@jrbaldo28 said:
Hi everyone! In the sponsorship form, what is considered as date of arrival for permanent residence? I initially went to AU in Jan 2015 for my initial entry on PR visa but only stayed for about 2 weeks (haven't really considered residing in AU permanently back then). Then I had to sort out some personal and work stuff, so I was able to return to AU last Apr 2018, this time intending to reside permanently. Should I refer to Jan 2015 or Apr 2018 as my date of arrival? Thanks!
Hmm that’s a tricky one. Look, the initial entry date is an indication of your intention to migrate. Thus, for 309 sponsorship it would probably be better to write the same as in 2015, although when you made your initial entry your PR visa took effect in 2015 and it presupposes that you’d started building your life here — looking for employers, establishing residence, saving up and so forth. But the 309 sponsorship is “blind” towards whether the sponsor’s financial capacity to host a partner is from his savings earned in Manila or Aus.
The real issue is towards citizenship eligibility since applying for it requires an absence onshore of not more than 12 months.
But that’s besides the point here. So the answer to your question on which date to write for sponsorship is 2015.
Goodluck!