CollegeGirl

My husband is always talking about how we can't afford to have kids for a couple of years yet. He is the sensible one for sure. I'm not sure if showing him this thread would help or hurt my case, LOL.

Holy moly.. that 56 year queue time is simply unbelievable.

Nope. I was particularly concerned about mine. My medicals were referred the first time round, and they were due to expire two months after we applied, and that date came and went with no grant for us (it's unusual for PMV-to-820 to take that long to be approved). So we were concerned. But they ended up approving it without making us do the medicals again. We were very relieved about that!

Quick question- my PMV runs out end of April. What is the next step for me once I'm married? Many thanks.

 

To those waiting for their visa to come through I was in the same boat and the wait was killing me but now I'm here all that is quickly forgotten. It certainly does get better

Once you're married you apply for the 820. If you're applying online (which I highly recommend), you simply tick a box in the application that asks if you're applying from a Prospective Marriage Visa, and you'll be charged the correct amount ($1145, versus the $4575 you'd be charged if not coming from a PMV). The wait time for PMV to 820 is short - a few days to a few weeks, generally - not more than 2 months max usually.

You do not need to provide medicals or police checks again unless they ask for them (which is very, very rare).

Yes, Brian, it's a forum with various threads about embassies worldwide, and there's a Canadian thread. I'll PM you.

We have lodged our subclass 309 in USA on April 3rd and are yet to be assigned a CO. Is it normal to wait this long?

Emkas - the way the Washington DC embassy functions and the way London functions (since this is a UK board, most people posting here are applying through the London embassy) are very different. It's not uncommon to wait that long for a CO through DC these days. If you're interested in a similar board with a lot more Americans on it, you can PM me and I'll share it. Don't want to "advertise" it here publicly on a competing message board as I think that might not be appreciated.

I emailed the CO and they said that in my case they did not need a second declaration - glad I checked though!

That's... actually really strange. One of the few visa requirements for partner visas that are actually written into law are those statements. I'm glad for you, though.

Yes, they let you know if they need more docs, but I'd go ahead and get this one done ASAP and not wait for the CO to ask.

Yes, everyone provides two statutory declarations and/or Forms 888. That is a poorly-worded email from the CO. You really, truly need to provide two. The CO is just telling you you don't need to provide more than the required two.

The checklist is unfortunately not very accurate. Take a look at the Partner Migration Booklet - this should be required reading for everyone applying, though I do wish they'd update it to include online application info as well.

On page 36 it says:

All Partner visa applicants must also provide the following:

...

statutory declarations from 2 people who are Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents and who support your claim that the relationship is genuine and continuing (see page 27 for

information on statutory declarations);

Then, on page 29, it says:

If you are outside Australia and are unable to get an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident

to complete a statutory declaration in support of your relationship with your partner, you may obtain

statements from people who know you and your sponsor. Such statements are not statutory declarations

under Australian law. However, in accordance with policy, they should be witnessed or certified according

to the legal practices of the relevant country. Failing that, they should be witnessed by a person

whose occupation or qualification is comparable to a person included in the prescribed persons list on

pages 28–29. This person should sign, date and specify their occupation or qualification at the bottom of

the statement.

So as you can see - you're required to have two statements. If you're applying onshore, they have to be from Aussie PR or citizens, but if you're applying offshore they can be from anyone.

If I were you I'd get a second one done ASAP.

Hi Everyone,

 

I have posted my question on a separate thread, but I've been advised to try adding it to this thread to get some advice.

 

This is my first post, but I've been reading other posts on this forum for a while and have found loads of helpful information so far, so thank you for that.

 

I was wondering if anyone can help with something that is really worrying me about applying for a Partner Visa 309. I'll explain the situation as best as I can.

 

I have dual nationality (UK & Australian) and I have been back in the UK since 2010. I met my partner (he's a UK citizen) in 2011 and we are hoping to apply for a partner visa for him in January 2015, so we've been trying to get all the documents together in advance.

We have lived together since December 2011 and I think we have all the evidence such as joint utility bills, wills, electoral roll, evidence of holidays together etc.

We will be able to get statements from my Mum and my partner's Mum and Brother and our friends - all in the UK.

 

The problem is getting the Statutory Declarations from 2 Australian Citizens or Permanent Residents. I recently asked two family members who are Australian Citizens living in Australia if they will do statutory declarations for us and they have said that they don't want to do it. I hadn't expected them to refuse and was very upset, but now we have to find a solution.

 

In the Partner Booklet it does say

"If you are outside Australia and are unable to get an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident to complete a statutory declaration in support of your relationship with your partner, you may obtain statements from people who know you and your sponsor"

 

Does that mean you can just get statements (not stat decs) from the Australian Citizens /PR's -

or

does it mean that you can get statements from anyone who knows us i.e. people who aren't Australian Citizens / PR's?

Does anyone know of a similar situation to this, or have any advice? I guess we probably aren't the only couple who have had this problem.

Is the Case Officer able to refuse the visa if we don't have the 2 statutory declarations?

 

Sorry if I've rambled on a bit, but I'm so worried that this could ruin our chances of getting the visa.

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Thank you in advance.:smile:

 

 

Offshore applicants are not required to have two statements from Aussies PR or Citizens. (We didn't.) It's better if you do, but if you can't, you can't. It's not required. You ARE required to have at least two statements from people who know you are your partner from other countries if you can't do Aussie PR/Citizens.

I know, it's crazy - I had to go back and check.

The online system is recent. I'd expect the grants from online applications not to kick in for a good 6 months or so.

I know it feels like it is brand new, but it actually opened to applicants in Mid-December 2013, which means we're right at 8 months now for the first online applicants!

Someone on this forum has already verified it with their CO (there was a separate thread on this topic). 10-14 months only applies to new applicants.

Once initial entry date is set, it's almost impossible to get changed. All you can do is contact your CO and ask, but I think your chances are pretty slim.

I'm aware medicals can be done in Aus. The logistics of waiting out a visa grant in a tourist visa and having to depart and re enter Aus every 3 months can be expensive and the not working can be frustrating.

 

Tbh if the wait time is 10-14 now for offshore and you are going to wait out a chunk on shore it seems to make more sense to me to apply onshore and have work rights while on a bridging visa.

Oh, I fully agree, as long as people are aware of the "genuine temporary entrant" requirements. Frankly I think DIBP just need to relax that even further and let anyone who qualifies come onshore and apply openly. But I think there's as much chance of that happening as there is of me winning the lotto (and I don't play).

I'm sorry to hear this. It seems like they are working to a strict schedule and the 9 month mark is more the reality these days.

 

I think people should be cautious about seeking work in advance of this visa actually being granted unless the job is due to start further on down the road from the latest visa grant date. The immi site does specifically say not to plan life changing events like selling a house or quitting a job before the visa is granted. They do so for a reason. Of course, some do both and there are options if the visa is delayed or runs to the very end of the timeframe given. Renting, staying with family or finding another job till its time to depart the UK. Job hunting in Aus ahead of time can be a risky thing if you are at the mercy of the grant times. I'm sorry your hubby has missed out. Hopefully once his visa is granted and you are in Aus he'll not take too long to find something.

 

And sure plenty of partners (myself included but my visa grant came through well ahead of time) plan to enter Aus ahead of visa grant on a tourist or book a flight for a date after the 9 month window has passed but those are nothing too drastic as flights can be changed, trips out of Aus taken.

 

I think people should exercise more caution with the new longer wait times as it does seem to make it harder to do the tourist visa thing to wait out a grant date. With such a long wait time now the medical or police check won't happen till well down the road after applying and then there is a much wider timeframe of actual grant now, a 6 month period, not a 2 month one. So making it pretty impossible to know when its workable to head to Aus for that stint to wait out the visa grant. I'm sure as the time passes people will have more of an idea as medicals are requested and grants come though. The general rule of thumb when I applied was to have about 6 months within which to validate off the back of medicals and police checks. I would hope its the same or even longer, giving people up to 9 months within which to enter Aus. I can't see it becoming a shorter timeframe but you never know. So we can hope that there is a general pattern that will form.

FWIW, medicals can be done in Australia for offshore visas, so there's really nothing to keep someone from coming over on a tourist visa and waiting it out. Of course, it's a serious hassle without being able to work, and with the usual three-month stay types and having to go offshore between stays and the increasing possibility of being told "you're not supposed to be using it this way." But at least it's possible.

If you marry before the grant of your PMV, you have to notify your CO, and they will change the PMV application to the 309. BUT you may also be required to provide additional evidence since the 309 requires MORE evidence than the PMV. If you're planning on doing this, you'll need financial evidence as well as evidence of shared household. I wouldn't recommend it since you're so close. Just my two cents.

Just had a very quick reply email from my c/o

 

 

 

Thanks for your email. The new processing times only apply to new applications and your application is not affected thus 8-9 months would still apply in your case. You can still travel on a tourist visa if we are unable to finalise the application by December.

 

Hope this puts people's minds at rest

Really, really happy to hear this! That's great.

I'm sorry but this is the hardest visa subclass and we will have to be emotionally strong to get through this. we all have sacrificed to this point. I'm 35 and hold two degrees and an mba from australia. my boyfriend and I have been apart for two years and counting now and thinknig of breaking up because its too hard. this is not an easy catergory.

Sophia, is your boyfriend an Australian citizen or PR? If he is, do you not qualify for any type of partner visa?

It no longer matters which visa you start out on - for the last couple of years, people on the BVA who have applied for a partner visa have full work rights regardless of the work rights (or lack thereof) of their previous visa. Any of the migration agents on this forum will confirm this. You'll be able to keep your job with no problem, Chloe.

You'd check the box for permanent.

Ah, okay - no worries. It was an online submission. I got my acknowledgement and BVA immediately, but nothing since. It's pretty typical for PMV-to-820 folks especially to get no correspondence except the grant as it usually happens so quickly. No need for medicals or police checks again, typically.

Was that directed to me, Steven Lozza? If so, I don't know. When I called Immi, they wouldn't tell me anything.

hi all just am updating...i got my pmv in december and have been in oz since end of december. got married in april and applied for my 820 temporary residence visa on 7th june and received it today 10 days later....not what i was expecting at all but very happy. i hadn't even finished adding all of the evidence...obviously had already included enough

Arrrrgh. Though PMV-to-820 applications usually go through really quickly (several days to several weeks) I've been waiting on mine since 24 April, and absolutely everyone else I know from here and another forum who applied for theirs AFTER me have already gotten it. Theirs are going through at a normal pace. It's been almost two months. I don't get what the holdup is for us. Anyway, glad you got yours quickly!