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Good evening everyone I hope you’re well. I recently (September 2020) submitted my citizenship application and “front loaded” I.e submitted all documents including but not limited to my UK police check. I have just received a further information request asking for my police check. I’m not sure what else they need/ want from me? My ACRO police check is dated within the last 12 month and states my maiden name. Since applying for citizenship and the police check I have not left the Country. Has anyone else been asked for their police check twice or know what I need to do?! Any help would be amazing! Cheers!

Hi Just a quick question for anyone else who has done a AFP certificate for immigration reasons - my certificate did not have anything written on it that it is for immigration purposes even though I filled out code 33 (for immigration purposes) at the top of my application form. Is that normal? Thanks Smiler:biggrin:

Hi everyone! I think I am nearly there with the TRA papers! Can you tell me what you sent to prove that you worked for more than 6 years in the same profession and that you progressively went up in job position? I thought of employers letters saying that I started in a low and supervised position and achived a position of supervisor. But is the word of my employers good enough or should i send something else? I can't thing of anything on the moment and I am a bit worried my papers are incompleted. Thank you.:err:

I need health checks, which can only be done by doctors certified by the immigration unit or something, does anyone who's gone over on a permanent residency or child visa had a health check? How much did it set you back?

Hi Does anybody know where to get paper work for spanish police check? I followed the website trail from DIAC website to spanish police website and unfortunatly my spanish isnt all that !! I phoned the spanish embassy in london and was informed that if i was not a spanish resident i couldnt have a police check done !!!:arghh: So im back at square one and very confused !! Can anybody please lead me in the right direction. Regards Ed.

Hey Everyone... Just wanted to say how informative this website have been throughout this whole process. My partner went to Australia a month ago, had a job interview, and was hired a couple of days later. So, I am still here in the UK trying to gather all the stuff needed for a defacto partner visa application. As a Canadian, I need to send in an RCMP criminal records check. They have sent me an email stating that the present processing time is 15 to 16 weeks! I'm glad I foresaw how long it would take and sent my request back in mid-July.... Despite it being 3 months already, my information has yet to be entered in their system. Just wondering if anyone else has had similar problems? Thanks!! :biggrin:

During the medical check my chest x-ray showed opacity and was referred for sputum smear & culture. All smears negative, 1 culture out of 3 showed growth. I was asked to start on treatment immediately while waiting for further test. I am afraid that they will fail me based on my positive TB test. Even though in DIAC's website was mentioned it usually allows the applicant to go through treatment, but my agent is not very hopeful. Does anyone have any experience or advice? Hope someone can give me a ray of hope. Thank you.

Hi, My husband and I applied for a 457 visa two weeks ago. I just wondered if anyone can advise if you status online gets updated as the visa progresses along or whether its only updated at the end when its approved? The agent advised us there was no point looking with the TRN number because it won't change until its all been approved but I had read conflicting things on here. At the moment it says: 03/08/2011 Application received - processing commenced. 03/08/2011 Application fee receieved. Thanks

Can anyone help, I am now in Oz and have been given a job as a nurse in the local ED however they are requesting a police check. Now as the one I have for visa purposes is 11 months old the hospital are saying i need to provide one which is less than 6 months old but I am unsure on how to go about obtaining another police check from the UK while I am now in Oz, I have also looked online and there seems to be a hundred and one different organisations offering to do one but which is the one to go for. thanks

On my old pc i had a spell check that would turn the word red if it was spelt wrong which was a good thing for me ... does anyone know which spell check that could be or are they pretty much the same ,any good ones please , thanks

Hi, Bit of a dodgy question, my husband had alot of problems when he was younger, his mother threw him out at the age of 9 and inevitabley he got into the wrong crowd. They fed him and let him sleep in their cars etc, but in return it turned out that he had to do 'favours' for them. He hasn't got a record for violence or anything, just was made drive without a license (was made to take someone somewhere), he hasn't done anything since I've met him, married him and had kids (he didn't need to), the thing he was convicted of was back in 1997. Will this stop him from being allowed into the country? If so, how long would we need to wait? Thanks for any advice, this is my main concern and is stressing me out!

Hi. I was wondering if anyone could help me with this one. On the 856 visa (perm ens) document checklist on the first page it says "do not undertake a health check unless requested to do so". But on the immi wesite in the health requirements section it says you need to do a medical for all permanent visas. Could anyone clarify if I take a medical in advance or not for the 856? Much appreciated. Doing a geographical

Hi, Does anyone know how long it takes to get an Australian Federal Police Check from the UK ?:jiggy:

they are not specifically on the list but it says members of chartered societies which they are. Every other form of health worker is on there, doctors, nurses, social workers, registered care workers

Is it normal to not see the police check requirement along with medicals when you log into e-business? Just wondering if sometimes it's not required or whether it's just not listed.

Hi everyone, My hubby is in the Air Force and we spent 3 years living in Cyprus. Our agent has told us we need a police check from there and was wondering if anyone else has gone through this? I've found an application form from the Cyprus Police website, but have no idea how to go about it?! Where do i send it to etc? OMG how dumb am I? :embarrassed: Someone help!!! :jiggy: xxx

Here is the official sites of MIA and MARA registered agents http://mia.org.au/search-agent also check https://www.mara.gov.au/ Just search the name here for a MARA registered agent and soon u will know whether he is real or fake.If he is on the list, his MIA no and MARA number will appear . I just found this useful hence i posted it over here Beware of fake agents who can cheat you in the name of immigration. Regards, TIJO MATHEW

i know i need 2 as i have to send an original with visa application, and i also need one for AHPRA, but does hubby need more than just the one that we are sending for the visa? Also is it worth doing a copy and getting it certified before we send the originals off for the visa application thanks

can it be a pysiotherapist who signs it, have looked through the list and all other types of medical people are on it but it doesn't specifically say physio thanks

Hi we have booked our short term accomodation and are happy with it- someone contacted us from this forum and we checked out the property and their website etc. A third party (from this site)has asked were we are staying as they will need accomodation in the future. They are wary of booking with anyone and handing over cash without checking the property and owner out more.... can anyone tell us how they would do this??

after so much paper chasing,, our visa application was finally lodged today by our migration agent,, how then do we check the progress online,,, please help,, we ve tried all the trn numbers that we have and failed,,:no:

Hi, anyone requested an Australian Police Check lately? The website says it takes 3 weeks - wondered if they actually take that long to come back....thanks

Its been 3 years for our visa to finally come through (176), and we have to stay the first two years in Canberra. We have just been out to Canberra to activate our visa, whilst waiting for our house in the UK to sell. Whilst in Canberra for a month, we did nothing but research cost of living, and what was the Aussie dream sold on TV programmes etc, finally became a reality of somewhere to live. I guess I'm writting this as when applying we looked at it through rose coloured glasses and when the UK exchange rate was strong, and now the reality is kicking in after being in Canberra for a month. If anyone knows of anything that is wrong below or a cheaper alternative, please feel free to let me know. In brief, it is a lot more expensive than the UK (as of Oct-11). The salaries are in the main a bit higher but not enough to compensate the extra living costs. If your thinking of moving to Canberra (and we still are), its a matter of personal choice for having less money left in our pocket at the end of each month in Canberra vs the lifestyle you would gain. Here's some of my thoughts, and I was hoping others could add to, or feel free to say if it can be done cheaper etc Houses To buy a decent 4 bedroom property (detached) in an average area would cost in the region of $500,000 (approx £360k), and to rent such a home is $600 a week. But, because they work out part weeks in months, the monthly rent converted to around £1700 ($2650 a month). I guess if your from the South East of England, this would be a like for like, but the mortgage interest rates are higher than the UK. Smaller property (3 beds etc) tend to be less looked after, and somewhere you may not want to rent for 12 months or over with children, these rents were around $450 a week. We viewed around 15 homes to rent, and on each around 10 couples turned up to view, and your competing with other people. Mortgage and Lending The Bank of Australia interest rate is currently 4.75% (Oct-11) vs the UK 0.5%. Therefore the banks Mortgage rates are higher than this. Unless you have a substantial deposit, or small mortgage, the mortgage in Australia will be a lot higher than the UK. This we found also applies to Car loans, credit cards etc. Utility Bills Cold in the winter and hot in the summer - unless the home has got duct heating, the bills are more expensive than the UK. Reverse cycle air conditioning, keeps the bills high. The newer build homes are better energy efficient, but a lot smaller than the old build homes which are no where near the quality of UK standard homes for energy effeciency. A relative advised us her 2 month bill during winter was $500 (approx £350). There is less competition on energy suppliers in Australia. Fox-tel - which is like sky TV, the full package is around $115 a month (its not a necessity, but in colder darker winter months it helps ), with broadband etc on top Food Meat is better quality than the UK and about the same price. Bread for an average brand loaf is $2.50, although some are doing 'Smart Price' loaves for $1. In a bakery the bread was around $4 a loaf. This gives and indication of total shopping will be higher than the UK. Fruit and Veg... Bananas in the UK at the moment are 50p per kilo, yet we saw them at a major supermarket for $7 (£4.50) a kilo!!!. Mango's $4 for 2, and apples for $1 each. A cauliflower was $3. Milk was $2 for 2 litre. A curry (Chicken Korma) was $10 for ready made meal. Baby food $2 per jar, and nappies around $10 for 25. A mars chocolate bar equivilent was $2.50 On average we spent around 30%-40% more on food than we would have done in the UK. Cars Our car in the UK (a second hand Merc), if we bought it in Australia it was double. That said the second hand car market holds their value better than in the UK, but the cars (including Holdens and Fords) are around 25% to 50% more expensive. BMW's, Merc's Audi etc can be upto double the UK costs, but Nissans, Mitsubishi's, Toyota etc are all more expensive to buy. The Fords for a like for like model (Ford Fiesta) was around 30% more expensive to buy. Petrol A lot cheaper than the UK with unleaded around $1.40 (approx 90p), that said, you drive a lot more miles on average, and the cars tend to be better on the miles to the litre, with a lot less traffic jams (so no more sat there burning petrol and not moving ;-) Schools Public schools are free, but, a lot of people go into private schools as the government gives more money per student to the private school, and they also get more money from yourself, therefore a lot better education in Private. Google OECD world rankings and Australia comes in at 6th, and the UK 20th for world rankings on education. Its evident, the extra funding from yourself, you are getting a great deal back on your childrens education. Public Areas Each housing area seems to have a playground for kids, a playing field and some have BBQ's. These are fantastic and extremely well looked after and maintained. Shopping (non-food) You'll need the odd trip to Sydney or shopping on line from time to time. They have a great shopping centre in Belconnen, and a smaller precinct style one in Gunghalin. Tuggeranong also has a large shopping area. Kids toys are around 30-50% more expensive e.g. Cars 2 toy cars in the Disney store are £10 for 2 in the UK, and in Oz they was $10 each. A pack of babies dummies was £3 in UK (Avent), but $10 in Oz. Fisher Price toys are more expensive as well. Games Consoles and Apple products tend to be slightly cheaper (just a touch) DVD's and Music is a lot more expensive approx $25-$35 for a DVD (go to www.dvdland.com.au), new CD's are around $20 (£13). Furniture tends to cost around the same as the UK, but white goods again are more expensive, along with TV's etc. Although its not a great deal more expensive. Health Medicare is similar to NHS,but you pay for it and then claim it back. So you can go to a public hospital (on a waiting list etc), or pay private and get some of that cost re-imbursed, which I thought was better than the UK. Dental, our relative had a filling whilst we was in Oz and this cost $250. Their son (14yr old) had needed braces and these cost $4000. No matter the age, dental or optical is not covered. You will need to budget for your childrens teeth.

I have currently been granted state sponsorship (October 26th) and uploaded all required documents to DIAC so far (October 27th), except for medicals and police checks. I am still awaiting a CO. Is it wise to proceed with the Police checks now and book a Medical for December/January so that I am organised? I am a low risk catergory so I my 176 visa should take 12 months and both of these final checks are valid for 12 months. Thanks. :unsure:

Hi Could anyone tell me how long it takes a supervisor to review a police certificate for a 457 visa? My boyfriend is coming on my visa but unfortunately has a one off criminal record from 4 years ago. He never went to prision, was just given community service. We sent the police certificate last week. Everything else, including medicals, have been finalised. This is the only thing holding us back and the case officer originally told us she would grant the visa the same day as the police certificate was received. I've handed in my notice at work and now were stuck here waiting for a deciosin and every time we ring the DIAC my case officer will not speak to us (she speaks little english) and she won't give us the name of the supervisior to explain whats written on the certificate. Im fed up of waiting! I would be grateful if someone who has been in similar circumstances could tell me how long it took for them.