Adelaide

:jiggy:OMG .... just switched on the computer and there it sat!!!!!

My Partner has the visa as do my three children!!!!!

 

 

SOOOOOO Happy.....

HUGE thank you to everyone who has oelped and advised us on the way as well as the lovely Maree at Go Matilda and SV , our C.O !

Now let the fun begin xxx

Woohoo!!! really pleased for ya :biggrin:

Now the fun begins! :wink:

Hi

 

Just wanted to pass on my stats. First post from me, although have been checking the thread since early this year. It has really helped me throughout the whole application process - from preparation to grant - so a huge "Thank you!" to all those who have posted tips and timelines.

 

20/05/11 Front loaded application sent.

23/05/11 Application received at AH / monies taken.

24/05/11 CO (SV) assigned. Re-certification of 2 docs requested by CO.

06/06/11 Re-certified docs sent.

10/06/11 CO stated all required docs provided, and visa due around 23 Oct.

27/09/11 Visa (subclass 309) granted.:jiggy:

 

I had read in a few posts that my CO almost never grants in under 5 months, so to receive the visa in just over 4 months was a (very welcome) surprise. For those of you who also have SV - I think I have seen posts from at least a couple of you - I hope this is the beginning of a new trend!

 

Fingers crossed for a speedy grant for everyone who is still waiting.

WOW!!! you did very well there! she made me wait the whole 5 months, Congratulations!!!! :jiggy:

HI Adelaide! Thanks for that...useful advice! Just as a matter of interest when did you change your plans to go to Mandurah? Thought you were off to Adelaide? Just nosing as we are all over the place with where to go! Have still got the house to sell so very frustrating but hoping to all be out there by next april may at the latest!

Last weekend actually!! and now we have decided it makes perfect sense, my OH's mum had to have an emergency life saving opperation back in June and she wanted to be a little closer to her. We spoke to her Sister who's already living in Mandurah and she convinced us it wasn't that expensive down there plus both of us love it there and she'll only be an hour away from her mum shoudl she need her. When we did the sums it was actually cheaper to rent in Mandurah than Adelaide so win win!!

Both really excited and can't wait to fly early January!! :jiggy:

Where about's did you decide to live in the end?

Hallo fellow pozzies to be! Got an e-mail today to say all info is complete and we should be receiving our visa grant around the 15th of November. OMG :biglaugh: We submitted all our information around the 24th of June !

Not sure if i should laugh or cry!!!

Our case officer was s.v by the way if anyone is on a similar time line!

Well done!! We had SV and the same timeline, from our experience and others before me don't do your head in (and ur other half!) by repeatidly checking your email. :mad:

She's very thorough and doesn't grant early from what Ive seen and it will be on or just after the date she's given you so chillax and ride out the wait!! :biggrin:

Hey Adelaide, I'm sure everything will be fine - but it's not what you need just before the weekend! I could go around London looking for it otherwise, shouldn't be a problem finding it!

 

Ha, I'm on getting on the big bird on 7th Dec - so in time for a nice hot xmas.

 

Fingers crossed RE passport!

Cheers! I'm hoping he brings me good news too.

Lovely jubley having a hot crimbo!! OH tells me I'm gonna fry my booty off when we land as it'll be in the heat of summer lol already purchased and armed with my factor 9000!! :biglaugh:

All the best for the 7th Dec :hug:

Thanks Adelaide, BackToAdelaide and TracyC!

 

WHOOP WHOOP! Indeed! I'm pretty sure I'm one of the last from the March crowd, very slow and steady! Another few weeks would have killed me, so very happy!

 

I've just come back from AHC with my shiny new visa sticker! I went there in the torrential rain and smiled thinking that I won't be getting cold and wet for too much longer! Adelaide have you got your blinging passport back now?

 

On with booking my shipping, done all my negotiating and have just got to decide who to use. Looking forward to tying up all the last things, but the biggy is out the way now!

 

Have you guys all booked flights, shipping companies, etc? When are we all off?

 

Thanks again and good luck!

No not yet!! Starting to get a lil worried as it's coming up to a week now, so just rang AH and a nice chap is calling me back later as the tracking ref shows they received it but its not on the system!! :arghh:

Got a nervous wait now til after 4pm when he said he'd call me back, I pray it's not lost :wacko:

All flights booked 6th Jan and shipping company sorted for November, bring on the sunshine!! :jiggy: when are you going on the big bird?

I am approved! Finally nudged our MA this morning about what was happening and it turns out we were actually granted on Friday 19th August! Very happy, and to be honest any excuse to drink a bottle of champers on a Monday is valid with me! Looking forward to the bank holiday for some more celebrating too.

 

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me out on here, whether it's been through conversation or just posting useful info about the whole process - it's been an addictive lifeline. Good luck to everyone applying, waiting and starting their new lives down under - I'll be over soon!

 

Here's our timeline:

 

10/03/11 - All docs sent to MA.

17/03/11 - Lodged application to AHC for Partner 309 Visa.

24/03/11 - C/O Assigned and Meds/PC requested.

11/04/11 - PC Done.

20/04/11 - Med Done.

19/08/11 - Visa granted!

 

We are in the final stages of booking our shipping company and I have booked flights for the beginning of December to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

 

:jiggy:

WHOOP WHOOP!!! well done! is that all us March stragglers done now? I bet your pleased? it's a massive relief when you know you've done it!! :biggrin:

I sent my passport and visa grant off to AH on Saturday by Speical Delivery to have some bling put in it! lol I need to see it visually in my hands!! lol

Good luck with the move!! :hug:

OH just got this back from Singapore Airlines:

Thank you for your email.

Kindly note, if you hold an unused/unstamped/not validated migrant visa that specifically states that you are permittedto remain in Australia indefinitely / permanently, you will then be entitled to the double baggage allowance (40 kilos, per passenger).

The double baggage allowance will only be granted when you check in at the airport when this visa is sighted and checked that it has also not been travelled on before, this has to be the first time it is being used.

You can have as many items of checked luggage as you wish provided:

• The total combined weight of all the items put together does not exceed your total checked allowances
• No single item of baggage exceeds 32 kilos in weight, as a health and safety requirement
  

If you are not holding the correct visa mentioned above at check-in, then you will be entitled to the standard free checked baggage allowance of 20 kilos per passenger.

Singapore for me as well. I asked them a million times (well twice) to make sure that it was on my booking that I had the extra weight allowance so there wasn't any problems at the airport. Wouldn't you know it wasn't on there and I had to get a proper sour cow who looked at me like I was a complete moron when I said that I had the 40 kg because of the unvalidated visa. In the end she finally agreed to ask someone from the airline but saying that she would ask but didn't think that it mattered. When the woman from Singapore came over she just looked at my passport and told her that it was fine. The moral of this story is (I think) that you can just turn up at the airport and they will give you the 40 kg as long as you can prove the unvalidated visa (guy from customer relations confirmed this as well, I was just overly cautious). Unfortunately, it means that it will probably only be you that gets the extra 20 kg allowance but I guess thats better than nothing.

 

When you looking to head over?

Flights booked for 6th January 2012, promised my parents one last Christmas before we go, looking forward to starting a new life in oz! :jiggy:

Holy poopballs Adelaide, I can't believe that your visa has only just been granted you poor sod. Bet you're so relived.

 

 

Just wanted pass on some advice to people coming over soon. With your 40 kg baggage allowance make sure that it is spot on as they allow you no leeway whatsoever with over weight baggage because they are already giving you a massive allowance. I have never had a trip to Australia where my luggage wasn't slightly over and I have never had to pay any excess before, this time I was stung pretty badly. So just be careful :smile:

 

Just in the process of looking for somewhere to live now and I can't make up my mind between living in Brisbane or out on the Sunshine Coast, although looking at the rental properties available it looks like my mind may be made up by where I can get a house with a pool (i.e. not Brisbane), if the winter heat here at the moment is anything to go by then the summer is going to be a scorcher and I'm going to need a pool to make sure that I don't melt.:biggrin:

I know!!! Tell me about it! I was starting to lose the plot towards the end lol but it all ended well in the end :jiggy:

Who did you fly with? We've booked ours with Singapore Airlines and my OH is trying to get us extra baggage allowance, it will prob only be for me as she is just flying back home so no visa needed, but it will all help.

Good luck in the house hunt! :biggrin:

Cat x

Cheers!

Yah, she's our viscous attack labrador (no, not a typo, definitely viscous)

- guaranteed to nudge anyone who might possibly have food and calmly allow small children to put hats on her and hang toys from her collar and generally do anything at all without batting an eyelid :eek:

She looks gorgeous! :biggrin: I can't wait to move over because I want to get a dog, they are good company and I believe a good snake deterrent! so win win!! lol

Fan-bloo%$-tastic!!

Lol!! thanks :biggrin:

Btw love the pic of your dog!

Thanks everyone!! we are so pleased and relieved to finally hear )

Took me AGES to get to sleep last night, my head was spinning that much!! lol

HALLE'FLIPPIN'LUJAH!!!!!! Finally been granted my visa!! She granted me 100! :biggrin:

So happy! :jiggy:

Hey Adelaide, Yea we are on exactly the same timeline pretty much! I think out of our group we are the only stragglers left! It's nice to see that people have been granted theirs so quickly recently, we'll be fine - slow and steady! When are you looking at going? Organised any shipping yet?

 

Good luck!

Yeah really pleased for the one's who have been granted theirs but I think I've gone passed chewing my fingernails and I'm down to my elbows with the stress!! lol

We have already booked our flights for 6th January 2012, so glad we didn't plan to go early i.e visa 4 month mark otherwise we would be re-scheuling them. We have found a shipping company called J A Coles (based in Manchester) Jon was really friendly and seemed to know what he was talking about, just waiting for the nod now so we can get things rolling.

What about you? have you planned flights, shippers etc yet?

By the way, who's your CO?

Congrats, you must be over the moon! Everyone on our timeline is getting there now, exactly 5 months for me today...

I'm in the same boat as you, 5 months and 1 day now ( got my MA on the case to find out what's happening. Fingers crossed we both hear something soon.

From other threads my CO sticks to the date she gives and doesn't grant earlier (if anything it would appear late!) I've only seen once grant early and that was because of special circumstances. Good luck!

Are you still waiting?

 

When are you heading to Adelaide (guessing by the name that's where you're off to^^)

Yeah still waiting although d-day is tomorrow!!! Got everything crossed she grants it and doesn't make me wait any longer!! :o/

Already booked the flights for early Jan but OH is from Perth so going there 1st then driving over to Adelaide will land there on 1st Feb, can't flippin wait!!! :biggrin:

Good luck! :hug:

Visa approved! Been away for a few days so only just getting the chance to post. That was a couple of days short of 4 months.

 

So excited! Our flights are booked for 1st November. Can't wait to be back in Aus!

Congratulations!! :biggrin:

Hi All, got my visa confirmed whilst I was on holiday! Many thanks for everyone who provided their stats, heres mine -

 

Visa 309/100 posted 29/03/11; Money taken: 30/03/11; Medical: 05/04/11; CO assigned: 30/03/11; 309 Approved: 01/08/11.

Congratulations!! who was your CO?

Getting back on topic, has anyone bothered to send OH's passport to Australia house for a visa sticker or just printing out the email visa??

We've read on here that someone got two of those Royal Mail Special Delivery silver bags put a pre posted return one inside the one to AH with a copy of the visa grant letter and it was returned within 2 days all stamped up and ready to go!

When I (fingers crossed) finally get mine I'm going to do it as we've also read that without it it can cause problems with medicare, employers etc as there's no physical proof in your passport.

Booked our flights today through Austravel. 3rd time I've used them and very happy again.

 

All seems very final now...we'll be leaving at the start of November. We're taking nothing but suitcases and sending one medium box surface mail (just my little boy's christening gifts etc). I shipped everything in this direction so its time to be ruthless and say goodbye to it all. Now we have to sell our hoards of belongings!! :wacko:

Wow!!!! good luck to ya both! both Sam and I can't wait to move over we've booked our flights already through Netflights and the wait is killing me ( it's due soon and I'm trying to be patient for my Mrs :-)

We planned not to take our gear over but have recently decided that it was MUCH cheaper to take our own stuff over after Sam researched the Aussie shops she knows and found out that it was gonna cost us double to start up!!

I mean it when I say both Sam and I wish you all the best on your new journey x :biggrin:

Thank the lord the waiting is over we got the email yesterday 2nd august from our co that we got subclass 100.exactly 4 months and 2 week to the day.thanks to everybody for the help over the past few months,thinking of leaving for sydney around november:laugh::laugh::laugh::laugh::biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

Congratulations!!!! :biggrin:

I'd be giving her a call direct. I know its technically breaking the rules, but I wouldnt be able to help myself!! :twitcy:

 

You applied at the same time as us, so shouldn't be far away from a decision.

 

You must have the patience of a saint!

Hmmmm I sometimes wonder, I'm going off my nut waiting!!! lol:wacko:

Are you still waiting? Have you given them a call?? :huh:

Yep still waiting trying to be patient!!! We've gone through an agent and I've been a thorn in his backside about wanting the verdict but he said she was clear in his chaser email in June to chillax and wait until the date. She's a stickler for the rules unfortunately, I'm pleased for everyone who's had their grants but I must admit I'm finding it hard seeing others get theirs who submitted after us.

Hopefully not long to go now!!

Congrats Tink85!!!

Hopefully I won't be far behind u!

Good luck :-)