Unmarried Partner Visa - Australian Citizen

[SamH]

I am an Australian citizen and have been living in Australia with my Irish partner for the past three years. We intend to move to the UK in the next few months but are uncertain as to which type of visa I should apply for. We are aware of the existence of an Unmarried Partner Visa and know that I would be eligible for it. However, we are uncertain of the following:

1. Is there another type of visa that I can apply for because my Partner is an Irish citizen?

2. Once the visa is granted, will I receive immediate working rights?

3. Can we apply for the visa from Australia or should be wait either until my partner or both of us are in the UK?

4. In general, what are the processing times for the Unmarried Partner Visa (or other type of visa if applicable)?

5. In what approximate region should my Partner's salary be in order to demonstrate that she would be able to support me (we intend to settle in London)?

I would be very grateful if anyone could give us some assistance with any or all of the above queries.

Cheers

[JAJ]

I am an Australian citizen and have been living in Australia with my Irish partner for the past three years. We intend to move to the UK in the next few months but are uncertain as to which type of visa I should apply for. We are aware of the existence of an Unmarried Partner Visa and know that I would be eligible for it. However, we are uncertain of the following:

1. Is there another type of visa that I can apply for because my Partner is an Irish citizen?

2. Once the visa is granted, will I receive immediate working rights?

3. Can we apply for the visa from Australia or should be wait either until my partner or both of us are in the UK?

4. In general, what are the processing times for the Unmarried Partner Visa (or other type of visa if applicable)?

5. In what approximate region should my Partner's salary be in order to demonstrate that she would be able to support me (we intend to settle in London)?

I would be very grateful if anyone could give us some assistance with any or all of the above queries.

Cheers

1. Yes. An "EEA Family Permit" should also work. But be careful about this. It will take five years to get UK permanent residence, compared to two years on a spouse visa. There's also more scope for problems getting permanent residence if the EEA partner is not working.

2. Yes.

3, 4, 5. Don't know.

Start at http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

A few other pointers:

- What's your partner's status in Australia (Australian citizen, permanent resident, temporary resident etc?)

- Do you plan to have children born in the UK?

[SamH]

Thanks very much for your reply!

My partner is a temporary resident in Australia, being sponsored by her work.

We would plan to have children in the UK or Ireland, but not in the short term.

Cheers

[oscgv]

1. Is there another type of visa that I can apply for because my Partner is an Irish citizen?
-I'd say unmarried partner visa which will give you 2 years with right to work

2. Once the visa is granted, will I receive immediate working rights?
-Depending on the type of visa, for example if you apply for a fiance visa, you can't work till you get married, if you are granted an unmarried partner visa, you can work right away

3. Can we apply for the visa from Australia or should be wait either until my partner or both of us are in the UK?
-Yes, from australia, you can't go to UK and then change your visa while in UK, it HAS to be applied from austalia so you enter UK holding your visa already, be it unmarried parnter, fiance, etc

4. In general, what are the processing times for the Unmarried Partner Visa (or other type of visa if applicable)?
-Not sure, check the rules, www.homeoffice.gov.uk

5. In what approximate region should my Partner's salary be in order to demonstrate that she would be able to support me (we intend to settle in London)?
-Again not sure, check the rules, hope this helps!

[toby]

Just to add to the last post.

In some circumstances (ie from some visa's) you can change in country, I changed from Working Holiday Visa to Unmarried Partner in the UK...

[SamH]

Thanks again for your helpful replies...

Is it necessary that my partner to be settled in the UK before I apply for the unmarried partner visa or would it be possible for me to apply for this visa before she departs for the UK? Would the same be the case if I applied for the EEA family permit?

[oscgv]

Just to add to the last post.

In some circumstances (ie from some visa's) you can change in country, I changed from Working Holiday Visa to Unmarried Partner in the UK...

Toby could you explain a bit more? When was this? Thanks

[toby]

Yep. Basically, my girlfriend has both UK/Aus passports - we met in Australia and lived together for about a year before we decided to move to the UK. (May '04 - May 05)

I got a Working Holiday Visa in Australia and we travelled over, spending a 3 months (June-August '05) travelling in between. We then lived together in the UK for 9 months (August 05 - June 06), meeting the 2 year requirement. At that stage I applied from with the UK (in person at Croydon) for a 2yr Unmarried Partner visa.

This was successful and I've been living here (with my girlfriend) since then. I've been through passport control maybe 6 times since then and have never had a problem.

[JAJ]

Thanks very much for your reply!

My partner is a temporary resident in Australia, being sponsored by her work.

We would plan to have children in the UK or Ireland, but not in the short term.

A few things you need to know:

1. Children born in the UK with an Irish citizen parent are British citizens by birth (parent "settled" in the UK). However there have been problems at the Passport Office where, anecdotally at least, front-line officials don't know this aspect of the law very well. You may need to get a letter from the Home Office Immigration & Nationality Directorate confirming the child's British citizenship.

2. If you later plan to move to the Republic of Ireland, it would be strongly recommended to get British citizenship first. Doing so would avoid dealing with the hassles of the Irish immigration system. It would also mean that Ireland-born children would be British citizens (by descent).