On another forum last night, I noticed some new comments about frontloading one's meds. Apparently the POPC (which deals with Parent visas) has taken to scanning the photo on the application form into the computer and then electronically pasting the same photo onto the meds forms before sending them out to the applicants or their agents.
It further seems that one or two agents have allegedly told clients of theirs that they cannot frontload their meds nowadays because of the need to wait for this photo-form to arrive.
Has anyone been asked to go for the meds recently (any type of visa) and seen a similar photo-form, please?
I can see that this idea would be convenient for DIMA's admin purposes. It would also save applicants from having to get more photos done for the meds forms. However, the photo in the applicant's passport will not be identical to that used on the application form and/or the meds forms. Both the panel doctor and the x-ray clinic have to see the passport and identify the applicant positively from that.
Therefore I am very sceptical of the suggestion that this new style of photo-form means that one cannot simply use another passport photo and staple it onto the meds forms if one should wish to frontload.
However, I would be interested to know what anyone else thinks about this.
This is news to me. We done our meds about 5 weeks ago and this wasn't the case then, and no suggestion was made by our agent that things would be changing.
Probably a good idea though. Our agent made a comment that DIMIA do not appreciate the meds being done unrequested so this would resolve this issue for them.
Not heard about this. Totally unrelated, but did your mum arrive safe and sound Gill?
Ali x
Hi Ali
Yes thanks, Mum is fine. She left Perth before my sister & I heard about the chaos at the UK airports and Mum knew nothing about it till she arrived at Heathrow next morning.
Speaking of this, I think that parents will have to start lobbying the airlines to carry a good stock of toys on board, suitable for children of all ages. Only the list of permitted items are allowed in the clear plastic bags and this list is being strictly enforced. Toys are not on it. There is now plenty of space for in-flight toys - in the unused hand-luggage bins. Otherwise there are going to be a lot of very bored, difficult children making life hell for their parents and all the other adults aboard, I suspect. It is not rocket-science for an airline to recruit a toy-buyer and get a good range of toys put aboard their long-haul planes quickly.
Hi Gill, us again! We had our med forms sent to us with our passport photos (supplied at time of application as requested then) attached to the Form 26 and the xray form - by staples!!! The forms had also been stamped by POPC! Apparently the parents of our daughter-in-law who applied May 2005 and had visa grant in Oct 05 also had their med forms sent to them with their photos already attached and the forms stamped by POPC! .... so I gather that this is not something entirely new this year just another blip for applicants to worry about!!! I guess we all get a bit paranoid about any little thing that will delay the grant of these precious visas. It surely can't be long now for your mum's visa grant!!!! Hang in there! Regards Linda (incidentally when we had requests for meds etc on 25th July we had already had our PCCs done so saved a bit of time there. Now just have to wait re the next stage. Adrian is sorting the AOS but has to get his tax assessments etc to take to Centrelink after his holiday - so will be a little delay there. They think it will probably be 3 or 4 weeks before they are ready to lodge the AOS Bond then if it all goes same as Emma's parents we should hear soon after that for the 2nd visa payment and then BINGO .... hopefully we will have our visa granted in time for us to complete on the sale of our house before Christmas and leave U.K. just into the new year!!! Regards Linda
Thanks for this post. Yep, you are right. I've got to the neurotic stage of seeing gremlins round every corner with this ruddy thing!
My concern about the meds forms is in case we have to get a second set of meds done for Mum. The first lot were done on 9 November 2005. I am very grateful for your description of yours because if all they need is the photos stapled to the forms, that is not a worry. If they were really going to insist on an electronic photo on the meds forms, I'd have had to take a spare photo to work, show the IT guys where to find the forms, and wheedle them into scanning the photo in and then pasting it to a pdf file for me. My know-how with computers does not extend to technical wizardry with them!
The Australian Fed Police check caught us out. After all the gloom of the last few months, I wasn't expecting Mum to get a CO till September or October, so I thought we still had plenty of time to investigate a check from the AFP. I'd also heard that they only take 10 working days. They don't. They can take longer than the UK ones in fact. Anyhow, when the AFP told me last week that they thought it would take another 2-3 weeks, I did a lot of pushing & shoving and got it completed within half an hour. It reached my sister yesterday and has been delivered to the POPC today.
So I guess we might hear more from Mum's CO next week. As yet, we have not been asked to arrange for my sister to see Centrelink and we have not been asked to provide the 2nd VAC either. Time-wise, I think we are probably level-pegging with you.
Meanwhile, I reckon poor old Mum's got gout. Her big toe is swollen & sore and it hurts her to walk. I've arranged to take her to the doctor later to find out what it is and get something done. I had a bit of a battle with her earlier to convince her that the MOC does not change his mind about whether someone is OK to migrate just because they develop a sore toe for a couple of days!
