Long-time no inform

So, the insanity of visa application took full hold not long after my April visit to Aussieland. The visit itself was fantastic and confirmed every thought I'd had of living with my sweetie. But.. that was about the last pleasant experience of the whole Visa process.

99% of my Prospective Marriage Visa (Subclass 300) application is turned in at the embassy, and we're just waiting on a few more very slow-pokey papers to show up in the mail before we enter full-on nail-biting mode. But first, why we decided to use this visa and not others.

There are different conditions that apply to the various apps (partner-wise, here). We're a straight couple, so that ruled out the Interdependent Visa. We aren't married yet so there goes the Spouse Visa. That left the Defacto Spouse, and Prospective Spouse options.

Defacto (called common-law in some countries) was appealing as no legally binding ceremonies were necessary, but it did require that we live together for 1 year prior to applying, with me either on a tourist visa or somehow getting a student visa for a year, which in turn meant no income for the entirety of that year (or marginal income, if on a student visa).

Prospective Marriage (aka Fiance Visa) is a preliminary visa, lasting 9 months from date-of-issue, and allows time for you to move to Australia and marry your fiance. THEN you apply for the Temporary Spouse Visa, which gives you two more years, THEN still you apply for your Permanent Spouse Visa, which makes you a permanent resident of Oz. The biggest benefit of taking this prolongued route is that PMVs appear to be a tad easier to obtain than Defactos, and you can work from the day you enter the country.

That said, none of these are easy to get. Be sure its what you want before you attempt any of them. And don't do it for any reasons other than desperate and enduring love, because even the strongest relationship can nearly shatter due to the stress of the whole process.

Now that I'm in the waiting room of Visa-Pergatory, I'll try to write more about what got us here.