TheKeetons

Thanks. 

When the visa took only 3 months to process, how long did it say on the actual website that you would have to wait? Last month the website said 21-24 months and now it’s saying 14-16 months which is a real long time.

Thanks,

Rachel

6 hours ago, Beffers said:

I think you'll be fine yourselves. We were together since 2003, married 2006, daughter dual citizen 2011 and applied 2017. We uploaded different files for financial, social, identity, etc (combined various pieces of financial evidence into one PDF etc, all annotated with a cover sheet for each section of evidence), as well as witness statements, Form 80, personal statements, etc. 

Once you pay fee, you will be given access to the upload screens for both yourself and your sponsor.  It's a case of uploading PDFs in each section. There's a max number of 60 uploads per person, hence the need to combine different documents into combined PDFs.

Good luck!

Thank you. How long did it take to come through or are you still waiting?

ta, raRa

Thank you 

Thank you 

Hi - I am an Australian Citizen living in the UK. My husband and I have been together for 12 years, married 10 and with 2 children who are also Australian Citizens. I am just about to apply for our offshore partner visa and I don’t know whether to pay for a Migration agent to check through my evidence, or whether the Immi account website is really helpful once you pay the $7,160. I would hate to attempt it on my own and get rejected on the grounds that my evidence isn’t good enough. However, I’ve scanned in;

Bank statements, some Utility bills, all our ID, all our tenancy agreements and mortgage documents, cards sent to us, travel documents, photos, Facebook screenshots, our photography website, tickets to gigs, invites. 

Is the Immi account straight forward once you pay the fees and start uploading your evidence and how can you feel secure that you’ve lodged enough?

Thanks,

Rachel

Thank you. And do you know if you can work on it? 

Ta 

Hi Westly Russell,

Thank you so much for your very helpful post. I’ve thought about this option before but the ETA tourist visa from the UK is valid for 3 months so if we were to then lodge the application visa, do we get some kind of bridging visa that my husband can work on as this is absolutely imperative, and how long would it take for them to issue the bridging visa? Do you get it on the spot at the Immigration office? I’d have to be clear on all this because when you have 2 young children, you can’t really take big risks. 

Many thanks and I would be hugely grateful if you could help me with the above.

Kindest Regards,

Rachel 

Thanks for your help. I thought they were all processed in Oz. 

2 years is a long time to wait and a lot can happen in that time. Mmmmmm.

Hi - I was just about to finalise gathering my evidence together before lodging my offshore 309 partner migration provisional visa and I couldn’t believe the current processing times - 21-26 months. Is this really the case? Could this change and get less? 

Also, does anyone know when the knew process will kick in when the Sponser needs to be approved first before you submit the partner migration form?

Thanks

Lodged my Citizenship application for my boys today! Thanks y’all! 

Well, thank you for clarifying things for me. Phew, it looks positive again. I should have found out what the word ‘naturalised’ meant. The only other thing I hope is ok is the fact that I lived in Australia between 1999 and 2006 and not exactly 2 years prior to the application. We are planning to go back though. 

Thank you SO much for clearing this up for me.

ra 

Hi, 

i’m just reading these forms and I don’t think my kids would be eligible because I got my residency/Citizenship through a previous de facto relationship and I wasn’t born in Australia. Damn. 

Thank you SO much. I wasn’t born in Australia but I lived their between 2000 and 2006. 

I shall pursue this now at The High Commission.

Thank you once again.

Hi - thanks to everyone for all your help. I was getting quite excited that the kids could get Citizenship automatically because their Mum is a Citizen but i’ve not lived in Australia since 2006 and i’m British and the kids were born in the UK within the last 5 years. So I thought it sounded too good to be true.

Oh well. More forms. more money.

Thank you.

On 09/05/2018 at 00:30, snifter said:

If you are an eligible Aus citizen and your kids were born in the UK you can apply for Aus citizenship by descent for them, and once you have that certificate, their Australian passports. Its a really simple process and there is no reason to have to include them on the application for a visa (and therefore pay the costs and the medicals etc for them) if they are entitled to hold Aus citizenship already. 

My son was born in the UK. Aus husband, I'm English. We got his Aus citizenship and Aus passport sorted before he was a few months old. I applied for a partner visa when he was 4 or 5 and we didn't include him in the application. 

The only reason I can think you want to skip on applying for the Aus passports etc is because you are in a real hurry to get to Aus and plan to apply onshore in a few weeks and so don't want to apply and wait for their passports to come through. TBH even if you are wanting to do this, its even more reason to get their Aus citizenship and passports sorted IMHO. If you plan to apply off shore (which is the far more reasonable, wait times are way less these days and you'd have the visa granted before you move there, whereas on shore means up to 2 years on a bridging visa and uncertainty, which is far from ideal for you all) you really should get the ball rolling on Aus citizenship and passports. 

I am a British lady but I have my Australian Citizenship. I thought I would have to be an Australian by decent to get my children Australian Citizenship? If I can get them a passport, do I go to the Australian High Commission in London for this? Ta, Ra

21 hours ago, snifter said:

If you are an eligible Aus citizen and your kids were born in the UK you can apply for Aus citizenship by descent for them, and once you have that certificate, their Australian passports. Its a really simple process and there is no reason to have to include them on the application for a visa (and therefore pay the costs and the medicals etc for them) if they are entitled to hold Aus citizenship already. 

My son was born in the UK. Aus husband, I'm English. We got his Aus citizenship and Aus passport sorted before he was a few months old. I applied for a partner visa when he was 4 or 5 and we didn't include him in the application. 

The only reason I can think you want to skip on applying for the Aus passports etc is because you are in a real hurry to get to Aus and plan to apply onshore in a few weeks and so don't want to apply and wait for their passports to come through. TBH even if you are wanting to do this, its even more reason to get their Aus citizenship and passports sorted IMHO. If you plan to apply off shore (which is the far more reasonable, wait times are way less these days and you'd have the visa granted before you move there, whereas on shore means up to 2 years on a bridging visa and uncertainty, which is far from ideal for you all) you really should get the ball rolling on Aus citizenship and passports. 

I am a British lady but I have my Australian Citizenship. I thought I would have to be an Australian by decent to get my children Australian Citizenship? If I can get them a passport, do I go to the Australian High Commission in London for this? Ta, Ra

17 hours ago, Marisawright said:

One more thing just to complicate the mix - do you have British citizenship yourself?   If not, and you want to move back to the UK in the future, you may not be able to.  It's not easy to get a spouse visa for the UK these days, and it keeps getting more difficult.

In your situation, I think it's absolutely vital to ensure you have the right to live in both countries, even if you think you would never come back from Australia.   What if your children moved back to the UK once they're adults, and you're stuck in Australia?

I understand that you're worried about the cost of the spouse visa - but honestly, the cost of the visa is a drop in the bucket compared to the cost of making the move. Get the visa and the kids' passports done, then save up for the next phase.

I am British by decent bit I also have Australian Citizenship, so luckily I have both passports.

23 hours ago, Ferrets said:

If you are an Australian citizen then so are your kids already, so you just need to apply for their passports

I am a British lady but I have my Australian Citizenship. I thought I would have to be an Australian by decent to get my children Australian Citizenship? If I can get them a passport, do I go to the Australian High Commission in London for this? Ta, Ra

I totally agree - thank you so much for confirming my initial concerns about doing it the onshore way. 

19 hours ago, snifter said:

What Marisa said. Our son didn’t go down as an applicant as we got his Aus citizenship by descent and passport sorted ahead of time and it was easy as anything that way. Why pay to get them a visa if they have Aus citizenship to make use of. Seems a long winded way to go about it if you do get them a visa. And costly as medicals are needed also if they go on the application. 

Off shore grant times have sped up considerably for many. You can check no end of partner visa threads on here and see them coming back in a few months for many. Not all, but lots are getting quicker grants. Might be worth researching. 

On shore I often read of people struggling to secure work on their bridging visa. Seems often employers don’t understand it and are not keen to employ. 

IMO, if you are not in a huge rush to be there in he next couple of months or so, apply for kids citizenship and Aus passports, apply off shore for the partner visa and make the move that way. Seems the far more sensible thing to do all round I think. 

My kids are English though. Thank you for your great helpful message though. 

20 hours ago, Nemesis said:

If your children are Australian you don't include them on the visa application as they don't need visas. 

Good to know. Thank you.

My children are English.

7 hours ago, Quoll said:

Much easier to apply for the spouse visa off shore - several reports of people getting them in 2-3 months in a London at the moment, especially where there are Aussie kids involved. Far more sensible not to run the risk of being turned around at the border for the sake of a few weeks.

14 hours ago, Marisawright said:

When you say "at immigration", I hope you don't mean at the airport.  If they find out your husband has arrived on a tourist visa with no intention of leaving, he'll be put straight back on the plane and possibly get a ban on re-entry.  You'll all have to remember to fib and pretend you're just coming on holiday (including on the arrival form you fill in).

As VeryStormy says, it doesn't take that long to get a spouse visa if you apply from the UK now, so that would be a much safer option.

I meant down at the Immigration office.

We just wanted to secure my husband a job in Australia before we applied for the visa and the fees are very high so we don’t want to secure a visa and then find that employment is difficult.

mmmmmmm!

7 minutes ago, wrussell said:

Applicants who lodge a valid onshore partner visa application are automatically granted a bridging visa with full work rights that takes effect when the visa used to enter Australia expires.

It might pay you to consult a registered migration agent for a preliminary assessment.

Thank you so much for your prompt response. Yes, I do need a preliminary assessment but I’m in Sheffield, UK. 

When you lodge the forms at Immigration, is your partner immediately granted a bridging visa?

12 minutes ago, ali said:

Have you applied for citizenship for your children?  I believe the process is quicker applying off shore

No. Maybe I should look into this but in the partner migration forms it looks like you include the children in this application process?