Spouse type visas are generally granted much faster so you could probably wait until you get it.

However if it's going to take longer or if you need to be there right away then you should be able to travel, as long as they know you are going to be in the country. I really don't know so don't take my word for it.

What I would do is called the immigration numbers listed on the form for help. If you tell them what visa you're applying for they should be able to tell you the rules. You can actually call the Australian Immigration office in Canada and they could answer the question and maybe even tell you how long it should take.

Here is the Canada office contact info:
http://www.immi.gov.au/contacts/oversea ... /index.htm
I would definitely call them, it'll be cheaper and much faster since you won't be on hold forever.

I've checked out the immigration website and have printed out the forms I need to apply for a (temporary)spouse visa, etc.
What I need to know now is if I can go back & forth to Australia on just a visitor's visa until the spouse visa is approved so I can live there more permanently?

I have just gone through this, so let me help you.

If you apply for the visa outside of Australia, you must be outside of Australia when it is approved/denied. If you are in Australia and DIMA finds out, your approval will be rescinded. Same goes the other way, if you are in the country when you apply, you must be in Australia when it is approved.

Now.you can come into Australia as a visitor for six months with your boyfriend/husband. If you are here on a visitors visa, you cannot work, claim medicare etc. If you were to come in as a visitor and apply for the temporary spousal visa, you would be granted a Bridging Visa A which would allow you to stay in the country on the restrictions of your current visa, until such time as the spousal visa was decided on. You cannot leave the country on that visa.well you can, but you cannot come back in and your visa application will be binned. You can, however, apply for a Bridging Visa B which will give you a three month window to come and go out of Australia.but be prepared to be taken aside at the airport.

It can take anywhere from 3 months to a year for a temporary spousal application to be processed as you have to get clearance from the RCMP and this takes FOREVER! I applied for my clearance check in February and it was finally sent to me in August. I would suggest getting this done ASAP to shorten the wait after you apply for your spousal visa. Check the RCMP website on how to do this. The police check CANNOT be from your local police it MUST be RCMP and only RCMP.

Start gathering everything you have to prove your relationship. Create a photo album, track down any plane tickets, rental agreements or property you share and get proof of it all. The more you have, the faster and easier it will be to get your visa.

I think that pretty much covers it all.but if you have anymore questions, please feel free to ask.

That is very good information that you gave. Sometimes people don't realize just how long a visa takes. The spousal visa has alot attached to it, and you have to prove you have a serious relationship, so keep everything. The RCMP site states that it can take 120 days to get the criminal records check. Mine took 65 days, I was lucky. But most of all do not try to fool the Australian Immigration by saying you didn't know etc, cos they do catch up with you and will not hesitate to remove you if you are not living under the conditions of your visa. Jo

I am a Aussie and my hubby went through the whole Australian spousal visa process. Even though I am sure my circumstances are different to yours (we have been married for more than a handful of years etc). but I am happy to say the whole process took less then a month to get his Spouse permanent visa (subclass 100) approved.

Regarding RCMP clearance-

If you are in the Ottawa area (or can get there) I would highly recommend just going to the RCMP headquarters here in person. My Canadian husband did this when he did his application earlier this year, and he dropped by there during his lunch break one day and it took less than 20 minutes to get!

I am in shock it has taken others many months to receive their RCMP clearances via mail.

Good luck with everything!

How far along have you managed to get in your move to Australia? I have just come back from a visit, during which i became engaged - and am about to start the process to get a "Prospective Marriage Visa" - once granted you are able to live and work in Australia - and are required to be married within 9 months - and then have to apply for the spousal visa. Perhaps a little more of a process than getting married first and then just applying for the spousal visa, but it is a viable option if you are trying to move to Australia to be with your boyfriend before your marriage.

hello i hope this is not too late for u and u have not made the stupid mistake I have.
1. apply for prospective spouse
2. it will take time(6months)
3. dont marry outside of oz
4. u need clearances to say u are legally allow to marry

Hi everyone,

I’m a Canadian citizen living in Ontario Canada and my future wife is an Australian citizen living in Sydney.
• We are planning to get engaged this December (2008) in Australia.
• After the engagement ceremony I will return to Canada and will work for a year before going back to Australia for our marriage. (i.e. we’ll get married in December 2009).
• After marriage, we are going to be settling here in Canada. (i.e. she'll move to Canada)

Now here are the questions that I have:

- When should I sponsor her? During engagement or should we wait until we are married ?
- How do we start the process?
- Is the process suppose to be only from my side (Canada) or should she also talk to the Australian immigration?
- What kind of sponsorship does this fall under?
- What is the entire RCMP clearance issue – is that needed in our case?

Can someone please tell me exactly what to do first and how to go about doing everything step by step? Any help will be appreciated. Thanks a million.