owliswise

There is no rush to apply for the 820 aside from the fact that you will be get your PR granted sooner which helps with finance and other types of government employment. The only thing to bear in mind is to maybe apply sooner as your bridging visa A which means you cannot travel only comes into effect when the PMV expires. If you decide to travel while on the Bridging visa then you have to apply and pay for it which is bit of a pain. Just apply online, its quite straight forward. We didn't include much, just the basics such as proof of marriage, 2 x 888 forms, copy of a joint bank account statement and a few other documents showing we are at the same address. We have no utilities as we did not have them in our name and the other documents for bills such as foxtel etc are all in individual names. Maybe also getting your NSW license after you have been here 6 months will also show that you are at the same address, and this is a good form of ID. We also popped a few photos from the wedding with family and friends etc. We also sent a future flight booking to Bali (which we are going to on sunday woohoo). Generally most of your info will have been in the original application, we didn't include any of that as i didn't make copies - but we didn't really need them as only needed to show the time since the last visa in my eyes. As for the passport, i applied with my old one and changed it, was easy once they let me do this online so that was good. My wife still has a passport in her maiden name and no issues with that. As for your partner filling in their bit online - i submitted my application and then was asked for form sp40, so we logged into her account and linked this to the 820 application TRN and then it connected so get the application in first then do that. They dont check for documents straight away so lodge the application then add what you need over time so at least your application date is in. Your always going to be given the time and you will have your visa / BVB A instantly so no need to worry about being kicked out As for jobs, it might be worth seeing some recruitment companies, send your CV and cover letters to the big firms in the area and keep checking sites like seek.com.au and there will be work around, even if just temping to get the CV built up and that work history so your not scaring off employers with the short visa stay. Just explain you have full work rights and its got no restrictions like a WHV and they will soon come around - i made this clear in my CV and just put i had an Australian visa with full working rights etc.

Hi Guys, Just thought id provide an update for those who are in the same position as myself. My PMV was applied for from the UK in October 2013 and Granted June 2014. Moved here in August 2014 and got married to my wife in the September which was awesome. Applied for the 820/801 on December 18 2014. Was granted a bridging visa A. Now i have read a lot of comments on how long this would take and was expecting a longer wait. However i may have nudged them as I had to change my passport and apply for a BVB to travel next week. As i heard nothing on both fronts after sending my documents in the mail in February, I called immi and emailed them to see what the i should do as i have travel booked. At this point i was asked for the SP40 as we forgot to send my wifes document through, so we just filled in the details on her online account and linked this to my own application rather than print and fill the form. I was also allowed to change my passport online which previously we could not do as the application was in progress. The to my amazement the 820 Visa was granted 23 April 2015. Now I currently await the 801 but at least it is unrestricted travel and no $140 BVB costs I think it just shows that if we give them a reason to look at your account and its all ready to go then they may just get it out of the way and move on to the next. Its nice to see they had the common sense to grant my next visa rather than process a bridging visa B so good on you Immi! Also Id like to reassure some people around employment prospects who may have felt as I did - anxious. I applied for roles prior to my entry but was difficult. Naturally we may not be able to assume the same roles we had back home immediately. I used to be an investigator for the government but had to be realistic as i didnt have citizenship or even PR. There are roles here, in fact more than we think and i got a job 10 mins away from home in the eastern suburbs temping for $27 PH which helped to settle me in and lose the financial worries of no employment. Then i was offered permanent employment shorty after. Since i had that role the next jobs were easier to come by as potential employers can see you have a work history and assume there are no issues with your visa and become less cautious. Now i am earning considerably more than that with another firm back in my original line of work. I have also applied and been successful in other roles (but opted against them for other reasons) and my visa has not had any impact on the application process whether that be BVA, PMV or 820. Now I have the 820 i have had my credit card application approved and because my wife is a PR we can also apply for a home loan and get this approved due to a strong line of similar employment to that of the UK (informed to me today by a trusted family friend mortgage broker) and attempt to get on this crazy Sydney property ladder even with a smaller deposit as we can use a guarantor. So it just goes to show............even when it feels that its going to be a hard slog, it does get easier and the more time you are here and live your life the more opportunities will open, just be positive

Just an update guys and gals.....I got my pmv subclass 300 granted today after 7 months and 24 days....totally caught by surprise! When you see that email and the anticipation of opening the attachment had me shaking but so happy it's here. Now its time for a beer in the sun, jack the job and plan the flight out of here! Hope eveyone else who applied in October gets there's Asap and good luck to the rest of you

Thats amazing news!!! I bet your heart stopped when you saw the email haha. Let's hope DP is refreshed from his break and gets my 17th Oct app approved early, although I'm not going while mid to late July so I'm just gonna relax and enjoy the final few weeks of this journey! Its actually quite funny, at the beginning you check your emails every day in anticipation of hearing something but once you and the OH just accept nothing will happen for 9 months things go quickly and a hell of a lot easier!

Im also with DP and applied a week after you. I emailed him a few weeks back as I may go to oz end of this month and he told me he will be approving mine early July so best to wait to save some money on airfares so yours should be before then, hopefully in the next couple of weeks!

I applied on 17/10/13 and hav recently spoken to my CO who says he hopes to approve my visa early July which will no doubt be after the June closure, but still at 8 months 2 week mark. It's been a long wait but now there's only 6 week or so it's coming on fast as I'll be leaving here 10th july! It's funny as you wait for so long but now it's time to enjoy some time with friends and family

Congrats! Hope others get there through soon enough

Hey, I applied on 17th October so roughly around the same time. All paperwork etc submitted ok at the start and police checks/medical completed march/April. Just returned from a month with my other half and step daughter in Thailand so now I'm itching to get there after 4 years of waiting! My fiancée is Thai and was sponsored herself 5+ years ago but he left them at the start so I'm hoping this doesn't slow things down! Fingers crossed for a nice June acceptance

Medical done on Saturday at Spire in Manchester, dont ask me how i got through it (pending the blood and xray results)!! Blood pressure high but he was ok and accounted for the fact i was bricking it big time!!! Cant recommend them enough though even if it was £285 for the most anxious hour of my life...good job the mrs to be is worth it Now roll on June for the grant!!!

Awesome news! Isn't is funny how despite not knowing anyone personally on here that we all know the feeling/emotion/position that everyone is in and everybody roots together!

I have my medical in Manchester so I'm travelling from leeds early Saturday so not too bad, although id drive to Oz if it wasn't going to hurt haha. I've not seen my missus since October 7th so it's been a long wait, but we have been like this for 4 years and she used to live in NZ! We generally see each other every 3/4/5 months but now my step daughter is at school they can't come and brave the UK cold as often! It's not been a cheap 4 years but is worth every penny...dollar and baht! Thank god for Skype, Viber and FaceTime!! Just stick with it, keep busy and the time will fly. As me and my little family always say " it doesn't matter how long it takes as we've got the next 60 years together to drive each other nuts"!!

Hi Peeps, My PMV application date was October 17th so looks like we are all around the same time! My CO is DP and he has been quite good. Nothing further has been requested and Police check is in, plus have my medical on saturday ( not looking forward to that dreaded blood test due to a lifelong fear of needles!!) Im glad the wife to be appreciates the lengths i have gone to haha. I guess we all just have to be positive and not clock watch, i have to say its much easier now than the first few months although we are meeting in 3 weeks in Thailand so that softens the blow Roll on June/July and get me on that first flight to Sydney!! Good luck everyone Rich