The Brand New PIO Parents Visa thread

Hi guys,

 

Just wanted to let you know that I've lodged the bond with commonwealth bank and it's not really possible to waive the establishment fee. However, there was also a fee that you get charged every 6 months or so of 1.65%?? I didn't know about that! Also, I'm not sure if it's possible but ask for a centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN) and you can upload all the documents with the centrelink App. Makes life much easier so you don't have to go into the centrelink office and be treated like a criminal.

This doesn't sound right to me. Although we have been unable to make the move from the UK yet, we were granted our PR parents visa nine months ago and to the best of my knowledge no fee has been charged on our bond. i understood that a small amount of interest would be payable each year! If there was a fee to pay every six months it would eat into the money in the bond, which would then fall below the amount stipulated by immigration - so I feel sure we would have heard about it by now or had a bill from somewhere. I'll ask my daughter to check. To be honest I was so relieved to get to the end of the process that I shoved all the paperwork in a box under the bed, and it's still there!

Hi everyone,

thanks Catlady and Peternhall for the update on the processing dates., depressing though it was, it's better to know. With this in mind I have a question, should we ( husband and I) want to travel to Australia whilst our visa is being processed,;

1. What is the process.

2. Do we have to inform immigration/ parent visa centre

3. Which visa do we apply for. Previously we have travelled on the basic electronic tourist visa, can we still apply for this visa as we don't plan on staying long.

We have applied for the 143 in June 2016.

Hang in there Fringe123 I'm sure you will find a way in the fog, there are some very helpful people in this forum. I have found that most of the answers are somewhere in the guidelines but you have to find them. As this is quite a difficult situation maybe asking a migration agent for peace of mind, is not a bad idea.

Cheers

Nita

Hello Nita. You will need to apply separately for a tourist visa and you will need to alert the case officer dealing with your tourist visa that you have applied for a 143 visa. Zee

Hi everyone, does anybody know if we have to send the final aos letter to immigration? Or would they receive it from centre link?

Joe, have you received your letter yet?

Hi everyone, does anybody know if we have to send the final aos letter to immigration? Or would they receive it from centre link?

 

Joe, have you received your letter yet?

Unless things have changed in the last nine months, you have to send your final AOS letter to immigration.

any news form immi regarding visa dates, i have had no reply this week.

its looking like its going to be over 3 years wait for the 143 visa.

any news form immi regarding visa dates, i have had no reply this week.

its looking like its going to be over 3 years wait for the 143 visa.

If you don't get a response to your test email, it means there is no change in the date since your last response from them. It's currently 30th July 2014, whuch it has been stuck on for the last 4 weeks or so. By my very rough calculations, the current processing time for a 143 is about 30 to 31 months, but that is almost bound to lengthen, so yes, about 3 years is realistic.

Hi everyone, does anybody know if we have to send the final aos letter to immigration? Or would they receive it from centre link?

 

Joe, have you received your letter yet?

Nope no sign of it, but the good news we are "priority", if we ever get it I understand we need to scan it and email a copy to immigration, I was informed by Centrelink they also send a copy to immigration. But whatever Centrelink tell me I tend to ignore as they have never done anything they said they were going to do anyway.

If you don't get a response to your test email, it means there is no change in the date since your last response from them. It's currently 30th July 2014, whuch it has been stuck on for the last 4 weeks or so. By my very rough calculations, the current processing time for a 143 is about 30 to 31 months, but that is almost bound to lengthen, so yes, about 3 years is realistic.

Thanks for the reply Catlady2014

maybe the xmas holidays has slowed them down.

Nope no sign of it, but the good news we are "priority", if we ever get it I understand we need to scan it and email a copy to immigration, I was informed by Centrelink they also send a copy to immigration. But whatever Centrelink tell me I tend to ignore as they have never done anything they said they were going to do anyway.

Hi guys,

Centrelink said they would send it off to department of immigration for me. I did however receive a copy of it in my centrelink account. I sent a copy of it to department of immigration just in case.

Hi, thanks for your reply and I will bear it mind when we apply. Sorry for the late message, I didn't get a notification and logged on just in case there had been any replies.

Cheers

Hi guys,

My mum's received the email from IMMI asking for the 2nd VAC. It says that I can either choose to pay it by bank cheque or Credit Card. I was wondering though if it is possible to pay by BPAY. IMMI's website said that other options were available. I'm guessing these other options only apply to other visa subclasses? The only reason I'm asking is because I prefer to BPAY rather than sending a cheque in the mail!

Hi, thinking of changing to the 173 visa and applying in Australia as onshore application.

anyone else done this ?

how long did the process take?

just weighing up all the options to get there sooner.

thanks for any help in advance

Hi guys,

 

My mum's received the email from IMMI asking for the 2nd VAC. It says that I can either choose to pay it by bank cheque or Credit Card. I was wondering though if it is possible to pay by BPAY. IMMI's website said that other options were available. I'm guessing these other options only apply to other visa subclasses? The only reason I'm asking is because I prefer to BPAY rather than sending a cheque in the mail!

When we got our request for the second vac we were in Sydney so we followed the instructions on the invoice and paid via what immi were then saying was their preferred method ... Through Australia Post Billpay. We got a bank cheque from our account at Westpac and took it to The nearest Australia Post - be warned, the woman on the desk kept insisting we couldn't pay that way and should pay online. We went to a second Australia Post office and found someone who knew what they were doing and processed our payment in minutes. Make sure you take the invoice sent by immi because it has a bar code on it which oz post need before they can process the payment. It was the cheapest way to pay and also felt reassuringly safe. Good luck!

Nope no sign of it, but the good news we are "priority", if we ever get it I understand we need to scan it and email a copy to immigration, I was informed by Centrelink they also send a copy to immigration. But whatever Centrelink tell me I tend to ignore as they have never done anything they said they were going to do anyway.

Hello, we submitted our 143 on 9th June 15, and owing to the obvious delay with Au Immi we are seriously considering an e600 visa . As you've been through the process yourself, can you give some sort of indication as to the thoroughness and how involved is the Australian medical, as this is one of our main concerns. Do you have any advice regarding medical insurance for the period covered by the e600 and any other info on goods storage and shipping etc.

Thanks Geoff and Gill

Hi, thinking of changing to the 173 visa and applying in Australia as onshore application.

anyone else done this ?

how long did the process take?

just weighing up all the options to get there sooner.

thanks for any help in advance

A subclass 173 visa application is an offshore application.

Can you explain further your intentions/strategy?

Best regards.

We are currently assessing applications lodged up to and including 08 August 2014.

Hi everyone,

I've been following a few of you guys for a long time and now is the time for me to ask the experienced one.

My parents have applied for 143 and there is change in circumstance which required to submit form 1022, the completed form need to email, post or fax to 'the office where you lodged your application'. As my parents are in the process to submit form 80 (which is why we realized some information has changed since then), do I need to submit form 1022 separately by post/email? Or can I reply to the email that request documents and attached form 1022 at the same email?

Tin

We are currently assessing applications lodged up to and including 08 August 2014.

At last! Thank you ckerk85. I see from your timeline that you're only 10 days behind me, it's nice to have somebody with a similar timeline to track progress.

We are currently assessing applications lodged up to and including 08 August 2014.

At last some movement.

A subclass 173 visa application is an offshore application.

 

Can you explain further your intentions/strategy?

 

Best regards.

hi, we applied for the normal contribution parent visa. Our daughter has had a baby now and we are thinking of the quickest way to get to Oz basically. As we are both over 50 this was the only option available.

I read about 173 thinking it was an on shore application.....obviously I read it wrong.

We were thinking of going and applying onshore for a visa but don't know if this is possible or an option really.

any advice greatly received thankyou Alan

Hi Fisher1,

I had a look in the letter DIMMI sent and there's no Billercode? I'm guessing they've probably changed that?

Hello, we submitted our 143 on 9th June 15, and owing to the obvious delay with Au Immi we are seriously considering an e600 visa . As you've been through the process yourself, can you give some sort of indication as to the thoroughness and how involved is the Australian medical, as this is one of our main concerns. Do you have any advice regarding medical insurance for the period covered by the e600 and any other info on goods storage and shipping etc.

 

Thanks Geoff and Gill

Hi Geoff, Gill.

We did the medicals a few months ago and found them very straightforward. Started with the basics height, weight, blood pressure, eye test and urine sample. Moved on to having our bloods taken, then finally spent 15 minutes with a doctor. We went through the medical questionnaire which we uploaded a few days previously where he questioned previous and ongoing medical issues noting medication and hospital referrals. He then did a medical, checking ears, eyes, throat, checked neck/thyroid glands, spine and joints all very basic.

Obviously try to make sure your 143 will be granted within the 12 months, we had to sign a disclaimer saying we understood we couldn't stay more than 12 in any 18 month period. There was very little choice with the insurance but immi were fine with a 12 month holiday insurance policy providing it had medical cover, this was quite expensive around £600 for 2 of us. We put our belongings in storage with the shipping company, negotiated some free but then had to pay a monthly storage fee. The shippers told us we couldn't ship without a valid visa, but having spoke with others on the forum we decided to ship before our visa was finalised. Pickfords insisted we provide them with a written disclaimer saying it was our choice and we understood we could be liable to import tax on our goods. However when we spoke to Pickfords in Perth they said it would be fine, and they were right no issues at this end.

All we we need now is our visa once good old Centrelink let immi know the AOS is lodged.

Joe

Hi Geoff, Gill.

 

We did the medicals a few months ago and found them very straightforward. Started with the basics height, weight, blood pressure, eye test and urine sample. Moved on to having our bloods taken, then finally spent 15 minutes with a doctor. We went through the medical questionnaire which we uploaded a few days previously where he questioned previous and ongoing medical issues noting medication and hospital referrals. He then did a medical, checking ears, eyes, throat, checked neck/thyroid glands, spine and joints all very basic.

 

Obviously try to make sure your 143 will be granted within the 12 months, we had to sign a disclaimer saying we understood we couldn't stay more than 12 in any 18 month period. There was very little choice with the insurance but immi were fine with a 12 month holiday insurance policy providing it had medical cover, this was quite expensive around £600 for 2 of us. We put our belongings in storage with the shipping company, negotiated some free but then had to pay a monthly storage fee. The shippers told us we couldn't ship without a valid visa, but having spoke with others on the forum we decided to ship before our visa was finalised. Pickfords insisted we provide them with a written disclaimer saying it was our choice and we understood we could be liable to import tax on our goods. However when we spoke to Pickfords in Perth they said it would be fine, and they were right no issues at this end.

 

All we we need now is our visa once good old Centrelink let immi know the AOS is lodged.

 

Joe

Hi Joe, thanks for the reply, was not too sure if you would see our request, so duplicated it with a PM just now

Regards Geoff & Gill

Hi Fisher1,

 

I had a look in the letter DIMMI sent and there's no Billercode? I'm guessing they've probably changed that?

Sorry, I don't know. I've been through my email archives and unfortunately haven't kept the second vac request so I cant tell you exactly what it said, but I do remember that there was a paragraph somewhere with 'ways to pay' and it definitely said that their preferred method was by billpay at Australia Post. We had no printing facilities as we were on holiday, so we noted the details in longhand and went with those. It was the guy in the second Australia post office who told us that we had to have a print out of the actual invoice because there would be a barcode on it which he could then scan. We went to a local grocers who had an internet corner and they printed it out for us.

Have a look at your bill, and see what they say about methods of payment - if they still say their preferred method is via Billpay at Australia post and you cant find a bar code, I would print out the whole thing and go to Australia post for advice.

On the other hand, you could pay by one of the other methods, if the billpay route gets too complicated. Try to avoid credit card payment though as it adds a fair bit to the bill. Good luck!

hi, we applied for the normal contribution parent visa. Our daughter has had a baby now and we are thinking of the quickest way to get to Oz basically. As we are both over 50 this was the only option available.

I read about 173 thinking it was an on shore application.....obviously I read it wrong.

We were thinking of going and applying onshore for a visa but don't know if this is possible or an option really.

any advice greatly received thankyou Alan

Are you over 65? If so, you can apply onshore for an contributory aged parent visa 864. You can then stay on a bridging visa until your permanent visa is granted, although there are restrictions on you leaving Australia during this time. We changed to an 864 visa from a 143 visa to take advantage of the much shorter waiting time.

Dave