NikkiM

Good thing we had decided to go home. Eleven and a half months of waiting for the 100 and today it was refused. Grounds were that because my OH hadn't taken a permanent job here and was working part time here and part in the UK, we were not considered to be in a committed relationship. Irrelevant that we had already explained he wasn't going permanent until he had PR, then I could safely give up my job and move somewhere to join him. Huge volume of evidence submitted going back several years but its still a Go Away reply.

We could appeal apparently but would have to wait at least another 12 months to be heard and it would cost a pretty penny too. I begrudge paying any more cash to immigration.

 

Thanks to those who put up with us complaining about the wait, and we wish you all more luck than we had.

WOW! Was not expecting that.

So sad to hear - like you say; great that you have got other options to fall back on.

It sounds crazy as I would have thought a lot of people would remain cautious about jobs etc until everything was final.

So sad that after all this time it has been such a crappy conclusion.

thank you.

We are aware of all the issues with jobs (and mortgages even though they doesn't enter into our plans) and we were both aware of the temporary nature of the first stage of the visa. What sucks for us is having applied just as the timelines for the 309 got longer, took that on the chin, even though it left us a choice of him validating at 2 weeks notice or doing his medical again. Then we've been caught by the 100 as well with timelines growing - and yet with some lucky people getting visas in line with the original timeline we were quoted.

 

Starting to suck big time.

 

And then you read some people going for skills visas moaning because they have been waiting 3 weeks.....!

 

I guess if its not to be, its not too be, we could just do with settling somewhere, having got together quite late in life!

Hi @Nemesis

im not sure which email you would have sent to - just wanted to give you another in case your contact is different. My partner received his email from:

qld.pp.processing@border.gov.au

and it says at the bottom to direct any further enquirers by return email so it seems like that one is monitored. Perhaps you already have this address, but I hadn't come across it in any other threads so just wanted to drop it in, in case. Still sending positive vibes your way

Congratulations!!!! Really pleased you got yours so fast. That's the timeline we were originally quoted, 6 months.

 

 

We are now heading for 11 months and nowt heard still. Giving up and planning to go home. We're tooold to live in limbo for much longer.

thankyou so much - I feel really terrible that you guys are having such a tough time with it.

is there perhaps any use in attempting to contact immi? It almost seems as though it has fallen on the wrong desk or slipped through somehow, as by this stage, as we mentioned a few weeks back, they are simply confirming your previous application has continued rather than looking over a fresh application.

Hi @NikkiM! I remember you from back when we were going through all the 309 stuff. I lodged my 100 at the end of September but haven't heard back yet. So good for you and your partner on hearing back so quickly!

 

How is it all going otherwise?

Hi @vickyplum, nice to hear from you!

We are going well, partner arrived in Aus in June 2014, as soon as his visa was granted and we lived in Wollongong for 18 months (i think you also had a connection to wollongong?!)

Just this past January we have moved to Melbourne as Wollongong was a little slow compared to the lifestyle we were enjoying in London before coming to Aus. All great so far! We are both in hospitality management so we have taken to Melbourne well with all its great cafes/bars/restaurants! How have you settled?

Regarding the visa, we were pleasantly surprised when it came through this morning! After hearing others timelines, it seemed it was going to take a fair while longer - although it hasnt really affected my partner anyways as the 309 has much the same work rights in his circumstances.

Just to note, we submitted ours by paper to the brisbane office, as we found it easier to be able to lay everything out in front of us to see what we had, make notes on different parts of evidence etc. I wouldn't think that it makes a difference how it is lodged, but just FYI for anyone interested.

Hoping for you and everyone that is still waiting for theirs, that Ronnies coming through this morning is the first of a nice wave to come! xx

Hi guys, just updating to let you know that my partner received his PR today!

So from lodgement in October it was roughly 6 months.

Any news for you guys yet?

Ours is a 100 through Brisbane. Expect a looooooong wait. If anyone gets either the first or second stage in two months these days I'd tell em they're dreaming......... It used to happen, but those days are gone.

What a shame thats its become such a long wait time and that (atleast to my knowledge) immigration does not inform the applicant in an official channel, much like at the first stage application the confirmation email stated the current wait time.

my partner has been very lucky that 'only' being on a 309 has not affected his job prospects and he has been in fulltime work since arrival, but seeing some of your other posts @Nemesis, i can see that this is not the case for everyone which is of course a terrible outcome.

i understand that they have to look at every case carefully to ensure they are genuine, but given that the main part of evidence was approved a couple of years ago, you would hope that this stage was relatively quicker, to confirm the relationship is still intact.

Did you guys send yours to Melbourne?

My first stage (802) I sent it to Perth and it got processed within 2 months

I think it was Brisbane? But ours is 309/100 (the offshore version) so I think it's 2 different processing centres, not sure if time frames differ because of that?

im interested to hear people experiences/thoughts also, my partner sent his off in october

Hi guys, just a quick question, my partner and I are about to start handing in the next lot of paperwork for him to move from his 309 to 100 visa. His current passport was due to expire in the next couple of months so he has renewed and received the new one this week. Does anybody know if he has to update immigration regarding the 309 with the new passport before proceeding? Or is it as simple as when filling in the passport information he enters the new details, then uses the old details when asked for any old passport numbers? Thanks in advance!

Oh great thanks so much for that!

Hey Guys,

This may be a silly question, apologies if the answer is right in front of me and I'm missing it!!

My partner has just recently been granted his 309 Visa, just wondering if anyone has any problems when looking for work in regards to proving that you have full rights to work? No where, that I can see, on the official paperwork does it say, so black and white "full work rights" etc.

Does it just come down to showing the visa grant letter, passport, allowing access to VEVO and then the employer searching that, that particular visa allows work rights? Just seems a lot to do!

I could also just print off the general information regarding 309 Visa but it only states "you are allowed to work" or something, perhaps some employers would want more detail and confirmation?

He's not even here yet but I'm just getting ready!

Thanks, Nikki

Thanks heaps guys!!

It's come through officially today!!

Have LOVED being able to come on here and get rid of some of my stress/fears by reading others' stories and asking questions!

We're going to book Ronnie's flight for next week! YAY!

It must be a good couple of days, my partners has come through today also!

Congratulations to everyone else who has had recent grants! And lots of luck to everyone expecting any day!

We are at around 9 1/2 months, BUT, as he is from a 'High Risk' country, he was originally quoted "at least 12 months" so we are pretty damn happy with this time frame!

We're going to book Ronnie's flight for next week!

Ronnie and I emailed our case officer yesterday, as, if anyone recalls, a couple of weeks ago she informed us she was just waiting on his medicals being cleared.

She replied almost immediately stating that she was happy to advise medicals are all good and she will be granting his visa within a couple of days!!

We are at about 9 1/2 months, but were originally quoted "at least 12 months" so are absolutely over the moon!

Of course, not official yet, but that sounds pretty good to me!

:smile:

Hopefully it's like you've thought - she expects the medical clearance shortly and will immediately grant the 309.

That would be amazing, sounds too good to be true!

Hey Guys, some of you may vaguely know my story but here it is again, (as quickly as possible!) - i would appreciate any of your experiences/advice.

My partner Ronnie has applied for a 309/100 visa last August. He is from a HR country (Bangladesh) so was quoted a 12 month processing time.

Everything has been going along fine. A few routine emails from case officer clarifying certain things etc along the way.

30th April Ronnie was asked to do his medicals and send through police certs - meds were done on the 4th may and police check sent through last week.

In the meantime, Ronnie has applied for, and been granted, a tourist visa to come for a visit (as we were working to the 12 months processing time).

After we sent through those documents, case officer thanked him etc in reply email and said that she would finalise the visa once meds were cleared as they had been referred.

We got a bit of a shock as didn't think he would have any problems and case officer said to speak to our panel doctor. We did so and he has stated there are no problems with meds and they are going through routine clearance, of which the timeframe varies - case officer then confirmed this was the case.

So, we got our hopes up when we thought it would be soon, then they fell down when they were said to be referred and now were just plain confused!

We forgot about it, for the time being and focussed on getting him here with the tourist visa. It is my birthday next week and he has been aiming to arrive for that.

We emailed the case officer today to inform her of our thoughts (we had mentioned earlier and were given the all clear), she has today said that he should not make travel arrangement (even on the tourist visa) until he has been advised that his medicals have been cleared.

What does this mean?! Ive seen on here MULTIPLE times that people are travelling on tourist visas before the grant of the 309, and as they are totally separate we are wondering why she is advising this? I can't help but put a positive spin on it and think its her way of saying, "wait it out a bit longer" and perhaps the 309 will be coming through but as has been said on here many times, there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to grants so I'm bound to be grasping at straws!

Anyone have any thoughts?

Thanks for reading if you've got this far :biggrin:

Wrong Visa numbers in the title sorry guys! *309/100

Hey guys, congrats on all the recent grants, so happy for you!

We spoke to our CO today to check how things were going (having done medical and police checks last week) and she's said that Ronnies medicals have been referred... Anyone know much about this? We have no idea what they would have been referred for as he is in good health the only thing is that he wears glasses?! We don't want to keep bugging the CO so if anyone has an idea how long this can take or if we can contact anyone to find out the timeframe/reason we'd appreciate anyones experiences

She said that she will finalise the application once the meds are clear so you can understand why we are anxious/curious!

309 sub class granted today, 30 mins after emailing CO to "enquire" about progress! I know I was expecting it but still had a little moment when I saw the email and grant letter.

 

Now I actually have to make a plan!!

 

:cool:

Congrats!!! Ronnies tourist visa was approved today as well so even though its not our big one yet, we are excitedly making (short term) plans also!

SV emailed today and finally requested Ronnie's medical and police checks so hoping that things are moving along

Good luck to everyone else should be any day now for a few of you!

@NikkiM - how is your partner's visa journey getting on?

Hey there, nothing new to report here, case officer was in contact regularly in the first few months confirming things regarding form 80 but haven't had any more news from her for a while. I went back to the uk in feb for 5 weeks to see Ronnie and he has just left the uk and gone back home to bangladesh, just last week he applied for a tourist visa to come to Aus next month for our anniversary and my birthday but as he is a high risk country, even the tourist visa has a 28 day processing time we've emailed her updating her on my travel details and his plans and we get a standard thanks for the update of info reply each time but not much else! so glad to hear things are moving ahead for you guys )

Hi all. My visa has been granted today. Subclass 309. The wait is finally over :cool:

Congratulations!

Hi,

 

I'm trying to get supporting evidence of employment, i have not kept my p60's & payslips from pre 2009, for a 2008/2007 p60 do i have to contact previous employer or can this come from tax office?

 

thanks in advance for any info, james.

A perhaps suitable alternative - call up HM revenue and they will issue you something called a Letter of Employment (or something like that!) they will know exactly what you mean. You can choose when it starts and it will detail your start date/finish date/total earnings/tax paid etc for every job within the period you specify

hi there, i just wanted to confirm that you are able to change from a working holiday visa to a spouse visa. my aussie best friend was in the uk on a WHV which expired in june 2013, she and her brit partner married in april 2013 and they applied for the visa about 2 weeks before her WHV expired (as they were advised by UKBA) and her visa (2 years leave to remain, with the potential to continue extending until eligible for citizenship) was granted end of august 2013. they did need to meet the 18000 requirement, thats all i know I'm afraid, can't go into much more detail, but i do remember what i have mentioned above quite clearly.

it is true that you cannot swap from WHV to most other categories i.e., skilled etc as i looked into doing this myself but seems as though the spouse visa is an exception.

My partner had a phone call from our case officer yesterday, he had filled out a Form 80 as per her request and she informed him that he had made a mistake on the time frame of one of his jobs from 3 years ago (accidentally put down that he had started in the wrong month) and seeing as though we included a letter from Home Office with his employment history to support that, she noticed and asked him to rewrite his whole job history to have it correctly documented. Just shows how detailed they are looking at our documents and weird to know she is contemplating our fate at this very moment! Ronnie said she was nice and quite warm on the phone which is also a nice thought as I seem to get the image of a robot just ticking or crossing boxes off!

Sorry I didn't see this earlier guys. Yes I am the Aussie citizen. My partner is born in Bangladesh and we both currently live in the uk which is why his visa has been lodged in London