urgent info needed re living in Sydney

[DelGirl]

A friend has to consider work options and only has a week to decide. One of the placements is Sydney. They are a gay couple, not married. The partner who hasnt got the job is English. How long could he stay and would he get a permit for voluntary or paid work. Would it make a difference if they were married?

Tia

Bump

?

Have a look at the immi.gov.au website and british expats

Will depend on what visa the worker is on and how long the relationship has been going/lived together.

Gay marriage hasn't happened here yet and is highly unlikely under the current shower. But any defacto relationship where you can prove cohabitation for at lease two years makes you a partner in their terms.

They should look at moving to Newtown.

Sorry not very coherent have to go to bed now

Thats a great start, thanks so much.

:)

Anyone up yet?

Bump

If they have been living together for 2 plus years she shoud get defecto visa which would allow her to work if not depending on age look at working holiday visa

Thats good to read thanks. Yes together for 8 years or more. Not sure what visa the working partner will be on but its a 3 or 4 year foreign embassy posting

How long would the working holiday visa last do you know?

It's hard for any of us to tell you, because it's complicated. The visa type makes a huge difference. If it's a foreign embassy posting, I'd expect the person who is offered the job to have access to this sort of information?

Same sex unions are recognised as de facto over here, with the same rights as a hetero couple, but gay marriage doesn't yet exist, so that bit's not an issue.

Yes I'm just trying to help as the time issue is rediculous and there are 4 placements to consider with a week to decide! With a commute they barely have the time. Thanks, this info will help.

I think the working holiday visa is a year.

So the working partner need a visa as well? His partner obviously does, being English. If the working partner needs a visa, then it complicates it further but as has been said, they will be considered as a de facto couple.
Usually if the working partner needs a visa then their sponsorship is from their employer; but the employer is unlikely to sponsor the partner to work as well, and the partner's visa would be dependent on the working partner's visa, so if he lost his job, they would both have to leave.

I think this will answer the questions:
www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/186.aspx

IF the job is on an employer sponsored visa, so long as the working partner includes his de facto partner on that visa as family (de facto partners are accepted) then he will also be able to work while in Australia.

The working partner is Italian, not sure if he needs a visa or not as he's a diplomat. He may already have this info by now but said I would ask. Its crazy that they only have a week to make such a huge decision!

Just to be even clearer, this is the relevant section:

This information is for people who have already been granted an Employer Nomination Scheme visa (subclass 186). It explains your rights and obligations.

What this visa lets you do
This is a permanent residence visa. It lets you and any family members who have also been granted this visa to:

• stay in Australia indefinitely
• work and study in Australia
• enrol in Medicare, Australia's scheme for health-related care and expenses
• apply for Australian citizenship (if you are eligible)
• sponsor eligible relatives for permanent residence
• travel to and from Australia for five years from the date the visa is granted (after that time, you will need a resident return visa or another visa to return to Australia).

Ah. Diplomat could make it harder again - surely the embassy should be able to clear that up thought?! You'd think they'd know this stuff...

I meant to highlight the "and family members" in that post but it seems it's somewhat irrelevant in your friends' case - might be useful for anyone else reading though.

Thanks so much for this :)

Yes you would think so! Know I mean.

Try this one as well - I can't see that it explicitly states that partners of consular officers can work, nor that they can't - but they do need to be included on the visa, or they'll have to get their own.
www.dfat.gov.au/protocol/protocol_guidelines/04.html

I think quick turn around times are the norm for diplomatic postings.

He should really phone Australia house and find out. He cna then talk thought the diplomatic visa options including the spousal visa because a regular spousal visa can take 7 months . He should have assistance form his employer however.

The diplomat should also phone his own people and ask them whether or not they have included his partner on their submission for diplomatic visa to Australia - because if they haven't, then the partner will have to get a separate one = bad move, as Hazchem says, it can take several months.

The other things is lots of countries include a pay for the trailing spouse as part of the package depending on how high up the person is.

The link Thumbwitch provided is good. The visa types and application are obviously really different to normal working visas.