Hey everyone!
This is a somewhat confusing subject for me at the moment, that i can´t find an answer to it in any forum.
The question is; can a first entry date be extended. The answer, wherever i look, is always a very clear and firm NO!
You HAVE to enter Oz and validate your visas before that date, period.
We received our 175 visas yesterday and right after, i wrote to our case officer, referring to an earlier exchange we´ve had earlier when she informed me: "I can extend health 6 months as long as there are no conditions applicable and police clearances 3 months." Sounded nice enough for me then.
So, i reminded her of this and asked if this indeed would be possible now, as we got our visas granted May 16-th and our first entry date is set for Sept.13-th, which obviously is not a lot of time, especially with a toddler included. The reply i got this morning was the following: "To extend your IED you need only email: GSM.business.support@immi.gov.au. You need to wait til your IED date has passed then email the above address requesting an extension of time."
Now, as you can see, this is the exact opposite of what everyone everywhere says. In fact, it´s almost too simple and good to be true. "Don´t worry about it, just enter whenever it suits you, just let us know beforehand"
I´d like to believe this is true, after all, this reply came straight from DIAC.
Any thoughts on this, anyone?
Thank you and cheers,
-Peter