Partner (Spouse) Visa Applications and certified copies
I have written several articles about Partner (Spouse) Visa applications in the past, yet not once have I explained “certified copies”. In speaking to several people lately who are submitting Partner Visa applications I have realised the concept of certified copies of documents is a mystery to many people.
Just photocopying your birth certificate, marriage certificate and other required documents and sending those copies in with your application is NOT sufficient. Certified copies are required in most cases and it will be specified when required. I have a feeling applicants and sponsors ignore the word “certified” because the term is unfamiliar to them.
A certified copy is a copy (usually these days a photocopy) of an original document, that has on it an endorsement or certification that it is a true copy of the original document of which it is a copy. It does not certify that the original document is genuine, only that the copy is a true copy of the original document.
Wikipedia, that wonderful authority on everything, tells us:
A certified copy is largely a creation of English-speaking common law countries, and was designed for administrative convenience. It is usually inexpensive to obtain. A certified copy may be required for official government or court purposes and for commercial purposes. It avoids the owner of important documents (especially identity documents) giving up possession of those documents which might mean a risk of their loss or damage.
Love versus Goliath for 2012
There will be a slight change to publishing patterns during 2012. I am going to focus on completing the first draft of our book.
We will still publish frequently, however I am not committing to a specific schedule this year until the book is finished. Not publishing as often myself may give me more reading time as well, which I have missed of late.
Below are our reasons for working so hard, snapped on Christmas Day by their big sister.
Our Kids at Christmas
2011 WHAT A YEAR!
Yes, Raincoaster, I am shouting. Bite me! This has been a year worth damn well shouting about!
We started the year waiting desperately for the hearing date for our MRT appeal, with Mr O in Qatar, the children in Nigeria and I was here in Australia. We were advised the hearing was to be the day before I was flying out to visit Mr O. We won in February and I visted Mr O in Qatar the very next day. On June 3 my family came home. Since then we’ve had a whirlwind seven months getting four children established in a new country, new home and new schools. Mr O completed Certificate II in Horticulture (Landscaping) and got his “L” plates for driving on the “other” side of the road. I started a new job during this time as well. I have made a fair start to our book, Love versus Goliath.
For any visitors new to our history, this has been a MOMENTUS year for Team Oyeniyi. I’m not going to be bashful: I’m damned proud of how much we have achieved this year, with the support of some very valuable people: our families, friends, legal team and health professionals!
Our top commenters of recent times, based on the WordPress stats page, have been:
- Elizabeth of Mirth and Motivation
- Nancy of Spirit Lights The Way
- Pip of Piglet in Portugal
- Erin of Momfog - Erin and I started together, from opposite sides of the world, so as “newbies” we had a special support connection!
- TiTi of One Cool Site Blogging Tips
- Veehcirra of Veehcirra
Many thanks to you and all our wonderful visitors and followers for a terrific year for our website. We have reached a page view count of over 56,000 and have Google Page Rank of 4, while alexa.com has us at (today) a reasonably respectable 862,924. You all helped so much!
Tonight, New Year’s Eve, we will take our children to the City of Melbourne celebrations: a free concert and fireworks. Then it will be home before midnight to watch the midnight fireworks on TV.
Happy New Year everyone. We wish you and yours as great a 2012 as we had a 2011. For us, 2011 has certainly been a year not to be forgotten!
Edit: Since publication, the WordPress “stats monkeys” have sent us our annual report! 19 sold-out performances in the Sydney Opera House? I’ll take that! 
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 50,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 19 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
The man my husband is
Today my husband demonstrated in a practical sense just how true his heart is. While my writing this will no doubt embarrass him terribly, I want to share this small event as to me it is just one of many things that prove just how wrong the DIAC decision maker was in her subjective opinion of the wonderful man who is my husband. I am so thankful the MRT member saw deeper into this man. I won’t discuss his asylum seeker days here: while extremely important, the partner visa is the focus at this moment.
The week before last Mr O had his second practical placement week for his course. He received a very good report and the company gave him a gift voucher, a lovely gesture of appreciation of his efforts for the week. Practical placement is unpaid work, part of the requirements of the course. This is the first time in a long time that Mr O has had any spending power that was entirely his own, earned by his own sweat. He could have spent it on himself, as surely he was entitled to do. I rather wish he had spent it on himself, as most of the spending we have done since they came home has been for the children, but I also know he simply could not do that.
Instead, he insisted I get myself some things and he bought a new top for each of the children. In total, he purchased about thirteen or fourteen items: only four were for him. It is the little things that often say the most.
His good heart is one of the many reasons I love my husband.
Us in Qatar
Congratulations to another Partner Visa couple!
Today my heartiest congratulations to another couple, who originally contacted me on a forum, for they have received their Migration Review Tribunal (MRT) decision. They won!
The husband wrote to me overnight asking me what happens next. This young couple had an amazingly long wait for their MRT hearing, about 19 months and now they have to wait for the visa to be finalised and granted. They could have had a couple of children by now. Instead, they will be starting “from scratch”. If I recall correctly, they met in 2008, married in 2009 and applied for a sub-class 309 Partner Visa, and were denied January 2010. They lodged an appeal. They finally got a hearing this month and have now received the decision. Case remitted back to DIAC! Hurray for them!
I have written before about the Migration Review timelines: this case was a classic example of the horrendous delays.
I hope they get to spend Christmas together – hopefully there is still time!
On the flip side, I noticed an article in The Australian dated yesterday (September 28) titled “Indian marriage of convenience rort“. I hope there is not much truth to it, as it will just make it harder for the rest of us! I’ve looked at the question of media stories before, in Emotive Reporting, perhaps. We shall see. Admittedly this is more about student visas than anything else as it relates to student visa holders bringing dependent spouses with them, but it is worrying none-the-less.
Related articles
- Partner or Spouse Visa people (teamoyeniyi.com)
- Another Partner Visa disaster (teamoyeniyi.com)
- Two more sad cases (teamoyeniyi.com)
Two more sad cases
Over the last 24 hours two more sad partner visa cases have come to light. Sad for entirely opposite reasons.
The first is a case where, on the information I have available to date, it looks as if the visa should never have been granted, as the husband (the applicant) is alleged to be behaving in anything but a ”husbandly” fashion.
The second is a case where there has been a visa denial, yet on the information I have to date it looks as if the visa should have been granted.
I don’t have the full details of either case – I am merely struck by comparisons of the two cases based on the information I see before me.
The wife of the denied couple has granted permission for her timeline to be published. In summary they applied in March 2010 and the application was denied three months later. The wife has even written to the Queen. Similarities with our own case are apparent: there is an age gap, the country of origin of the applicant may not be viewed favourably by Australia, the wife (sponsor) is very much an Australian, in fact has worked for the public service here for 20 years. Her correspondence to those in “power” simply results in her being referred on…….. and on, it seems. No-one wants to take responsibility for actually helping!
The sad thing in this case is they simply cannot afford legal assistance. I quote from our email conversation.
Thank you for telling me about the lawyer, however I’m not able to pay these costs so it would be of no use, we have depleted all our resources with this whole process and my taking my 13-year-old to [location removed] this year was a very expensive task and I’m barely keeping my head above water at the moment. I do know of a Migration lawyer locally and I might see if she is willing to give me a free 30 minute consultation which they are usually happy to do, I’ll call her this week.
Partner or Spouse Visa people
Love Versus Goliath covers a range of topics. While our specific Partner or Spouse Visa journey involving Australia is the main topic, it is also about family life, immigration, cultural adaptation, asylum seekers, politics and human rights. There must also be some reference to sex in here somewhere as the highest number of Google impressions is still the search term “qatarsex” (yes, all one word). Not a high CTR (click-through rate) on that one, which is not at all surprising! If you are new to this site, go here: Partner/Spouse Visa.
I sometimes wonder how many readers are “Partner Visa people”. Today I was looking at the search terms used to find us. Here is a small selection of the search terms from the last 30 days that relate to visas. I don’t know if all of these relate to Australia or if all of them relate to Partner or Spouse visas.
i work and have a house will i win appeal for spouse
can spouse visa be denied?
example of statement telling visa officer about you relationship
visa availability system failures
australian visa temporary permission
can yo rebutt your visa dienal
what to say on a statutory declaration form 888
do you get originals back visa
immigration agent with mrt appeal experience
spouse visa denied australia
when you come to australia whith visa subclass 309 what you have to do
spouse visa motivation letter
barefooted mrt
failed visa statutory declaration affected
appealing partner visa cancellation
visa denied through australia spouse
spouse visa denied
spousal visa denial appeal
partner visa 309
my husband has been given a spouse visa on appeal
spouse visa appeal processing time 2011
supporting statement examples for partner visa appl. form 888
I’m not 100% sure that the “barefoot mrt” really applies – the idea of appearing at a tribunal hearing barefoot intrigues me! Maybe they were looking for something else entirely!
