New Global Visa Processing times

[samwise]

 

 

 

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[samwise]

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[TheWayOfThePony]

Processing times keep growing huh. I wish they would be a bit more specific than this global estimate, as it makes it very hard to plan the next few months once you've submitted your application. It's hard to apply for jobs, sell house etc when you don't know if you could be gone in 3 months or a year and a half...

[Nemesis]

1 hour ago, TheWayOfThePony said:

Processing times keep growing huh. I wish they would be a bit more specific than this global estimate, as it makes it very hard to plan the next few months once you've submitted your application. It's hard to apply for jobs, sell house etc when you don't know if you could be gone in 3 months or a year and a half...

No-one can give a precise date for grants though because every application is unique. And even if they could give a finalisation date, there's still no guarantee of a visa being granted until its actually completed. That's why DIBP tell people not to sell houses and give up jobs etc until the visa is granted.

[Guest]

Also, there is always the option of a validation trip for the person or persons granted a visa. I realise there is a cost to that in the return flight to Aus and should you stay for a short time but it is something many used to do and some still opt for.  Validating gives you a fair chunk of time to move then. Its not that people only have a few months in which to do everything to make first entry to Aus, its that they choose to do it this way over a validation trip. TBH if you have a house to sell and job notice to work out after a grant, I'd suck up the ££ cost and book a cheapie return flight to Aus and validate and know I had that breathing room. 

I used to go out from the date the medical and police check were requested to be undertaken. At least for off shore UK partner applications. They tend to request those and allow a reasonable amount of time once granted to make first entry.

When I applied medical and police checks were being requested by CO at around the 3-4 month mark after lodging. Visa grants were coming though about 3-4 months after that. So allowing a further 6 months or so for first entry into Australia. Which was the norm for a long while. Now with online applications so many people are opting to front load or do them as soon as they get a HAP ID its harder to work out a timeframe of possible grants. However, many applicants are seeing a fairly quick turnaround but of course, its not the case for all and the processing time can and does blow out for some. And some get a shorter validation timeframe therefore. 

It would be interesting to look at those who do wait for a CO to request their medical and police check, to note the date and then note the time to grant and then the date of first entry on the visa. Those front loading are quite possibly leaving themselves less time to validate over those who wait. Front loading doesn't magically speed up applications. Nor does waiting to be asked to undertake medical etc slow them down. A police check is back within a couple of weeks, medical can be booked for the following week usually, so its a short time to wait to provide those things. 

I think people have become more impatient since the process went online. They can do their medical and police check pretty much straight away these days and not many seem to wait to be asked. Once application is lodged and medical and police check done, all people can do is wait. Nothing else. That processing times are often quicker than the stated (for UK) is giving many a sense of expectation that they perhaps should try not to have.