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

[Guest Tillyloola]

I have an email from my case officer saying the visa in on track for late April so I hope it goes to plan! I'll let you know. Bought the flight in the Qantas sale - going via the US for the extra baggage allowance and to visit friends in California and can only change the bit from LA to Melbourne, not the bit from London to LA. So worst case scenario is having to shell out for another flight to LA, probably not at sale prices.

 

From what I have read, if they give you an indication of a date I think they normally stick pretty close to the date, so you should be fine.:wink:

 

Hi waiting patiently.. Ive DP, dont really know anything bout him.. Do you?? dont know anything bout SV either.. Sorry!!!

 

We have the same CO, our files are most probably sitting next to one another lol

[Guest halfad]

Our CO is also SV. Very very very slow. Told us it takes 3 weeks to respond to general queries. Never acknowledged our emails or post after requesting further info (after 6 weeks we called and she confirmed she received).

Also not very pleasant and intimidating on the phone. Told me abruptly that application time takes 5 months regardless. Didn't want to get into an argument with her by saying surely that's an indicative time only from IMMI.

 

I understand that CO's are under pressure however we've paid alot of money and put alot of effort into our application its very frustrating dealing with this person :arghh:

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to anyone with this CO however fore warned is fore armed

[Peach]

Our CO is also SV. Very very very slow. Told us it takes 3 weeks to respond to general queries. Never acknowledged our emails or post after requesting further info (after 6 weeks we called and she confirmed she received).

Also not very pleasant and intimidating on the phone. Told me abruptly that application time takes 5 months regardless. Didn't want to get into an argument with her by saying surely that's an indicative time only from IMMI.

 

I understand that CO's are under pressure however we've paid alot of money and put alot of effort into our application its very frustrating dealing with this person :arghh:

 

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news to anyone with this CO however fore warned is fore armed

 

I had SV as a CO last year and I feel a need to defend her. What you don't seem to have sympathy for is that very few of the decisions that your Case Officer has to make are at their personal discretion.

 

What I failed to grasp and was hammered home by my agent is that despite paying a fee to DIAC, the Case Officer's don't work for the applicant. Their role is to act for the government and tax payers of Australia.

 

Having waited 5 months for my visa at the beginning of 2010 (where if I'd submitted it two weeks earlier would have got in weeks not months) I do understand your frustration.

 

With the benefit of hindsight, if SV seems slow it is not that she is being obstructive it is just that she doesn't have any new information to share. For reasons unbeknownst to any of us, these things now take time and you should think ill of or shoot the messenger.

[Guest halfad]

Sorry Peach but I have to disagree. The person was abrupt (almost rude) on the phone. They didn't have the decency to acknowledge the further information they requested. All we wanted was a one line email saying documents received, thank you. We weren't looking for a status update. We'd had documents go missing previously so we're pretty anxious and cautious about anything we send to AH (they were registered and signed for but still managed to go missing)

Yes they have job to do on behalf of the Australian taxpayer, they do not work for the applicant however civility costs nothing.

[Guest LoznWill]

Sorry Peach but I have to disagree. The person was abrupt (almost rude) on the phone. They didn't have the decency to acknowledge the further information they requested. All we wanted was a one line email saying documents received, thank you. We weren't looking for a status update. We'd had documents go missing previously so we're pretty anxious and cautious about anything we send to AH (they were registered and signed for but still managed to go missing)

Yes they have job to do on behalf of the Australian taxpayer, they do not work for the applicant however civility costs nothing.

 

Hi - Am agreeing with you both. Yes surely don't shoot the messenger, but clear consistent communication from any business/department should be a baseline service, not a luxury. As I am an Australian Taxpayer I therefore am a client of theirs!!

 

They must also understand that this is people's lives they are dealing with and should be sensitive to the anxiety and ambiguity this whole process induces. We have not yet had a case officer assigned but I do hope it's someone nice - i think I might cry if they were mean.

 

And to all the others having to wait for the visa while apart from their spouses - I hear ya! Will and I have had to endure 8 weeks apart, 3 weeks together for close to a year now. Hopefully we will all be in the same country soon and party time in Echuca sounds awesome!!

 

Loz n Will

[Guest sinead]

We have the same CO, our files are most probably sitting next to one another lol

When did you send yours in?? Wonder who's he'll do first!!!!!:biglaugh:

[Guest sinead]

woopsie, that above post was for Tillyloola!!!

[Guest sinead]

omg!!!! i just got all of my originals and photos and that back in the post today!! Is that a good or a bad thing???

[Peach]

omg!!!! i just got all of my originals and photos and that back in the post today!! Is that a good or a bad thing???

 

Just means your CO has scanned in everything she needs and is returning the originals to you as a courtesy..

[Guest sinead]

Just means your CO has scanned in everything she needs and is returning the originals to you as a courtesy..

 

oh YAY!!!! thanks!!!! its all coming together..... :biggrin:

[Guest Tillyloola]

We have the same CO, our files are most probably sitting next to one another lol

When did you send yours in?? Wonder who's he'll do first!!!!!:biglaugh:

 

Looks like yours was a day before me. My money was take on the 9th so I fully expect yours to be dealt with first.:wink:

 

 

Funny enough I got a receipt through the post today, I thought that you had to request one. It also looks like they are just automatically considering me for PR. We have been together for eleven years so I am entitled but I didn't have a massive amount of official paper work so I didn't specifically ask for it to be considered in case it ruined my chances all together.

[Guest sinead]

When did you send yours in?? Wonder who's he'll do first!!!!!:biglaugh:

 

Looks like yours was a day before me. My money was take on the 9th so I fully expect yours to be dealt with first.:wink:

 

 

Funny enough I got a receipt through the post today, I thought that you had to request one. It also looks like they are just automatically considering me for PR. We have been together for eleven years so I am entitled but I didn't have a massive amount of official paper work so I didn't specifically ask for it to be considered in case it ruined my chances all together.

 

We got a receipt today aswell!!!:biggrin: How do you know if your getting considered for PR?? I didnt ask for it either.. Have you emailed him a lot?? ive just sent acknowldegment e-mails?? dunno what else to be saying!!!! Did you front load?? i only sent the police/garda check in.. dont have the medical until 11th April!!! :sad:

[Guest sinead]

sorry that previous post is all weirdly quoted.. dunno whathappened!!!

[Guest Tillyloola]

sorry that previous post is all weirdly quoted.. dunno whathappened!!!

 

Don't worry, it looks the the quote buttons are having a bad monday morning.

 

On my receipt under service details it says item 100 qty 001 partner. Now I am assuming that the item 100 is the subclass visa which is the PR one. Now I may be reading way to much into that and it may mean nothing more that its a bit of a coincidence. I have read about other people's COs contacting them to say supply more info from the last three years and we can put you down for PR without them asking for it as well, so I guess its something that they may well do. I would assume that they would be pretty keen to get anything off their desks that doesn't need to be there.

 

I've not spoken to DP as yet but I have to contact him today to send a change of circs form to him (husband has changed jobs) and I also need to let him know that I'm going on Friday. I'll give him 24 hours to respond then I will have to call him to get his OK because my date is coming up fast.

 

I'm in the camp of don't contact them so much as they are using your photos to pin on voodoo dolls, but at the same time contact them just enough so they know who you are.

[Guest Tillyloola]

Oh forgot to say, I did fully front load. Medicals were done in Feb and I had to get both English and Australian police checks which were done in Jan. It seemed easier to do this as I'm going over there for a while.

[Guest sinead]

Don't worry, it looks the the quote buttons are having a bad monday morning.

 

On my receipt under service details it says item 100 qty 001 partner. Now I am assuming that the item 100 is the subclass visa which is the PR one. Now I may be reading way to much into that and it may mean nothing more that its a bit of a coincidence. I have read about other people's COs contacting them to say supply more info from the last three years and we can put you down for PR without them asking for it as well, so I guess its something that they may well do. I would assume that they would be pretty keen to get anything off their desks that doesn't need to be there.

 

I've not spoken to DP as yet but I have to contact him today to send a change of circs form to him (husband has changed jobs) and I also need to let him know that I'm going on Friday. I'll give him 24 hours to respond then I will have to call him to get his OK because my date is coming up fast.

 

I'm in the camp of don't contact them so much as they are using your photos to pin on voodoo dolls, but at the same time contact them just enough so they know who you are.

 

OMG!!! mine says that aswell!!! 100 001 PARTNER? I didnt even look proply at the reciept!!! I hope your rite!! we've 2 ids and married, together 7yrs... So Hopefully he will!!! This whole process is just to damn exciting!!!:biglaugh:

[Guest WaitingPatiently]

My CO is MT if that helps. Fingers crossed!

 

Thanks K1tty! Fingers crossed for you to get your visa in late April too. We have our fingers crossed for June/July (5-6months) but secretly hope for 4 months in May! Keep us posted on your news so we can live through your success. :biggrin:

[Guest WaitingPatiently]

I had SV as a CO last year and I feel a need to defend her. What you don't seem to have sympathy for is that very few of the decisions that your Case Officer has to make are at their personal discretion.

 

What I failed to grasp and was hammered home by my agent is that despite paying a fee to DIAC, the Case Officer's don't work for the applicant. Their role is to act for the government and tax payers of Australia.

 

Having waited 5 months for my visa at the beginning of 2010 (where if I'd submitted it two weeks earlier would have got in weeks not months) I do understand your frustration.

 

With the benefit of hindsight, if SV seems slow it is not that she is being obstructive it is just that she doesn't have any new information to share. For reasons unbeknownst to any of us, these things now take time and you should think ill of or shoot the messenger.

 

I do agree in some ways Peach, I didn't mean to open up a can of worms on individual CO's. It is definitely not personal and the CO's are doing their job for the Australian citizens (I am one so I do appreciate it!). I am not really even bothered if they are abrupt or at times rude. What I do find frustrating is that some CO's seem to be more flexible in consistenly granting visas prior to the 5 months while others are sticklers for the rules and refuse to be flexible. It means the processing times are not equal depending on which CO you happen to get and this would be an interesting statistic for AH or immi to look at however I'm sure they are far to busy for that. Although the waiting is frustrating (even more so for us as we'd really like to be together for the birth of our first child!!) the most important thing is that the procressing criteria are adhered to and the right people are getting the visas. So for all of us who clearly meet the criteria it should only be the waiting that's frustrating and fingers crossed the rest of the process is as pain free as possible for us all! I should just accept that I have a CO who is a stickler for the rules and go back to doing what I set out to do an "Wait patiently" and really hope the baby doesn't come early!! Good luck all xx

[pinup]

I was in the same position and asked the embassy if we could just send copies and they said no because it has to be the original signature. Its so annoying but if you pay 43 aus dollars for priority posting you can get all the docs sent over within two days

 

 

 

No you don't get a receipt unless you request one, you just see the money leave the bank.

 

 

I got my CO e-mail, couldn't be happier at this point. :jiggy: I have DP apparently

I'm off to Emerald in Queensland initially as my husband works out that way but after a few months were heading to the sunshine coast. I want to move to Melbourne but my husband wont leave Queensland.

 

Thanks for that Tillyloola, just as I suspected! Grrr, two days is good though and with the mounting costs 43 bucks wont make a huge difference!

[mcsyl]

Hi everyone,

 

I have question to everyone who had their visas approved offshore... As we don't have a label in the passport, is there anyway that we can check our visas from UK. I found out that to use VEVO i have to be in OZ so that i can set up a password.

It will be a nightmare to go to the airport and somebody to tell you sorry we cant find your visa!

[Guest Tillyloola]

Hi everyone,

 

I have question to everyone who had their visas approved offshore... As we don't have a label in the passport, is there anyway that we can check our visas from UK. I found out that to use VEVO i have to be in OZ so that i can set up a password.

It will be a nightmare to go to the airport and somebody to tell you sorry we cant find your visa!

 

I have no idea what VEVO is but your visa number should be in your grant letter and you can just call AH. You also can go to London and ask that they give you a visa label in your passport. From what I have read, it is really recommended that you do this as when you have to register for Medicare and all the other official things, they don't like to take your letter as proof, they want to see the actually label in your passport (why they don't understand that its an electronic grant is beyond me but hayho). This can also be beneficial to if your traveling in a country that might not have access to the immigration database. There have been stories about people being refused to board flights until immigration have confirmed that they have a visa

[Guest dadoftwins]

I have an email from my case officer saying the visa in on track for late April so I hope it goes to plan! I'll let you know. Bought the flight in the Qantas sale - going via the US for the extra baggage allowance and to visit friends in California and can only change the bit from LA to Melbourne, not the bit from London to LA. So worst case scenario is having to shell out for another flight to LA, probably not at sale prices.

 

 

That's the kind of promising news I like to hear. We received acknowledgement of receipt of our front-loaded app on 22/11/10 (haven't heard a thing since) and today is the 4 month mark. Fingers crossed we hear something in the next few weeks. We're using an agent, but the caseworker is PS.

[mcsyl]

I have no idea what VEVO is but your visa number should be in your grant letter and you can just call AH. You also can go to London and ask that they give you a visa label in your passport. From what I have read, it is really recommended that you do this as when you have to register for Medicare and all the other official things, they don't like to take your letter as proof, they want to see the actually label in your passport (why they don't understand that its an electronic grant is beyond me but hayho). This can also be beneficial to if your traveling in a country that might not have access to the immigration database. There have been stories about people being refused to board flights until immigration have confirmed that they have a visa

Hi Tillyloola and thank you for your reply.

 

I know it is a bit problematic without the visa label but as far as i know in AH, London just refuse to put it in even after has been requested. I was planning to get it once i am in Brisbane( if its needed).

 

Ah and by the way i don't have visa number on my official letter, there is still my ref case number!

 

VEVO is Visa Entitlement Verification Online - there is one for personal use and one for Organisations ( employers and government institutions ).

 

We are flying with Singapore airlines and i have very quick connection so we wont go out.

I also do not understand why is all this drama around the labels when people experience problems with the electronic visas.

I really hope someone who has been trough this to share his/her experience with me!

 

Good day to everyone and to you Tillyloola

[chrisandelaine]

we had had an email to say from the date of our letter from them, we will have a CO allocated to us within 3 months !!!!! and details if we wantt o go ahead and get our police checks and medicals.

is this usually the case and that we wil get a CO within that time, or will it be case we will be chasing them at 3 months.

 

we also worried if we went ahead and paid for meds and flights for them etc, then the CO says there are probs or for some unknown reason we cant get a Visa we will have wasted the money on the flights and meds.

 

any advice wud be gratefull.

[Peach]

we had had an email to say from the date of our letter from them, we will have a CO allocated to us within 3 months !!!!! and details if we wantt o go ahead and get our police checks and medicals.

is this usually the case and that we wil get a CO within that time, or will it be case we will be chasing them at 3 months.

 

we also worried if we went ahead and paid for meds and flights for them etc, then the CO says there are probs or for some unknown reason we cant get a Visa we will have wasted the money on the flights and meds.

 

any advice wud be gratefull.

 

I think you're talking about a different visa 175? (this thread is about partner visas - for when one of the partner is already an Aussie citizen or PR - and the rules are different).