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

[Guest sweet tooth]

My co's initials are MN - think I'd better phone... thanks for letting us know.

 

So are mine :sad:

[Guest sweet tooth]

Hey there,

 

Originally MN and now JF? It's so frustrating... if I hadn't have called our file could have potentially 'got lost' in the pile as the new CO was not aware of our case at all.

 

Keep me posted on your progress as our applications are days apart. fingers crossed hey!

 

 

Hey KayJ,

Uh oh, my heart skipped alittle beat after just reading your initials. My CO are the same. Last email contact I had was on 18th August just saying my file had been update after my partner and I got engaged. Perhaps I shall give them a call, although I don't want to hassle the new person with lots of people ringing up!:unsure:

[tloring]

My first contribution to this thread, although I have been reading it for ages. I am British, my wife is Australian, we have two children born in UK but Australian by Descent. We currently all live in UK but are looking to migrate next year - Jul'11. Therefore, it is only me that needs to apply for Migration visa (Partner Migration - subclass 309)

 

As of tonight I have completed everything for my application (2 painful months in the preparation!). We have not use an agent as I figured that our case is relatively straight-forward. Only complexity is that my wife has been in UK for 10 years and as my sponsor has had to provide additional commentary on how she will be able to fulfil her sponsorship duties once in Oz - but we are taking quite a bit of money & assets when we migrate, which we have declared in the evidence, so hopefully this will help.

 

Character (police) checks done - tick. Meds done last weekend at Brentwood Hartswood Hospital - tick. All statutory declarations and evidence done - tick. 47SP, 80 & 40SP all done - tick. All necessary certified documents done - tick.

 

So I will be submitting tomorrow via special delivery to Australian Embassy, London. The clock will start ticking then and I will keep this thread updated with the timeline.

 

Fingers crossed.

[Guest sweet tooth]

Sounds like you are well on top of things. Best of luck with submitting you application & welcome to the waiting club!

[Guest GeorgeD]

Wow, just seen your time line - you may have your visa in a week! That would be superb! Fingers crossed for you. Can't believe I might still have 2 more months of this to do. I never imagined it would be this hard waiting. :arghh:

 

I got engaged when my fiancee was back in the UK in Jan/Feb. I got a pay off from my work while she was here which was just prior to a load of redundancies being announced (so I got more than redundancy pay.) She went back to Oz for 8 weeks then returned to the UK and we were married on Easter Sunday (4th April.) I organised the whole wedding from start to finish in 8 weeks! At the same time I redecorated my entire house and put it on the market for sale.

 

My wife went back to Oz and the whole visa application started...and stopped! It's amazing how people you thought could be counted on could so easily let you down...it got to the stage I had to stand over people to write stat decs, they just never bothered filling them in. You give them the paperwork and weeks go by without them doing them...you ask, I'll do it tonight, but it never gets done! Then the people in Oz did theirs and didn't bother to copy their passports, etc, so we had to wait a week for them to be sent over, etc. We finally got the application completed and in...so I went a holiday to Oz for 10 weeks...during which time my wife had a major operation and we moved house in Australia too! So now I'm back in the UK and have absolutely nothing to do. I'm bored! And having time on my hands means I have time to worry!! I don't want to get a job as I could be leaving the country in two weeks and don't want to let an employer down. Having no job also means our savings are starting to dwindle...when I quit work 6 months ago I thought I would've been in Oz for 3 months by now!! At this point I still don't actually know if I will be given a visa either! The doctor at my medical said my blood pressure was a bit high (I had a nightmare time getting there, was half an hour late, etc, they had cancelled 3 times, there was a mix up with the booking, you name it)...so there is a chance I could do all this and have failed the medical!

 

So see all the people who say "just post off the application, forget about it and you'll see the visa when they're good and ready to give you it"...well why don't you step out here into the real world for a second and see what it's really like!!

 

So the full time line for the last 6 months or so should include:

 

Engagements - 1

Weddings - 1

Houses Sold - 1

Houses redecorated - 1

Houses on the market still to sell -1

Jobs lost - 1

Major Operations - 1

House Moves - 1

Visas applied for - 1

 

Out of all of this, in terms of stress, the wedding was the easiest and the visa was the hardest!!

 

And despite all of this...I've still managed to not pester my CO! I'll wait until a week on Friday before I make my first ever phone call to her to ask "so, about this visa then..." :biggrin: That said...4 months is actually much, much quicker than most other visas, and UK based applications are quicker than this visa in most other parts of the world, so I really should be grateful for something at least.

[KayJ]

Hey KayJ,

Uh oh, my heart skipped alittle beat after just reading your initials. My CO are the same. Last email contact I had was on 18th August just saying my file had been update after my partner and I got engaged. Perhaps I shall give them a call, although I don't want to hassle the new person with lots of people ringing up!:unsure:

 

 

Oh no, please don't panic as I'm sure your file is in safe hands... I suspect I was just unlucky. Why don't you give your CO a one line email to say something along the lines of 'I just wondered how things were going and whether you needed anything else' and wait to see if you get an undeliverable message like I did?! If so, then yes I would call just to check your file is being dealt with and hasn't slipped of their radar in the hand over - I don't see that there is any problem with that. And it's certainly not hassling.

 

KJ xx

[Peach]

So see all the people who say "just post off the application, forget about it and you'll see the visa when they're good and ready to give you it"...well why don't you step out here into the real world for a second and see what it's really like!!

 

I beg your pardon? I feel I need to defend myself here.. I spent 10 days short of 6 months waiting for my visa. During this time I stressed and worried like everyone. Went on a crash diet, had my blood presssure monitored, panic'd about the medical. Ranted and raved at my partner, my CO, my agent. I got a little more bitter when I read "I can't bear to be a away from my partner, so arriving on a tourist visa" or that someone who applied after got their visa ahead of me. I made myself a pain in the ass at Australia House and at home.

 

And do you know what? For all the banging my head against the wall: I didn't get my visa a single day sooner than when the CO wanted to grant it. All I had to show for my stress was a sore head. So I stand by what I consider to be good advice, the best thing to do is to try not to obsess about getting your visa... and sincerely I wish that was advice I'd followed.

 

Rant over.. :hug:

[Guest GeorgeD]

I beg your pardon? I feel I need to defend myself here..

 

Actually, I wasn't thinking about you Peach...but now you come to mention it...lol!! Actually your escapades on the visa trail have been somewhat encouraging from my perspective...particularly the blood pressure tales on your blog.

 

There is hope for us all, and you are absolutely right about not stressing, but some people can do it easier than others...unfortunately I seem to be one of the latter people. Having said that, I haven't actually phoned or emailed my CO to ask what is happening with my application, so from that perspective she possibly doesn't see me as a pest (yet). The temptation to jump on the phone is extremely high, but I haven't succumbed...and the odd rant on PIO helps me keep away from the phone for just that little bit longer, so please indulge me a little!

 

I've always had control over the really big decisions in life, but for once, this time I don't and am really at the mercy of someone who I've never met...that's just a little bit scary!

[emmaroo]

I So see all the people who say "just post off the application, forget about it and you'll see the visa when they're good and ready to give you it"...well why don't you step out here into the real world for a second and see what it's really like!!

 

 

 

No arguing you have been through a lot but I think it's unfair to say that people just post off the application and forget all about it!

 

I think everyone has a different experience when applying for a visa and some will be more anxious than others but I doubt there will be many that just forget about it!

 

Emma

:hug:

[Guest Peer]

Hi guys,

Visa arrived yesterday. My CO said she would contact me in the first week of Sept (the 7th Sept would be exactly 4 months from the date they took my money and 4 months + 2 days after my application was received). I waited, stressed, waited and stressed a lot more. Eventually once the 1st week of September was up I called her. An hour later the visa email arrived saying I have been granted the visa. She called me and apologised for the delay and thanked me for being patient.

All the best of luck to everyone still waiting. I would trust what the CO says on dates but if you pass that deadline then call, email etc and remind them you are still waiting patiently.

[sharonp53]

Oh God, the stress. My OH just called his CO but only an AM - should he leave a message, should he keep trying, should he email? Oh I HATE this uncertainty.

 

Help!!! :arghh:

 

Opps - so sorry Peers - I am thrilled for you - Honest I am!

 

Stressed - whose stressed? Not me .....honest guv.....aaaaargh...

 

 

Hi guys,

Visa arrived yesterday. My CO said she would contact me in the first week of Sept (the 7th Sept would be exactly 4 months from the date they took my money and 4 months + 2 days after my application was received). I waited, stressed, waited and stressed a lot more. Eventually once the 1st week of September was up I called her. An hour later the visa email arrived saying I have been granted the visa. She called me and apologised for the delay and thanked me for being patient.

All the best of luck to everyone still waiting. I would trust what the CO says on dates but if you pass that deadline then call, email etc and remind them you are still waiting patiently.

[emmaroo]

Hi guys,

Visa arrived yesterday. My CO said she would contact me in the first week of Sept (the 7th Sept would be exactly 4 months from the date they took my money and 4 months + 2 days after my application was received). I waited, stressed, waited and stressed a lot more. Eventually once the 1st week of September was up I called her. An hour later the visa email arrived saying I have been granted the visa. She called me and apologised for the delay and thanked me for being patient.

All the best of luck to everyone still waiting. I would trust what the CO says on dates but if you pass that deadline then call, email etc and remind them you are still waiting patiently.

 

Congratualtions!

:hug:

[Guest Peer]

should he leave a message

 

I left a message and got a reply within the hour - leave a voice mail answerphone message

 

good luck

 

:smile:

[Guest The Simmo Bunch]

I sent off my aplication on 20th May, told to contact them on 2nd August which i did, then told another 5 weeks, so emailed this morning exactly 5 weeks later and got the email saying i have got my visa. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

[sharonp53]

Congratulations!!

 

Was it a 309 or a 100?

 

Now it's time for you to celebrate :jimlad:

 

I sent off my aplication on 20th May, told to contact them on 2nd August which i did, then told another 5 weeks, so emailed this morning exactly 5 weeks later and got the email saying i have got my visa. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

[Guest The Simmo Bunch]

Thanks alot, it was a 100.

 

We sure will celebrate big time :smile::smile:

[Guest GeorgeD]

Stressed - whose stressed? Not me .....honest guv.....aaaaargh...

 

No, nobody stressed here...not us! Don't know how you do it Sharonp35, you've been waiting longer than most of us here!

 

I think everyone has a different experience when applying for a visa and some will be more anxious than others but I doubt there will be many that just forget about it!

 

You're absolutely right...people on here are unlikely to forget about it...friends and family seem to think it is a much more casual affair unfortunately and don't appreciate the strain sometimes!

[Guest GeorgeD]

I sent off my aplication on 20th May, told to contact them on 2nd August which i did, then told another 5 weeks, so emailed this morning exactly 5 weeks later and got the email saying i have got my visa. Good luck to everyone still waiting.

 

Congratulations!! Great to see another success story.

 

After the relatively quiet past few weeks, I'm almost tempted to say they are coming through thick and fast now!!

[sharonp53]

Oh GeorgeD,

 

You know only too well - you NEVER get used to it. It is now 5 months and 3 days since our application went in - and two and a half hours since Graham rang to try to speak to the CO, leaving a message to please call back! But, who's counting?

 

Oh thank God my grey hairs can be covered up! Not sure my arteries will ever be the same again.

 

Cheers for now :eek:

 

No, nobody stressed here...not us! Don't know how you do it Sharonp35, you've been waiting longer than most of us here!

 

 

 

You're absolutely right...people on here are unlikely to forget about it...friends and family seem to think it is a much more casual affair unfortunately and don't appreciate the strain sometimes!

[emmaroo]

You're absolutely right...people on here are unlikely to forget about it...friends and family seem to think it is a much more casual affair unfortunately and don't appreciate the strain sometimes!

 

You sound like your about to blow a gasket! It is a very stressfull time and as you say I dont think friends realise just how much is dependant on the visa being granted!

 

Have a hug from me and try not to worry too much- visa will be with you soon!

:hug:

Emma

[Guest GeorgeD]

You sound like your about to blow a gasket!

 

Never a truer word spoken!

 

I probably wouldn't be happy if there wasn't some sort of drama, so apologies if I am prone to blowing off some steam now and again!

[sharonp53]

It would help if the agent would actually DO something for the small fortune we paid him. He just told me that "if I write an email to him he will pass it on to the CO". He also said the COs do not anwer their phones and there are very strict rules as to when they should be contacted.

 

Of course, I can make the contact myself, by am I wrong to expect more? If only I had used one of the agents suggested on here instead of mine! Beware of agents that have not been personally recommended. :mad:

 

Thanks for the hug Emmaroo x

 

You're absolutely right...people on here are unlikely to forget about it...friends and family seem to think it is a much more casual affair unfortunately and don't appreciate the strain sometimes!

 

You sound like your about to blow a gasket! It is a very stressfull time and as you say I dont think friends realise just how much is dependant on the visa being granted!

 

Have a hug from me and try not to worry too much- visa will be with you soon!

:hug:

Emma

[wakeboard1980]

Congrats to you two that have just received visas.

[sharonp53]

Oh my goodness, what a night we have ahead of us!

 

Turns out our CO is away today, we just had a call from a collegue that was taking calls. He told us that he thought we should have a grant in a few days, but was not sure if there was anything not showing on the file, so not to hold him to it. Our CO is back tomorrow :unsure:

 

Fingers crossed, in fact everything that can be crossed will be crossed. Hopefully it will be our turn to celebrate tomorrow - pleaseeee!

[Hettybetty]

Hi guys,

Visa arrived yesterday. My CO said she would contact me in the first week of Sept (the 7th Sept would be exactly 4 months from the date they took my money and 4 months + 2 days after my application was received). I waited, stressed, waited and stressed a lot more. Eventually once the 1st week of September was up I called her. An hour later the visa email arrived saying I have been granted the visa. She called me and apologised for the delay and thanked me for being patient.

All the best of luck to everyone still waiting. I would trust what the CO says on dates but if you pass that deadline then call, email etc and remind them you are still waiting patiently.

 

 

Great news :wubclub: