persianharry

Hi strikker, I think you just can't post on the group because you are a new member on PIA. Give it a few days, we all seem to have time at the moment

Congratulations on you new baby @strikker, but I think that the change to your application is going to set you back quite a bit unfortunately If you, and @RHB, are interested in meeting up when we eventually get to SA then feel free to join the group on PIA (details above in this thread)?

Oh dear RHB, looks like you have been waiting even longer than the rest of us! We feel your pain.

no problem anuhit, try this link to take you directly to the group: http://www.pomsinadelaide.com/forum/groups/489ers.html

I think if you read the requirements carefully it should say that you must book the medicals within 28 days. We delayed ours by about another month due to family commitments but we didn't tell the CO that, we just booked it and sent the proof of booking. So all you need to do is book medicals with the medical centre and ask that they email you confirmation, then send this on to the CO as proof. As snifter says, this may delay your application, but if you aren't in a hurry then it isn't a problem. Police checks are similar, but you can't defer for as long. You need to submit the request within the 28 days and forward the confirmation to the CO, but you will get the check back in about 10 days and it will be dated so you have to send it straight on to the CO. Hope that helps.

Hi all, I have set up a group on PIA called "489ers". I have also started a discussion in the group, but no need to post again just join the group and then we can all communicate with each other easily in the future once this thread is long forgotten....I'm sure we will be busy organising a move soon! If you aren't familiar with forum groups: go to your profile page, then scroll down a bit and in the left hand side you will see Groups that you are a member of and a link to 'Join Groups'. It should all be obvious from there.

Hi Wanderlust, we are heading for the Adelaide Hills (hopefully!). We submitted our application on 1st October and we were appointed our CO around 6th November, but due to family commitments we deferred our medicals until 20th January so our file has only been sitting on the CO's desk for around 2 weeks, I don't know if that makes any difference to our processing time? The waiting really is a killer isn't it? Where are you heading to? I'll try and set a group up on PIA and then we can keep in touch with updates through that (and if anyone else wants to join the waiting stress!).

I was just thinking to myself that we should start our own group, perhaps "The Late 489ers"? and keep in touch to meet up when we all eventually make it to SA? Are you all registered on the PomsInAdelaide forum, Strikker, Wanderlust & Anuhit?

I'd also like to know if any of you have got your visa yet. We were allocated CO in November 2015, but didn't complete medicals until 20th January 2016 so we are a little bit behind everyone else that has posted here. If anyone has got their visa could they share how long you have to validate as I had heard that the start date was taken from the medical date? Thanks.

I have ulcerative colitis and we had our medicals a couple of weeks ago. We are still waiting for the results, but the doctor that did the medical hardly mentioned the condition. I had taken a letter from my consultant describing the medication and history and he just said thanks and that was it. The only thing that might be troublesome is if you need a lot of expensive medication, but most of the UK prescribed tablets for Crohn's and UC are well within budget. Hope all goes well with your visa applications.

We have used immigration2oz and have been very happy, just waiting for the final visa grant. They were recommended to us by a friend who is an electrical engineer and he couldn't speak more highly. I'm in IT and they have been very thorough and knowledgeable throughout the process. Sorry but I have no experience of Visa Bureau to compare against.

We were in a similar situation and couldn't get the medicals done in time for several reasons, but rammygirl is correct: all you need to do is book the medicals and send the CO proof that you have done so within 28 days, the appointment can be any date within reason. We got our request from the CO at the beginning of November last year and the medicals are not until this coming Saturday.

I agree with Lady Rainicorn. The RPI increase in the year to October is a measly 0.69% so on a £500 per month rent that would be just a £3.45 increase. I wouldn't upset your tenants for something so little.

Glad your got your bags in the end. Any explanation / compensation from them?

I think you will find the General version much easier. The writing section is split into two parts, the first part is typically a short letter, perhaps asking for a reference or time off work, this is a third of the marks. The second section is a short essay type thing along the lines of: "Statement about celebrity life", Discuss the above statement and give your own opinion. The letter should be easy, as long as you structure it correctly with capitalisation and proper sentences you shouldn't drop any marks. The short essay is a little bit more difficult and I think it is worth spending a couple of minutes to jot down a structure of what you are going to say. The marking of the essay is a little more subjective as there isn't a single correct answer, but the key is not to make silly mistakes. I believe that you start off with full marks and then marks are deducted for spelling and grammar mistakes or failure to make your argument etc. As someone mentioned above it is easy for the time to run away with you writing a lot of words, but if you structure it well with your conclusion planned before you start then you should be OK. An old lecturer I had used to say that for essays: Say what you are going to say, Say it, then say what you said. I hope that helps, and good luck.

Hi MeToo I think these are part of UK Mail, and I had a bit of trouble with them a while back. They did answer the phone in the end and sort the problem out, so try these numbers (Googled) if you can from OZ: 0843 504 7162 08451 552 552 or this is the non-geographical number for UK Mail: 01914210000

Then I think you will be absolutely fine with 60 points, just have to wait the 10 weeks for SA to get around to it. Hope it goes well for you.

Thanks Strikker. I've only got 60 points (because I'm old :ssign3:) and I'm applying as a software engineer in section 2613 which I believe is quite heavily subscribed to, but not as bad as accountants who really have a problem on 60 points. What skill section are you applying for?

sorry, strikker not striker, oops

Hi striker, I just received the invitation. It was 10 weeks to the day, so I guess that is the current processing time for SA.

Thanks both of you for the insight, it certainly gives us more to think about.

Hi snifter, can I just ask you about this comment? We are in the process of applying and need to start thinking about where we would want to live, so I just wondered what your thoughts and experiences were on not wanting to live near the coast?

Hi Strikker we applied for the same visa as you with sponsorship from SA, but we have done it through a migration agent. When the agent submitted the EOI they said that SA were currently taking 6 to 8 weeks to process the sponsorship part and we have indeed been waiting 6 weeks already with no response. So I think you have a while to wait yet!