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.

iloveausie and Rebbecca, Not wanting to interfere at all, Is this the start of the application process for you both? I submitted my 820 application about 3 weeks ago online and have heard nothing yet. The reason I ask about your applications is the length of time it takes may mean any medicals and police checks will need re doing. PC's are only valid for 12 months and I'm told it's currently taking 15 months. Best advice I've been given as some of my documentation is still in UK is submit the application and wait till the case officer is assigned and asks for things that are time sensitive. If you know other information that makes what I've said wrong please ignore me as I'm definitely not an expert and could easily be wrong. There are others allot better qualified than me on here who will certainly put us all right real soon I'm sure :laugh: Sarah

I have read this with interest as clearly most that post here have more experience of oz than me. Not having a family I won't need to worry about missing them being over here. My life in UK for various reasons wasn't great but that's not me knocking UK some things I was already improving. I'm not worried about the sun as I burn too easily so I like the heat without the direct sunshine more than I love the sun itself. I'm coming here to be with my Aussie OH who went to uni in Leeds so really gets UK humour which is a help. My OH was financially stable before meeting me so any wage I earn is an addition and improvement but if I cannot get a job we will still be fine. I can totally get the reasons for not staying given here but I seem to be a lucky minority that is improving my life by being here and has managed to fit right in. If you are young and looking for something different and an experience that you know will not last forever I still think coming out here is worth while but it would be wise to take all the reasons for moving back to UK into account before planning anything long term out here. Nowhere in the world is perfect and many places can seem wondeful from afar so I guess it is about what suits each individual

Asiana definitely do it with UK bound flights. I was booked Sydney to London via Seoul with them originally and as they only have 1 flight a day on each leg that don't connect I was getting a hotel but then I changed my trip length and the agent saved me a change fee by changing my airline to Emirates for free. Maybe the trick is an airline from Asia that only have one flight a day from your airport and one from their country to UK

I was looking to book a one way flight from UK to Sydney and trawled the web. One trick that worked for me in end was using UK expedia site not aussie one. I saved $300 and got on flights aussie Expedia site said were full. I have found Emirates to be very good not just on price but service and comfort as well. The extra legroom and newer planes does make a difference. Whatever way you do it there's still a long way to fly and stop overs can be the hard part especially with kids. One option could be airport lounges as they often have free showers and in most places now you can book them even if not a higher level frequent flyer or travelling business class

I would have thought your Passport needs to have the name on it that the visa is issued in even though the visa is linked to the passport number electronically. The simple answer would be pay for the same day service and visit the passport office to collect a new passport. Heres a link to the find a visa page off immigration page. Sure you can navigate to the right place from there http://www.immi.gov.au/Visas/Pages/Find-a-visa.aspx hope that's some use and good luck with your application and then move here :biggrin:

Well it may be darker earlier but as people have said it's a stronger brighter sunlight and happens allot more often, My problem hasn't been the sunlight more getting eaten by mossies :laugh: I seem to be a delicacy they love. Looking forward to them all going away. I know you can use repellant and I do but would much prefer not being food for them. Hope you settle in and love it as much as I'm loving being in Sydney :biggrin:

I'm not in any way wanting to disadvantage anybody due to religious or cultural difference but this seems ridiculous to me. If kids are ill and unable to attend exams they can sit them at a later date. Why not extend this to muslim kids who can show that there was no alternative to fasting due to Ramadan thus affecting their performance just as being ill would. Then you don't curtail the time others have to learn and prepare for exams. This is the same as councils refusing to put up Christmas Trees and Decorations in case other religions feel left out Someone ought to point out to those in power that being multi cultural means embracing the cultural and religious diversity of others not abandoning the traditions you already have in case it is offensive to a minority.

www.rta.nsw.gov.au/licensing/newtonsw/international_drivers.html Please see the below link for access to the Licence Application form. www.rta.nsw.gov.au/publicationsstatisticsforms/downloads/formsforms_dl1.html That's just NSW but I expect all states and territories have a similar site Sarah

Yes just them two will be needed as I usually only visit countries not move to them :rolleyes:

Well I will wait till they ask me to get another.. I sent the police check already as I had it but when I get a case officer I am sure they will send me instructions what to submit and when. Thanks for the reply Sarah