Aya Posted July 10, 2019 Author Share Posted July 10, 2019 9 hours ago, Ant S said: I feel your pain! I applied for a 461 visa onshore from Sydney back in August 2017 and I'm yet to hear a peep from them! Really disheartening to see the processing times increase month-on-month with no additional communication or feedback from the Department. Fingers crossed we all get through this hellish process soon...! The total lack of insight is the most frustrating part of it all! Hi! Hopefully your application will be processed soon! Almost 26 months... Let us know if you hear anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aya Posted July 10, 2019 Author Share Posted July 10, 2019 (edited) 9 hours ago, TheWayOfThePony said: I was wondering - you don't have work or study rights but would you be eligible for volunteering? Heaps of places rely on volunteers and it's a great way to get out of the house, meet people and help the community! It also provides some local experience & contacts, which can prove very useful when it's time to apply for jobs. Hi! I was wondering about that. I read somewhere that I was not allowed to volunteer if you don't have work rights, but I am not entirely sure. Maybe it is ok if it is only a few hours here and there. Does anyone have that experience? I have actually just found this article that seems to clarify the situation: http://www.nationalvisas.com.au/blog/migration-agent-articles/australian-visitor-visas-volunteer-work-allowed/ Edited July 10, 2019 by Aya Extra information Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikkilou23 Posted July 15, 2019 Share Posted July 15, 2019 Hi all, I’m new to this forum. Have been on another for 461 applications. we lodged our visa back in November 2017 and haven’t hear anything as of yet. When we lodged the max waiting time was only 10 months. We have seen it increase every few months since. Now sitting at 27 months. I don’t hold much hope it to come in this side of 2019. I had 6 months work restriction on mine, and was applying for it to be extended. However recently I applied for it to be removed completely. I now have full working rights with no restrictions, only thing is I have to apply for a bvb to leave the country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CuriousTeaLady Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 The growing processing times are very frustrating indeed - it used to take just four months when I first applied for my 461 visa, I'm on my third application now and still waiting For those who haven't applied recently and are about to, in Sydney, despite not being explicit on their website, you can no longer deliver by hand your application form, you have to send it by courier or registered post or it won't be accepted. Supporting documents CAN be accepted at Lee Street in person. It's madness. Only a government department could waste people's time and resources in such a way and not pay the price of going broke, as a commercial concern would. The attitude is 'Don't contact us, don't ask questions, no emails or 'phone calls will be accepted' to check on progress or otherwise of one's application. I was led to believe that the original push out of processing times was to deliberately be off-putting to lots of big Kiwi (Maori) extended families who wanted to come and claim benefits in Australia, they are apparently more lucrative than in N.Z. However, that's no excuse for this utter disregard of peoples circumstances and urgency of clarification for all sorts of financial and social reasons. It's a travesty, it's not justice, it's not right, it's certainly not fair. It is outrageous and incompetent and inefficient and disorganised. But sadly, it is the way it is. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleshia Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 Has anyone lodged their application offshore in London recently? We've just applied for our first one last month and wondering how long people have been currently waiting. I know of someone else who has applied offshore in the Philippines for his wife and he seems to think he'll have his by Christmas?? I just keep seeing a lot of people onshore in australia are waiting for months and months and wonder if it's different offshore? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted July 16, 2019 Share Posted July 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Aleshia said: I just keep seeing a lot of people onshore in australia are waiting for months and months and wonder if it's different offshore? I don't know about the 461, but processing time for other partner visas are certainly shorter if you apply offshore than onshore, sometimes by a long way. I don't know why, perhaps they're trying to discourage people from applying onshore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraeLamb Posted July 18, 2019 Share Posted July 18, 2019 On 16/07/2019 at 13:21, CuriousTeaLady said: The growing processing times are very frustrating indeed - it used to take just four months when I first applied for my 461 visa, I'm on my third application now and still waiting For those who haven't applied recently and are about to, in Sydney, despite not being explicit on their website, you can no longer deliver by hand your application form, you have to send it by courier or registered post or it won't be accepted. Supporting documents CAN be accepted at Lee Street in person. It's madness. Only a government department could waste people's time and resources in such a way and not pay the price of going broke, as a commercial concern would. The attitude is 'Don't contact us, don't ask questions, no emails or 'phone calls will be accepted' to check on progress or otherwise of one's application. I was led to believe that the original push out of processing times was to deliberately be off-putting to lots of big Kiwi (Maori) extended families who wanted to come and claim benefits in Australia, they are apparently more lucrative than in N.Z. However, that's no excuse for this utter disregard of peoples circumstances and urgency of clarification for all sorts of financial and social reasons. It's a travesty, it's not justice, it's not right, it's certainly not fair. It is outrageous and incompetent and inefficient and disorganised. But sadly, it is the way it is. SAME! Lodged my third renewal March 2018, nothing since. Used to take 6 weeks! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandpaGrumble Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 On 16/07/2019 at 21:52, Aleshia said: Has anyone lodged their application offshore in London recently? We've just applied for our first one last month and wondering how long people have been currently waiting. Not particularly recent, but for a point of reference, mine took 48 days back in mid-2016. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ali Posted July 31, 2019 Share Posted July 31, 2019 On 16/07/2019 at 11:21, CuriousTeaLady said: The growing processing times are very frustrating indeed - it used to take just four months when I first applied for my 461 visa, I'm on my third application now and still waiting For those who haven't applied recently and are about to, in Sydney, despite not being explicit on their website, you can no longer deliver by hand your application form, you have to send it by courier or registered post or it won't be accepted. Supporting documents CAN be accepted at Lee Street in person. It's madness. Only a government department could waste people's time and resources in such a way and not pay the price of going broke, as a commercial concern would. The attitude is 'Don't contact us, don't ask questions, no emails or 'phone calls will be accepted' to check on progress or otherwise of one's application. I was led to believe that the original push out of processing times was to deliberately be off-putting to lots of big Kiwi (Maori) extended families who wanted to come and claim benefits in Australia, they are apparently more lucrative than in N.Z. However, that's no excuse for this utter disregard of peoples circumstances and urgency of clarification for all sorts of financial and social reasons. It's a travesty, it's not justice, it's not right, it's certainly not fair. It is outrageous and incompetent and inefficient and disorganised. But sadly, it is the way it is. I don't think New Zealanders have access to benefits here in Aus - certainly, clients I've had from NZ have not been able to claim any payments. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted August 1, 2019 Share Posted August 1, 2019 On 31/07/2019 at 02:05, GrandpaGrumble said: Not particularly recent, but for a point of reference, mine took 48 days back in mid-2016. It’s taking quite a lot longer than that now ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eilish Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 (edited) On 16/07/2019 at 13:21, CuriousTeaLady said: The growing processing times are very frustrating indeed - it used to take just four months when I first applied for my 461 visa, I'm on my third application now and still waiting For those who haven't applied recently and are about to, in Sydney, despite not being explicit on their website, you can no longer deliver by hand your application form, you have to send it by courier or registered post or it won't be accepted. Supporting documents CAN be accepted at Lee Street in person. It's madness. Only a government department could waste people's time and resources in such a way and not pay the price of going broke, as a commercial concern would. The attitude is 'Don't contact us, don't ask questions, no emails or 'phone calls will be accepted' to check on progress or otherwise of one's application. I was led to believe that the original push out of processing times was to deliberately be off-putting to lots of big Kiwi (Maori) extended families who wanted to come and claim benefits in Australia, they are apparently more lucrative than in N.Z. However, that's no excuse for this utter disregard of peoples circumstances and urgency of clarification for all sorts of financial and social reasons. It's a travesty, it's not justice, it's not right, it's certainly not fair. It is outrageous and incompetent and inefficient and disorganised. But sadly, it is the way it is. How is your visa application going curious tea lady? Just need to reply to your comment as your facts are quite skewed. Kiwi (Maori) as you put it. Have not been entitled to any benefits in Australia since 26th Feb 2001. Also before that there was a two year wait for New Zealander before qualifying for benefits in Australia. My MAORI husband didn't move from New Zealand to Australia leave his whole family behind for benefits. It was to work to earn a living. For a defacto of a New Zealander you shouldn't be sprouting such drivel. Edited December 9, 2019 by Eilish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GaeF Posted January 9, 2020 Share Posted January 9, 2020 On 18/07/2019 at 14:04, GraeLamb said: SAME! Lodged my third renewal March 2018, nothing since. Used to take 6 weeks! On 10/07/2019 at 19:41, Aya said: Hi! Hopefully your application will be processed soon! Almost 26 months... Let us know if you hear anything! Have you heard back at all ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazinsyd Posted March 19, 2020 Share Posted March 19, 2020 On 10/07/2019 at 13:05, DunkingTeaDownUnder said: Wow, that's a very long time! I feel your pain, but definitely nowhere near as much. I applied from Sydney onshore in August 2018 when the processing times I am sure were around 16 months. Now they are around 26 months! The fact it's applied for using post (rather than electronic) makes it even more stressful not knowing the status etc. I was originally on a 417 and applied for the 461 once we got our evidence together to prove we were a genuine de-facto couple. So unfortunately I have a 6 months working restriction on my bridging visa that I keep having to apply to extend for another 6 months. That's definitely the most stressful part - even though my company are very accommodating with it. Apologies for resurrecting a very old post but how are you able to extend your 6 month working rights? I am with a company on a bridging visa waiting for a 461, and we applied through their migration lawyer to have my 6monthly working rights lifted but was sent back from the visa office that we are unable to extend as I’m on a bridging visa.... very confused by it all and very confused as to why their lawyer didn’t know that was the case? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_sparkles Posted April 29, 2020 Share Posted April 29, 2020 Does anyone on this thread have any updates? Finding other peoples experiences for 461s applications is proving tricky. Lots of peeps posting info on other visa types, but not 461! Processing time, as of 28 Apr 2020 is now 33 months for 90% (I am sure it was <30 at the start of 2020) but strangely I'm sure the 75% timeframe has dropped since last month, from 27 to 25 months. I am now keeping a spreadsheet to track this - mostly out of curiousity. We only lodged my husbands application last month, just before the COVID lockdown began here in London so I think we are going to be in for a loooong wait. I rang the customer services team a few days after I lodged it (an Aussie number) and they said we should get some sort of acknowedgement and a reference number once the data has been transferred into their system, but to call back in a month if we've not heard anything. Called them on Monday, and they say it's not in their system yet. Suspect it's sitting in a post room gathering dust given everyone is working from home now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay M Posted May 20, 2020 Share Posted May 20, 2020 On 29/04/2020 at 22:56, kiwi_sparkles said: Does anyone on this thread have any updates? Finding other peoples experiences for 461s applications is proving tricky. Lots of peeps posting info on other visa types, but not 461! Processing time, as of 28 Apr 2020 is now 33 months for 90% (I am sure it was <30 at the start of 2020) but strangely I'm sure the 75% timeframe has dropped since last month, from 27 to 25 months. I am now keeping a spreadsheet to track this - mostly out of curiousity. We only lodged my husbands application last month, just before the COVID lockdown began here in London so I think we are going to be in for a loooong wait. I rang the customer services team a few days after I lodged it (an Aussie number) and they said we should get some sort of acknowedgement and a reference number once the data has been transferred into their system, but to call back in a month if we've not heard anything. Called them on Monday, and they say it's not in their system yet. Suspect it's sitting in a post room gathering dust given everyone is working from home now. Same boat. My 461 application is 26 months old now. I've gotten a bridging Visa paper but no acknowledgement / reference number. Called them number of times before, they said they couldn't provide information on this type of visa application - very very frustrating. 75% of applications: Unavailable due to low volume of applications. 90% of applications: Unavailable due to low volume of applications. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aleshia Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 On 29/04/2020 at 22:56, kiwi_sparkles said: Does anyone on this thread have any updates? Finding other peoples experiences for 461s applications is proving tricky. Lots of peeps posting info on other visa types, but not 461! Processing time, as of 28 Apr 2020 is now 33 months for 90% (I am sure it was <30 at the start of 2020) but strangely I'm sure the 75% timeframe has dropped since last month, from 27 to 25 months. I am now keeping a spreadsheet to track this - mostly out of curiousity. We only lodged my husbands application last month, just before the COVID lockdown began here in London so I think we are going to be in for a loooong wait. I rang the customer services team a few days after I lodged it (an Aussie number) and they said we should get some sort of acknowedgement and a reference number once the data has been transferred into their system, but to call back in a month if we've not heard anything. Called them on Monday, and they say it's not in their system yet. Suspect it's sitting in a post room gathering dust given everyone is working from home now. I don't know if we just got incredibly lucky or our personal application was just very straight forward. I lodged ours by myself filled out all the paperwork etc. Submitted it offshore in London in May 2019 and we had it by September 2019 moved out here in November 2019. I too was super worried/stressed about the the wait times I think they're more relevant to lodging it here in Australia so I am not looking forward to renewing it again in 4.5 years. Hopefully you'll get some update soon, it is pretty minimal though I believe I got 1 email to say they had recieved it/begun processing it and then next I heard it was all done. COVID19 is most likely slowing it all down though. We were lucky to get out here before it all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted May 21, 2020 Share Posted May 21, 2020 7 hours ago, Aleshia said: I don't know if we just got incredibly lucky or our personal application was just very straight forward. This was a perfectly standard processing time for 461 visas lodged in London last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_sparkles Posted May 23, 2020 Share Posted May 23, 2020 On 21/05/2020 at 02:18, Aleshia said: I don't know if we just got incredibly lucky or our personal application was just very straight forward. I lodged ours by myself filled out all the paperwork etc. Submitted it offshore in London in May 2019 and we had it by September 2019 moved out here in November 2019. I too was super worried/stressed about the the wait times I think they're more relevant to lodging it here in Australia so I am not looking forward to renewing it again in 4.5 years. Hopefully you'll get some update soon, it is pretty minimal though I believe I got 1 email to say they had recieved it/begun processing it and then next I heard it was all done. COVID19 is most likely slowing it all down though. We were lucky to get out here before it all. On 21/05/2020 at 10:09, paulhand said: This was a perfectly standard processing time for 461 visas lodged in London last year. On 21/05/2020 at 00:41, Jay M said: Same boat. My 461 application is 26 months old now. I've gotten a bridging Visa paper but no acknowledgement / reference number. Called them number of times before, they said they couldn't provide information on this type of visa application - very very frustrating. 75% of applications: Unavailable due to low volume of applications. 90% of applications: Unavailable due to low volume of applications. That is interesting to know about timescale for applications submitted in London. I can only hope that it's still fairly short, although COVID will be impacting things now for sure. There must be a lot of this stuff that can be done remotely if people are working from home. However it doesn't seem like they are processing anything right now as the timeframes on the website have stopped being updated. I started tracking them in March (more out of curiosity than anything else), but they've stopped being updated as Jay M pointed out. I am willing to bet that its definitely NOT due to low volume of applications. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joycey90 Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 On 29/04/2020 at 22:56, kiwi_sparkles said: Does anyone on this thread have any updates? Finding other peoples experiences for 461s applications is proving tricky. Lots of peeps posting info on other visa types, but not 461! Processing time, as of 28 Apr 2020 is now 33 months for 90% (I am sure it was <30 at the start of 2020) but strangely I'm sure the 75% timeframe has dropped since last month, from 27 to 25 months. I am now keeping a spreadsheet to track this - mostly out of curiousity. We only lodged my husbands application last month, just before the COVID lockdown began here in London so I think we are going to be in for a loooong wait. I rang the customer services team a few days after I lodged it (an Aussie number) and they said we should get some sort of acknowedgement and a reference number once the data has been transferred into their system, but to call back in a month if we've not heard anything. Called them on Monday, and they say it's not in their system yet. Suspect it's sitting in a post room gathering dust given everyone is working from home now. Hey mate sorry to hear this. Any update on it? I lodged my 461 renewal via registered post last week and i am waiting for them to acknowledge they received it. not knowing they have even got it after all the work i put into it is pretty stressful. Any update from your side or can anyone tell me if you get an email from home affairs once they get the application?thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 33 minutes ago, Joycey90 said: Hey mate sorry to hear this. Any update on it? I lodged my 461 renewal via registered post last week and i am waiting for them to acknowledge they received it. not knowing they have even got it after all the work i put into it is pretty stressful. Any update from your side or can anyone tell me if you get an email from home affairs once they get the application?thanks Lodged where? Most postal apps are facing delays in acknowledgement as staffing levels at most offices are low for obvious reasons. If you sent it by registered post you should be able to confirm delivery and then it's just a case of waiting for them to get around to opening it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joycey90 Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 13 minutes ago, paulhand said: Lodged where? Most postal apps are facing delays in acknowledgement as staffing levels at most offices are low for obvious reasons. If you sent it by registered post you should be able to confirm delivery and then it's just a case of waiting for them to get around to opening it. Lodged in SYDNEY to the postal address provided (GPO BOX 9984 SYDNEY 2001) Yes the registered post has confirmed delivery i was just wondering once they do open it will it will they acknowledge they received it straight away and how long is it normally before they bother to open it? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_sparkles Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 2 hours ago, Joycey90 said: Hey mate sorry to hear this. Any update on it? I lodged my 461 renewal via registered post last week and i am waiting for them to acknowledge they received it. not knowing they have even got it after all the work i put into it is pretty stressful. Any update from your side or can anyone tell me if you get an email from home affairs once they get the application?thanks It probably won't help much, as we lodged in London. However we've not had any acknowledgement, other than the confirmation from the courier to say it was delivered back in March. From my digging around on the web, it seems some people have received acknowledgement in the past, and other's haven't. At one point I did ring the number on the immigration website and some poor bugger (it goes through to Oz, and it must have been about 3am over there) went off to look in their system. They said all the 461 documentation gets uploaded into the system (which begs the question, why the hell do we have to send paper docs in the first place?!) and that he couldn't see that it had been uploaded yet... But as Paulhand says the world has been in lock down, so while it's annoying I'm not surprised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulhand Posted June 10, 2020 Share Posted June 10, 2020 Pre-COVID both London & Sydney issued acknowledgments, usually within 24 hours or so, for 461 applications. Beats me why they haven’t taken this online as well ... it’s basically a partner visa. I can’t see why it would be hard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joycey90 Posted June 11, 2020 Share Posted June 11, 2020 Good news they have acknowledged they recieved it and i have been granted a bridging visa. Now must wait i guess 2 years for the visa grant 8 hours ago, paulhand said: Pre-COVID both London & Sydney issued acknowledgments, usually within 24 hours or so, for 461 applications. Beats me why they haven’t taken this online as well ... it’s basically a partner visa. I can’t see why it would be hard. 17 hours ago, paulhand said: Lodged where? Most postal apps are facing delays in acknowledgement as staffing levels at most offices are low for obvious reasons. If you sent it by registered post you should be able to confirm delivery and then it's just a case of Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwi_sparkles Posted June 12, 2020 Share Posted June 12, 2020 On 10/06/2020 at 19:49, paulhand said: Pre-COVID both London & Sydney issued acknowledgments, usually within 24 hours or so, for 461 applications. Beats me why they haven’t taken this online as well ... it’s basically a partner visa. I can’t see why it would be hard. @paulhand you are an excellent source of intel Here's hoping our application hasn't fallen down the back of a cabinet somewhere. On 11/06/2020 at 04:06, Joycey90 said: Good news they have acknowledged they recieved it and i have been granted a bridging visa. Now must wait i guess 2 years for the visa grant @Joycey90 that's great news indeed. I'm currently looking at the temps in Brisbane, where it's coming into winter.... and it's warmer than our London summer. Hurry up visa!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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