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visitor visa 600 and pandemic


Greensgran

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hi,We were granted a 600 visa last year which expires in May 2021, We are UK citizens and had already been on a 600 visa visiting our family, As the situation is not improving,wait for vaccinations and few flights available,we would like to extend this visa. We cannot find any information,the phone line is of no use,and a current email address for information seems unavailable. The last 600 we had we stayed for one year,departed the country for six months,then had another year. Do we have to apply and pay again for another 600 visa or can the six months off shore be waived? If someone else has been in this situation and can offer some advice would be grateful. We support ourselves,family are Australian citizens but we cannot apply for permenant migration as we do not meet the balance of family,Thanks.

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21 hours ago, Greensgran said:

hi,We were granted a 600 visa last year which expires in May 2021, We are UK citizens and had already been on a 600 visa visiting our family, As the situation is not improving,wait for vaccinations and few flights available,we would like to extend this visa. We cannot find any information,the phone line is of no use,and a current email address for information seems unavailable. The last 600 we had we stayed for one year,departed the country for six months,then had another year. Do we have to apply and pay again for another 600 visa or can the six months off shore be waived? If someone else has been in this situation and can offer some advice would be grateful. We support ourselves,family are Australian citizens but we cannot apply for permenant migration as we do not meet the balance of family,Thanks.

I cannot help re your visa but in terms of the situation isn’t improving - In the U.K. the situation is very much improving. We now have a third of the population vaccinated and the R rate has gone from around 1.4 to between 0.6 and 0.8. That means it’s getting less and less all the time. We’ve gone from about 39 thousand new cases a day to about 6 thousand in a matter of a few months. We’re not there yet but we are on the runway. In terms of vaccines, most of the U.K. are now vaccinating the over 50’s so assuming you’re that age or over you’d get a vaccine pretty quick on return I’d imagine. Flights may be a problem but if you’re returning to your usual place of residency you should be able to grab a flight over the next few months.  I hope that gives you a bit of reassurance and I wish you the best of luck. 

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would not be happy to fly until we have been vaccinated,don't know when that will happen here. Yes UK is improving but still a risk. Quarentine is also in place. Australia is a much safer place for a bit longer. If we could speak to someone about this it would help but as I said the phone line does not give any information of use.

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30 minutes ago, Greensgran said:

would not be happy to fly until we have been vaccinated,don't know when that will happen here. Yes UK is improving but still a risk. Quarentine is also in place. Australia is a much safer place for a bit longer. If we could speak to someone about this it would help but as I said the phone line does not give any information of use.

I don't see what else you can do, other than try applying for a new visa and hope they will grant it.  Realistically, there is nothing to stop you flying home now (except the fact that you feel safer here), so you can't really claim extenuating circumstances. 

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2 hours ago, Greensgran said:

would not be happy to fly until we have been vaccinated,don't know when that will happen here. Yes UK is improving but still a risk. Quarentine is also in place. Australia is a much safer place for a bit longer. If we could speak to someone about this it would help but as I said the phone line does not give any information of use.

You should speak to a registered migration agent. 

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3 hours ago, Greensgran said:

would not be happy to fly until we have been vaccinated,don't know when that will happen here. Yes UK is improving but still a risk. Quarentine is also in place. Australia is a much safer place for a bit longer. If we could speak to someone about this it would help but as I said the phone line does not give any information of use.

Of course Australia is still the safer place but that may not be enough reason to allow you to extend your tourist visa.  You said things aren’t improving and I pointed out they very much are.  You should contact an agent as Paul suggested, he himself is one.  

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3 hours ago, Greensgran said:

would not be happy to fly until we have been vaccinated,don't know when that will happen here. Yes UK is improving but still a risk. Quarentine is also in place. Australia is a much safer place for a bit longer. If we could speak to someone about this it would help but as I said the phone line does not give any information of use.

Realistically are you sure you could get vaccinated in Australia?? Surely the supplies are solely for the use of Australian PR and citizens not visitors?? 

Edited by LindaH27
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23 minutes ago, LindaH27 said:

Realistically are you sure you could get vaccinated in Australia?? Surely the supplies are solely for the use of Australian PR and citizens not visitors?? 

I’m sure that would be the case too. I booked my vaccine in the U.K. this week and had to either provide my NHS number which I didn’t have to hand or answer a number of questions. That surely shows citizens/PR get the vaccine only, certainly at the minute. It could be that temporary visa holders in the U.K. can access the vaccine via a different method simply because of the dire need to get the virus under control here. That wouldn’t be the case in Australia.  
 

Based on Australia having pretty much zero cases, a flight leaving there would be very safe as the passengers would be Covid free. A direct flight from Perth to the U.K. is a winner as it doesn’t even touch down part way. 

Edited by Tulip1
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1 hour ago, LindaH27 said:

Realistically are you sure you could get vaccinated in Australia?? Surely the supplies are solely for the use of Australian PR and citizens not visitors?? 

 

 

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/health-and-vaccine

Free COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone in Australia, including to all Australian visa holders living in the community.

This will include:

  • all permanent and temporary visa holders
  • refugees
  • asylum seekers
  • temporary protection visa holders, and
  • bridging visa holders.

People living in detention facilities will also be eligible.

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2 hours ago, Nemesis said:

 

 

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/health-and-vaccine

Free COVID-19 vaccines are available to everyone in Australia, including to all Australian visa holders living in the community.

This will include:

  • all permanent and temporary visa holders
  • refugees
  • asylum seekers
  • temporary protection visa holders, and
  • bridging visa holders.

People living in detention facilities will also be eligible.

That’s good to hear. 

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16 hours ago, LindaH27 said:

Realistically are you sure you could get vaccinated in Australia?? Surely the supplies are solely for the use of Australian PR and citizens not visitors?? 

The Australian government policy is to vaccinate everybody, regardless of immigration status.

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16 hours ago, Tulip1 said:

I’m sure that would be the case too. I booked my vaccine in the U.K. this week and had to either provide my NHS number which I didn’t have to hand or answer a number of questions. That surely shows citizens/PR get the vaccine only, certainly at the minute. It could be that temporary visa holders in the U.K. can access the vaccine via a different method simply because of the dire need to get the virus under control here. That wouldn’t be the case in Australia.  
 

Based on Australia having pretty much zero cases, a flight leaving there would be very safe as the passengers would be Covid free. A direct flight from Perth to the U.K. is a winner as it doesn’t even touch down part way. 

I've booked my vaccination for later this month - I had to supply my medicare card number

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