Delays in Granting (African) 189 Visas even after MEDS/PCC?

[dangargoyle]

I notice that processing for 189 visas is moving quite fast for some regions eg. UK and India based applications.

Most UK/Indian Applications are taking an average of 3 months from Application Submission to Visa Grant.

African cases seem to be dragging for too long and most are taking over a year (1 Year ) to process.

Delays are evident even after getting the request to undergo Meds/PCC.

Could there be a good reason behind this?

Regards,

D

:skeptical:

[blossom]

Yes. High risk countries have more security checks. This all depends on how long your home country takes to respond.

[Adam Grey]

There's reasons, they may not necessarily be good ones though. Historically a lot of African applicants have submitted fraudulent documents, record keeping is not as stringent as it may be on other continents, there's not a great deal of information sharing being the Aus government and African governments, there's a higher ratio of health & character concerns with African applicants.....All that means African applicants will receive much higher scrutiny and will often face external checks through other departments.

[dangargoyle]

There's reasons, they may not necessarily be good ones though. Historically a lot of African applicants have submitted fraudulent documents, record keeping is not as stringent as it may be on other continents, there's not a great deal of information sharing being the Aus government and African governments, there's a higher ratio of health & character concerns with African applicants.....All that means African applicants will receive much higher scrutiny and will often face external checks through other departments.

 

Ok @Adam Grey! Though I assume that there shouldn't be much delay after the MEDS/PCC Request and submission of the same? Once Health and Character concerns are OKAYed, and all documents submitted, what could be the reason for more delays?

[Nowhere]

Ok @Adam Grey! Though I assume that there shouldn't be much delay after the MEDS/PCC Request and submission of the same? Once Health and Character concerns are OKAYed, and all documents submitted, what could be the reason for more delays?

 

The answer is NO one knows the answer but DIBP.

[Adam Grey]

Ok @Adam Grey! Though I assume that there shouldn't be much delay after the MEDS/PCC Request and submission of the same? Once Health and Character concerns are OKAYed, and all documents submitted, what could be the reason for more delays?

 

In most of these cases you'll find that the delay is invariably security checks with external departments and the PCC is just one of the documents that they will use to assess character and any security risks. Usually you'll know when this has happened because you'll get an information request from a different processing team, or the CO will advise that the application is undergoing "mandatory health, character and national security checks". They rarely provide any timeframe or updates and there's very little anyone can do about it. Unfortunately as you've seen yourself these can take years, not months.

[oppyddrum]

That must be a new thing. I am originally from an African country and I did not experience any sort of real delays. my applications (422, 457, 175 (now 189)) all got processed within prescribed time frames, some even in record time. same thing for my parents (422, 457 and 856). never a delay. and this is the first i am hearing of a specific problem with African applicants. Pakistani, afghan and other middle eastern applicants have complained in the past and it has been attributed to the agencies in their countries taking forever with security checks.

Maybe email the CO to "ask if there is anything else they need you to provide"... i have seen a few people from both high risk and low risk countries do that when they feel their application is stuck somewhere. it sometimes triggers some movement. maybe try that?

[Adam Grey]

That must be a new thing. I am originally from an African country and I did not experience any sort of real delays. my applications (422, 457, 175 (now 189)) all got processed within prescribed time frames, some even in record time. same thing for my parents (422, 457 and 856). never a delay. and this is the first i am hearing of a specific problem with African applicants. Pakistani, afghan and other middle eastern applicants have complained in the past and it has been attributed to the agencies in their countries taking forever with security checks.

Maybe email the CO to "ask if there is anything else they need you to provide"... i have seen a few people from both high risk and low risk countries do that when they feel their application is stuck somewhere. it sometimes triggers some movement. maybe try that?

 

Just shows that not everyone's case is the same. Nobody is saying that every single African will get a security check or delay, but yes there is a much higher chance that it will happen. It's not just nationality either, there's a number of triggers that will lead to extra checks being made, for example a South African doctor might sail through whereas a Nigerian Biochemist is likely to have extra scrutiny.

[Raul Senise]

It is very general to say “African” applicants. Africa is a large continent with many countries. Not all African countries are the same or treated equally for Immigration and security purposes.

 

I have processed many African visa applications which have taken no longer than any other.

[oppyddrum]

Just shows that not everyone's case is the same. Nobody is saying that every single African will get a security check or delay, but yes there is a much higher chance that it will happen. It's not just nationality either, there's a number of triggers that will lead to extra checks being made, for example a South African doctor might sail through whereas a Nigerian Biochemist is likely to have extra scrutiny.

 

I did not imply that everyone's case is the same, neither did i imply that the OP was incorrect. I was just pointing out that i have not heard of any specific complaints from applicants from Africa; i have heard many middle eastern complaints but not African. that was my point. And i was/am privy to quite a few "African" applicants' processes. not just talking from my own experiences.

Thanks for "explaining" it to me though.

[Adam Grey]

I did not imply that everyone's case is the same, neither did i imply that the OP was incorrect. I was just pointing out that i have not heard of any specific complaints from applicants from Africa; i have heard many middle eastern complaints but not African. that was my point. And i was/am privy to quite a few "African" applicants' processes. not just talking from my own experiences.

Thanks for "explaining" it to me though.

 

You're "welcome". Seriously I was just trying to shed some light on the general way these are processed, I'm not arguing any point you made, there's no offence there to be taken.