NikkiLondon

@carahunter congratulations on the house sale, that is incredible! Whereabouts do you live?

@JRJones an open house is such a good idea, we did that on our last holiday to Oz and it got us so excited about the move. Makes it feel very real!

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I know, it's an amazing feeling! :jiggy:It took a while to sink in - not sure it totally has! But I do feel a weight has been lifted.

 

Like you say now it's on to figuring out the next steps and a new load of things to worry about lol although obviously much much better being able to move forward with it all.

 

My brother in laws parents live in the Redlands so perhaps we can arrange a meet up. I'm sure it's lovely up there. We want to be by the sea ideally but prefer quieter so we like either south Gold Coast or maybe North of it like you. We'll see where we get work.

 

Did you amend your cv's to suit the Aus job market or keep them the same? We need to start looking into all this soon.

Yes definitely, would be lovely to meet up in the Redlands so let's keep in touch!

I have one basic CV which I'm amending very slightly to each job if I think it needs it, but not too much. I also just added a sentence in my CV saying when I'm moving to Australia and the type of work I'm looking for, just to make it clear that I'm already moving and not just speculatively job hunting from London! I will register with a recruiter soon too, so I'm sure they'll give me some advice around this, which I'll share with you!

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Hi everyone,

Cara thank you for setting this up, such a good idea! And congrats on your grant. It's just the best feeling.

My 309 visa was granted in mid December. I'm British and my husband is Aussie. We have lived together here in London for 2 years, but he's desperate to get home (I have learned you can't keep a Queenslander out of the sun for long) and I love Australia and am keen for a new adventure.

We are moving at the end of March and are looking to move to the Redlands, near the water. We'll stay with family while we figure things out.

We're beyond excited! But of course a bit apprehensive too. We're currently job hunting (I work in PR and my husband in finance/accountancy) and wading through the move admin, I will share any great tips as and when I have them but we're just figuring things out at the moment!

I would love to hear anybody else's situation / experience so far.

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Wow, I just checked into this forum for the first time in a couple of months - massive congratulations to all of those who have had grants come through. They're granting so quickly at the moment! Fingers crossed for the rest of you waiting, it's so hard but you'll get there and it'll all be worth it.

@carahunter the Brisbane/QLD forum is a great idea, lots of us on here seem to be moving there.

I'm moving to Brisbane at the end of March with my husband (my sponsor). My 309 visa was granted in mid December, we applied end of April. So it was nearly eight months for us, but it seems like grants are happening much quicker now.

Would be lovely to keep in touch with anyone on here who'll be in the area! It will be nice for us to have a little community of people in the same situation!

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Update: VISA GRANTED! Straight to the 100 and it took just under 5 months - needless to say, we are over the moon! I hope everyone will get their visa soon, looks like things are moving rather quickly. If anyone has any questions please do let me know!

Congratulations, great news! Super fast!

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Congratulations, that's fantastic news Nikki! :smile: Good Luck with the move..... Would be great to stay in touch.

 

So some are taking a little longer but not too bad, it's still a lot earlier than 10-14 months thankfully

Thanks Cara! We should definitely stay in touch, and I'll keep track of your progress on here [emoji4] - I am strangely addicted to this thread!!

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Hi everyone, I had my 309 visa granted yesterday!

The process has taken 7 and a half months, I applied on 27 April. My case officer asked for some additional info last week, we uploaded it yesterday and the grant came through about 10 minutes later!

We're still in shock!

We're thinking we'll move end of March.

We're going to live in Brisbane, I know a few people on here are too.

Good luck to everyone still waiting, I soooo feel your pain. There were a few grants yesterday so hopefully that means things are moving over there and more of you will hear soon!

X

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Got our visa granted today!! Just under 5 months.. 4 months and 25 days to be exact! So happy to be getting the ball rolling now!

Congratulations, that's fantastic news! Could I ask out of interest if it's a 309 or a 100 visa?

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Thanks Jordan! We're going for the 309 too. It's good to know it's possible for a fast grant on that one, as most of the fast grants I've seen have been 100s.

Thanks!

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Hi everyone

A fantastic day for us today - we received an email from our visa agent at 4pm today saying CONGRATULATIONS! Your visa has been granted after just 5 months!

Celebrating over a jeroboam of champagne! We wish everyone who is waiting for their visa the best of luck!

That's so great Jordan, congratulations!!

Out of interest are you on a 309 or a 100?

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No

But paying the fee was one of the bureaucratic nightmares. They insisted on returning the fee and me paying again but when I finally got my Australian citizenship back I discovered there had been an error and the money hadn't been sent. So I say well keep it on the new application. But no. They had to formally return it - and this took 3 weeks!!! To return and accept the new one again. The new application, including payment had to be sent by snail mail and not online. Then it went in the wrong in tray

Wow, that must have been the most frustrating experience! So glad it is sorted for you now.

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Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin í*½í¸

That's so great Nifa, congratulations!!!

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Thanks @carahunter4 , you too! X

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@carahunter4 We're not sure when we're moving, it depends on when we get the visa and we then have to work out our notice and get everything ready. Hopefully February or March, so at a similar time to you!

Yes we're in central(ish) london. Can't wait for a change of pace!

Re the processing times - the border.gov.au site has been saying 5 months for ages, I think they don't update it. The uk site still says 10-14 unfortunately - http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_processing_times.html - and that's what my case officer email said too. That said I've seen grants on this forum and others at 6/7 months (both 309 and 100). So I think we have to prepare ourselves for a long stretch and we may get a lovely surprise a bit earlier!

@Alycat I believe by completed application they mean your initial application, so for you the count would be from 23 June (rather than from when you submitted your medicals etc)

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Hi everyone,

 

I applied for my 309 spouse visa 4 weeks ago. I've read back quite a few pages and seems people seem to hear back from the case officer approx. 6-8 weeks after lodgement so hopefully not too long until I hear back. I'm anxious that we've done everything correctly so can't wait to hear back. I'm hoping they will just request medicals and police check which I'm assuming should mean they are happy with everything else. We are both British, when I met my husband he was just finalising a permanent visa which he had granted not long after we were together so didn't get the chance to add me on then. We settled into life here for a bit, bought a house, got married and validated his visa on our honeymoon last year but now we've decided we would like to make the move together. We really need to move there before October next year to fulfil his resident return visa requirements however, we'd love to go about May time if we can get the visa in time and the house sold. I really hope it won't go against me that I had a permanent visa to move to Oz with my ex husband but I pulled out of going the last minute as I was getting increasingly unhappy in the relationship. I divorced him and stayed here so the visa lapsed. In the meantime I met my husband! What a wonderful twist of fate that he has a visa so we see it as a sign that it's the right life for us! I have been transparent about all this in the visa application and exactly how everything panned out so we've got everything crossed as now we've made the decision we would be heartbroken not to be able to go!

 

Can I ask who is still waiting for their visa to be approved? I could do with some support as I'm starting to get a bit anxious about it all. I'm hoping a spouse visa is just a formality to check we're a couple. We have a mortgage (1 1/2 years), joint account & are married (just over a year), 2 lovely statements from friends, have written a statement each, added photo's, official docs etc I called Australia House and they actually told me to send less than what I was originally going to send as it was overkill!

 

Looking forward to meeting some people on here - anyone else going to Queensland? :-)

I'm waiting too- I applied on 27 April and was assigned a case officer on 17 June.

The official waiting time as you probably know is 10-14 months for a U.K. Offshore visa. From what I see on this forum and others the average time seems to be about 6 months so fingers crossed I will be granted soon, and you will be able to move in May like you say!

The wait is agonising, you have to just try your best to forget about it so you don't go loopy but it's sooooo hard, especially when you're excited and wanting to make plans.

I'll be going to Queensland too all being well! My husband is from Brisbane. Whereabouts in Queensland are you going?

Good luck with your application, keep us posted on any updates!

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Oh wow that is incredible! Double congratulations!! Can't imagine how excited you must be x

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The knowledge of people on this forum is amazing - seriously - and I for one am so grateful to people for taking the time to help and share. But as a newcomer I must admit I think twice about posting for fear of being 'shot down' by the forum 'elders'.

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Hi Adli,

Re being outside Australia - my partner and I recently applied for a 309/100. He is an Australian citizen, I am a British citizen. He hasn't lived in Australia for around 4 years now, and he has been approved as a sponsor.

Processing time as said above depends on where you're applying from. From the UK the official processing time is currently 10-14 months.

Good luck with your application!

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Yay! That's amazing news, congratulations! [emoji1433][emoji1433][emoji1433][emoji1433][emoji1433][emoji1433]

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That's perfect, plenty of time for the shock to wear off [emoji4] and to plan your new life! X

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I received an email this morning - my visa has been granted!!! Straight to subclass 100!!

 

I can't describe the relief of having it granted!

 

Thanks to everyone on this forum who has given help and advice - it was much appreciated! Good luck to everyone who is still waiting!

That is such amazing news, congratulations! You must be over the moon!

Do you know when you'll be moving?

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Just had to call them to let them know that we are going travelling for the next 8 months. Hoped it would prompt the visa to arrive but no luck haha.....I'm so impatient!

Lucky you, going travelling while you wait, that will kill the time beautifully! Where are you off to?

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Really? Well I can assure you that I'm not, but I don't know if you are going to believe me. I've only just plucked up the courage to reach out for some help on here after spending months just browsing through posts. I'm sure you can well remember how overwhelming it is at the start of the application process, I was only looking for a little bit of help and reassurance along the way

There are lots of people here to give you help and reassurance, don't worry [emoji4]

Good luck with your application!

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Hi zx6r, I would go speak to a migration agent. From memory of the research I did it could be that the prospective marriage visa may work for you but a professional would be able to let you know, and help you make your application as strong as possible. Good luck!

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It's bad for business when people tell others its quite straightforward to do your own application.

To be fair, I'm not sure the copy paste attack above is great for business either, I was quite shocked by that! A simple "careful mate, you don't want to cross over into dodgy territory" probably would have sufficed.

Anyway on a lighter note, congrats on your approval Biker! You had quite the wait, you must be over the moon! [emoji4]

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