Ausgirl42

On 03/08/2019 at 13:57, Curly said:

Yes I’m an electrician and moved here about 3 years ago. I’m not sure if you can do a course back in the UK but nonetheless you will still need to log at least 6 months work in Australia before you would be able to apply for a full license. 

Just be aware that you may be able to get help with the funding for the course over here rather than paying more in the UK. I live in SA and a government funded organisation here covered the cost of the whole process 

Hi @Curly

I'm a bit late to this conversation but would love it if you could give some info about how you go about getting help with the funding for the course? I just bought my partner over here on a partner visa, he is an electrical maintenance engineer and about to organise his trade rec application.

We are in Melbourne.

Thanks for any help or advice in advance!

Hi everyone,

A quick update on our situation - we have had our house on the market for about 6 weeks, had lots of viewings including 3 second viewings, and one stupid offer... but not managed to sell yet.  Two more viewings tonight so fingers crossed!

Other half has to activate his visa by 6th sept and I didnt want to be messing about going back and forth after such a long time getting the visa in the first place, so yesterday booked our flights for 30th August and that will be us, gone!!  So much to think about still... and his work knows but mine doesnt, so still need to give notice etc!

I also submitted my British Citizenship application (biometrics etc) on the 8th of April, and had my interview to submit biometrics at the end of April, so with us leaving at the end of August, its only going to have been 4.5 months since I applied and they are quoting an average of 6 months to process at the moment.  Really hoping mine shuffles through quickly as I want to apply for a british passport before we leave also.

Quick question on the moving process - how long do you get to pack all your stuff if you are using, say a 20 foot container? Do they drop the container and boxes off to you and you have a certain amount of time to do it? Or do you get the boxes before hand and then they just pitch up with the container, load it and go?  I need to get some companies in for proper quotes soon but we are still in the process of determining what we are taking so it seems pointless to get them in til we are a bit more organised (probably another week or two).

Thanks in advance for any tips!

@Belfastchild if I was you I would prepare a concise statement (just a typed word document) clearly responding to each of their queries/explaining the situation (ie: was only in Malaysia for 3 days), and sign and date it, with any relevant supporting docs attached to it.... the upload it as a pdf to your immi account.  You could even put a line in if relevant stating you have given them all the possible info you can think of to support their request and to please advise if there is anything additional they specifically require. We did this for our RFI where they asked for more evidence proving our relationship. After what we had given I was not sure what else we could possibly give (I even trawled through 7 years of social media and screenshot every picture or post of us together) so my partner,  the applicant, basically did a statement explaining the nature of our relationship (repeating info they already had) and signed it. Then we got our Visa.  At least you know someone is going to read it if you upload it as a document! 

Congrats @ZoeHoulding!

What great news,  keep em coming!!

2 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

Very important point!!!  You do NOT have to have the intention to stay in the UK if you are applying as the spouse of a British Citizen!  Everyone else does, you don't.  I believe you can in fact apply then leave the country and even do your citizenship ceremony overseas in an embassy.  We looked at this as we were potentially moving very quickly.

Hmm... thanks for the info @Jon the Hat ....will have to try and dig into that a bit more as not sure where that leaves me, as I originally gained my spouse visa, and ILR through my first marriage in 2003. Divorced in 2010... engaged to current partner of nearly 7.5 years but not yet married...

15 minutes ago, CEP said:

Ok - so I've just come back down to earth lol!  I could barely type earlier!!

I'm so very overwhelmed by the support and genuine well wishes from everyone here.  It absolutely means so much.  As you are all aware, its a difficult process, which can only be understood by those experiencing the exact same thing.  I cannot thank you enough for picking me up when I've been down.  

I've made some good friends on here and I hope that we can somehow stay in touch going forward. 

I'll be staying around on here as 1) I want to see everyone go through lol and 2) I'll be moving into 820/801 territory in a few months time.  

You dont get rid of me that easily lol!!

So, this is a bit weird, but I actually got more emotional at the news your visa had come through than when ours did!

Possibly because I felt a bit bad that ours came through when people like you were still waiting @CEP !

As we all know, the limbo whilst waiting is the worst bit and the second-guessing yourself and being unable to get any feedback on whether you have done anything wrong etc, with the fear of a "DENIED" decision hanging over your head because you might have made a mistake...!!

So i really felt for you.  I'm SO pleased to see all these rolling through now though, hang in there anyone still waiting.  They are powering through the list!

55 minutes ago, LottyC said:

Whilst we are all here keeping absolutely everything crossed for @CEP and everyone else, can I use this forum to ask another question?

So we’ve parted with another £3k this week for my husband’s indefinite leave to remain (ILR) in the UK. We plan on moving to Aus next Jan but his visa runs out next month here (so sick of having no money!!). We thought that after 6 years of being here   (which would be March 2020) that is when he will be eligible for citizenship, so we would fall short by 2 months - very frustrating for me. Having looked on direct Gov, it says that if he has ILR and has been in the UK 3 years prior to applying, he can go for citizenship being the spouse of a UK citizen. Has anyone else gone through this? This would solve a lot of problems (and mean we part with ANOTHER £1300) but after this process I feel it could be too good to be true...

Hi @LottyC

I have looked into this myself, as I am Australian, but have lived here for 19 years.  Obviously partner and I are planning to move to Australia this year.  I have ILR, but never bothered to go for citizenship, as you have to sit a daft exam etc.  Having planned to move to Aus though, I thought it would be an idea to just see about it so we would have it up our sleeve if we wanted to come back for any reason.  The issue is, to become a citizen, you have to have "the intention to stay living in the UK" ... not sure how closely this is monitored?

If anyone has any tips or advice I would appreciate it too!

Thanks

Hi @roomummy

I've also been in the UK for almost 20 years, and finding it quite a daunting but exciting prospect to be moving back to Aus! Do you know where you're going to yet? We're moving to Melbourne. My Scottish fiance has a twin brother who is already there with his wife (who is from nz!) and kids. 

Good luck with your application  (And to all others with recent, pending or imminent applications). This thread is a life saver if you get stuck with anything and very comforting to be able to chat to others in the same boat! @CEPs spreadsheet is a great tool too! 

4 minutes ago, Ingers said:

I have a copy of everything that was requested in the RFI and have replaced everything and also put a note in the "update details box"

What has annoyed me is that this may have gone unoticed if I hadn't logged in to see all Sponsor evidence has gone. They could have rejected me for lack of evidence which I had already supplied!

We can't delete it from our end, so it must have been a system error on their side and there is no way to discuss it with anyone and see what damage has been done to the application/timeline.

Seeing this with all the other grants come out after a period of silence is just upsetting. I logged on in hope that something had changed and Boy! had it, but not for the better.
We really are at their mercy.

 

@Ingers you are totally right, and it is very, very frustrating to feel like your entire future is being decided by this nameless, faceless machine who have all the power but no accountability.  I think even moreso for those of us applying for this particular type of visa, as Australians, (or whatever each persons relevant "eligible status" is),  who are just trying to return "home" with our partners/families and get on with our lives.  I am glad there is strict security and its not just open to all and sundry, but I also feel that the waiting times for us are really, really difficult to work with.  I could understand them having such long and unapologetic leadtimes for people who are applying that AREN'T Aussies/partners, but it does feel very unfair for us to have to live in limbo for such a long time with no way of knowing if you will hear from them in a month or 12 months or 18 months...cos lets face it, the published waiting times don't seem to bear much relevance to the experiences of most people in here!

Anyway, I think you have done all you can to resolve this issue, and remember they will have registered and reviewed all your info previously when the looked at your case before they sent you the RFI, so try not to panic too much.

Just think, once you have that golden ticket in your hand all this drama will be a distant memory!

I think you could also look at this as a sign that SOMETHING is happening with your application...!  I reckon you will be hearing some good news very soon!

57 minutes ago, Ingers said:

Oh my god - what has happened?

With the spurt of approvals I just logged on and ALL of my sponsors documents have disappeared from my immi account and HIS!
The sponsor form, the police certificates from UK and AUS, his evidence of citizenship, evidence of our new house, - all gone.

Anyone seen this before or do I have a massive panic???

Congratulations@AmyLondon by the way!!

@Ingers you poor thing, what a nightmare! Just a thought, is it still showing those documents ANYWHERE in your upload list?  Can you remember if your upload document count is showing the same number or if its gone down accordingly?

Do you have the actual docs still scanned and ready on your PC?

Was going to suggest maybe uploading them all again, and also uploading a statement or a "change in circumstances" explaining that you logged on and it was all missing and why you have had to upload it all again, plus evidence you have contacted the helpline etc. Just in case!

Hopefully its just a glitch and its just disappeared temporarily... god, something like this is the last thing you need on top of the stress of the whole process already isnt it???

Good luck, let us know how you get on

Hi Guys

So, even though I logged on this morning to the usual heart-sinking disappointment.... when i saw the frenzy of activity this afternoon I thought "meh, might as well have another quick look".

Lo and behold, we have two golden emails, one granting the 309 and a second granting the 100!

So relieved, we all know how stressful and frustrating the waiting and limbo is!!!

Sending positive vibes out to everyone waiting, maybe there have been some bottoms kicked over the newly published waiting times so they are now under pressure to get things pushed through quicker... fingers crossed for all of you!!! xx

26 minutes ago, LottyC said:

Oh gosh this is so stressful!

On my RFI in November I was asked for husband's AFP check. When it arrived I added to the relevant section on my immi account in early December and clicked the grey box to confirm I had provided the requested additional information. Have heard nothing so far so now second guessing whether I should have replied to the email? It does have a case officer's name and reference number but didn't tell me to reply to the email. Does anyone think I should reply to the email now just to cover myself?!

 

I feel like my brain may implode...:-)

Hi @LottyC

I went into a panic when I read this thinking, like you are, that maybe we should have replied to the email! But I have just re-checked our RFI, and it states:

So i am satisfied that uploading the documents via the Immi account then clicking the "grey button" to confirm you have provided what they asked for is the correct way.  It makes sense, as it keeps it all transparent in case another case officer has to pick it up I suppose?

Deep breaths...

15 minutes ago, LouFerg said:

Hi  - Where abouts do you check the status of this? Do you mean the Form 40SP document you upload? Hopeing I have not missed something? 

Hi @LouFerg. I missed it initially too and only found out about it through this forum, thankfully. No idea if it is definitely required, but we thought it best to do it, just in case.

On your immi account, if you click on NEW APPLICATION, it will bring up a list of possible visas you can apply for. This one is under FAMILY and it is the "Sponsorship for a Partner to Migrate to Australia" (see screenshot below)

You need the reference numbers of the applications original application to ensure it links to that.  It is almost an exact copy of the information you have already provided in the applicants Visa application, so make sure you are consistent with your answers.  I basically copied and pasted, as so many of the questions were the same.  I am not 100% sure without comparing them both, but it might be this is just the online version of the 40SP document?

26 minutes ago, KitCat said:

Would anyone in the application received bucket be able to let me know if their corresponding sponsor form is also sitting as ‘submitted’? 

Just logged in to have a look and noticed its status is submitted rather than received. 

Mine is the same @KitCat - and even though our application is now in "Further Assessment" since we submitted additional information they requested on 19/12/18,  our sponsor form still states "Submitted".

1 hour ago, Ingers said:

I lodged 20th August 18, further information requested 01 Dec 18. !

I know they must have hundreds of applications to work through but it's so frustrating waiting for the OK.  Just got to keep busy getting the house ready for the market. 

We lodged on 22nd August, and got asked for further info on 3rd December so we are on exact same timescales at the moment! When did you get your extra info in and what did they ask you for, if you dont mind me asking?  Our request for more info was a bit baffling - they wanted to know what countries my partner (the applicant) had lived in for more than 12 months in the past 10 years - hes scottish and has lived in the same house near Manchester for 13 years, so no more info to offer there (plus they already had all that from his address history and travel history for the past 10 years from the application).  Then they also asked for more proof of our relationship, so we gave them everything we could possibly think of, including phone bills, several years of car insurance certs with the other as named driver, more joint travel bookings from holidays etc and a statement from my partner.... hopefully they have enough now as I'm not sure what else we can give them!

14 hours ago, CEP said:

Happy new year all!

So by my reckoning we've got the following outstanding:

CEP - Lodged w/c 28/05/18 - Request for Info w/c 5/11/18

@GemTrae Lodged w/c 28/05/18 - Request for Info  w/c 12/11/18

@Katiebobbles Lodged w/c 11/06/18 - Request for Info w/c 29/10/18

@Heather Kennedy Lodged w/c 07/05/18 - Request for Info w/c 05/11/18

@ZoeHoulding Lodged w/c 30/07/18 - Request for Info w/c 26/11/18

@ATE Lodged w/c 07/0518 - Request for Info w/c 05/11/18

@SydneyBound Lodged w/c 04/06/18 - Request for Info w/c 12/11/18

@Ausgirl42 Lodged w/c 20/08/18 - Request for Info w/c 03/10/18

@Kylied Lodged w/c 23/04/2018 - Request for Info w/c 29/10/18

@Thisforumisalifesaver lodged w/c 11/07/18 - Request for Info 19/11/18

@TanC7 Lodged w/c 09/04/18 - Request for Info w/c 22/10/18

 

Is there anyone I've missed??

I've got a lovely little excel Chart as a visual if anyone is interested?... I sooooo need to be back in work!!

Hi @CEP, great work!

Just one thing, our request for more info was w/c 03/12/18... not 03/10.  

Hope we see a whole rush of approvals through this week guys!

Haha! Jon the Hat you are so right.... and there are so many other cheeky comments I could add right now!

Thank you for all the suggestions everyone, some good ones in there we hadn't thought of! Will keep you posted on our progress.... 

Hi guys, well, we've gone from received to "initial assessment" today and been asked for more information, namely any countries my partner (the applicant) has lived in for more than 12 months for past ten years (he's only lived in England so that one is easy), and more proof of our relationship. 

I am really surprised as we applied in August, but it does seem like they are putting on a big push before the end of the year to clear or move to the next stage as many applications as possible. 

Not sure what more "proof" we can give them of our relationship as I've given them 3 affidavits, 14 pages of timestamped screenshots and photos etc from ours and our friends social media since we got together 7 years ago, receipts of all our joint travel and holidays, and full statements explaining how we met, the development of our relationship, how we run our household etc. We don't have any joint finances at the moment as I moved into my partners house (so mortgage and bills were in his name) and we share one car which is in my name and I pay for sky and groceries.  Any ideas what else we can send them? One of our pals suggested a sex tape but I don't think I'd wish that on anyone!!

It is a truly terrible system, as your whole life is on hold/in limbo while you wait around for an undefined time, for someone you will most likely never meet or see to make a potentially life-changing decision for you and your family.  And you cannot even really plan anything to any degree of accuracy because you don't really know if it will take a month or six months or a year.  Such a stressful experience for all... try not to let it get to you though guys, unfortunately worrying changes nothing, if it did, we would all have our golden tickets now!

21 hours ago, Freo81 said:

 

I have no idea what's happening here.

I've got my name with a drop down menu which is where I upload all of the docs. I've then got my wife's (sponsor) name and a drop down for docs for her part including the 40sp form for her to fill in. This form has a 'where have you lived in the last 10 years question'.  Isn't this the same thing? 

Are you saying that my wife should have her own immi account? I get the impression that things are changing lots at the moment with the updates. Could this be the case or am I missing a really big section? 

Freo81 it is an electronic version of the 40sp form, that you can link to the applicants application using either the same immi account as the applicant or a different one.  I'm sure that uploading the paper form of the 40sp is exactly the same, so don't panic.  I'm not even sure it is compulsory to fill out the 40sp anymore unless they request it!  All very confusing?!

12 minutes ago, KitCat said:

Sorry can I double check what you mean by this? I’m the sponsor and can’t see this separate application- worried I missed something now! 

KitCat I missed it too! Only found it from people mentioning it in here! I'm just in the process of doing mine now. It's almost the same as the applicants form but asks a bit more about the sponsor, including countries visited in last ten years. You can do it from your partners immi account, from memory you need to go to the menu and click family then you will find the "sponsor a partner" application option. 

5 hours ago, Jon the Hat said:

12:07 pm, then 12:08 PM today... 309 visa and 100 Visa GRANTED!!!!  

9 Months and 20 days!!!!  WOOHOO! Australia here we come!!!!!!

Congratulations jon the hat and all others who have recently had good news!

Fingers crossed for the rest of us...just remember, each application they grant brings them one step closer to yours in the pile!

Ben34uk your situation sounds hellish, I really hope you can get it sorted soon. This process is stressful (and expensive) enough without having to go through all that as well

Just checking in - Applied offshore Aug 22 and still on "received", which is no surprise looking at the recent posts from others who applied in April etc.

Hoping watching on here for other peoples good news will cheer me up and help us endure the agonising wait!  Make sure you post if you hear anything guys! Sending you all good luck and hoping we all get a good result soon

Hi Zoe,

I think they ask for 2 x 888 stat dec forms.  We provided three because technically the form should be filled out by an Australian or Australian Perm Resident and witnessed by a JP or similar.  As we live in the UK, my mum was the only Australian we could get to fill the form out for us, so I provided hers plus 2 from the UK thinking an extra person vouching for our relationship couldn't hurt!