Hi there,
My name's Jess - I'm new to forums so hoping I've posted correctly......
I am 26 years old and have been living in Oz for over a year on a working holiday visa (subclass 417 - now on the 2nd year after jumping through the specified regional work hoops).
I moved over from the UK after meeting my Australian fiance on a holiday here; we are getting married on 15th June this year so very happy indeed.
Problem is - when I started the application for a partner visa the government website said the processing time was up to 6 months for the visa. I have recently discovered that this time-frame has jumped up to an official waiting time of 13-15 months!
I understand that I will be granted a bridging visa from the time that my current visa expires (April 14') to whenever I get the partner visa results. Trouble is that my partner and I are planning to go travelling for a year starting next February (8 months away). I am launching my Visa application between 15-30th June so that gives me 7 ish' months before we set off. The visa application will be launched in Australia so I must be in Australia to receive the visa results - causing big problems for our travel plans (We are doing voluntary work in spinal rehab centres and hospitals in Nepal, India and other countries in Central Asia before travelling overland to Europe and then on to Africa). Our plans for travel and volunteering are so big, expensive and set in concrete that my visa issues have really put a spanner in the works.
I have been told that if I have to leave Oz before my visa is granted I can get a Bridging Visa B - allowing me to leave the country and return within a set time frame.
I have read extensively about Visa conditions, waiting times etc but there are two questions that I can't get an answer for:
1) If I submit a complete, accurate and full application in person is there a chance that my visa will take less than the estimated average time considering that I am from a low risk country? (This is a question more for people with recent experiences and I understand that I can't rely on answers as fact)
2) If worst comes to worst and my visa hasn't been granted before we start our travels - How exactly does a Bridging Visa B work? If they can't tell me when my visa will be decided upon - how do I know when I have to be back in the country by? Do they send me notification that I have to go back to Oz within x amount of days to receive the verdict?
Question 2 is the one I really could do with some advice on. If anyone has any experiences or advice it would be so welcome. Apologies for the long post and thanks in advance
Jess
