Ronansmyth

Quick thing to remember - after you have done your shopping around online, clear your cookies before you go back and book the flights you want. If the site realises you are visiting again they raise the prices. It is very sneaky, and very true.

What a batch of brilliant news! Congratulations all!

Roll on the next 6 months for me....

In most cases and provided that your application is ready for a decision, the CO will use some common sense and grant the visa before your travel. Around Dec they like to finalise as many things as they can as well. It's worth a friendly nudge to point them in that direction nearer the time.

That would be very good indeed.

I have emailed my CO (using the enquiry email). I got a generic reply with some FAQs on it. I am hoping I will get a response from the CO as I have no other contact details for her.

5 days short of 8 months

Congratulations!

It is so good seeing people celebrating their visa grants on here. It makes the wait that little bit less interminable!

When are you planning to leave for Oz?

JUST RECEIVED OUR GRANT!!!!! 8months 1 day!! WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :jiggy:

Great News! Well done!

When will you move?

Hi All,

I was hoping for some thoughts/advice from you all. I lodged my 309/100 visa application on the 8th of April (got my CO - R.N - 7 weeks later).

I have now been invited to one of my best friends' wedding in Melbourne on January the 10th 2015. That's 2 days after the 9 month mark and is making me nervous.

I obviously want to attend the wedding, but know form reading on here that I can't be in the country when the visa is granted. I have emailed my CO for advice and await her reply, but thought the combined knowledge on this forum could help.

In an ideal world I would fly on or around the 28th Dec to spend New Year with family, then attend the wedding and come home on the 14th Jan. If the visa is processed before this date I believe I could validate it on the trip, but I am not sure what the rules are if it has not been granted yet. Has anyone had a similar experience or have any advice?

Thanks

Case officer was RN. I am sure yours is any day now! They can't make you wait any longer surely

Congratulations! I also have RN, but am only at the end of my second month. Reading this thread has been very helpful I must say!

Likewise, if all goes to plan I will be moving a month or two after my 40th birthday. My OH is a couple of years younger than me and it would be indiscreet to give her exact age away :wink:

And unless something suprising changes between now and then we will be in that 40s without kids group. Luckily we have established circles of friends in Oz (her family and school friends, my friends from bar work in London in the early noughties).

Hey Romansmyth, glad you've finally heard from a C/O. We've been waiting for 5 weeks now... And still nothing. Hopefully, get allocated one soon! I just had a quick question about the checks. Did they say not to supply them before 20th of August or not to start the process of getting them until then?

Hi Jess,

They said not to get them done until after the 20th Aug.

This is the direct quote " we ask that you obtain the following health and character checks after 20 August 2014".

It did talk around 7 weeks to get my CO, so I'm sure your will be soon. (My CO is R.N). They asked for additional info in the letter (about my wife's citizenship) but we replied with that straight away and they seemed happy with that!

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress. I find it really reassuring to have contact with people in the same boat as me.

Ronan

Why would becoming a uk citizen be a problem ??

I assumed it would be ok, but you know how you doubt everything...

I've been worried because my wife (who is from Sydney) became a UK citizen a couple of years ago. We've been asked for confirmation of this which we have sent, and we're told my health check dates in the same email, but I can't help worrying that it could be grounds for rejection.

Great! When have you been requested to do your medical and police check? After that the really long wait begins ! Bummer it's so drawn out.

I've been told that the checks should be done after the 20th August. So quite a while yet.

I'm still in the pre-Case Officer state. It will be 7 weeks on Thursday. I know I don't need to worry, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a bit frustrating.

And as if by magic... case officer email this afternoon.

Quick update - I just received confirmation of my Case Officer - so six and a half weeks for me. They need a little additional info (the date of my wife's UK citizenship and confirmation that I haven't lived anywhere for 12 months+ in the last 10 years.

I definitely feel better now the CO has been assigned.

Hi All,

Having seen a number of threads specific to application months, but not seeing one for last month I thought I's start it. It would be great if people who have applied in the same month could keep each other updated with progress.

I submitted my application on the 4th of April. That will be 7 weeks ago this Friday. The money was taken immediately (of course) but I am still waiting for my case officer/acknowledgement email.

My wife and I are living in London and hoping to move to Sydney towards the end of 2015. I have a wedding trip in January 2015 planned, so if the 8-9 month estimate is accurate I will hopefully be validating my visa then - but I don't want to count my chickens as it were...

Anyone else applied in April and had more movement than me?

Ronan

I'm still in the pre-Case Officer state. It will be 7 weeks on Thursday. I know I don't need to worry, but I would be lying if I said it wasn't a bit frustrating.

Hi it took approx 6 weeks for mt CO to b assigned - know how u feel but wont b long!!]

Thanks for that - hopefully I'll hear in the next week or so then.

If it's a permanent residency visa the validation visit is, as you say, within 12 months of the police check and medicals, but it just means you have to enter the country. You will then have until the visa expires to actually make the big move, so with PR that would be 5 years from the visa grant date. Some people actually emigrate when they do their visa activation, but others (like us!) leave it until the last minute, eg. 4yrs and 11 months! before actually emigrating.

I hope that's helpful.

Oh wow! That is very helpful, thank you. Not entirely sure how I missed that detail!

Visa was lodged 8 months today.. and still waiting... this is torture! :arghh:

I can only imagine your pain - 5 weeks without a case officer is annoying! I hope you hear something very soon!

Hi All,

I have been making my way through a lot of posts on here after submitting my application for a partner visa 5 weeks ago. I have one question (that I suspect I should really know the answer to already).

When I read though my application forma and spoke to the visa helpline at the High Commission I assumed that the process of validating your visa basically referred to your move to Australia. With that in mind I have been working on the assumption that I have to be living in Australia within 12 months of the police check being passed. Reading here though, it seems that I could visit Australia to validate the visa and move at a later date. I am sure I could get to the bottom of this on the immi website, but I would appreciate some advice on this.

As it is, if it takes 9 months for my visa to be processed, I could have my visa in December. I am planning on attending a wedding in Melbourne in January. Would I be best to validate my visa then? My wife and I are planning a move in mid-2015 with a view to arriving in Sydney at the start of the summer (after 3 months in Southeast Asia). How long do you have to get back to Australia after validating your visa?

I really appreciate any advice you guys could give on this.

Visa APPROVED!!!!! 12/05/2014 (Granted on my birthday - best Birthday present ever) it doesn't feel real... : )

Congratulations! How long was your process from start to finish?

I seem to be in the exact same boat as others on here, but maybe just a couple of weeks ahead. My wife is Aussie and we have been living together in the UK for about 8 years. I submitted my application on the 3rd of April, the money was taken instantly, but there has been radio silence since then.

I was not sure if I should be worried as that was just over 5 weeks ago now, but reading this thread has made me feel slightly better.

We're not planning to move until mid 2015, but I am going to a friend's wedding in Melbourne in January, so will need to work out how that works too...

Fingers crossed for everyone else in the same position!

Hi all,

My name is Ronan and my wife and I are at the start of our relocation to Oz journey. My wife is from Sydney so I have applied for a partner visa and guess it is a waiting game. We haven't completely decided on where to live, but Cronulla is a firm favourite so far.

I've been lurking on this site for a while and have got some great advice. I'm keen to pick up on other peoples experience with the visa application process (mine has been in for a month and no Case Officer yet). I haven't even started thinking about work options as I'm not on the skills list.

All in all an excited time and I look forward to picking your brains!