S A Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Hi All, I have been a silent reader of this informative forum. I recently got married and will soon be applying for my wife's spouse visa. I have a few questions before I lodge her application. Firstly, is there any processing time difference between online applications or paper applications? I have seen people lodging their paper application ang getting grants in 6-7 months, but I do not recall anyone saying they have lodged an online application with the same timeframe. Secondly, do all online applications get processed in Australia or would they be allocated to the Australian high commission in the country of the applicant, e.g, would my wife,s online application be allocated to the Australian High comission Islamabad or would it be allocated to someone in Australia? Would appreciate any help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engaus Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 You application will be processed in the closest processing embassy - is your partner from Pakistan? There is probably under 5 case officers in each embassy processing a huge amount of applications so processing times are blowing out. The days of partner visas taking 6-8 months are long gone (there might be the odd one here and there, but it's certainly not the majority). Processing times in London are currently 10-14 months, and if you are applying from Islamabad then you will most likely encounter ASIO security checks which can take a very long time. At the moment Islamabad is stating a 12 month waiting time for offshore partner visas (see link below) - but I have seen people waiting up to 18-24 months from Islamabad because security checks have not been finalised. http://www.pakistan.highcommission.gov.au/islm/120822pg9diac.html Most embassy's prefer online applications now days (this became available a bit over a year ago). There is no documented proof atm that online applications take longer than paper, or visa versa. In theory case officers should find it a lot easier to go through and assess online application. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S A Posted February 3, 2015 Author Share Posted February 3, 2015 Hi All, I'd be applying for my wife's visa online soon, and wanted to know the current processing timeline for visa grants. I have been told that because my partner is a Pakistani, it will take more than 12 months for the application to process due to security checks. Please let me know if the current processing time for Pakistani spouse applications are taking more than 12 months. Any help from you people will be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 According to the Islamabad Australian High Commission website, Islamabad average processing time for subclass 300 & 309 is 12 months. Note that that is the average processing time. Some applications may be processed faster and others will take longer. http://www.pakistan.embassy.gov.au/islm/120822pg9diac.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
engaus Posted February 4, 2015 Share Posted February 4, 2015 As I said in my reply, I have seen applications from Pakistan take 18-24 months. There are in depth security checks that are done on applicants from Pakistan that can take over 6 months alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.