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Biggsy

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Everything posted by Biggsy

  1. Biggsy
    Yes the processing times published on the website are very misleading. It's so bad it could almost be considered as fraudulent misrepresentation/taking money under false pretences.
  2. Biggsy
    Yes quite right bridgie, this should only be for the discussion of processing times/timelines
  3. Biggsy
    It's not so easy, I have a friend who's son out there on a student visa taking a Phd. The application was really thorough and he had to give valid reasons he you should be allowed to study in Oz. Also had to get a firm offer of a place from a uni and pay for it as part of the vias application (circa AUD$40,000 per year, refunded by the uni if the visa is rejected), produce bank statements to prove he had enough funds to support himself for the duration of the course and also to enough to cover the subsequent years of the course. He now has the opportunity to be sponsored for a work visa by an employer, apparently the new work visa application if accepted will cancel out the student visa!
  4. Biggsy
    Has anyone else compared the price of one way tickets to return tickets. I did this a few weeks back on the Emirates website and the return flight was actually cheaper than a one way ticket. I found the same with British Airways many years ago when returning from South Africa to the UK, I just threw away the return ticket. Obvoisly too late if for those who have already booked flights but could also be worth looking at for the insurance cover problem!
  5. Biggsy
    That's not good Niel. At this stage I think I'd be contacting them every day until they gave me some answers.
  6. Biggsy
    patience, I posted a reply on the timelines forum Parent visa application timelines (143 & 173)
  7. Biggsy
    50 months is more like the time being taken from application date to grant date for applicants being processed at the moment. I don't think these guys have clue yet they have all the data they need to give a realistic estimate. If you consider there are 41,000 currently in the queue up to end of April 2019, add another 4 months say 2,500 = approx 43,500 in the queue. To achieve 50 months would mean they expect to refuse something like 14,000 applications during that period. I would guess anyone applying today will have around a 6 year wait unless the limit/cap changes. When my wife and applied in July 2016 the website said 12-18 months yet looking back at the figures for that time there was already around 28,000 applications in the queue! I'm expecting to have waited over 4 years for us to be processed and visa granted.
  8. Biggsy
    I've created a more detailed report (143's only) using the same data. It shows the number lodged each day and a cumulative total so you can see how many are in the queue ahead of you. Obviously this will change every time a more recent currently processing date pops up so I will update and upload a new version as and when I can. Let me know if you see any typo's or errors. CPV 143 Lodged Date Detailed Report.pdf
  9. Biggsy
    Bit weird isn't it! I wonder if some people unwittingly think that they need to get their application in before the end of June and if they do they will get processed sooner!
  10. Biggsy
    Quite right, I'm ok with the waiting but I think for many people it's soul destroying not having any idea of how long the wait will be.
  11. Biggsy
    Yes I'm pretty sure you're right about that (I hope)
  12. Biggsy
    I also extracted the 173 data but excluded it as I wasn't sure it counted in the annual cap/allocation of 143's. On the home affairs website it says when you have a 173 you then can apply for a 143! If the 173's were included in the numbers wouldn't they then be counted twice? Once when applying for the 173 then again when applying for the 143. Can anyone out there clarify this for us please?
  13. Biggsy
    I'm not 100% sure, the figures are similar to what I've seen before and always seem to be compared with the cap (7175), hopefully it won't matter if we are comparing like for like. I played around with the data a little more and created a report forecasting a date range for each lodgement month when processing might begin. It's based on todays date, last known currently processing date (I used 16 Dec 2015) and the number of places potentially processed per day using the cap. It was very interesting, my own forecast to start processing was between the 1st and 30th July 2020. By the end of this year it forecast that lodgement dates of March 2016 could be in progress. However I'd be worried about putting that document up for public viewing just in case it's misleading. I may monitor it and see how it looks. No doubt the Oz Christmas break will impact on the dates and also we have no idea how far into the cap they are and could stop for a while if reached.
  14. Biggsy
    Thanks Patience, how did you find this? Been looking for this sort of information for a while now to try and do some forecasting. I extracted the data and did some analysis on it. According to those figures it looks like the currently processing date will stick at May/June 2017 for well over a year based on the current 143 cap. See attached pdf. If anyone has trouble viewing the pdf let me know. CPV Lodgement Date Analysis.pdf
  15. Biggsy
    I noticed on the main Parent Visa forum how some people were wondering why the queue has started to move quickly regarding the application dates currently being processing. I thought I’d post here as this is more related to timelines. I’m sure it will depend on how many applications were lodged each month. For example (exaggerating or maybe not!) if the number of places available for 143’s per year is 7,175 and 6,000 were lodged in January then the currently processing date would remain as January for 10 months giving the impression that very few visas were being processed. I’m guessing that the number of applications must have eased off in the second half of 2015. Anyway it’s all good news, just hoping it continues that way for us all.
  16. Biggsy
    Hi Marilyn They want to know your permanent country of residence as they will communicate with the UK tax office to decide how to tax you on any interest. We have some friends (waiting for 143) who only confirmed this with commbank when they validated thier ID while on holiday there. All they wanted was either thier UK tax reference or NI number. Bit awkward for you as you are still considered to be a UK resident. Perhaps you should call them to explain your situation. They have a migrants banking UK contact number you can call. The numbers are here below, the contact hours are 11am to 7pm Australian. https://www.westpac.com.au/contact-us/migrant-banking/
  17. Biggsy
    I doubt you will find any company which will freeze a rate for you. My wife and I have used a company called OFX www.ofx.com several times for transferring sums of money (some large) to family over the last 2-3 years. They seem to offer a decent rate, the money has reached our family members Commbank bank accounts usually within 48 hours and never had any charges at the other end. If it’s a very large amount for example from the sale of a property (regardless of which option you prefer below) you will have to speak to them first and possibly provide evidence in advance that you have the funds ready to transfer to them. Also you may also be able to negotiate a preferential rate in advance (slightly better than the standard rate) which they will link to your OFX account but they won’t freeze a rate. They have 2 options online (without speaking to them first I think the limit is about £20k but could be wrong). A spot deal where you get the current exchange rate at the time you request an amount to exchange online. The other option is where you specify the amount you want to exchange, the rate you would be prepared to exchange at, and how long you want to leave that option in place. The deal will automatically go through if and when the exchange rate reaches the rate you requested or will expire if the time limit date you specified is reached. You can also cancel it at any time. In both cases you have to get the money into their account within 24 hours of accepting the deal or the deal will expire. I keep an eye on the exchange rate and watch out for spikes in the rate which usually coincide with some positive financial or political news. However, not much of that about at the moment I'm afraid. I would definitely speak to your bank manager about paying/transferring large sums of money regardless of who the payment is to as there are all sorts of restrictions, limits and potential delays for large amounts with online banking. You usually have to make a large sum transfer by telephoning your bank so it's worth making sure all your security details/questions/answers are in place. If you moved house/changed address recently your bank may not be able to verify your ID and block any large payments even if you've been with the same bank for many years. Over a certain amount the same day transfer may have to made be by CHAPS for which there is usually a £25 charge. Even some of the banking staff are not always aware of the pitfalls when transferring large sums of money. We found out the hard way!
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