vava
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Everything posted by vava
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Hi Angie, They must be doing things differently at DIAC now. When we were asked to get our medicals done and our police certificates last September the letter was actually from our CO and we had our visa granted a few weeks later. Maybe this new system saves all the rushing around like headless chickens later on. Certainly, for us, getting an appointment for the medicals took some time. At least you can be a bit more leisurely doing it this way. Good luck with it all! Val x
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Hi all, I too am having problems with Centrelink. I have had to email DIAC and ask for some extra time as my daughter's promised appointment letter has not materialised. She is in the Brisbane area. She also works full time and hasn't much opportunity to keep waiting for the phone to be answered. I think I will ask her to write a letter and post it through the door herself. We should compile a list of the worst Centrelink offices and send it to the CPV Centre in Perth to see if they can intervene. I can't wait for this whole process to be over - never done anything as stressful and costly in my life! Roll on wine o' clock! Regards, Val x
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Hi Gill, Glad its all working out nicely for you all a year on. Thank you for the heads up re Post Office credit card. I have just completed my online application and its in the post! Hope your granddaughter continues to make good progress. Its lovely to hear success stories from those who were already in the system when we first applied for our CPV. Val (vava)
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Hi there Pam, Wonderful news about the new grandchild! We're having another one too at the beginning of November, hence the reason for the trip at Christmas. We didn't intend going again until our "one way ticket" but there is no way we would miss welcoming a new family member in person. You are very brave to go on your own! Val x
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Hi Mike & Sue, You have achieved loads these past few months! Well done with the flat sale. We took a leap of faith a few weeks ago and got 1.55. We weighed up the interest we get in Oz (4.5%) versus the poor exchange rate at the time, in the absence of a crystal ball we just said s*d it and did the deal! The camper van sounds wonderful but I don't envy your packing up your stuff! Keep us all posted - I'm looking forward to future installments! Val x
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Hi Moira, No, we are still in the UK and will be for the foreseeable future. We are only doing the 173 to 143 application now because DIAC put the prices up every July 1st and the money is already in our ANZ account. I got the letter yesterday - they posted it to me in the UK and I had to then forward it by post to my daughter in Brisbane! They already know her address as our sponsor so why they couldn't just post it to her is beyond me! They have given us 28 days but I've a feeling we will be asking for more time. My best advice is not to panic..............apart from the visa payment, the medicals and the police checks, everything else can be done at your leisure. We haven't even put our house on the market yet! We'll do it when we get back from our Christmas trip to see the new grandchild. Go and enjoy this UK heat wave and have a glass of wine! Best regards, Val x
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Hi Mike, Sorry I haven't replied before now but PIO emails seem to have stopped for some reason. My question for you is; we got our acknowledgment letter from DIAC this morning dated 10th May 2012. With it is another letter to hand over to Centrelink when my daughter has her interview for the Assurance of Support. They have said they need the requested information within 28 days of receipt (today). Does this mean that we now have a CO or does it simply mean that the wheels are in motion? How long did your request for your sponsor to have the Centrelink interview take? It all seems to be happening a bit fast! Hope you can help and good luck with the shipping quotes! Regards, Val x
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Hi there, Just from my own personal experience, Singapore Airlines allowed us each 30kg but only on the outbound journey of our validation trip after being granted our CPV 173. Their argument was that it was only a temporary visa and we were returning back to the UK six weeks later. It didn't particularly matter too much as we were going out there for Christmas so the extra allowance was taken up with presents and lots of chocolate! Emirates do give 30kg allowance as standard but I think they are much more expensive anyway. Just for comparison, I have booked flights for this coming November and returning on New Years Eve with Singapore for £1632 for two of us! Emirates and Etihad quoted almost £3000. So 20kg will have to do this time (even though we should have our 143 by then). I emailed via their customer feedback form online and asked for the extra and said the I wished I had booked with Emirates and that seemed to do the trick! If you don't ask - you don't get! Good Luck, Val x
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Hey Mike & Sue, All seems to be falling into place for you now - won't be long for the unmentionable thing either I'm sure! I'm waiting for my 173>143 acknowledgement - daughter only posted it last week so fingers crossed it will all be done and dusted by November. We have another grandchild due then so the flights are already booked! Best of luck with everything! Regards, Valx
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Mengancun, I can't see the point in sending copies of documents to the CPV centre before a case officer is appointed to you. Surely by sending stuff they haven't yet asked for is slowing the system down. No wonder the wait times are increasing. When you get a CO he/she will let you know what they want and when they want it, otherwise be patient! I know it's hard but we get there eventually. Val x
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Hi Val, Personally I wouldn't do anything with your police certificates until you have a case officer. Ours got lost even with a case officer so I had to send for new ones...............hey presto the very next day our CO found them! Luckily I managed to ring the ACRO office and they shredded my cheque but I certainly wouldn't front load anything that will cost money to replace if it either expires or is lost. Hope this helps, Val x
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Originally Posted by denzil53 We have just heard, after a 14 month wait, that our visa application has been refused. Our sponsoring son had not been resident for the full 2 years at the start of our application, although he has now been there almost 3 years! Not sure what to do now . . . The above re-post is from page 407 in this thread and is for all the people who can't decide what the rules are about PR. Not heard whether Denzil has had his appeal yet but beware - DIAC do take it seriously. They didn't even let him know at the original lodgement that it would be rejected - he had to wait the full 14 months for a rejection! Hope this helps! Val x
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It means permanent residency.
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Hi there, hope all goes well with the meds and one of the viewers makes you an offer you can't refuse! You'll soon be on your way.....good luck Val x
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Hi Anna, You make a very valid point in your reply. My reply was from a purely personal aspect in that I hold a British UK passport. I did not take into account that there are many other nationalities who use this forum and because of that I apologise for any confusion I may have caused. I guess the true answer is; it all depends on what passport you hold. I'm sure like Anna, when the time comes, the applicants' CO will advise whether or not you need to send your passport off to the Australian High Commission. I also acknowledge those who said it was beneficial to get the labels in any case as it helps proving eligibility to live and work in Australia. Val x
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Hello, Yes its all electronic now - the airlines even know at check-in!
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Hi there, You say that your sister is there already...................how long has she been a permanent resident? If she fulfils the "settled" requirements then she will be able to sponsor. I assume the balance of family test is ok and that there are no other siblings of yours to take into account. If there are, I'm afraid your parents may have to wait for a while before they can apply. It might be an idea to try to get a free telephone consultation with a migration agent just to clarify all the points. Good luck, Val
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Just been having a little chuckle to myself at VALANDMATT's decluttering. I have started on the top cupboard in the bedroom today and have FINALLY thrown away all the cards we received for the births of our daughters (now aged 33 & 30) aswell as years and years of anniversary cards and special Christmas cards.........the list goes on and the paper recycling bin is full! Another good thing to come out of the decluttering is that I made £26.15 by taking all our unwanted clothes, towels and bedding to our local recycling centre. They weigh it and give you 40p per kilo. Just got to get rid of the millions of books in the loft now! Happy decluttering to all those about to begin the next part of the journey to Oz! Val x
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Hi Phoebe, Hope you can give it another try and also hope that things will start to look a bit brighter in the other areas too. Keep dreaming...........Val x
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Hi again Ann, I made a comparison between HiFX and Halo before we got our visa and needed funds to be over there and found Halo to give a slightly better rate. I just transfer from my online bank to their account and they do the deal. Its really simple and they always talk you through it on the phone to make sure you want to deal at that rate. I could have risked waiting for the rate to improve but I'm on a fairly good rate of interest with ANZ so I dealt at 1.53 as I don't get any interest here! Val x
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I checked it on here the other day and the rate was 1.50 I think. So I sent some over with Halo Financial on Wednesday (4th) and got 1.53. They say things may change for the better towards the end of April but there are no guarantees! I was happy enough with 1.53. Good luck! Val x
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Thanks so much Linday, I spoke to my daughter last night and she pointed out that since our 173 application she and her husband have become Australian citizens as well as having a baby so it might be worth mentioning this in a covering letter and will also enclose copies of our passports too. Fingers crossed it'll all go smoothly! Thanks again! Val x
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Morning all, We are ready to apply for the permanent 143 after being granted a temp 173 last November. I am about to send our completed form 47PT to my daughter along with a blank sponsorship form 40 for her to fill in. It advises in the notes for form 47PT that if circumstances remain the same, proof documents are not required. Does anyone know if that also applies to my daughter? DIAC had all the certified copies of everything in 2010 when we applied and nothing has changed. It seems silly to go to all the bother and expense of getting more certified copies if it's not necessary. I know Linday recently did this application so perhaps if you read this Linday you might be able to help. Thanks in advance....................Val x
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Hi again Squiz, Once you have all decided which route you're going to take (which could possibly be covered in a free consultation) regarding which visa your in laws want or could apply for then form filling in is all you need to do. I went with a migration agent but it turned out to be not the wisest thing we have ever done and was quite costly but others will have a different view. You will certainly get lots of help on this site. Like Mike said before, read all the info in booklet 3 and on the immi website, and ask the users of this forum for help with anything you're unsure of - you will always get an answer but as always, its your call. Its a long journey but worth it in the end so Good Luck! Val
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Hi Squiz, It seems that your parents in law will pass the balance of family test; that is, at least half of their children are permanently settled in Australia so they would be eligible to apply for a contributory parent visa. For 2 parents the cost is now more like £60,000! The costs rise by about 10% every July too. There is a cheaper option but the current wait time is around 15-20 years! There are other hurdles too such as medicals and character assessments. There are certainly other options but some are age dependant. Have a look on www.immi.gov.au website and see what the options are. Alternatively you could try and get a free short consultation with a migration agent. The parent visas 143 & 173 normally take around 14 months. Hope this helps a little.Val