THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 2 | NOVEMBER 2015
IMMIGRATION
Frank and honest
disclosure
W
ith increasing checks
by the Department of
Immigration and Border Protection on
immigration application, applicants and sponsors are reminded to be frank and honest as
submission of incorrect info or
fake documents will result in
the refusal of the application.
CASE OF A SECRET
PARTNER:
This is a case where an applicant formed a partner relationship with a permanent
resident in Australia. He was
granted temporary partner visa
and on filing of permanent
visa, the Immigration Officer visited his parents overseas
and interviewed his parents and
brother. The mother denied
that her son has a partner in
Australia and the brother separately interviewed confirmed
that his brother was married in
Australia to a Caucasian woman when in fact the partner was
of Chinese decent. The application was denied as the case
officer concluded that the relationship was not genuine and
the marriage was contrived to
obtain permanent residence.
ORPHAN VISA
APPLICATION:
Australian citizen or permanent resident in Australia is
allowed to sponsor a relative
who is an orphan whose parents are dead, permanently incapacitated or whereabouts unknown.
But take note of this actual case: the mother of the child
was dead and the relative in
Australia instructed the solicitor handling the case that the
whereabouts of the father was
unknown. On actual home visit by the Immigration Officer
from the Australian Embassy
at the residence of the child, the
neighbour and barangay official confirmed that the husband
was living in the vicinity. The
application was refused.
STUDENT FUNDS:
Funds provided by the student applicant, spouse, siblings, parents are subjected to
scrutiny as to their source. It is
important that the funds are legitimately acquired and genuine as the Embassy will check
the deposit from the bank. Further, the money must be in the
11
Deal
or no
deal?
IMMIGRATION
ATTY. JESSIE
ICAO
[email protected]
bank at least three months before filing the application unless the funds are proceeds of
loan or re-draw facility. Funds
from friends and distant relatives are not acceptable.
MARRIAGE IN PHILIPPINES
VALID IN AUSTRALIA:
What if you arrived in Australia on tourist visa and found
a prospective partner on arrival? However, you were married overseas but you are of the
view that since you were separated more than seven years,
you can marry another partner
in Australia. In another case
the applicant was of the view
that he is free to marry as his
marriage was overseas. This
is wrong as marriage celebrated in Philippines is valid anywhere. With the memorandum
of agreement between the NSO
and the Australian Embassy
in Makati, checks can now be
made on line. In fact, if partner visa is lodged in the Philippines, an on-line application is
a requirement for the visa application t