Linda Brown

On 28/11/2019 at 03:42, Greece said:

Great News!  Today received an eMail from PVC team to submit documents! 

On 31/10/2019 at 11:54, AlwaysVet said:

 

Just had our acceptance letter through, very relieved . Someone up there must have been listening to my moans. So, on to the next stage now. It's been almost exactly 4 years since we started the process in 2015, at the time it was taking 20 -24 months to be processed,  I feel for those still in the queue as to even get to this stage will take a very long time.

I still feel the system could be improved  at the point of aos application and if I finally get a visa I will put my points to people mentioned previously., if they don't know the problems they can't  improve them.

Congratulations Shelagh, I'm so pleased for you. The visa came through so quickly. You can really enjoy Christmas and look forward to your new life in Australia. 

Hope you're next Rosiejaq, along with me of course!!

1 hour ago, Jellybean T said:

G’day... we received our request for second Vac yesterday and Visa Grant today. Just for information.... we paid via Bpay with CommBank.. in the mobile app... select Bpay... new... use your phone to scan the invoice... ( it said the amount was more than my daily limit. Would I like to increase the limit) I increased the limit no problem and clicked pay. So simple ... I then sent a copy via the same email I received from team 1. The Visa was granted at 3am. We have until the 29/11/2020 to enter Australia to validate it.

Thank you to everyone that helped us over the last 4 years, without pomsinoz to help us it would of been just about impossible to get through all the paperwork needed for a successful outcome. We didn’t have a migration agent but with all your help we made it. Thank you and good luck to all those awaiting their AoS letters and final Vac payment, especially Rosiejaq I feel guilty getting our Visa before you. We can’t travel before April as it takes 6 months for the process to bring our dog.

Good luck Shelagh

Just had our acceptance letter through, very relieved . Someone up there must have been listening to my moans. So, on to the next stage now. It's been almost exactly 4 years since we started the process in 2015, at the time it was taking 20 -24 months to be processed,  I feel for those still in the queue as to even get to this stage will take a very long time.

I still feel the system could be improved  at the point of aos application and if I finally get a visa I will put my points to people mentioned previously., if they don't know the problems they can't  improve them.

1 hour ago, Alan Collett said:

https://www.mhs.gov.au/contact

Contact the Minister for Government Services.

The more people that let the Minister know about the shambles that is the administration of the AoS process the more likely it is that something will be done about it.

The Shadow Minister is the former Leader of the Opposition - suggest communications are sent to him as well:

https://www.aph.gov.au/Senators_and_Members/Parliamentarian?MPID=00ATG#t2-content-panel

Good luck!

Thanks Alan, I will e mail them but after I get the acceptance letter from Centrelink !☺ I think there must be two IT systems trying to work alongside each other and sometimes they don't connect properly. It really makes a lot of extra work for Centrelink staff who're probably overstretched anyway, although apparently they're always pleasant on the phone and in the office. It must be as frustrating for them as for us!

I will certainly put my point of view across.

First of all congratulations Rosiejaq on receiving your aos acceptance letter after all this time, I hope things go more smoothly for you now you're on the home straight. 

After a visit and a phone call to Centrelink my son still hasn't received the acceptance letter from them even though he's been assured all docs are in order. After ther first visit he was told all docs are ok will resubmit and will take a maiximum of 14 days which is today! He phoned a week ago and was told yes everything is ok it was their error and they would put a rush on it as it was a Friday he would get it Monday or Tuesday, yes, you've guessed, no letter! Does anyone know the number for the complaint line please as now we're all banging our heads against the wall!!

Congratulations to all the people getting requests for docs now. I hope your experience is better than ours.

I don't know if anyone knows but when you get your visa if you are not in Australia , how long do you have to validate it.

I'm not near the goalposts yet but it's just a thought.

Son rang Centrelink again today, they said all docs there they didn't know why it hadn't been actioned. The lady said she

 would rush it through but I'm not holding my breath ☹

21 minutes ago, Jellybean T said:

Assurance of Support letter received today and uploaded to Immi. Now the wait for the second installment.

Congratulations Shelagh so pleased for you. Hoping our letter is following closely. It'll be interesting to see when you have to pay second instalment. 

When did your son reintroduce the documents.?

8 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

Fingers crossed Linda you'll get the visa before you leave. Have you found a removal firm yet? We are planning to move whether the house is sold or not in April.... too much time has been wasted waiting for the visa. Enjoy your holiday in Oz over Christmas and New Year with your family.

Shelaghx

We haven't really looked too much at removal companies yet,  don't want to tempt fate! We have sold our house so are ready to go. I agree so much time has been wasted waiting for the visa. It's very difficult to carry on normally not knowing wether you getting the visa or not. I will get back to you regarding removers if and when we get the visa.

Well done Angela for getting your acceptance letter first time round,  good luck with the visa.

Rosiejaq,  i feel so sorry for you and your family, I hope you get some good news soon so you can start 2020 on a better note.

Linda 

46 minutes ago, Jellybean T said:

Hi Linda have you received the request for the second payment?

Hi Shelagh,  no we're like you waiting for the acceptance letter from Centrelink after getting a rejection,  but we're off to Australia in just  over three weeks so things could be tight! We'll see how we go, can always ask for an extension as we're away for seven weeks.

Could always go to Bali but we'll see. 

We're neck and neck you and I !

Linda x 

11 hours ago, David Leask said:

 

Hi Linda,

The letter from Immi which has the second vac invoice attached states you have ‘28 days after the day on which you are taken to have received this letter’ to make payment. I took that to mean 28 days not 28 working days.

David

 

Thanks David for your help, I think it means 28 days from receipt of letter the same as you.

Linda

When you are asked to pay the final payment for the 143 visa, is it 28 working days or 28 days including weekends and holidays to pay it?

Does anyone know about this.

7 hours ago, Rosiejaq said:

@Jellybean T hi we’re in the same boat, having had problems with Centrelink from the start,  our daughter and SiL say they’ve spoken to Centrelink a couple of times recently and that something should be through in a couple of days.  Bushfires have meant the office was closed yesterday so we’re not holding our breath but now we’ve been waiting 51 months and 2 weeks it would be nice to get this palaver all over

Rosiejaq, I hope things go your way, you've been on such a journey, fingers crossed you'll soon be on your way.

My son has been into Centrelink this morning, everything is ok they said systems glich ! Our aos is in for reassessment, the time is max of 14 days. Hopefully it will all be ok. 

Fingers crossed for everyone else with Centrelink problems.

4 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

4 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

Hi Linda, Just heard from my son.... we have exactly the same problem, he phoned centerlink this morning and they said all the paperwork was in order and they would refer it to Aos team. Daughter in law said they won’t apologize.... they will just say there was a glitch on the system. I’m sure it will get sorted soon.

Hi Shelagh, we seem to be in the same boat!  as Alan Collett said in a previous post Centrelink doesn't seem to be fit for purpose!

I'm sorry you're going through this too, it's so frustrating. I'll see what happens when my son goes into Centrelink tomorrow.  He says he's staying till he gets an answer! Good luck with that I think! Will post tomorrow. 

Is anyone else having problems with Centrelink, or is that a silly question?

2 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

So sorry to hear you’re having problems.... although your son took all the paperwork to Centerlink did he give them the barcoded request to pay the bond letter he received via Mygov account. My daughter in law was told that without that letter the bond won’t show as being paid. I hope you get it sorted quickly... it’s so annoying and stressful. Shelagh 

Hi Shelagh, yes he took everything with him, he couldn't get into the system so he went to Centrelink twice. The first time they told him he should send them online and try again. So he went hone and tried again with still no joy! Down to Centrelink again where he gave all the documents he had to someone there. 

He's going in again tomorrow to try and sort things out, luckily he has copies of everything on usb. But his temper isnt great at the moment so he'll have to keep calm and polite. Luckily this week he's at home as he travels a lot so hopefully he can sort it.

It could be a lot worse I suppose , it's just a nuisance, when he's working as well. More pressure for us. I 'll be glad when this journey is finished. Hope it all goes well with you.

Linda 

Just a little postscript, he took the docs into Centrelink originally as the system would not let him upload them. He also says you have to pay if you appeal, surely not if it's their error.

Anyway after tomorrow hopefully we'll know a bit more. Very frustrating for people whose sponsors cannot get into Centrelink during the day I would think .

The most frustrating part of the process up to now,apart from the 4 year wait.

Hi, Suzy, my son received a rejection letter today for the same reason as you no verification of bg at cba. He took all the documents into Centrelink with the bank receipts and handed them in personally! He is going in tomorrow to clarify things, hopefully. 

Very frustrating for all of us having problems with Centrelink after such a long wait.

Will keep the forum updated. Good luck everyone.

I am a bit disappointed with the way this forum is going. I have found  it very helpful on my journey but at the moment it's not being particularly helpful to anyone. Yes it's good to see timelines and frankly I can't imagine why anyone would not put them on, but that's their decision. 

Come on let's get back to how the forum worked before, helping each other along the way, which we all need during the long journey of obtaining a visa. I'm lucky, I'm at the Centrelink stage (is that lucky), so come on guys let's get back into helpful mode and stop the sniping or I for one will sign off.

8 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

8 hours ago, Jellybean T said:

Hi ielectric, As it’s my son and fill that are our sponsors I don’t actually know what the letter looks like but if it has the barcode on it then yes you need to upload that as well. It links the Aos bond to the applicant so without that my Dil was told without the barcode it will not show the bond as being paid. Scary!!

 

The letter from Centrelink has the barcode on it at the top of the page. As you say this is to identify the person or persons.

My son received the letter from Centrelink today asking for payment of the bond. The letter tells you what you must do, quite straightforward. They sent him a message before his phone interview and up to now have been spot on. He has 14 days to pay and must go into the bank even though he uses Comm bank. Fingers crossed it all goes ok.

Also fingers crossed for all those still in the waiting room,  I hope they start rolling out requests for 2016 soon.

24 minutes ago, Jellybean T said:

Hi Rosiejaq, Some info my daughter in law gave me last night... she visited the CommBank to ask what she needed to do as centerlink said they will receive the letter on Tuesday to pay the bond. All sponsors for the Aso must be present at the time of opening the account.. it costs $150 regardless of whether you already have a CommBank account to set up the bond account.... the bond will be for 5 years but will automatically be renewed for another 5 years with nothing else to pay.  You need a bankers cheque , cash or a CommBank account that you can transfer the money from.. once you have the certificate letter from the bank you need to upload that with the letter centerlink sent you containing the barcode to your mygov account. If you don’t upload the barcode it will not show that you have paid the bond. My son and daughter in law are going to pay the bond on Saturday as that’s the only time they can go together. Good luck... I hope this all goes well for you.

Thanks for that info, my son is waiting for the letter to pay. Good information regarding paying the bond as you can easily go wrong at this stage. Hope all goes well .

Look forward to hearing how it goes.

25 minutes ago, Rosiejaq said:

Well......................we’ve been asked for the Aos bond time to raid the piggy bank   @Marilyn yes!

So pleased for you. You've been in the waiting room for so long, I'm pleased things are finally moving for you.

Hope it all goes well and you enjoy your new life in Australia. 

13 hours ago, florafilan said:

Anyone know how to upload bank guarantee with Centrelink through mygov?  Do I choose "Upload Documents" -> "Other Documents" -> "Financial"?

Was constantly checking mygov inbox for the invitation after the phone interview but the letter arrived in mailbox. And of course I left it in there for a few days. Now I've only got a week to get everything sorted.  

 

Hi was it a physical letter posted in the mailbox at home or your mailbox on your centrelink site? Hope you got it sorted.

Hi 

Thanks Bridgie for your suggestion, it's difficult to think of every single charge when you've never done things like this before. Thanks for the advice.

Replying to AMP I agree with you that this forum has been such a help in the long wait for request of docs. Like you, I was surprised that other European countries in our case Spain, came up with the police checks very quickly and cheaply, we are still ,like you,waiting for the UK one.

We go for our medicals next week, and hopefully after that we will just wait for the outcome. We are lucky, although we've waited nearly four years. For those still waiting keep looking at the forum, it's so helpful and makes you realise you're not on your own.

If the medical goes ok then the next step is looking for a removers from Spain to Australia, anyone able to recommend a company?

Here's hoping they start the requests for 2016 soon.