Temp or Perm De Facto Visa Sender: redbull

Hi all, I'm in Oz right now in the process of getting a de facto visa and wonder if I can get any info-advice on my situation.

When we applied for the visa we went for the permanent one (waiving 2 year period) as we've been living together long enough.

At our interview the CO said we were obviously a genuine couple - but said there was a difference between living together as boy-girlfriend and living together as husband & wife, i.e. the permanence of the commitment. His issue seemed to be that we don't have any major joint financial undertakings together like mortgage, car or furniture purchases.

We've always rented (5 years on a joint lease) so no mortgage, then he asked if we had bought furniture together. Tried to explain that most rental accom in Ireland is furnished and people just don't buy furniture until they have their own place, but that didn't really impress him. We've bought small items together but that was years ago and in cash so no good. I think he had pretty much decided before the interview that he would give us the temporary visa.

The application is still pending as I'm waiting on my police check from home but before it's finalised I wonder is there any point trying to do something more about it? We're together 8 years now, living together more than 6 and intend to get married once we buy our own home which we were planning on doing in about a year.

We're delighted to be getting a visa, but the temporary one will make it difficult to really start settling properly - I just feel that we'll be in limbo for the next two years. I just wanted to know if anyone has any advice on this or should I just leave it alone? We didn't use an agent for the initial application - would it be possible to involve one now & see if they can help, or is this a waste of time? Any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks for any help!

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