hayleykj

You've contacted them so can only really wait. Have you tried to use the online correction? I'd do that if it's available to you. If it's there, use it.

Yes, I've just found the form you use to notify them of incorrect answers. Can't see where to upload it on the immiaccount though

What dates and whereabouts in the application?

I input the date the relationship began, not the date the de facto relationship began. They're separate questions, relationship type and start date so I must have overlooked they meant de facto start date and not overall. So dumb, I know.

Both dates are still within the requirements of the visa as I knew we had to live together for 12 months and we have detailed our living arrangements in our declarations and elsewhere in the application so they should be well aware of the timeline and can see the mix-up. I emailed the European service centre for advice but I know they take some time to respond.

We have a CO so would like to think if there's a problem they'd have contact us. Kicking myself!

yeah I'm Australian she's British

 

we met in australia and lived there for a bit and came over here to london to live but wanted to move back to australia

 

we aren't married and dont have kids

Fantastic news!

My partner and I met in early 2014, same living situation as you, aus then the UK. Looks like the visas of married people are getting approved quicker but 8 months is still pretty good and gives me a bit of hope (in light of the 10-14 months processing guidance).

Congrats again!

Has anyone had any issues or experience with rectifying a mistake on their application? I've muddle dates and I'm wondering if I should wait for the CO to ask me or to try and contact them (even though I don't have their info)?

I'm worried they'll see it and throw it in the bin straight away thinking I've lied or something. Or is the visa team are compassionate and want to help people get their visas? I have this image in my head that they'll be looking for reasons not to grant, perhaps I'm just being pessimistic and thinking the worst. Just wondering if anyone, who has actually has a conversation with their CO, has found them to be helpful or purely investigative?

Good luck! Are you def moving back to Nowra? Not a lot of jobs here... or pubs... or much else - but close to some fab beaches and a train to Sydney.

Thank you! It's stressful waiting and waiting and hearing nothing! We're moving to Nowra, with my partners family as temporary measure whilst we look for jobs and a house. We're not in a rush so going to 'feel it out' on the job front, if there's nothing suitable we will be looking to move somewhere a little more suitable. I've been to Nowra plenty of times from when I lived in Aus before. I'm from Portsmouth which has no shortage of pubs and jobs. It's going to be a complete change of pace for sure! I am looking in to property development so would potentially invest in something in Huskisson as a money maker. Who knows!

Hi Carol,

We arrived about three months ago and plan to stay, though not necessarily in the long term in Nowra (bless it). I am Australian but lived in London over 25 years; OH is a Scot, and has just been granted his 309 We brought our four Pommy cats with us, all settling in.

We're planning an expedition to the Berry Hotel one Friday night soon, if you fancy a pint!

Cheers,

Kat

We're still waiting for our visa grant but my partner is from Nowra (bless him) and we're moving in June. Maybe see you then!

Hopefully it will be soon. So stressful.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Fingers crossed for everyone here. I'm a do-er if there's a task outstanding, I get it out the way. I'm in the process of selling assets and winding down direct debits etc, I'm making so much progress with everything else and whilst I don't 'need' the visa until the (UK) summer it'll just be one less thing to worry about. I'm going traveling next friday so hopefully they don't ask me for anymore evidence as this will be difficult to present, this is part of the reason i front-loaded.

Have you done medical and police check, I remember you saying you were going to do them but hadn't had the email. We are 4 months on Sat, no contact, and haven't done medical or police check yet .

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Yes I front-loaded. I emailed the European Centre and they confirmed I had a CO on Jan 18th, other that that, no contact and no change on the immi account.

"Please note that your application has already been assigned a caseofficer.

Your caseofficer will liaise with you once the preliminary assessment of

your application is completed. Unfortunately we are unable to give you a

specific time frame and thus we ask you to wait patiently for further

instructions."

Applied: Oct 6th

Medical: Nov 4th

Police Check Uploaded: Jan 5th

Have you had contact hayleykj?

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Nope, nothing. Going on the pretense that no news is good news. Positive timelines coming through on this forum which is great but annoying that they are 'in a queue' yet being granted all out of order!

Case Officers do work on other types of Visa.

 

I'm completely new to the application process (although been following this site off n on for a few years) but recently I've been led to believe that there must be a kind of Triage, as I only applied recently and was asked to submit my medical and police checks within 8 weeks, and my medical referral letter was marked 100 (which the panel doctor with whom I've booked my medical said that means they're putting me through as a 100 rather than a 309). When I rang and spoke with European Call Centre to query about panel doctors (we live in Northern Ireland and there are none here, so I'd have to travel to GB, or would they accept an Irish panel doctor from Dublin which is obviously outside UK jurisdiction), the Call Centre asked when we were definitely travelling to Australia (as we are planning a reccie and I had put this in my application documents), I said hopefully late May/early June 2017, and she asked me to ensure that I let them know as that would be around the time that my partner visa was due to be granted (if it wasn't granted before that), and I would need to be out of the country for granting, but she said if I was in Oz, I could just fly to New Zealand for a few days so they could grant the visa, and that this was quite common, people going across on tourist visas to sit it out. She also told me not to expect contact from the office until visa grant and not to worry, as that was quite normal due to caseworkers' extensive workloads. So, like everyone else, it's a waiting game!!!

 

Our application is straight forward in terms of together 14 years, defacto for 12.5 of that, and married for 11 years, with one daughter who's an aussie citizen, Australian marriage certificate, Australian bank account held jointly for 4+ years and 12+ years of joint financial evidence.

Did not know this about the visa class on the referral letter. I applied for 309 but it says 100 on my letter, I didn't think much of it at the time but if it is processing as a 100 I'll be quite happy! Seems most visa applicants are being granted 100s straight from the off so it would make sense. Thanks for the bit of positive news. 4.5 months in so taking what i can get in terms of 'news' haha!

Today our visa has been granted!!!! 5 months, 3 weeks and a day!!

WOW WOW WOW! Congratulations! I'm so pleased for you and happy to hear some good news!

Can you add your stats just one last time please? Also, your background, are you married etc? I've been trying to scroll back to see if you've posted this previously so sorry if you have

Congrats again x

Hi we are new here,

 

but just wanted to give you a bit of information on our timeline as you will probably see everyone is different.

 

We applied at the end of June

 

CO was about a month later and then the medical request was the end of august.

 

since then we haven't heard a peep from them no further information or anything.

 

Backstory to our situation

 

My partner and I met in australia in early 2013 lived together for about a year in australia and then moved here in the uk have been here for nearly 2 years and my visa is up in may.

 

so fingers crossed we get it soon..

Sounds similar to me and my partner, he's on a working holiday visa which is up in June. What nationality are you out of curiosity?

Thanks, I'm sure you'll hear very soon. I've mostly been pretty chilled about it all but I guess there's just that niggling doubt that I might not get the visa for some reason so just want peace of mind! This thread is great, its nice to see peoples updates and know roughly the time things are taking.

I'm in the same boat. I just think what if they refused?! I dunno why they would but I just wanna know

Ahhh I hope you do. I'm sure it will be soon. Good news on the house sale. My husband won't put it up for sale till the visa is granted, very annoying. Lol. What part are you moving to? We are moving to Noosa on the Sunshine Coast.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Don't envy you guys- all I really have to do is cancel my gym membership! Everyone seems to be heading to QLD. I'll be down in Jervis Bay, NSW if anybody needs me haha!

Hi @carahunter4, do keep positive - there's been a lot of good news on the forum! You are right, we've not had a request for medical or police check yet. I got worried our application had fallen by the wayside, so I called them on Monday. They told me we did, in fact, have a case officer and that there were no documents outstanding, but that was it. It will be 5 months for us on Saturday, so my husband has booked his medical for next week. Even if we have to wait 14 months, we are in the 'safe zone' to activate the visa now, so we figured we'd just run with it. Hopefully it helps. It's a bit disconcerting that there are others getting approved in the time we've been waiting for contact, but, I guess that's our lot! I will keep you updated when we get any more news.

Fingers crossed for you. I've seen a few people approved around the 5/6 month mark so I really hope it's not too much longer for you. Lots of people on this thread around the aug-oct mark so hopefully the good news comes at once

Oh no, take it with a pinch of salt, she could just be a email handler. And just giving the worst case.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

I agree, they can't be held responsible for giving misleading information so they stay vague. Frustrating but quite understandable.

I hope we both have contact soon. We are quite near each other aren't we?

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

Yes you are a week behind me I think, I am 6th Oct. Although I'd say your circumstances make for a simpler application as my partner and I aren't married. We satisfy and can prove all the criteria all the same but marriages seem to process faster, sometimes straight to permanent 100.

Yeah, I wasn't expecting much advice on the processing times but I got the response I was after regarding a c/o!

I have already completed my medical and police check (without prompt). If my application takes longer than 13 months an dI have to re-do (my medical was done 1 month after submission) I would consider myself to be very unlucky!

Admittedly this was before I found out the processing times as per the UK Embassy site. Worst case scenario I pay again, best case it speeds up the application.

Just received an email back from the European Service Center, we have a case officer too which is great news, no idea how long we've had one though!

Thought I'd post the response here in case it is useful to anyone:

"Dear Ms Jennings,

Thank you for your enquiry.

As a guide, the majority of applications processed in the Europe Region are

expected to be finalised within 10 to 14 months, however please be advised

that the service standards for processing times are indicative only.

We are aware that the stated service standard and information provided on

our departmental website www.border.gov.au are different to those on the

High Commission website. Actual processing times do vary according to the

post you lodge your application due to the planning levels available in the

family stream of the Australian migration program. For more information

regarding the annual migration program please see:

http://www.border.gov.au/about/corporate/information/fact-sheets/21managing

If your intention is to migrate to Australia you should be entering the

country on a visa that properly reflects your intention in Australia, e.g.

a permanent visa if you wish to stay permanently. If once you have lodged

your partner visa application you need to visit Australia temporarily you

are able to do this, however, you should be aware that you are required to

be outside of Australia for us to grant your partner visa. Furthermore

there is not a visa which has been created for the purpose of allowing

clients to stay in Australia while awaiting a decision of their partner

application lodged outside Australia. If you propose to visit Australia on

a visitor visa you should be aware that you need to satisfy Australian

border and Immigration staff that you are a genuine visitor. You will need

to be able to demonstrate you have sufficient funds to cover the costs of

your stay without the need to work, that you intend to visit Australia

temporarily and that you have an intention to depart the country before the

expiry of your visitor visa.

You do not need to seek the approval of your partner visa application’s

case officer for you to visit Australia, however, you should update them

with any change in your contact details to ensure they can continue to

communicate with you to make any outstanding requests for your application.

Please note that your application has already been assigned a case officer.

Your case officer will liaise with you once the preliminary assessment of

your application is completed. Unfortunately we are unable to give you a

specific time frame and thus we ask you to wait patiently for further

instructions.

Please note:

-The information you are given by the Europe Service Centre will be based

on the information you supply.

-We recommend that you do not make any irreversible travel arrangements

until you have an appropriate visa.

Yours faithfully,

Mxxxx

Europe Service Centre

Department of Immigration and Border Protection"

Okay, does it say recommended on your wife's? I'm sure if they need anything else they will be in contact.

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

My boyfriend's says recommended but we haven't uploaded anything, I think the option to is a default and you kinda have to choose for yourself if it's applicable, his family tree etc we've left out. I don't even know where you'd obtain that from and he's got a bloody big tree...

I havent read anywhere else that the sponsor needs to obtain a police check other than on the immiaccount where it says recommended.

Visa approved this morning woop! Straight to 100 permanent resident, took a little longer than some which made me nervous, timings below;

 

Visa submitted 22nd July 2016

CO assigned 8th Sep

Police checks uploaded 22nd Sep

Medical completed 28th Sep

Approved 17th Jan

 

Off to Sydney later this year with my wife and young kids, selling up our house and aim to purchase - just need the pound to strengthen or might have to rent for a while!

 

Thanks to everyone on this forum, it's really been a great help

 

Nick

More good news coming through! Congrats!

Does anyone know how you know your uploads have been looked at? Mine are all green/received but I was wondering if the status changes after they've been looked at? I doubt they do as nothing else seems to be that clear!

Yep understand now. yes Bali is amazing we stayed there for 10 nights last year on our way home from OZ.

I haven't been yet but I've heard nothing but good things. Can't be too different from S.E Asia. Here's hoping it doesn't get that far though!

Where did you stay? We're looking for somewhere with a private pool etc, flashy but not too extortionate...

They are taking their sweet time.....they didn't hesitate or take much time when asking for money or our own documents

Amen Ssyed. Couldn't be more right!

hayllekj do you live in Bali? have you applied via London?

No, we live in the UK at the moment but on our way to Aus we're stopping for a holiday in Amsterdam then Bali. So worst case scenario I waste a £100 flight ticket from Bali to Aus. Hope that makes sense. Bali is a cheap place to wait out a visa, not to mention beautiful

I wondered about this. If we had an application for OH for a partner visa, however it hadn't been approved when we go to move to Australia, what type of visa we could obtain for OH.

 

If we selected visitor visa, however, with the intent of staying and waiting for the partner visa approval we would in effect not be telling the truth to the immigration officer on arrival who would most likely ask our reasons for visiting. They will be able to see the application for our partner visa in their system. I would want to tell the truth but worry they would say well you're not visiting are you and send us packing. I hate being a worrier.

 

I also phoned the customer contact centre today and we do have a case officer also. The lady I spoke to was very helpful and although couldn't tell me the CO name (I didn't ask anyway - irrelevant) they said that our application was in the process of being reviewed - not just 'allocated awaiting review'. We submitted our application end October last year. I asked the person at the contact centre about my concerns re visitor visa and partner visa if we had to enter Australia before partner visa was approved. She just said this is pretty common as people don't want to be separated from family and kids start school etc.. She just said that the officer would judge us on arrival. So I'm still worrying! We do need to be in Australia for mid to late June.

Great news about your C/O too Ozzie.

If it makes you feel better I have taken the risk and booked flights to Aus for June 29th which will be 9 months in. I'm relying on the partner visa or holiday visa being granted before then. I am only flying from Bali though so not far to turn back if the worst happens!

I would be honest with the immigration officers. Say you booked hoping that the visa would be granted (as processing times previously stated 5 months) but are settling for a holiday visa to attend whatever it is you need to attend in mid june. We booked the 29th because its my OH sisters 18th and we want to surprise her. I've only seen one person on here that has been refused a holiday visa and they were from a high risk country.

Stay positive!