HibiscusDreams

43 minutes ago, Nemesis said:

You can't apply onshore for a 309. It would have to be an 820/801.

If someone arrived on a tourist visa they could then apply after marriage for a 820, that would then give them a Bridging Visa A until the 820 is granted (currently 2- 3 years).  Whether the application for the 300 could be changed to a 820 I'm not sure  I'd say you need professional advice, NOT DoHA call centre advice. I would also doubt that you could get a Bridging Visa A as the original application was lodged offshore, but again, get a professional view. 

Thanks for your take, Nemesis - appreciate the heads up

Yeah, I'm thinking this might be an agent one. Any recommendations for this would be super-useful. I don't really want a full package, as the main application is already in and I'm happy to do the paperwork myself, I just really want an advice and guidance session or two (I don't have thousands to spare, so it's also a case of what I can afford!), if there is someone who can do that, ideally specialized in partner visas for UK/EU citizens.

OK all, so maybe advice, or maybe just some comfort needed here lol - not sure which, but I'm a bit worried. I spoke to the Immi enquiry line yesterday asking how bridging visas would work in case my PMV hasn't been processed by the time of my wedding, so in other words how I'd bridge from an eVisitor to the 309 Partner Visa. Immi informed me that I couldn't apply to convert the application from 300 to 309 whilst inside Australia, and that I'd have to leave Australia after the wedding, and apply from another country and wait for it to be approved. 

Obviously this scares me a lot. Not only because the idea of potentially being seperated from my parnter for another 2 years potentially feels me with dread and depression, but also because this goes against completely what my understanding of how the process works.

Looking up the Bridging Visas online, I found this: Bridging Visa C (class 030) - https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa-1/030- - which covers the bridge from an non-substantive to a substantive visa, which would seem to cover exactly this sort of issue.

So, am I missing something here, or is this a viable solution to my (potential/feared - if the PMV isn't granted in time) problem? Also, can the application for a PMV be converted within Australia or not? I understand an application for a 309 can't be made fresh whilst in Australia, but does this still apply for converting an existing application (for PMV) that was indeed made outside the country? If it does have to made outside Australia, can I still apply for the BVC?

For the first time in this process, I really do feel out of my depth and that I'm just being toyed with by Immi for their amusement
 

6 minutes ago, spangle 1 said:

Still on my pmv at the moment and trying to stay motivated with the stage 2 forms but finding it tough going 

Yeah, I think it's hard to find anything to do with immi "motivating" - still 5 months is incredible. Hoping some of your luck rubs off on me!

7 hours ago, Laura_hj said:

Same with us, end of January...the date looms closer! I am moving anyway in December whether it be on my PMV or eVisitor, but really hoping we don’t have to postpone the Melbourne wedding. We have another two weddings in China then Scotland organised so it may have a knock on effect. Fingers crossed for everyone! 

Hope you've got a frequent flier card! ^_^ 

7 hours ago, Laura_hj said:

Same with us, end of January...the date looms closer! I am moving anyway in December whether it be on my PMV or eVisitor, but really hoping we don’t have to postpone the Melbourne wedding. We have another two weddings in China then Scotland organised so it may have a knock on effect. Fingers crossed for everyone! 

Best of luck, Laura! From my understanding of the rules, you shouldn't have to postpone in either case. If you get carried before the PMV is approved, you can convert the application straight to a partner visa application :) - Not an agent so obviously double check it with immi, but I'm fairly sure that is an option - and definitely preferable to postponing the big day!

4 hours ago, Nikisha said:

In reference to your alternate, does the granting of your PMV knock out the tourist e-visa?

In my experience once it was granted (the PMV) They gave me an initial entry date. So maybe keep a close eye on that one when your visa is granted so you know as to when u may re-enter

My impression from immi was that it wouldn't "knock out" the visa someone is currently using, unless you leave and re-enter, thus activating the new visa?

My departure day looms closer! No news on visa yet but I do have flight and everything booked so just wanted to check if the following is an option? I'm pretty sure it is (spoke to the immi enquiry line as was told yes, but thought it is always wise to cross ref with real world experiences)

Flight is Nov 6, Wedding is Feb 16 - Is it OK to:

* Fly out as scheduled on an E-visitor visa

* If my PPM still hasn't been processed by start of Feb (when 90 days are nearly up) fly over to NZ, spend a few days in Auckland (or welly.... Welly is a fun little place) then re-enter. This would be a few weeks before my wedding. 

* Straight after the wedding, apply to convert my PPM application to a partner visa.

If this is permitted, will the Bridging visa have the permissions of a partner visa (i.e. allow me to get a job, enroll in medicare and all the usual guff) or will it lump me on a de-facto e-visitor status?

Alternatively, if while I am there on the e-visitor, and the PPM is approved before Feb, can I fly out to NZ and re-enter straight away (well, after say 2-3 days, not literally immediately) under full PPM rules? Again I have been told this is OK by immi, but would appreciate real-world knowledge.

Fantastic!!! So happy for you - and a huge sigh of relief here - it's like somebody at Immi had just switched off the lights and called it a day. Best of luck to you, now get your arse out there and enjoy your life together! 

8 hours ago, TheWayOfThePony said:

Congratulations on your 300 application @HibiscusDreams! here's to hoping it will be processed swiftly    it's such a massive hurdle to get over (all that paperwoooork) that it's very strange to go back to a life of not obsessively going through old emails and photos  

@spangle 1 and @CEP don't fret toooo much about the 820 - it's just a question of updating what you've sent for your 300. I basically sent the same core documents (proofs of ID, evidence of continuous relationship etc), all I did was to add new stat decs from witnesses, new statements from us, and evidence that we :
- got married (e.g. wedding pictures, bills from the venue and the celebrant., and official wedding certificate; tip: apply for the certificate as soon as you get that ring on, it can take a few weeks for the Register to have it ready)
- live together and share costs of living (tenancy agreement, bills, bank statements with annotations pointing out who buys what etc.).

I was dreading it too, but in the end it took a lot less time and effort than the PMV. If you've managed that 300 - you can definitely do that 820!

Added bonus: an application for a 820 following a PMV usually gets processed quicker than direct-to-820 applications  (Mine got granted in four months; a British friend who went directly for the 820 had to wait for over a year)

 

That's good to know. I so don't want to have to jump through all these hoops again. It's been horrible. It's really the thought of my s/o and our life together at the end of it that has made it doable - totally worth it for her :)

5 hours ago, JetBlast said:

2 big points for me.

1. Good internet

2. Goos transport links

Many regional areas fail on one or both of these.

6 minutes ago, CEP said:

Ah I’ve been there on my first visit. 

I will be heading to Perth as that’s where my partner lives at the moment. It’s likely that work for me will be over east but we’ll see!

the eerie silence is tough!!! News of just one pmv would give us hope lol!

I've been over Perth - it's a stunning city, coming from the UK it's *so* clean, and the river is beautiful. Really liked my time there, sure you'll make a great home there  

But yep, it is a bit eerie.... what's happening, Immi?!

34 minutes ago, CEP said:

Which part are you going to?

the Blue Mountains, just west of Sydney  - Absolutely gorgeous, but bloody expensive!

1 hour ago, CEP said:

Welcome to the club!

I submitted on 27th May and nothing so far.  

My house is going through the sale process so I think that may be wrapped up by the end of September (fingers crossed!)

All being well with the sale, I plan to go over to Oz around the 2nd week of november and stay for the 3 months on my current 651 evisitor visa.

The final date of entry on my 651 is in march so I'm guessing I just need to run another 651 application through to be able to visit again if the PMV300 hasnt already been granted by that stage?

good luck to all - hoping to see someone sharing good news soon!

Snap! I'm off on the first week of November ^_^ Hoping for some shared good fortune! - if not, e-visitor it is!

It's not that Australia has too many migrants, but that - as the OP article says - they all settle in the capitals. The problem is unemployment - rural towns just don't have the permanent, full time jobs needed by new arrivals to establish themselves and get on their feet. Rather than encouraging them to move to very small rural towns (as in the example in the OP) a better move might be to encourage migration to secondary cities, i.e. Newcastle, Wollongong, Geelong, Townsville, Cairns, Bunbury etc.as well as the smaller capitals like Hobart and Darwin instead of the big five. The best way to do this would be to make more employment/skill based visas either contingent upon settling outside of the big five, or providing an incentive (fewer "points", and/or a fee discount) for regional settlement. 

Don't know! That was just what the site said to pay, so I did I'm a UK citizen applying from UK, so maybe if your applying from elsewhere the cost might be different?

Awwe, that's horrible! Hoping that beauracracy doesn't ruin your plans....Didn't it used to be possible to convert a prospective marriage app to a partner visa if you get married before they process?

Fingers crosse!  I planned to get mine in ages ago but people dragged their feet with stat Dec's... do we have any recent timelines on processing? I know they were being super fast earlier in the year. I've got health and police checks all ready to go. Wedding is in Feb but planning to fly out in November to help get stuff organised. I did speak to immi and was told it's OK to go out on an e visitor if the 300 isn't approved then if it comes through within the 3 months fly to nz and reenter Oz to activate it. 

Well, that's it! Just submitted my application - $7160 poorer and butterflies in my stomach! Wish me luck!  

Technically, there's no need to worry (if you're an EU citizen at least). You can set your date if you wish, and if the visa isn't approved by then, enter Australia on a regular e-visit visa - have your wedding and head back to your current home country and request your PPM application to be converted to a partnership application. The rules do allow for this. My current understanding is that applications from the UK and EU are currently being processed quite quickly - well within the guidelines. Mine is going to submitted in a week or two, and our wedding is set for February - NOIM in, venue and celebrant all arranged  - It's wise to have a NOIM and a celebrant sorted before you apply, as the celebrant can provide a letter to include with your application, which is very useful. Immi do ask for any dates you have scheduled for the wedding, so I'm guessing they will at least try and work to that schedule as long as it's reasonable.

We wanted to do it this way to give us a chance to spread the costs of the wedding - and give a chance for people who wanted to come from overseas to have a fixed date to work to for flights etc., but that's just us. You certainly don't have to do it that way - as long as you've got a celebrant and NOIM sorted then you're OK as far as Immi are concerned. 

My understanding is that the Last Remaining Relative visa has effectively been withdrawn in all but name - which is a shame, as for people in your situation it is a humanitarian issue and not relevant to a large number of people so it's hardly a "loophole" visa - but the immigration issue in Australia is every bit as a toxic and vitriolic as in the UK. All of us immigrants are just  footballs used by  politicians to show how tough and manly they are. 

I like how the Brits mock aussie food.... but us poms really are no better  - I've had Tim-Tams and burger rings shipped to the UK before now lol

On 18/03/2018 at 23:30, Marisawright said:

I can't speak for acting, but I know it's very tough for professional musicians and dancers.   Right now, I know three who are making a living full-time from dance.  One is in a ballet company, one is teaching as well as performing, and the third is an international headliner.  All the rest have day jobs - performing doesn't pay the bills.

The problem is, Australia's population is only 23 million.  The UK is 65 million.  So if you're trying to put on a show, you've got only one-third the potential audience.  Worse, that audience is spread out over a vast continent - so you can't count the people in Western Australia or the Northern Territory, because it costs too much to freight the show out there.  In the UK, you can also take the show to Europe or Ireland at a reasonable cost, whereas it's very expensive to tour to Asia or New Zealand.  

You might say, the audience is smaller but then, surely there are fewer artists?  Well yes - but the thing is, producing a show costs the same in Australia as it does in the UK.  You've got to recoup that cost in tickets.  A smaller audience means fewer tickets therefore putting on a show becomes unprofitable.  

I'm also seeing a lot of complaints in the press about how the TV companies are not producing local dramas, they're importing Australian and British shows instead.  That can't be good news for the industry.  

On the bright side, there are big studios on the Gold Coast and in Sydney where international films are made, so there would be work there.  But I suspect competition for parts would be fierce.

 

Sadly, I second this. I've got a few Aussie muso friends, and I've heard the same from them. Neither make a living from it. True, they are based in WA, but both have tried touring the east coast and still wound up not only not making a living from it, but barely covering the costs of doing it. To give an idea of the economies needed, one of them was in a band that loaded up a trailer and hauled it behind one their own vehicles to the east coast - all the way across the Nullarbor. Lovely road trip, but basically a fun self-funding hobby, not a way to make a living.

On 30/06/2018 at 21:57, CEP said:

Sounds so much like me!

Trying to get house sold at the same time is like trying to align the stars lol!

I’ll keep an update on here

I feel your pain! About to submit, hopefully in a week or so - just waiting on the last few stat decs to come in from family and co-workers. Hoping to get house on the market at the same time. I've priced competitively to try and make sure it goes, and spent a lot of time doing the place up to the best of my Bunnings video tutorial based DIY super-powers. If not I've got family here who can finish the transaction for me, but I'd rather leave here with the money from it in my hand - just for comfort sake, as we are stuck in rental hell back home (in oz.... I just can't think of the UK as home anymore, my life the love of it are in NSW, waiting for me) and want to buy as soon as we practically can.

Is there a reason you can't put in for divorce? Your case would be MUCH simpler if you could do this. NSW won't let you register a partnership if you're married to someone else, and having a partnership certificate is a big piece of evidence that Immi like to see. Not sure of the partnership registration rules in other states/territories, but I'm guessing they are somewhat similar.