Timeline on 309/100 via applied for in London

[Robin’s Emigrating]

Thanks @martymarty5436425! Much appreciated.

One other question. We've been pursuing the police checks and when we click on the small (i) information link in the uploads section for character evidence it provides the below description. The second section was expected and makes clear that my wife (Australian) and I (British) will need to get police background checks for the UK and US (as we lived overseas for a while). However the first section appears to suggest needing to get a background check for every country I've ever visited! Assume this isn't right?

All visa applicants are required to provide a penal clearance certificate or police check from each country visited, if:

• they are 17 years of age or older; and

• they lived or travelled outside Australia since turning 16 years of age; and

• the total time spent outside Australia added up to 12 months or more; or

• they are requested to do so by the Department.

 All visa applicants (and Family Sponsors) are required to provide a penal clearance certificate or police check from each country visited in the last 10 years, if:

• they lived or travelled outside Australia since the age of 16 years or over; and

• the time spent in any one country was more than 12 months cumulatively.

[martymarty5436425]

2 minutes ago, Robin’s Emigrating said:

Assume this isn't right?

Correct: it's if you've stayed in any country for 12 months or more only. 

[bicek]

10 hours ago, Robin’s Emigrating said:

Thanks @martymarty5436425! Much appreciated.

One other question. We've been pursuing the police checks and when we click on the small (i) information link in the uploads section for character evidence it provides the below description. The second section was expected and makes clear that my wife (Australian) and I (British) will need to get police background checks for the UK and US (as we lived overseas for a while). However the first section appears to suggest needing to get a background check for every country I've ever visited! Assume this isn't right?

All visa applicants are required to provide a penal clearance certificate or police check from each country visited, if:

• they are 17 years of age or older; and

• they lived or travelled outside Australia since turning 16 years of age; and

• the total time spent outside Australia added up to 12 months or more; or

• they are requested to do so by the Department.

 All visa applicants (and Family Sponsors) are required to provide a penal clearance certificate or police check from each country visited in the last 10 years, if:

• they lived or travelled outside Australia since the age of 16 years or over; and

• the time spent in any one country was more than 12 months cumulatively.

That only applies for countries you have visited in the last ten years, where you spent more then 12 months there. So, not just your annual holiday destination or anything! I have travelled a fair amount in the last ten years but this didn't apply to me in any case, as never spent longer than 12 months in any of them (apart from the UK, which I did need). 

Edited December 17, 2020 by bicek

[Robin’s Emigrating]

Thanks folks for all the replies. A couple more questions:

1. A few areas in the process talk about the need to 'Certify' documents. including passports and birth certificates. My Birth Certificate already has the line 'I xxx person certify that...' as part of the official document. Do you know if a further certification is still required and, if so, how we would obtain that here in the UK? 

2. For 888 Forms we've got 4 folks in Australia that will fill out on our behalf. I understand both these forms and their passports (surprisingly, given they're Oz citizens) also need to be certified. Is that your understanding? Also, once the form and passport are certified, do they just need to scan and send digital copies to us to upload?

Thanks again for all the wisdom!

[Anais_V]

On 18/12/2020 at 20:40, Robin’s Emigrating said:

Thanks folks for all the replies. A couple more questions:

1. A few areas in the process talk about the need to 'Certify' documents. including passports and birth certificates. My Birth Certificate already has the line 'I xxx person certify that...' as part of the official document. Do you know if a further certification is still required and, if so, how we would obtain that here in the UK? 

2. For 888 Forms we've got 4 folks in Australia that will fill out on our behalf. I understand both these forms and their passports (surprisingly, given they're Oz citizens) also need to be certified. Is that your understanding? Also, once the form and passport are certified, do they just need to scan and send digital copies to us to upload?

Thanks again for all the wisdom!

Other than the stat decs, documents generally do not need to be certified, unless it is a translation, which does need to be done by a certified translator. I just submitted digital copies (scans) of my documents such as passport, ID card. 

I am also pretty sure you can only submit 2 stat decs (form 888) to support your case, so there is no need to ask 4 people to do it. In any case, we supplied two: a close (mutual) friend and the sponsor's mother.

 

Good luck with it!

[ainzlondon79]

18 hours ago, Anais_V said:

I am also pretty sure you can only submit 2 stat decs (form 888) to support your case, so there is no need to ask 4 people to do it. In any case, we supplied two: a close (mutual) friend and the sponsor's mother.

@Robin’s Emigrating to clarify on this it will happily allow you to submit more than 2 Form 888's under the relevant section of the document attachments if you wish. We submitted 4 just to be on the safe side with a mix of friends and family from both sides. I've got no idea whether it helps or not as not got the visa through yet - I'm sure 2 would be fine

[Bella88]

Hi All, I was hoping to pick someone’s brain... applied end of April 2020 for our 309 and had RFI 30th November just for my partners police check. I have uploaded everything but nothing has changed in terms of the status of my account. It still states “initial assessment”. Am worried I have done something incorrectly or is this normal once RFI has been uploaded and you just wait (and hope) until they next look at it? Thanks so much :) 

[Anais_V]

1 hour ago, Bella88 said:

Hi All, I was hoping to pick someone’s brain... applied end of April 2020 for our 309 and had RFI 30th November just for my partners police check. I have uploaded everything but nothing has changed in terms of the status of my account. It still states “initial assessment”. Am worried I have done something incorrectly or is this normal once RFI has been uploaded and you just wait (and hope) until they next look at it? Thanks so much

Hi - I am not entirely sure, but from memory, at the very bottom of the uploads page, there should be a button that says something like "I confirm I have uploaded the requested information". Make sure you click on that once you've uploaded all the documents. After I did that, it seemed to freeze further uploads. Can't remember if the status had already changed to "further assessment" before I did that. Hope that helps...

[Bella88]

@Anais_V thank you so much. I hadn’t clicked that button! Hadn’t even see it!  

[martymarty5436425]

On 24/12/2020 at 09:10, Bella88 said:

@Anais_V thank you so much. I hadn’t clicked that button! Hadn’t even see it!  

I would also reply to the email you received letting them know that you have uploaded the documents, pointing to where they are in the system if you can (to make their job easier) and that you have clicked the mentioned button.  I was informed these emails are read and so worth doing to potentially prompt someone to look into your account.

[vongole83]

On 18/12/2020 at 12:40, Robin’s Emigrating said:

Thanks folks for all the replies. A couple more questions:

1. A few areas in the process talk about the need to 'Certify' documents. including passports and birth certificates. My Birth Certificate already has the line 'I xxx person certify that...' as part of the official document. Do you know if a further certification is still required and, if so, how we would obtain that here in the UK? 

2. For 888 Forms we've got 4 folks in Australia that will fill out on our behalf. I understand both these forms and their passports (surprisingly, given they're Oz citizens) also need to be certified. Is that your understanding? Also, once the form and passport are certified, do they just need to scan and send digital copies to us to upload?

Thanks again for all the wisdom!

We only uploaded 2x 888s and it was enough for a swift approval.

[vongole83]

On 30/11/2020 at 21:23, ainzlondon79 said:

Hi all, just wanted to provide an update as we received an RFI for our medical today! This was the only item requested. It has caught us out as we only had the medical booked for the 14th December! It has come from the Berlin office, so as others have said it does appear they are picking up a lot of work for London office applications. It makes me wonder if we had the medical earlier we might just have got our visa today... never mind, will see what happens after we complete the medical and it gets uploaded, still might get our visa before xmas, what a wonderful present that would be 

We only applied in September so it's not even been 3 months yet. It is clear that they are now processing applications much faster and people should ignore the 17 month timeframe quoted on the immigration website, make sure your applications are fully front loaded and get your police and medical checks as soon as possible!

Congratulations! Ours was approved on extremely similar timelines (Sept- Christmas Eve)

We are not married but have a child - I don’t know if that makes a difference. We also had our application processed in Berlin. 

I wouldn’t go so far as to advise people to front load their applications (we didn’t) but I do wonder if the office (Berlin) and having kids makes a big difference. 
Also we were extremely thorough in our explanations of finances, house hold composition, etc and provided a selection of evidence well spaced out over the 6 years we have been together - and every single photo or document was referenced somewhere in our application - nothing was added in just to add weight to the application. It did take an awfully long time to put together but seems to have paid off...

[ainzlondon79]

On 24/12/2020 at 01:23, Anais_V said:

Hi - I am not entirely sure, but from memory, at the very bottom of the uploads page, there should be a button that says something like "I confirm I have uploaded the requested information". Make sure you click on that once you've uploaded all the documents. After I did that, it seemed to freeze further uploads. Can't remember if the status had already changed to "further assessment" before I did that. Hope that helps...

@Anais_V  thanks so much for this! we completed our medical back in mid-December and nothing had happened with our application still at the "Initial assessment" stage even though we could see on the Health Assessment tab "health clearance provided - no action required". 

As this was the only piece of information requested on the RFI we didn't think we needed to do anything further until we discovered the same "I confirm I have uploaded the requested information" button on the uploads page. My guess is this appears for all RFI's even if the only item requested is the medical.

We've now clicked this and the application has moved to "further assessment" so hopefully this provides the prompt needed for someone to check the results of the medical. For anyone else that has received an RFI for a medical I would also recommend clicking this button on the bottom of the "Attach documents" page.

Edited January 4, 2021 by ainzlondon79

[Robin’s Emigrating]

Folks. Can anyone remind me how long the UK police certificates are considered valid for with the Australian authorities? Initially thought it was 6 months, but the website says 1 year for Australian police checks, so wondering if the UK is the same. If they are I will get ours now!

[ainzlondon79]

28 minutes ago, Robin’s Emigrating said:

Folks. Can anyone remind me how long the UK police certificates are considered valid for with the Australian authorities? Initially thought it was 6 months, but the website says 1 year for Australian police checks, so wondering if the UK is the same. If they are I will get ours now!

@Robin’s Emigrating 99% certain that the ACRO police certificates are valid for 12 months. I checked my ACRO and there is a "Date of creation" (21-09-2020) and a "Date printed" (28-09-2020) which was about a week later. I'm not sure which one they go off when determining the 12 months!

[Anais_V]

On 04/01/2021 at 18:30, ainzlondon79 said:

@Anais_V  thanks so much for this! we completed our medical back in mid-December and nothing had happened with our application still at the "Initial assessment" stage even though we could see on the Health Assessment tab "health clearance provided - no action required". 

As this was the only piece of information requested on the RFI we didn't think we needed to do anything further until we discovered the same "I confirm I have uploaded the requested information" button on the uploads page. My guess is this appears for all RFI's even if the only item requested is the medical.

We've now clicked this and the application has moved to "further assessment" so hopefully this provides the prompt needed for someone to check the results of the medical. For anyone else that has received an RFI for a medical I would also recommend clicking this button on the bottom of the "Attach documents" page.

I don't know why they would hide the button at the bottom of the page . 

I read somewhere else that it might be worth replying to the email you receive with the RFI. Always worth a try, I suppose. 

I remain hopeful that I will soon get a decision, but I have not heard anything since I submitted the requested information in mid-November (it was just an updated police check). I also emailed the Berlin office (where my RFI came from), but to no avail either. My status still says "further assessment".

Good luck to all of us!

[darch]

Hi all, like a few others on here, I've just received my 100 visa - hang in there if you are waiting to hear! Despite applying to London, mine was handled out of Berlin and after hearing nothing since application for 309/100 in April, got an RFI to get health checks, and for my wife (& sponsor) to redo one of the forms, which had apparently been changed since we submitted. I had originally held off on getting the health checks as had been advised they were only valid for a year, and with the estimated timelines for the visa up at 18 + months, didn't want to have to do them twice! Once we those in last week, I got the grant notifications just a day or two later, for both 309 and then immediately 100 

A couple of people on here were really kind with advice back in the spring as I worked through the various forms - I'd be more than happy to share  how we approached things if anyone would find it helpful.

 

Can't wait to get on with the rest of the planning now!! Good luck if you're still waiting on a decision

Edited January 6, 2021 by darch
clarity

[ainzlondon79]

5 hours ago, darch said:

Hi all, like a few others on here, I've just received my 100 visa - hang in there if you are waiting to hear! Despite applying to London, mine was handled out of Berlin and after hearing nothing since application for 309/100 in April, got an RFI to get health checks, and for my wife (& sponsor) to redo one of the forms, which had apparently been changed since we submitted. I had originally held off on getting the health checks as had been advised they were only valid for a year, and with the estimated timelines for the visa up at 18 + months, didn't want to have to do them twice! Once we those in last week, I got the grant notifications just a day or two later, for both 309 and then immediately 100 

Wow! Congratulations @darch you must be so pleased. It's great to hear the Berlin office is again processing applications after being closed over christmas.

Can I ask exactly when you submitted your RFI?

Edited January 6, 2021 by ainzlondon79

[darch]

4 hours ago, ainzlondon79 said:

Wow! Congratulations @darch you must be so pleased. It's great to hear the Berlin office is again processing applications after being closed over christmas.

Can I ask exactly when you submitted your RFI?

sure thing. I got the RFI on 30 November but work/life/christmas chaos meant I couldn't upload all the info until either 29 or 30 Dec. Then the grant came through a couple of (working) days later on 5 Jan 

[Bella88]

On 06/01/2021 at 02:40, Anais_V said:

I don't know why they would hide the button at the bottom of the page . 

I read somewhere else that it might be worth replying to the email you receive with the RFI. Always worth a try, I suppose. 

I remain hopeful that I will soon get a decision, but I have not heard anything since I submitted the requested information in mid-November (it was just an updated police check). I also emailed the Berlin office (where my RFI came from), but to no avail either. My status still says "further assessment".

Good luck to all of us!

I also haven’t heard since submitting everything just before Christmas. Just wondering if anyone has had or is having their applications processed through the Belgrade office in recent months?
 

Fingers crossed for everyone

Edited January 8, 2021 by Bella88

[Anais_V]

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has been able to find more information about the COVID-19 waiver for offshore applicants who happen to be onshore when their partner visa is granted? The official statement that it will be implemented "in early 2021" is so vague, it's really useless. 

It did make me wonder though whether they are holding off on granting any 309/100 visas for applicants that are currently onshore until this legislation comes into force. Or maybe I am just deluding myself that there is some kind of rationale for the lack of communication and the frustrating delays.

Cheers, Anais

[GRS]

22 hours ago, Anais_V said:

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has been able to find more information about the COVID-19 waiver for offshore applicants who happen to be onshore when their partner visa is granted? The official statement that it will be implemented "in early 2021" is so vague, it's really useless. 

It did make me wonder though whether they are holding off on granting any 309/100 visas for applicants that are currently onshore until this legislation comes into force. Or maybe I am just deluding myself that there is some kind of rationale for the lack of communication and the frustrating delays.

Cheers, Anais

Julian Hill MP's proposed bill may help encourage/put pressure on the Government to implement the Concession that was announced in November. 

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jan/13/labor-pushes-for-visa-applicants-to-be-exempt-from-having-to-leave-australia-during-covid

They did update the wording on the concession announcement on the 19th January, by now including this paragraph "The Department is taking disruptions arising from the pandemic into account when considering visa applications. Visa applicants are being given additional time to complete the necessary requirements, including any current requirement to be offshore at time of visa grant. A visa application will not be refused because an applicant does not meet the requirement to be outside Australia at the time of visa grant." 

So they are clearly doing something behind the scenes, but as for a date to implement, still vague and useless!

They wont grant you onshore at the moment, but they may send you a "your visa is decision ready" email, but then say they cant tell you to go offshore to validate it, but to keep an eye on the covid concession or should you decide to go offshore, to let them know the dates.

 

[Jet88]

Hi , can anyone please give me clarification on how long 309 partnership visas are taking to process in London at the moment? I am australian, my husband is English and I am wanting to move back to oz end of the year but have read 309 offshore applications can take up to 2 years! Does it actually take this long? If so, are we better off moving to australia, my husband arrive on a holiday visa then apply for a partner visa when onshore (i think this means he can't work for 3 months?) TIA   

[Anais_V]

10 hours ago, Jet88 said:

Hi , can anyone please give me clarification on how long 309 partnership visas are taking to process in London at the moment? I am australian, my husband is English and I am wanting to move back to oz end of the year but have read 309 offshore applications can take up to 2 years! Does it actually take this long? If so, are we better off moving to australia, my husband arrive on a holiday visa then apply for a partner visa when onshore (i think this means he can't work for 3 months?) TIA   

Hi Jet88, it looks like a lot of applications are actually being processed by the Berlin office at the moment even if you applied in London. For up-to-date processing times, you might find this helpful: https://abcdiamond.com.au/subclass-309-visa-processing-times-in-2020/#:~:text=The average processing time for,an average of 11 months.

I've heard that other people have been successful coming to Australia on a visitor visa and then applying for the onshore partner visa. You should be fine as long as the visitor visa does not have a "no further stay" condition attached to it. If granted the Bridging Visa A when the visitor visa expires, your partner should get work rights, but I don't think that is 100% guaranteed. Perhaps a good idea to consult an agent for some expert advice

Good luck!  

[Poppysunday]

On 20/01/2021 at 19:52, Anais_V said:

Hi all,

I was just wondering if anyone has been able to find more information about the COVID-19 waiver for offshore applicants who happen to be onshore when their partner visa is granted? The official statement that it will be implemented "in early 2021" is so vague, it's really useless. 

It did make me wonder though whether they are holding off on granting any 309/100 visas for applicants that are currently onshore until this legislation comes into force. Or maybe I am just deluding myself that there is some kind of rationale for the lack of communication and the frustrating delays.

Cheers, Anais

I am on shore and awaiting more news regarding this. I got a ready to grant letter in March I booked to leave 1st April but it was all cancelled due to covid. So my application is READY! 
I’m just waiting and hoping they sort it before may as that’s when my health check expires