SUMMARY: Spouse Visa Processing times OFFSHORE-UK. Please add your Stats.

[Guest]

Hi, my partner applied start of Nov too with CO DP. We have been told to expect it middle of March so hopefully wont be long now. I moved back home (aus) in April last year so been a loooongg time apart :-) Will be checking this post everyday now to see how everyone is going :-)

I dont think anyone else will take over the work but will keep my fingers crossed for you must be terrible for you not being together so hope yours comes through really quick.:biggrin:

[Guest Loz from Oz]

Simmiekisses - have you got the same co as me? DP?

[Guest joanneG]

Hi All

 

Thought i would add my stats to help keep all your hopes up;

 

309 visa application lodged: 13/10/11

Medicals and PC frontloaded.

C/O allocated 16/10/11 (although we didnt get informed)

Application approved: 15/2/12.

 

VF was case officer.

 

Both myself and my partner are British. I have sponsored him on my skilled visa even though i am not currently in Australia.

 

Flights booked for 17/4/12. Heading to Melbourne. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

[Guest Kirstin1989]

Loz from oz I have same co as you -DP. Applied for visa 309/100 visa in October 2011 still no visa

[braidwood]

JoanneG - congratulations! Now the real work begins getting ready. Hope your big move goes well for you both.

[Guest Kirstin1989]

I dont believe this after writing that comment an hour ago I have just got email from co granting my visa :biggrin: Good luck everyone thats them onto the October applicants

[Guest Bazinga]

I have DP too. I think he seems to grant after between 4-5 months. He's been brilliant actually, very helpful.

[braidwood]

Whoo Hoo - now they're coming in! Congrats Kirstin1989 - and roll on Novembers!

[Guest laroo76]

Congrats to all who's visas are coming through,, hopefully the November ones will start coming through soon!!

[Shigella]

Kind of OT but does anyone know whether you have to travel within a certain timeframe after your spouse visa is granted?

Just thinking about logistics with selling houses etc.

[Guest laroo76]

Kind of OT but does anyone know whether you have to travel within a certain timeframe after your spouse visa is granted?

Just thinking about logistics with selling houses etc.

I think its 12 months from the date of either your medicals or police checks, whichever came first. Basically they both have to be in date when you go to Australia. Thats what I have gathered from this site anyway!

[Guest]

I dont believe this after writing that comment an hour ago I have just got email from co granting my visa :biggrin: Good luck everyone thats them onto the October applicants

congrats kirstin 1989 on your visa:biggrin:

[llessur]

I dont believe this after writing that comment an hour ago I have just got email from co granting my visa :biggrin: Good luck everyone thats them onto the October applicants

 

Many congratulations and best of luck with your future adventure!

[Guest waffquinze]

Hi everyone,

 

Huge congratulations to everyone who has just had their visa granted, you must all be so happy and excited!!

 

I'm fairly close to the beginning of the process. The fee was taken on 29th Feb but I haven't heard anything since. How long can I expect to wait until I get a CO assigned? From what I gather the next stage will be to send in any further documents if requested and then go for my medical. Arrghhhh when will I hear something??

[braidwood]

Hi Waffquinze

 

We posted ours from Ireland by registered post on 1/11/11 - auspicious date! and got an email on 8/11/11 assigning a CO and requesting meds and police checks. You should have something in the next few days. Good luck with your application!

[Guest Bazinga]

I just spoke to our CO and I'm a bit disappointed. For some reason I thought we would go straight to a 100 (Got together August 2009, had a baby in June 2010, lived together from June 2010, got married in June 2011) but we will get the 309 sometime after May 23rd (applied Jan 24th). Apparently this is because we lived together for less than two years.

 

I will ask this somewhere else but what does the 309 mean in terms of my 6yr old going to school - will we be seen as perm or temp residents and will we have to pay?

[Guest Courty7105]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are about to submit our partner visa paperwork, but am just wondering your suggestions on whether to wait until we have the police and medical checks before applying? Also can anyone please guide me to information regarding getting the medicals done? Any assistance appreciated!! Thanks

[Guest laroo76]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are about to submit our partner visa paperwork, but am just wondering your suggestions on whether to wait until we have the police and medical checks before applying? Also can anyone please guide me to information regarding getting the medicals done? Any assistance appreciated!! Thanks

Hello

You can lodge it without. They seem to contact you pretty quickly (within a fortnight) to let you know who your case officer is and that you now need to get your medicals and police checks done. We applied for our police checks a couple of days before we lodged, but were advised not to do the medicals until requested. When they requested them, they gave us a list of places to get medicals done, and so you pick one and off you go. People have said they can vary in price (ours was £270) so it pays to call a few different ones, if you are able to get to different locations.

Hope that helps,,

ps, apparently when you finally get your visa, your meds and police checks have a one year validity, so you have one year from whichever one you get first to get into Australia to get your visa validated. Hope that makes sense!!

[Guest Bazinga]

For the medicals you can't get them until you get a case officer and a HAL number. Police Checks you can pre-do.

[aussiechick2006]

For the medicals you can't get them until you get a case officer and a HAL number. Police Checks you can pre-do.

 

You can get both police check and medical done before you send off your front loaded application. This is what we did. It doesn't make your application process any quicker, but we wanted to get it all off in one go as with my husbands job he can be away and out of the country quite a lot.

 

AC

[Guest Bazinga]

For the 309/100, you can't front load the medical at least not with the practice that we used in London.

[Guest laroo76]

You can get both police check and medical done before you send off your front loaded application. This is what we did. It doesn't make your application process any quicker, but we wanted to get it all off in one go as with my husbands job he can be away and out of the country quite a lot.

 

AC

We were also told we were not allowed to frontload, I emailed them before we lodged and they said no, we were to wait till we lodged and got our HAL number too?!

[Guest Bazinga]

You USED to be able to but you can't now. Or at least that is the official advice on the website and was my experience in January of this year.

[Guest Bazinga]

 

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/health-requirements/arranging-health-exam.htm#c look under 'when to arrange your health examination' So in the UK you can't do it before you lodge your application if you're applying for the 309/100

[Guest Courty7105]

Thanks so much for everyones advice, we will be lodging off shore in the UK.... but we are living in Northern Ireland....Does anyone know if there are medical clinics in Belfast or Dublin which we could use as opposed to flying to the UK! Thanks again for everyones help!!