Had a request today from DIAC for the BIG money for Visa. It will be issued to us in July if we send the Cash!! Is anyone able to tell us the best way to get it to them, they are talking credit cards or Bank cheques, we are wondering what their exchange rates would be and also Bank charges ( our Bank is HSBC )
It's definitely worth opening an account with one of the foreign exchange merchants for example OzForex. To use this, though you would need the bank details of DIAC to send it direct.
Once the account is opened you can get an online quote for transfer. If you accept this, the deal is fixed at that exchange rate and all you have to do is to transfer the money to the merchant's account using an online bank payment from your bank with a reference code. The whole process takes about a week maybe, that is for the money to reach OzForex, following which they transmit the money in AUD to the recipient.
Just out of interest, presumably your visa is coming out of the new 2008/09 allocation starting on 1 July 2008. There are lots of people in the queue waiting for their visa - do you think there is any reason why you have heard in advance of those other people?
In answer to your query we applied in October 2006, Meds etc done in October 2007 Assurance of Support lodged in November 2007 so all been in the pipeline for a long time, and then of course the list for 2007- 2008 was closed by the end of 2007. We presume we are pretty well at the top of the list!!
The cheapest way is probably to get your Bank to issue a bank draft, in Australian dollars, made payable to DIAC. (Department of Immigration and Citizenship.)
Alternatively, you can send the money by direct bank transfer to the account of your child in Oz and your child can issue a draft on his/her own bank. This is the way we did it for my mother. To do it, you need the Swift Code for your child's account. I don't know what that is but it means something to the banks! My sister had the money as cleared funds in her account 48 hours after we sent it from the UK. She then got her bank to issue a draft and she sent the draft to Mum's CO by registered post.
I do know two Parents who used credit cards to pay DIAC. The first one said it took MUCH organising in advance with her card company etc. The second one said her own card company ripped her off on the exchange rate.
What you can't do is make a payment direct into an account held by DIAC. They will not divulge details of any of their bank accounts.
I would suggest using whatever method will be simplest and cheapest for you.
I'm THRILLED to hear that they are now starting to ask CPV applicants for the money, though. They must be planning to arrange for all the relevant CPV applicants in the UK to wake up on 1st July to find e-mails saying "Visa Granted."
I'm SOooooo please for you, hunny. Do please keep us updated with any more news you receive.
If you want an extension on the Initial Entry Date, now is the time to request it from your CO. The police checks and the meds normally only half a shelf-life of a year, so the date that DIAC set for your Initial Entry (stated in the visa grant letter) is usually 12 months from the earlier of the police checks or meds.
The CO can extend the intial entry date for up to 3 months on his/her own discretion. The date can be extended for up to 6 months but they need the consent of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth for a six month extension.
Once the visa is granted, it is almost impossible to change the Initial Entry Date. Therefore if you want a longer period between the date of the grant andthe date when you must validate your visa, you must arrange it with your CO before your visa is granted.
I think the general view is that if you use a foreign exchange merchant such as OzForex you will get a better exchange rate than a bank. However GollyW says that you can't send money directly to DIAC so it looks like the best option would be transfer via foreign exchange merchant to your sponser's bank. It would be interesting to compare the exchange rates though between your High Street bank and the foreign exchange merchant. If you do this could you post your findings, it would be very helpful?
I think the general view is that if you use a foreign exchange merchant such as OzForex you will get a better exchange rate than a bank. However GollyW says that you can't send money directly to DIAC so it looks like the best option would be transfer via foreign exchange merchant to your sponser's bank. It would be interesting to compare the exchange rates though between your High Street bank and the foreign exchange merchant. If you do this could you post your findings, it would be very helpful?
Hi Jorgon
Yours is a very good idea which I didn't think of.
Sids Dad used one of the Forex companies and they told him they would arrange to pay the POPC. Bear in mind you get 28 days to pay. 3 weeks later, Sids Dad's Agent checked with the CO to ensure that the money had arrived.
No money. Eventually Sids Dad got it sorted but I think he spent nearly all day on the phone chasing people. He was pretty wrathful about it when he mentioned it to me.
But I agree that there is no reason why the Forex companies cannot send the money to the child's account, provided the one you use can be trusted to make the transfer to teh child promptly. My sister lives in Perth so she could have walked the draft round to the POPC, but she decided Registered Post could be trusted. She posted the draft on a Friday, the CO received it on Monday and Mum's visa was granted the following Friday.
However, I know several people whose visas were granted the same day that the bank draft reached the CO.
If more time is needed in order to arrange the money, the COs are usually very understanding and co-operative, I have heard, though I think most CPV applicants are just so relieved that they want to pay the money promptly and get the visa as soon as possible afterwards.
I've used OzForex on about six or seven occasions now to transfer money in AUD and they have been extemely efficient. You book the transaction online and get the rate at that time (take it or leave it), then they usually telephone you to confirm, then they await the money in their UK bank account in pounds. You can see by logging in online when they have received your money in pounds and when they have sent the money. So it is all trackable. They will also email the recipient to say that the money is on its way.
If you want an extension on the Initial Entry Date, now is the time to request it from your CO. The police checks and the meds normally only half a shelf-life of a year, so the date that DIAC set for your Initial Entry (stated in the visa grant letter) is usually 12 months from the earlier of the police checks or meds.
The CO can extend the intial entry date for up to 3 months on his/her own discretion. The date can be extended for up to 6 months but they need the consent of the Medical Officer of the Commonwealth for a six month extension.
Once the visa is granted, it is almost impossible to change the Initial Entry Date. Therefore if you want a longer period between the date of the grant andthe date when you must validate your visa, you must arrange it with your CO before your visa is granted.
Best wishes
Gill
Hi Gill
Under the heading INITIAL ENTRY it states
If visas are granted, all applicants will be required to make at least an initial entry to Australia on those Visas by no later than Monday 20th April2009 below this it states
THE INITIAL ENTRY DATES OF THE VISAS CANNOT BE EXTENDED.
We are assuming this means we have almost 12 months grace would you agree?
It looks like you have one very, very, VERY nice CO who has already arranged a six month extension on your Initial Entry Date, given that your meds were done in October 2007.
I was a little concerned because !st July to sometime in October 2008 is not that long in which to arrange even a short rekky trip out to Oz just to validate your visas. But your CO has arranged for what would have been the Initial Entry Date (ie dd/October/2008) to be extended for 6 months.
That is BRILLIANT. All the CPV applicants want the same CO as you, please!!!!
