Sarahjane9566

I have been here now for over 3 years on a bridging visa and have not found work. To be honest after about 8 months of solid job hunting I abandoned it because I was tired of hearing you must be a permanent resident to apply here. There was one reasonably well paid job where the recruiters said I was by far the most experienced and suitable candidate for the position but the employer just wouldn't risk being required to sponsor me if the Partner Visa was refused. On the other end of the scale a low paid job driving hotel guests to and from the airport was refused because I didn't have permanent residency yet i spent 5 years driving European Tour holidays for a well known UK tour company. It wasn't the lack of experience is was a problem of being on a bridging visa.

I realise this is a bit of a how long is a piece of string question but any help would be appreciated. We had to got to an AAT hearing over my Partner Visa application. The decision of the tribunal member was to remit the application back to immigration as we convinced the member that we met all the criteria for the granting of the visa. My question is how long will it take immigration to decide what they want to do next or issue the visa? Thanks Sarah

Thanks wrussell :wink:

Ok so I have been instructed by my partner to not waste any more time and just go and do whatever it takes to get a new application lodged. My plan involved combining a business trip to Bangkok with lodging a new application in the Aussie Embassy there however after some research I found out as I'm not a Thai resident they say my application is likely to be transferred to somewhere else. I can only guess this means either London or to Australia. They added they also wouldn't be able to issue me with a decision. 1) Should I just go to London and submit my application there and then come back and do I have to be in the same place that the application is lodged when they decide or does anywhere outside Australia suffice? 2) Will I need new medical and Police certificates as they already have both and since my UK police certificate was issued I've been in Aus for all but 3 months? I hope someone can answer these questions, I've asked my agent but she seems to be away and I'd like to get on with this at least booking flights and an exit visa Thanks Sarah

Our agent mentioned this at the time we appealed but then backed away from it after consideration. I was then told to appeal and use the time to have a new application considered but as previously stated i was concerned about not being allowed back in. At the time we lodged the appeal my medicare was stopped and hasn't been reinstated. Is this normal? Thanks Sarah

Thank you George. I am sure she is aware but I'm not which is why I asked. I guess i am trying to judge if a trip overseas is worth the cost and hassle. We have further evidence of the 12 months to offer and they never asked for reasons why I didn't fly to Aus as soon as we decided on a relationship but there were justifiable reasons for that also. However i am aware there is no certainty with any appeal. If they gave back the cost of the 2nd application if you win an appeal we'd have done it by now but they don't you lose nearly $7k plus trip costs and the cost of a visa B to leave in the first place. Thanks for the help though Sarah

Hi George, What are the certain limited circumstances? Our case officer was quite specific that she didn't see overwhelming evidence of us being a couple for 12 months before applying and she seems to only be accepting the time we were together starting when I arrived in Sydney. I can and will produce evidence as to why I couldn't come here sooner. I suppose it comes down to what constitutes maintaining a relationship when you're 12,000 miles apart. Thanks Sarah

Thanks for your reply. You're right I submitted the application myself as i thought we met all the criteria and had all the required information and documents. I am still reasonably confident that we can be successful with our appeal however what our agent wanted to avoid was me needing to spend a year overseas awaiting a new application being approved if we lose the appeal when a new application will take about as long to process as the appeal will take to be heard. Again thanks for you input and replying. It seems like a $9k gamble making a new application Sarah

I am writing this to see if anyone on here has experience of or has actually done this? We applied for a partner visa which was subsequently refused because they didn’t agree we had been in a relationship for 12 months prior to applying. After consulting with a migration agent we have appealed that decision. We were also advised to leave the country and submit another application as even Immigration accepted in their decision on the original application we have met all the other criteria and are a genuine couple. As I’ve been living in Aus for close to 3 years with my partner we obviously meet the 12 month criteria as well now. The worry I had was if I leave and submit a new application will I have problems re entering because when I reach the border they will see I have an appeal and a new application in and I fear they will conclude the new application somehow invalidates the appeal so my bridging visa then becomes invalid and I’m refused entry. Anybody on here ever tried this? Where they refused entry or is this actually an avenue allowed under immigration rules? Thanks Sarah

Not sure if it is still available but Etihad were offering flights to Australia with internal flights added on flown on Virgin Australia. May be worth looking at them and maybe as Emirates have an agreement with Qantas they may offer something as well. Not sure that helps allot sorry but could be worth looking at

Thanks, That makes sense to me and is a good thing :biggrin:

I have a 12 month Visitor Visa that gives me multiple entries of up to 3 months each visit. They issued a Bridging Visa A when I lodged Partner Visa application but it doesn't come into effect until August so I can leave and return as many times as I wish until then but I have to speak to Immigration on my return as entering the country cancels my Bridging Visa. I was going to get a BVB but they said I cannot apply for one as I have a VV that allows overseas travel. I was told $140 for BVB but I'm hoping not to need one :biggrin: I will be desperate to get back 20 minutes into my flight next week but promise to say hello to UK for you :biggrin:

This may help also http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/customs/banned-restricted.htm

Well good luck with yours :biggrin: I'm off to UK next week for the rest of my stuff and will upload it once I have it all here. They have a PC for me as I needed one last year to get my Tourist Visa but I'm expecting them to ask for another one as well as an Aussie one come November.