llessur

Living and Working in Australia by David Hampshire - loads of info. Just make sure you get the most current edition.

Haha - my parents take teabags wherever they go - UK or abroad. I think it must be a generational thing. Not that my parents are quite that old but aparently during the war the UK government split the nation's tea stocks up and stored them in different places across the UK. The thinking was that tea was so important to the British way of life that if the tea stocks were lost through bombing then morale would take a dive and the war might have been be lost... I get through about 6 or 7 cups per day so I'm probably not one to criticise. :eek:

If you take them you'll have to declare them - if they're retail packed chocolate and teabags/leafs then you'll probably be allowed to keep them. Even if not you'll not be in any trouble as long as you declare them. However, are you sure you want to fill up valuable luggage space with chocolate and tea? There is a damn good selection of tea and chocolate in Oz - especially if you happen to find yourself near one of the Haigh's Chocolate stores :yes:

Oh pants - didn't realise the deals were that good! Maybe we should have gone with Singapore after all! :goofy:

Yeah we had this problem too - turns out you have to book the ticket first then log back into the site to book the stopover. Bit of a silly (or clever depending on how you look at it) way of doing it - put us off in the end as we couldn't see the prices before committing to fly with Singapore (although obviously we could have booked a stopover separately). We were flexible about routes on the way out to Oz and wanted to decide on airline based on the best value stopover we could find. Booked with Cathay in the end with a stopover in Hong Kong. Singapore looked awesome too so we'll probably do this on our next return to the UK.

I second this - brought a bit back to the UK with us, lovely stuff. You could also try Tbar underneath David Jones' in the CBD if you're into loose tea.

However, if you know you'll be in Oz at the time and need to go offshore for the visa grant then if you let your CO know of your plans in advance then they should advise you when they are ready to grant (might be short notice) so that you can go offshore for a few days. That's how I understand it to work - someone who's done the whole tourist visa whilst waiting for grant thing should be able to confirm... Best of luck with the process

Yep, generally that's good news If your CO wanted any more info she would have asked for it at the same time as your meds. What are your CO's initials just out of interest? Best of luck with the process

Glenelg is lovely - close to the beach, not far from the CBD. Property can be a bit on the pricey side though...

Importantly, have you downloaded and read the information booklet on partner visa applications? The whole process and suggested supporting information/documents is listed in there and it's well worth reading from cover to cover a few times and then following as closely as possible. The booklet can be downloaded here - especially read pages 39-41 on how to prove a genuine and committed relationship: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/1127.pdf Proving financial ties with each other is just part of the evidence you can use and is worth doing if you can - even if you don't have anything in joint names now it would be a good idea to get a few things set up - for example you could apply to open a joint savings account and put a couple of hundred quid in there - ours was opened on the same day we went into the bank and we received official documentation through the post 2 days later. It might not hold as much weight as it you'd had the account for the whole time you've been together but it would be a start. The same goes for travel/home insurance, getting bills in joint names etc. Might take a few days for the updated documents to arrive through the post but if you work on getting things changed over the next day or two then you will have some more evidence to send off next week. As per the previous poster even non-joint mail can be used as evidence - providing it is official and shows a selection sent to both of you whilst you lived at the same address. Generally one piece of evidence from each of the last 12 months is considered a good amount to send off if possible. If you don't have/want shared bills/accounts etc then you could provide copies of each of your bank statements showing transfers to/from each other to pay for bills/food shopping etc. Or, if you take it in turns to pay for food shopping/meals out etc you can highlight this too. Alternatively, if one of you earns more than the other and tends to pay for all food shopping/bills/entertainment etc then this can also be used as proof of you supporting each other financially - try to find some evidence to go with it to prove that what you are paying for is for both of you. Basically, just tell them the truth about how you operate as a couple and find as much evidence as you can to support that. As suggested previously, you can download several copies of the 888 stat dec form from the DIAC website and get a selection of friends and family to write declarations of why they believe you are in a genuine and committed relationship - how you met, why/when you married, things you do as a couple, how you support each other financially/physically/emotionally etc. Have you and the wife done one of these decs? If not, you definitely should. It should contain the same sort of info as the ones from friends/family but from your perspectives. Form is here: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/888.pdf The decs will need to be witnessed by a solicitor or similar when signed so make sure you get this done too - instructions are on the 888 form and make sure you follow them closely (epecially about who can witness outside of the UK) to avoid any changes being required. Best of luck with the process - plenty of help available on here if you ask.... :biggrin:

Where it asks for passport details for family members does it not state "only if dependant on you and migrating with you" or something along those lines? Presuming they're not you can just fill in the basic details (name, address etc) up to that point and leave the passport details blank. That's what they required for my partner visa application - might be different for a 175 though...

Our 309 temporary spouse visa was issued in January so am just trying to make things a little easier for myself a couple of years down the road when we are assessed for the 100 permanent visa. Always thinking ahead you see...:wink: Just wondered if anybody can advise what sort of evidence would be required at that stage? I just need to know whether we need to go back to hoarding all bank statements, letters etc that are addressed to us over the next couple of years or whether the evidence requirements are less strict for the 100 than they were for the 309 which means we can relax a bit and free up a bit of space in our cupboards. Will we need to submit the same amount of evidence (i.e. something official for each month) or do they just look at your circumstances at the 2 year point and ask for minimal evidence to ensure you are still living together at that point? We'll most likely be in Oz at that point so it would be nice to think we don't have to ship a load of paperwork over for the 6 months between the date our visa was issued and the date we arrive in Oz. Many thanks as always for your input :biggrin:

If your application is likely to be straightforward (i.e. you meet all of the requirements, aren't applying before you've been together 12 months, don't have a complicated situation of both living separately with very little contact, don't have substantial criminal records, severe medical problems or any other reason why they might reject your application) then I would suggest saving the migration agent's fees and applying directly yourself. Take a read of the partner migration booklet via the link below - it's really useful: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/booklets/books1.htm#how We applied for our 309/100 ourselves (as many other PIO members have) and the process is fairly straightforward (especially if you follow the instructions in the booklet/on the forms to the letter) - although don't underestimate how fiddly it can be to gather all of the evidence required. Some people find that part easier than others - just depends on how much evidence you've kept hold of over the years or whether you've just shredded it all :eek: I haven't got the exact costs to hand but you'll make a substantial saving by going down the DIY route - allow £1400ish for the visa application fee, £350ish per applicant or dependant for the medicals, £50ish for the police checks and then another £100 or so for ad-hoc costs of getting documents certified, postage etc. If you want peace of mind however then by all means use an agent - they will be able to sanity check your application to ensure you haven't missed anything - although you would still need to do much of the evidence gathering (the tricky bit in my opinion) yourself anyway. Best of luck with the process - keep us updated :wink:

Just wondering if anyone had any experience of having laser eye surgery done in Oz and whether it works out comparable in price and use of the latest procedures to the UK. I have been wanting to have this done for years (relatively mild short-sightedness) but have never had any issues with contacts/glasses etc so have always put it on the back burner. Am now wondering whether it's worth dipping into our savings slightly to have this done before we leave the UK. One of my main worries is around having to wear sunglasses more in Oz - fine if I'm wearing my contacts but I try to leave these out at least a couple of days per week (it's supposed to be healthy) and don't want to get stuck with some God awful prescription ones or vari-tints... :cool: If anyone's got any insight into laser surgery from an Oz perspective I would love to hear about it. Have found quite a few websites for clinics in Adelaide and Melbourne (where we will be heading) but unlike the UK ones they're very reluctant to show prices and don't seem to mention the new Wavefront method of treatment which is supposed to be much better than the older methods....

Many congratulations and best of luck with your future adventure!

A very good link to read: http://www.gotmyvisa.co.uk/2009/09/useful-email.html Check out the bit near the bottom entitled "How should I put my application together?" Best of luck with it all!

Awesome news - congratulations! Best of luck with your future adventures :biggrin:

Thank you - at least we can finally relax and finalise planning now. Actually have a local off license (remember 'bottle shop'...remember 'bottle shop'....) that sells a nice variety of Aussie beers - Coopers, James Boags, Little Creatures etc - so going to head in on the way home and pick up a selection for a Thursday night celebration :wink: Plus, I will always remember that my visa was granted on Australia Day! Double celebrations....:err:

:jiggy:WOOO HOOO! :jiggy: After nearly two years of following (and occasionally dipping my toe into) this thread I am hugely thrilled to be able to post the following: I received an email in the last hour or so to state "I refer to your application for a (Temporary) Partner (Provisional) (Class UF) Visa. On the basis of your sponsorship by *the better half*, I am pleased to advise that you have been granted a subclass 309 Provisional Spousevisa." Timeline is as follows: 26/09/11 - 309/100 application sent to AH by Special Delivery 28/09/11 - Email received requesting alternative form of payment (Amex not accepted by AH) 29/09/11 - Full payment taken from Visa card 06/10/11 - Case officer assigned (WP). Medicals and police checks requested plus certified copy of my OH's UK passport (we only sent a copy of the Australian one). 12/10/11 - Medical undertaken at Bridge Clinic in Maidenhead 04/11/11 - WP advised no further information required and hopes to be able to grant within 5-6 months of lodgement date (29/09) 26/01/12 - WP advised visa granted!!! That's 3 days under the four month mark. :yes: Absolutely over the moon - we have flights booked for 10th April with a 4 night stopover in Hong Kong. Heading to Adelaide initially to spend a few weeks with the OH's family and friends then we have plans to possibly do a month or two of travelling around Oz - the OH has got family in most cities so might do the big drive - Adelaide, Melbs, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Alice Springs, Adelaide before hopefully settling in Melbourne. A huge thanks to everyone on this forum who's provided me with help and info regarding the visa application. I'll keep you all updated on our adventure! Best of luck to those who are still waiting!