Information on Spouse VISA application.

[freakedass]

Hello Guys,

 

I have a question regarding spouse VISA application.

 

I have been in a relationship with my girlfriend for around 12 years and now planning to get married by end of April this year (2014). I am a permanent resident of Australia as well. My plan is to get my girlfriend (later wife) right away along with me once our marriage is done. Hence I wanted to ask you few questions:

 

1) Under what VISA (spouse) would she would be applying from offshore (India)

 

2) If we apply for spouse VISA from India and get all documents ready/ medicals done/ police checks done, can she travel with me to Australia on Visitors Visa for few months? Does her travelling make any changes in terms of timelines in getting her spouse visa granted?

 

3) In-case she travels on Visitors visa while her spouse visa is being processed back home in India and by the time there is a decision made on confirming her visa, do you think it would be a problem if at that time she is in Australia with me?

 

4) As per the forums I have gone through it takes around 6-8 months roughly to get a spouse Visa granted in India. Any people over here who happen to get their Spouse Visa’s before the said timeline or others who are still awaiting a confirmation after a year or so. If yes, what is the reason for the delay?

 

5) One important thing. My GF has a medical condition known as ‘ulcerative colitis’. Would this create any problems while getting her medicals done?

 

I would appreciate your response on the above questions. If possible, try to be as brief and clear as you can so others would gain first-hand knowledge from your experience.

 

Thanks guys.

 

Cheers.

[MovingtoTasmania]

I'm no expert, but I think it's the Prospective Marriage Visa that you would need to apply for as you aren't married yet and you haven't lived together for the preceding 12 months so you don't qualify for the de-facto spouse visa. The ulcerative colitis will possibly be referred once the medicals are done for further assessment but this is factored in to the timeline. She can travel to Australia on a visitors visa, but you would have to let her CO know that this was the plan so that if the PMV was nearly due, you could liaise as she needs to be offshore for 3 working days so that the systems update as visas are electronic. Generally speaking, it seems from other posts that I have read, that women appear to get their visas more quickly than men from India and Pakistan but I can't say this as a fact and you really have to work to the time given to you by the CO once the application has been submitted. When we lodged my husband's spouse visa, we were told up to 8-9 months, but now, people lodging in London are told at least 8-9 months, so timelines can shift very quickly as far as grant dates/waiting times are concerned. Also, India is a high risk country so you really need to factor that in as well.

 

I'm not sure how much help I've been but good luck with it all.

[MaggieMay24]

1) Under what VISA (spouse) would she would be applying from offshore (India)

 

She applies for the 309/100 which is the offshore partner visa. This assumes you are married or in a de facto relationship. The 309 is a provisional visa, and after 2 years they confirm you're still together, she fills in a few more forms and they then grant the 100 which is the PR.

 

2) If we apply for spouse VISA from India and get all documents ready/ medicals done/ police checks done, can she travel with me to Australia on Visitors Visa for few months? Does her travelling make any changes in terms of timelines in getting her spouse visa granted?

 

Assuming the visitors visa is approved, then yes she can come with you. It doesn't impact on the time for processing her visa.

 

3) In-case she travels on Visitors visa while her spouse visa is being processed back home in India and by the time there is a decision made on confirming her visa, do you think it would be a problem if at that time she is in Australia with me?

 

Since the 309 is an off-shore visa, she will need to be off-shore when it's granted. She should keep DIBP advised of her travel to Australia so they can notify her when they are ready to grant the visa (this is a very typical practice for them). They'll get in touch with her, she'll take a quick trip to NZ or Bali (or wherever, as long as it's off-shore), they grant the visa and she can return to activate the visa. She'd need to be off-shore for about 3 days, but she should confirm that with the CO when they tell her to get off-shore.

 

4) As per the forums I have gone through it takes around 6-8 months roughly to get a spouse Visa granted in India. Any people over here who happen to get their Spouse Visa’s before the said timeline or others who are still awaiting a confirmation after a year or so. If yes, what is the reason for the delay?

 

Different countries take different amounts of time depending on number of COs processing visas, whether the country is high risk vs. low risk, etc. Other factors such as any medical or criminal background issues can affect processing times too.

 

5) One important thing. My GF has a medical condition known as ‘ulcerative colitis’. Would this create any problems while getting her medicals done?

 

It's possible her medical would be referred for further consideration if there's a concern the cost to the Australian Medicare system is above a certain threshold. If it's a concern, you may want to consider speaking with a migration agent who specialises in visas involving medical issues.

[freakedass]

I'm no expert, but I think it's the Prospective Marriage Visa that you would need to apply for as you aren't married yet and you haven't lived together for the preceding 12 months so you don't qualify for the de-facto spouse visa. The ulcerative colitis will possibly be referred once the medicals are done for further assessment but this is factored in to the timeline. She can travel to Australia on a visitors visa, but you would have to let her CO know that this was the plan so that if the PMV was nearly due, you could liaise as she needs to be offshore for 3 working days so that the systems update as visas are electronic. Generally speaking, it seems from other posts that I have read, that women appear to get their visas more quickly than men from India and Pakistan but I can't say this as a fact and you really have to work to the time given to you by the CO once the application has been submitted. When we lodged my husband's spouse visa, we were told up to 8-9 months, but now, people lodging in London are told at least 8-9 months, so timelines can shift very quickly as far as grant dates/waiting times are concerned. Also, India is a high risk country so you really need to factor that in as well.

 

I'm not sure how much help I've been but good luck with it all.

 

Thanks, any information is helpful for now. Any further details in terms of 'Prospective Marriage Visa'. What is the time line to get this through ?

[freakedass]

1) Under what VISA (spouse) would she would be applying from offshore (India)

 

She applies for the 309/100 which is the offshore partner visa. This assumes you are married or in a de facto relationship. The 309 is a provisional visa, and after 2 years they confirm you're still together, she fills in a few more forms and they then grant the 100 which is the PR.

 

2) If we apply for spouse VISA from India and get all documents ready/ medicals done/ police checks done, can she travel with me to Australia on Visitors Visa for few months? Does her travelling make any changes in terms of timelines in getting her spouse visa granted?

 

Assuming the visitors visa is approved, then yes she can come with you. It doesn't impact on the time for processing her visa.

 

3) In-case she travels on Visitors visa while her spouse visa is being processed back home in India and by the time there is a decision made on confirming her visa, do you think it would be a problem if at that time she is in Australia with me?

 

Since the 309 is an off-shore visa, she will need to be off-shore when it's granted. She should keep DIBP advised of her travel to Australia so they can notify her when they are ready to grant the visa (this is a very typical practice for them). They'll get in touch with her, she'll take a quick trip to NZ or Bali (or wherever, as long as it's off-shore), they grant the visa and she can return to activate the visa. She'd need to be off-shore for about 3 days, but she should confirm that with the CO when they tell her to get off-shore.

 

4) As per the forums I have gone through it takes around 6-8 months roughly to get a spouse Visa granted in India. Any people over here who happen to get their Spouse Visa’s before the said timeline or others who are still awaiting a confirmation after a year or so. If yes, what is the reason for the delay?

 

Different countries take different amounts of time depending on number of COs processing visas, whether the country is high risk vs. low risk, etc. Other factors such as any medical or criminal background issues can affect processing times too.

 

5) One important thing. My GF has a medical condition known as ‘ulcerative colitis’. Would this create any problems while getting her medicals done?

 

It's possible her medical would be referred for further consideration if there's a concern the cost to the Australian Medicare system is above a certain threshold. If it's a concern, you may want to consider speaking with a migration agent who specialises in visas involving medical issues.

 

Thanks Maggiemay24. This clears few of my doubts. Any idea on 'Prospective Marriage Visa' in terms of the timelines ? Incase my wife's visa is not granted until 9 months (as per the visa timeline on prospective marriage visa which is 9 months) is there a possibility to renew while she is in Australia ?

[Guest]

You are planning on marrying before she goes to AUS? Then a PMV is no use to you. You apply off shore if you wish to marry in AUS after the visa is granted. It takes as long or longer than a de facto/partner visa and is subject to capping iirc.

[MaggieMay24]

From your first post, you spoke about applying after you're married, which is the partner visa 309. As Snifter has said, the PMV is for before you're married. So you'd need to wait until the PMV is granted to get married, and then you have to get married and apply for the partner visa 820/801 (this is the on-shore partner visa) within 9 months of the visa grant.