Raymond Tan discusses how best to ensure your special someone is, and stays, Australia bound.

Being in love can be fraught with difficulty, emotional stress, and insecurity. Being in love with a foreigner can be even more even so, and that’s assuming they speak the same language.

It was with great surprise that I was informed of the topic for the next issue of Perth Woman magazine. Readers who have followed the articles I have written will know that I have dealt mainly with what happens after the romance dies, so the focus of my articles has been on divorces and family break-ups!

I quite often deal with the issue of romance in my work as a registered migration agent and I have acted for many clients who deal with the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) when they try to bring loved ones into the country. These clients are applying for a spouse visa on behalf of their partners.

From my experience, DIAC’s basic concerns when deciding spouse applications are as follows:
• that the marriage is not a real marriage;
• that somebody is paying a local resident in Australia to enable them to enter the country;
• that an Australian citizen is being duped into marrying somebody who does not intend to remain in the relationship for the long term.

In their daily work, DIAC come across many cases where they encounter the above issues, so unfortunately the starting point for DIAC is one of mistrust.

You may have a loved one that you have been communicating with on the Internet, or perhaps there is a special person you met while on holiday and have stayed in touch with.  These long distance relationships are very difficult to maintain on their own, I myself have been through that frustration. But if you have decided you want to move the relationship to the next stage, then here are some helpful tips on what comes next.

"Photographs of you as a couple together in all sorts of environments can strengthen an application and support your statements."

Firstly you have to make sure that when you file the application with DIAC, the right information is given. The most important information that DIAC requires is confirmation that the relationship is genuine. Keep on file as much information as possible to verify your relationship, such as records of all telephone conversations; letters, postcards or birthday cards sent to each other; copies of all email messages and anything else you can possibly imagine.

DIAC also interested in your financial position as a couple, so proof of bank statements showing the joining and merging of income and expenses are great pieces of evidence, along with confirmation that you have rented or lived together such as lease agreements, or even letters sent to spouses by government offices. Photographs of you as a couple together in all sorts of environments can strengthen an application and support your statements.

Above all, it is important that you appoint a migration agent to assist you in your application. A migration agent is experienced in preparing or submitting what DIAC requires to enable it to make a proper decision. The migration agent you employ should hopefully organise a mock interview before you are interviewed by the officers from DIAC, as this is where a lot of applicants can make mistakes. A simple and innocent issue regarding when you first met can become a major issue in the eyes of the interviewing DIAC officer.

So what has this article got to do with romance?

Well, I pride myself in being able to put down in writing the feelings of my clients when they file their application for a spouse visa. Many clients are not familiar with putting down their feelings or their thoughts in writing, or perhaps are unsure of how to word their statements in order to achieve the best possible outcome. When DIAC sees an application that is devoid of any emotion, they are less likely to believe that the love you feel for your partner is true. A good migration agent should ensure that the story that you are telling the department is accurate and believable.

"One of the requirements is a statutory declaration from both parties outlining how their relationship developed and where the relationship is going."

When your application is filed, one of the requirements is a statutory declaration from both parties outlining how their relationship developed and where the relationship is going. After reading a statutory declaration prepared by myself on behalf of a client, his comments were “I did not know that I love my wife so much until I read what you wrote”.
 
Based on my experience, I have been able to put down the romantic aspect of any application to DIAC. If that romantic aspect is missing from any application, it may result in DIAC believing that the relationship is not genuine.
Hence if you hope to go forward with the relationship that you have been nurturing on the Internet, or marry that dreamboat you met on your holiday overseas, see a migration agent to make sure that they assist you in being united with your loved one in Australia as soon as possible.

*Raymond Tan is a registered Migration Agent
(Migration Agent Registration No. 0321975)



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