There are a couple of serious issues which confront our unsuspecting clients all the time. The majority of our clients are Australian men who have fallen in love with Filipina ladies, and want to get visas for them to migrate to Australia.

As you would have gathered by now, Jeff Harvie’s Down Under Visa are Australian Registered Migration Agents specializing in spouse visas (partner visas) and fiancee visas (prospective marriage visas) for Filipino girls (wives and fiancees of Aussie men) to bring them to Australia.

Two problems often come up!

The most common is when they tell us their lady is “separated”, ie separated from her husband. In other words, the lady is still married. To marry, or to apply for a prospective marriage visa, both parties must be free to marry! The Philippines doesn’t have the “no fault” divorce processes that Australia has. Philippines (refer to the Family Code of the Philippines) has annulments instead. Getting a marriage annulled is not a simple, quick OR cheap process. The outcome is also in no way cut-and-dried. The applicant needs to prove a psychological incapacity on the part of one of the partners to understand the marriage vows that they took, in order to declare the marriage invalid from the start. It can cost several hundred thousand Pesos, and can take 1-2 years to process.

We would never suggest that anyone back out of a loving relationship! When Cupid bites, he bites hard! But you need to be aware of what you and your lady will need to go through, and should start the process early! You should also make sure that you (as a wealthy westerner) keep a low profile throughout the process. Annulments tend to cost more and take longer whenever there appears to be extra money to be made!

The other issue is the “serial sponsorship” issue. The “five year rule”! To get a spouse visa or fiancee visa requires the husband/partner/fiancé in Australia to sponsor the lady. If he has sponsored (successfully) a lady before, there is a 5 year waiting time before he may sponsor again. And he may only sponsor twice in his lifetime! Harsh rules! All written into the Migration Regulations (Cth) 1994, Reg 1.20J. Written into Law!

If you find yourselves in such a situation, please feel free to discuss. As there are provisions where this may be waived if compelling and compassionate circumstances exist. Not easily established, but this is why Migration Law experts exist.