Ciska

Hi Victoria, well I don't want to imagine the pile of ironing if you've been doing it all week, haha! I didn't see an actual form to get your ex's permission allowing you to take the kids. I wrote a statement myself including my ex's contact details and birth date etc. He signed it and then he sent me a copy of his passport, which he had certified at the local postoffice. That's it. And I had my divorce decree translated, part of it outlines the care plan for the girls. Because I only recently got a divorce, I had one paragraph specifcally mention his agreement for me to take my youngest daughter to Australia (elder daughter is over 18). I feel I have to explain that I've been on my own for the past 5 years but never officially divorced because I thought if I did that, I wouldn't be able to live in the house we shared. But now I had to get a divorce, no matter the consequences for my house. It's ok though, now I wouldn't want to live here anymore anyway as I want to move to Oz so I'm in the process of selling or renting out my house. Another viewing next week, fingers crossed! It's a hassle packing my stuff while keeping it spotless for buyer inspections! Yes I'm leaving just after Christmas, spending it with my mum otherwise she'd be on her own. My brothers and sisters are taking off on a Christmas holiday. It does mean I'm not spending Christmas with my elder daughter, who's in Melbourne. She will be with my fiance's family for Christmas. It's.... difficult. But I thought this is the last thing I could do for my mum and dad before I leave them... How does your family feel about you leaving? Will you get your ex to sign you think? I was lucky in that the girls are older and even before I had decided to move to Australia, he had already decided to move away, back to Scotland anyway. So effectively, he had left the girls back in Holland already. Hope your days will be bearable! Doesn't help it's so cold, gray and wet - or that Christmas is coming But! Chin up! I'm sure a lot of women have done this what we're doing and are still standing! So keep up the busy work and keep up the ironing! Never though ironing would be our saving grace...

Hope you feel better soon Victoria I know what it feels like, I cried all the way home from the airport when Stuart left. It's so hard. Back to the old Skype and calls again, it just didn't feel right. Try and cheer up - and get started on the visa, at least it will make you feel like you're doing something about the situation you're in right now.

No I understood that perfectly, I know the CO doesn't issue a tourist visa, I was just told to TELL her just in case my CO would come up with a reason why I had better not go on a tourist visa... You never know and I don't want to jeopardize the visa proceedings. But the tourist visa I received upon booking the flight out last July will still be valid for my next flight out late December, so all I need to do now is book the flight, tell CO and I'm off! ) She hinted that she might MAYBE!! give me the PMV just before I left at Christmas. Well that would just be perfect, would solve sooo many problems! I'm just going to send her a picture of my wedding dress I bought a few weeeks ago anyway and thank her for that phone call. It's made my days so much better ) A gentle hint that we're ready to get married any day, as our celebrant has lodged the papers already, so we won't have to wait yet another month after lodging the notice. Yup, I guess you could say we're ready for it. Bring on the PMV!

Shame you seem to have had a less cooperative CO. My CO told me it was fine to go on a tourist visa and when I entered on one last July, customs never asked me anything at all. I asked her 'permission' anyway because I just want her to know about it and if she had suggested it might be somehow slowing down the grant proceedings, I would not have done it. I will go on a tourist visa for one thing only: I really do want to be with my fiance. Since November 2011 I've only spent 7 weeks with him, so my choice is very obvious. Fortunately, I think I will be more than busy as we'll be moving house into a rental. We're looking to build our own house so that will take a lot of preparation. We have a wedding to plan. We have the Spouse visa to apply for after we marry. We may have a visa for my elder daughter to apply for if she's not included on my PMV. And very importantly, I have the job market to explore and see how and where I can best apply for jobs. So I think, for me personally, 3 months will just fly by! I figure I would rather be there in Australia preparing for and starting my new life than stay here where my old life is winding down and I'm only working towards the end of my stay here. And I'm tired of being alone here, 7 weeks out of 52 and thousands of daily skypes and calls and texts... I've had enough. I WANT TO GO!! )

Had a call from my CO yesterday. Was a bit nervous about it because I had no idea what kind of (awkward) questions they might ask but it's all good. She asked a number of questions about our relationship, have we met how do we stay in touch and a lot of questions about my divorce. Probably because I got divorced only recently. But I had been well and truly separated for almost 5 years just only made it final this year with the intent of marrying my fiance. Anyway, she said she was satisfied that I met all requirements for the PMV and yes, there was no problem for me to go on a tourist visa at Christmas time and I could expect processing to take 8 to 9 months so a visa grant not before February. But no problem, just go and let her know when I would go and she would send me an email when the visa was ready to be granted to give me time to go to New Zealand and come back on the PMV. So good news (except for my older daughter's case which still has to be assessed) and I will be able to go soonish! She asked for my wedding date so I'm feeling she'll make sure it PMV goes through before then. Beach wedding, here we come... Was looking at Villa Botanica in Airlie Beach but oooops mention wedding anywhere and the charges just explode! Better mention you're doing 'a function', haha! Re: education. Yes it's outrageously expensive. One thing though. Under PMV rules, as long as you're not married and hold a spouse visa, your children will not be classed as domestic students but international, which explains the high fees. However, we checked at the highschool my daughter is going to attend and they confirmed again that she would be taken in as a domestic student. So not sure if the immi website is incorrect or outdated. But this is for Queensland anyway. But on a tourist visa, you just don't have any rights at all. I will use my time to get my daughter and myself settled in, move into our new rental, looking at building our own house, look for jobs and basically BE WITH MY GUY. My daughter will not be able to attend school until PMV is granted, but we will ask for school curriculum & books and get someone to homeschool/tutor her for the 1 or max 2 months she'll miss at end of January school start. Is this an option for you maybe? Good luck, get PMV in asap!

Yes it's an awful long time to wait. Even the initial 6 months is a long time considering you're a world away from eachother and waiting hoping for news every single day is...well, slow torture. So I can imagine how you feel, I've been living it for so long now. Unfortunately I can't help you with an instant answer, I would have to go with Wellieboots response I guess. We didn't look into the spouse visa because when consulting a migration agency, the conditions they set forth to meet a spouse visa were harder than a PMV. Remember, pregnancy or marriage are NO REASONS at all for Aussie immigration to let you into the country!! I think because they believe anyone can fake a pregnancy or marriage? Which makes it feel so unfair when you really are in a loving relationship. Wellieboots asked about your kids. If these are not yours and Paul's, then you need a legalised document of the kid's natural Dad stating he agrees to you taking the kids to Australia. You need a copy of his passport stamped too. If you were married before, you need all the documents relating to the divorce specifically highlighting how the care for the children is arranged. Depending on the age of the children, they themselves need to fill out a form. My 16 and 19 year old daughters had to anyway - and do a medical. I'm thinking of asking CO for a tourist visa, travel out there end of December until PMV is processed hopefully end of March, then leave the country for a few days to come back into Australia to validate the PMV. You need to be out of the country when PMV is granted. So we go to New Zealand for a few days, always wanted to see it anyway. Wellieboots is right when he says they could turn you away at the border if they suspect you're not coming into the country as a tourist. So you'd need a return ticket at least. You can't get your kids in school, you have to pay for medical insurance for your kids and yourself, you can't work. And if you think about getting married while on a tourist visa, remember that lodging a marriage date takes a month so arrange a celebrant and get the paperwork done as soon as you arrive, so you can file for spouse visa within your tourist visa time. Come to think of it, I wonder what customs would say if you told them you came to visit your fiance. Oh well. They never asked me anything when I travelled there with my daughters. So. It's not always like on the Border Patrol Australia show! And yes, I think they can withdraw your visa at any time and deport you. It's why I think it's best for me anyway to just sit it out for the next 5 months and do everything the way Immi wants me to. Because in the end, I just want to be with my fiance, start a new life there with him, without having any such worries. It's hard very hard but like my fiance tells me to cheer me up: in the end, it will all be worth it. We will be together. Take heart! )

You are in luck if your PMV is due soon. I sent my application in a month later and yesterday received news again and it's not good. It's AT LEAST 8 to 9 months. And I can't it see being any different if handled through the London embassy as the immigration budget is across the categories and will basically be the same for London and Berlin. But I will ask as my CO will call me Friday. This is what she wrote. I can confirm that the current processing time for Partner Migration at the Australian Embassy in Berlin is at least 8 – 9 months from the date you lodged your application (29/06/2012). This time frame is based on the number of applications currently awaiting processing and the planning levels available in the family stream of the Australian migration program, which is set by the Australian Government as part of the Budget. The department currently receives more applications than there are places available in the family stream of the migration program. This means that there is some increase in processing times for these visas. It is therefore recommended that you do not take any irreversible action during the processing of your application, such as ceasing employment, selling property or purchasing airline tickets. Applications are processed in the order they are received and there is little scope to process applications earlier. I understand that you feel you have compelling or compassionate reasons why your application should be processed earlier. However, it should be noted that as a general policy, circumstances such as employment in Australia; schooling for children; pregnancy; selling your house; or separation from your partner are not considered compelling or compassionate. Note, I'm not pregnant (haha have you seen my age) nor have employment in Australia so this must be their standard line ;-) But it just goes to show that when even pregnancy with proof the Australian Dad is the Dad isn't compelling enough... then... what is? I did say that it seems easier to me to be a couple being together awaiting visa entry than it is to be a world apart, making thousands of plans so much to do and not one can be carried out can't do a thing because you have no idea. Also processing time is not the time it takes for them to figure your case out. That's easy enough done, but then they file your case away because immigration rules says so... file it away until you've done your waiting time, then pull it out again and stamp it and you're good. I hope. I was just wondering what would happen in case there WAS a serious problem. When would they let you know? I hope it wasn't towards the end of the waiting period! But then again, if they say it's okay for you to do your medicals, then I assume everything else is okay otherwise why have applicants pay for medicals? Will keep you informed, but again, in June there's been a big change so get your PMV out asap! I feel so discouraged right now. Good luck to you though!!

I believe it's the the most elaborate because you definitely DO need to prove your relationship. From a migration officer I understood that it's the proof that's hardest to assess for any CO. We were told that CO's maintain an absolute minimum of 3 to 4 months for partners to be in (physical) contact as in living together or having spent time together. It's why I was afraid we would not meet this requirement. Most recent news is the waiting time is 7 to 9 months, applications dealt with on received by date. I think we are just unlucky this time around. It's just not so easy. In the news last week: Australia is focusing on getting people in from Asia rather than Europe. I wonder what this means to the wait list for applications processed through London and Berlin... Anyway, my application is good to go, but I have been waiting 4 months already with no news whatsoever except: wait time extended to 7 to 9 months...

Hi Tori, I applied for my subclass 300 visa June 28, 2012 in Berlin and was told it would take 6 months max. About 3 weeks ago, upon inquiring (again) my CO told me that in June, Australian government has reduced the number of visas across all categories and as a result the waiting time for family visa is now 7 to 9 months and that applications are now dealt with on a received by date. I was hoping to go in December, but may have to resign to not going until between end of Jan and March. So get yours in asap, but not before you are certain you have all the documents correct and complete, otherwise they'll have to ask for it later, resulting in yet another delay. Don't mean to discourage you but looking at all the threads here on the time frame of applying for a visa, I definitely feel that the PMV is one of the hardest applications to put together and the longest to process - and it depends how well your Case Officer does his job. I wish someone had told me this to encourage me, because I've had a hell of a time putting the application together. Before starting the application I was told the proof of relationship is crucial. I was worried because my fiance and I met not too long ago, but we're well mature and we just KNOW what we want so the decision to live together was a no brainer, really So here are my tips, some you have been told already but some might be useful: - make sure every single legal document is stamped and legalised. UK post office can do the regular documents to vouch for your identity - another language? get translation through an offical agency and have translation agency legalise it - keep and print off mobile phone and home phone records (I highlighted every recording of phone call or text message between us so CO wouldn't have to sift through the 100 pages covering just 6 months) - print your skype history - print facebook pages (select 'friendship history' so it will not include of all your fb friends' comments too) - pictures: CO prefers 10 max but I in order to convince her, I included 4x A4 pages with a selection of smaller photos showing my partner and me at various locations: at home (inside, outside my house, with my car), of yourselves being totally happy which was obvious in all pictures really, us visiting different places (I tried to make it recognisably so, as in this is clearly landmark Amsterdam, Brussels etc.). - Important: pix with family members, so they know your family met him as well. - I included scans of postcards and Valentine cards and letters we sent eachother and cards that were with flowers he sends me regularly. Anything to prove you are in a relationship. - There is a specific template to describe where when what about your relationship. I don't think I really filled this out as it offered very limited space to explain how despite the recent history, we were very determined about our relationship and I was extremely under time stress as I finalized the application the night before I was due to fly out to holiday in Australia. I wrote this personal letter outlining the relationship and our personal situation being more mature and what this means to us, given our own personal histories. Not sure if it helps any, but in this document as well as some emails to the CO inquiring about the status of our application, we do repeat: We Love Eachother Very Much And Want To Be Together As Soon As Possible - You must have a letter of confirmation of your intended marriage. Contact a celebrant in the area where you're moving to, set any date as it can always be changed later. There's plenty of celebrants on the net so find one who sounds nice. However forced the marriage may feel right now, it IS your wedding after all, so make it special! I wish I had more than 9 months to prepare my life and marriage there, so in that way I can imagine if you feel a bit overwhelmed by this 'quickie wedding' prospect. If you want, I can refer you to a celebrant in the Brisbane area. I've met him, he's Scottish, a nice guy with a typical Scottish sense of humour and will play the bagpipe at your wedding - Side note: Get your wedding outfit here not in Australia, everything is so bloody expensive there and you'll probably get a nicer one in Europe; yes I've been browsing ;-) Plus it beats having to browse the stores there by yourself instead of doing it with your friends and family here. Call airline ahead of flight to ask about bringing extra (hanging garment) hand luggage on board as you don't want to fold your dress. Cathay Pacific didn't seem too concerned when I said it was my bridal gown and I'm marrying within a few weeks after arriving so no way am I relying on shipping it there (not to mention the creasing). If you want ideas on wedding locations: I've done extensive research in the Brisbane/Gold Coast/Sunshine Coast area so need any tips, let me know, be happy to share. - Include two letters (preferably one from your side and one from your partner's) written by someone who knows you and preferably your partner. I asked my friend at work and my sister in law, as they were the most informed about my feelings for and intentions to be with my fiance. My sister in law, having only met my fiance once or twice when he was over on holiday, wrote a personal detail into the letter, saying how she was travelling with me and even during my travels, I would skype my fiance twice a day and text him very frequently when he was awake (bloody time difference!). - Your partner needs to make sure he includes all info on his employment and education: payment slips, job certificates, any other means of income etc. - It takes a couple of weeks for you to get a police check, so get it done now. Not sure where you're from but England and Scotland have different authorities to get police check from. Should you have lived outside UK for 12 months, get a police check from that country as well. - Important: the application form includes a checklist. When you get yours and your partners details finalized, make sure you class every bit of information according to THEIR checklist. I know it sounds like a trivial thing, but as you can imagine, it helps the CO to scan the mass of information quickly. I put tabs in according to their checklist. Where before, I separated mine and my fiance's info completely, I rearranged everything so everything she needs to know about personal info, or work experience or legalised documents of me and my fiance could be looked up instantly. I figured if the checklist reflects their way of working, I best support them that way so they can get back to me quickly. - Tip for medical check: go to a panel doctor who can file your results online using the code you'll get from your CO, rather than one who has to send the results by mail, it's quicker. I went to a doctor in Brussels, because the only one in Holland was twice as expensive, so check the medical test rates. The medical is a very basic thing that you could have done at any GP really (except Xrays), so it's annoying you have to travel further for it. Bring form 26 and 160 (my CO didn't tell me that, I only found out when I called doctor). - Tip for when you get there: you will not be covered by Medicare until you're married and filed for a Spouse visa. So make sure you get a private insurance out or something to cover you until you are married and have filed for Spouse visa (you just need a confirmation that you filed for a spouse visa to get Medicare, not the actual visa granted). Although I understand for British subjects there may be another reciprocal care arrangement. - Tip should you bring a teenager into your visa: your child will be eligible for domestic student fee under PMV when in high school, but not in uni. For uni you pay the international student fee, which is about 3 to 4 times the domestic student fee!!! You need to hold a spouse visa for 2 years in order for your child to qualify for domestic student fee at uni. Important: send in the application form in its entirety! My application was complete. Except: I thought the CHECKLIST was just for my information. But no, they asked for the checklist page as well, with all of the boxes checked (...) Another thing that they said was missing: page 28 top. I believe it's to do with info on my brothers and sisters or about other dependants you would like to include in the visa. This particular page was blank as I had no other siblings or dependants I wanted to include. So I left it out of the application as all info was there already on the other pages. Wrong. There is one hidden away line on the page where it says: do you have any other info you need to add? and ofcourse I should have ticked it. So. My application was delayed because of a missing checklist and a blank page. But you see how trivial they can be, so make sure you have EVERYTHING COMPLETE. Remember in the end it depends on your CO, how well he or she is at the job, although they will still have to follow rules. And be prepared for a long waiting game which will feel so much longer as every day you're... waiting. Be prepared for frustration as you have so much to prepare to plan for but you can't do it because you have no idea when your visa will be granted. That is my biggest problem as I have a daughter who needs to go into school end of January and since I'm uprooting her already I would so wish for her to get some time to settle into Australian life before starting school. Sorry about this lengthy essay but I hope it helps. As I'm further along in the process and hope to be out there soonish: if you need any help while I'm here or when I'm out there, let me know and I'll be happy to help you out. Also if you want to chat to vent your frustration (as I often do haha), you're welcome! GOOD LUCK!!!!!

I will be moving to Bellbowrie soon with my teen daughter, would love to meet up. From Holland myself, my daughters' Dad and new partner are both from Scotland. Let me know, PM me so we can exchange details. Look forward to it!

Great, exciting you've got flights booked (a bit jealous here, am still waiting, it's been 3 months since I last saw my fiance and not likely we'll see eachother for Christmas or New Year). My fiance's daughter lives in Toowoomba, so he drives up there from Brisbane every fortnight to take her back home. I came out with him while I was there in July. The city itself seems nice but... it's the drive from Brisbane out to Toowoomba that's just so very very boring? I hope you'll settle in ok. If you ever crave some excitement of the big city, let me know, I live there by end of January, fingers crossed! Might join you explore the city

Can I just say, I've been looking at model homes sites around Brisbane, and the houses there are just so fab spacious, it's unreal what you get for that kind of money! I've just had to drastically lower the price of my house I'm selling. Such is the sorry state of the housing market in Holland, every month house prices go down 1,5 percent. Am looking forward to buying and moving into a big new house together with my then husband! Anyone looking for housing around Brisbane, I quite liked North Lakes which is... well. North of Brisbane (good for Mooloolaba). Nice & clean & lots of space & lots of nice houses. And big nice shopping center. And close to Sunshine Coast towns & beaches. But unfortunately I'm kinda stuck to the Western suburbs coz of fiance's work place. Well I shouldn't complain, it's nice and leafy there, out to Moggill.

Hi, I'm packing as I write this (well ok so I took a break). Moving to the Western suburbs of Brisbane very soon, I hope early January latest as my daughter needs to start highschool end of January. I put in a Sub 300 Fiance Visa end of June and went through the works and have been playing the Big Waiting Game ever since. Very hectic, I'm packing, handing in my notice next week to be free to go immediately should visa come off earlier. I did get an email saying that the quotum had been reached and waiting time moved up from 6 to 7-9 months. I hope I'm the exception. Mooloolaba looks nice, from what I've seen. Big shopping center and cinema and a nice stretch of beach If you don't know anyone there yet and would like to hook up with someone who hasn't got a clue about Australian life yet either, I'd be happy to go for a drink in or around Brisbane! I'm getting married soon after arriving in Brisbane. This is so I can apply for a partner visa, to get Medicare and to avoid having to pay for very hefty international student charges for my daughters (you qualify as a domestic student only 2 years after partner visa's been granted). This is not something commonly known, so I hope someone bringing out teens to Australia are aware of this. Anyway, again... I'm scared sh*tless but I go where the love is And apart from my fiance, I won't know anyone at all there, so if anyone wants to meet up to share experiences with a bubbly Dutch woman who's just thrown herself into the deep end in Australia... I'm up for it! Let me know! PS Am so jealous of all the stories here getting their visa within weeks or months, while I've had to struggle on for so long. And every day just drags on...