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

[Guest donnabeer74]

Thanks guys. We are hoping they will look favourably at the fact that we have already got our daughter citizenship by Descent and we are applying for the same for our son - that just leaves my husband

 

We have been asked for him to get medicals and police checks so least they haven't said NO straight away. Unfortunately he is currently in hospital with pneumonia First time he's been hospitalised since his transplant nearly 4 years ago

 

Lodged forms at Aussie House 18/11/09. Payment taken 18/11/09. Request for medicals and police checks 20/11/09

 

Update: We went to MRT after visa was refused in Sept 2010 due to not meeting health requirements. After alot of discussions between MRT and ourselves as to whether the application was valid as I (being the sponsor) was not in Australia, we appointed a solicitor in December 2010. We had our hearing via teleconference July 2011 and have just found out on Friday that we have won our case!!!! This now has to go back to DIAC for completion and no doubt new police checks, but the hard battle is over. We won on compassionate grounds - just shows if you fight hard enough you can come out the winner

:biggrin:

[amanda74]

My OH wanted to go before last Christmas but I made him wait for just one more so I get that. I'm going back late November and the whole of the family is getting together to have an early Christmas for me.

 

 

 

That may actually be OK, I think that they just want to see onward travel and that you have intent to leave the country. Although you would have to have a flight booked to leave NZ or you might have the same problem there. It's such an annoyance but the good thing is that most major airlines let you change dates without penalties (changed dates twice with Singapore with not so much of a murmur of paying extra, last time after actually being checked in). I just called about the luggage allowance and they just told me to turn up on the day with proof of visa and it would all be OK. I asked them to put it on my booking but they didn't and I still got it so it must be OK to do that.

 

 

From what I understand Emirates also give the 40 kg allowance with an unvalidated visa so you may have actually got that and not realised that they had given it to you. I was 8 kg over (mainly because my super spanky scales had been packed up and left with the rest of my stuff a week before). I almost had a heart attack because Singapore charges 60 yes thats right 60 Pounds per kg over weight. If they had made me pay for it all I would have been better of cancelling my flight, getting my refund and booking for the next day after off loading stuff I didn't 100% need into to my shipping as it hadn't left the wearhouse at the time. I pleaded with the woman from the airline and told her that I only had limited funds on me as I had transferred most of my cash to Australia and I didn't have my bank cards yet. She took pity on me but still made me pay for 2 kg's as she said that they cannot be as flexible as they usually are about excess because they give the extra 20 kg as a bonus and that everyone gets charged if their over this.

 

 

Hiya,

 

I called Emirates about the baggage allowance before I booked the flights and was told that they didn't give extra for perm visas. It's 30kg for everyone. I posted a 20kg box with DHL and it cost £200...........Emirates wanted £560 for 20kg excess baggage, glad I found that out the day before I flew!

[Adelaide]

OH just got this back from Singapore Airlines:

 

Thank you for your email.

 

Kindly note, if you hold an unused/unstamped/not validated migrant visa that specifically states that you are permittedto remain in Australia indefinitely / permanently, you will then be entitled to the double baggage allowance (40 kilos, per passenger).

 

The double baggage allowance will only be granted when you check in at the airport when this visa is sighted and checked that it has also not been travelled on before, this has to be the first time it is being used.

 

You can have as many items of checked luggage as you wish provided:

 

• The total combined weight of all the items put together does not exceed your total checked allowances
• No single item of baggage exceeds 32 kilos in weight, as a health and safety requirement
  

 

If you are not holding the correct visa mentioned above at check-in, then you will be entitled to the standard free checked baggage allowance of 20 kilos per passenger.

[Guest ames]

My OH is also going to australia on a ETA visa until his partner visa is approved our CO LG said there will be no problems at border security, if you can show that you have enough funds in your bank to buy a return ticket if neccessary.

we are planning a short trip over to NZ to get his visa valudated.

8 weeks today till we are off i cant wait!!

 

I would actually be a bit wary of advice like this from your CO. They do not have any authority (other than granting visa's) to say who can or can't enter the country. That is completely up to the boarder security when you get off your flight. They could refuse you entry if you go over on a one way flight. If you think about it, what your CO has said about having a visa application open makes no sense. What if your visa was refused, where would the incentive to leave the country be then? Also, what would happen if for some reason your visa took a long time to process (some unfortunately do) and you had to leave the country before it was granted? Immigration would want to see that you would be able to do this.I know that many people have been refused entry to Australia on tourist visas when they only have a one way ticket (admittedly they were from mostly HR countries). I know from my own experience when I came over on tourist visa, I was grilled about what my intentions where and when I would be leaving. I had a return ticket as I had to go back to the UK anyway and I still believe that is the only reason that they let me in. It could be handy to get a return ticket and just change the dates once your over in Australia. If you are planning to visit the UK within a year of leaving, this would actually save you a packet as flights from Australia to the UK are about a £1000 dearer when bought here rather that in England.

 

 

Holy poopballs Adelaide, I can't believe that your visa has only just been granted you poor sod. Bet you're so relived.

 

Just wanted pass on some advice to people coming over soon. With your 40 kg baggage allowance make sure that it is spot on as they allow you no leeway whatsoever with over weight baggage because they are already giving you a massive allowance. I have never had a trip to Australia where my luggage wasn't slightly over and I have never had to pay any excess before, this time I was stung pretty badly. So just be careful :smile:

 

Just in the process of looking for somewhere to live now and I can't make up my mind between living in Brisbane or out on the Sunshine Coast, although looking at the rental properties available it looks like my mind may be made up by where I can get a house with a pool (i.e. not Brisbane), if the winter heat here at the moment is anything to go by then the summer is going to be a scorcher and I'm going to need a pool to make sure that I don't melt.:biggrin:

[Guest]

Hi dont no if i am doing am just collecting all evidence for defacto visa do police checks and medicals have to be done before you send application or after it has been sent. Also my other half has just had enhanced disclosure done as we are both nurses or does it have to be the ACRO police check. Might be stupid question but am getting really confused with all the paper work, as we are registering kids citizenship and both of us with APHRA have major brain work. would appreciate any help. Cheers simmie

[JoandJon]

Hi simmiekisses,

You can do the ACRO before or after - though most people seem to do it before. Unfortunately I think it's got to be that rather than the enhanced disclosure (although you could always send in the disclosure and see!). We were told to wait until the app was in to do the medical - fingers crossed that doesn't delay us at all.

 

Good luck with it all

[Guest]

Cheers for that so much paper work gets so confusing are you just waiting for yours as well or have you been granted it

[Guest Sam C]

I am approved! Finally nudged our MA this morning about what was happening and it turns out we were actually granted on Friday 19th August! Very happy, and to be honest any excuse to drink a bottle of champers on a Monday is valid with me! Looking forward to the bank holiday for some more celebrating too.

 

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me out on here, whether it's been through conversation or just posting useful info about the whole process - it's been an addictive lifeline. Good luck to everyone applying, waiting and starting their new lives down under - I'll be over soon!

 

Here's our timeline:

 

10/03/11 - All docs sent to MA.

17/03/11 - Lodged application to AHC for Partner 309 Visa.

24/03/11 - C/O Assigned and Meds/PC requested.

11/04/11 - PC Done.

20/04/11 - Med Done.

19/08/11 - Visa granted!

 

We are in the final stages of booking our shipping company and I have booked flights for the beginning of December to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

 

:jiggy:

[Guest Tillyloola]

My OH is also going to australia on a ETA visa until his partner visa is approved our CO LG said there will be no problems at border security, if you can show that you have enough funds in your bank to buy a return ticket if neccessary.

we are planning a short trip over to NZ to get his visa valudated.

8 weeks today till we are off i cant wait!!

 

Again I would reiterate my advice to be careful if you take any advice like this from your CO (my own CO has told me in the past that a CO cannot say who can or can't travel to Australia and everything is in the hands of boarder security). People working at Australia House are just civil servants and have no authority (other than granting visas) to say who can or can't come into the country. In fact on very rare occasions people have had their visa granted and boarder security has still sent them home.

 

There have been case's where people have been denied entry when they have come over on a one way ETA. What you also have to be careful of if you are going over there to wait out the visa is that technically, what you are doing isn't strictly allowed (although plenty do). It is stated that this visa is not intended for you to wait out the decision of another visa, soooo if your partner turns up with all they're worldly goods and no actual visa other than a tourist visa and a one way ticket, you can see why there may be questions asked. It's going to be difficult to say that they are on a holiday or visiting family if they don't have a forwarding ticket.

 

Also depending on when you have put your visa in, you have to be aware that your partner may have to make two trips out of the country if your visa takes longer to process (again very rare and unlikely but it can happen so worth bearing in mind) as they can only stay 3 months.

 

As far as I can see, the boarder security are pretty OK and do tend to be a little more lenient on over looking the rules when someone has a visa application open, but all's it takes is getting one who is a stickler for the rules (and they are out there trust me) or one thats having a crappy day for your partner to find their bum back on the first plane to the UK. There is also no recorse if this happens because they are just following the rules.

 

I am approved! Finally nudged our MA this morning about what was happening and it turns out we were actually granted on Friday 19th August! Very happy, and to be honest any excuse to drink a bottle of champers on a Monday is valid with me! Looking forward to the bank holiday for some more celebrating too.

 

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me out on here, whether it's been through conversation or just posting useful info about the whole process - it's been an addictive lifeline. Good luck to everyone applying, waiting and starting their new lives down under - I'll be over soon!

 

Here's our timeline:

 

10/03/11 - All docs sent to MA.

17/03/11 - Lodged application to AHC for Partner 309 Visa.

24/03/11 - C/O Assigned and Meds/PC requested.

11/04/11 - PC Done.

20/04/11 - Med Done.

19/08/11 - Visa granted!

 

We are in the final stages of booking our shipping company and I have booked flights for the beginning of December to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

 

:jiggy:

 

 

Congratulations :smile: At last, I think that's the last of our March group then.

[Guest Tillyloola]

Hiya,

 

I called Emirates about the baggage allowance before I booked the flights and was told that they didn't give extra for perm visas. It's 30kg for everyone. I posted a 20kg box with DHL and it cost £200...........Emirates wanted £560 for 20kg excess baggage, glad I found that out the day before I flew!

 

My mistake, Emirates did used to offer this but withdrew it about six months ago. My friend swears that she got the extra allowance a month ago but I'm thinking that like you, she was given a bit if leeway either that or she has no idea who she actually flew with lol:smile:

[JoandJon]

Cheers for that so much paper work gets so confusing are you just waiting for yours as well or have you been granted it

 

We're still waiting for OH's visa (I'm the Aussie), but the CO says it should be mid-November. BUT average processing times are currently 4 months so we might be lucky and get it sooner!!

 

Having been through UK visa applications I thought his one would be so easy - but it's not! It's sooooo complicated and took ages to prepare (I think it took us 2-3 months to get everything sorted).

[Guest Bazinga]

JoandJon - Your dog is gorgeous! MrB is insisting on a lab when we're settled. I'm in two minds, his older boy has only just stopped being a 'Marley' at age 11, bit worried about a lab puppy!

[Peemacgee]

I am approved! Finally nudged our MA this morning about what was happening and it turns out we were actually granted on Friday 19th August! Very happy, and to be honest any excuse to drink a bottle of champers on a Monday is valid with me! Looking forward to the bank holiday for some more celebrating too.

 

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me out on here, whether it's been through conversation or just posting useful info about the whole process - it's been an addictive lifeline. Good luck to everyone applying, waiting and starting their new lives down under - I'll be over soon!

 

Here's our timeline:

 

10/03/11 - All docs sent to MA.

17/03/11 - Lodged application to AHC for Partner 309 Visa.

24/03/11 - C/O Assigned and Meds/PC requested.

11/04/11 - PC Done.

20/04/11 - Med Done.

19/08/11 - Visa granted!

 

We are in the final stages of booking our shipping company and I have booked flights for the beginning of December to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

 

:jiggy:

 

Congratulations, bet you thought it would never.come through. I'm counting the days til ours comes.through. hopefully will be 4 months and not 5 I will lose my marbles.

 

Where about in Sydney are you going?

[JoandJon]

JoandJon - Your dog is gorgeous! MrB is insisting on a lab when we're settled. I'm in two minds, his older boy has only just stopped being a 'Marley' at age 11, bit worried about a lab puppy!

 

Cheers B! We got our viscous attack labrador as a rescue so didn't have the puppy nightmares - apart from her still acting like one of course - I don't think they ever stop! (See her travel crate pictures on the PET forum if you're interested - I apologise for my husband's hairy legs in the background)

 

 

And GRATS to Sam C! Yay!!

[Guest Sam C]

Thanks Peemacgee, JoandJon and Tillyloola!

 

Indeed I think I'm one of the last from the March crew to cross the grant line! Peemacgee we are staying in Eastwood with my partners mum until we can get our own place around Inner West.

[amanda74]

My mistake, Emirates did used to offer this but withdrew it about six months ago. My friend swears that she got the extra allowance a month ago but I'm thinking that like you, she was given a bit if leeway either that or she has no idea who she actually flew with lol:smile:

 

I can understand your friend's state of mind. At one point in our 2 day journey I had to ask which country I was in!! Sleep deprivation does the strangest things. :arghh:

[Adelaide]

I am approved! Finally nudged our MA this morning about what was happening and it turns out we were actually granted on Friday 19th August! Very happy, and to be honest any excuse to drink a bottle of champers on a Monday is valid with me! Looking forward to the bank holiday for some more celebrating too.

 

Many thanks to everyone who has helped me out on here, whether it's been through conversation or just posting useful info about the whole process - it's been an addictive lifeline. Good luck to everyone applying, waiting and starting their new lives down under - I'll be over soon!

 

Here's our timeline:

 

10/03/11 - All docs sent to MA.

17/03/11 - Lodged application to AHC for Partner 309 Visa.

24/03/11 - C/O Assigned and Meds/PC requested.

11/04/11 - PC Done.

20/04/11 - Med Done.

19/08/11 - Visa granted!

 

We are in the final stages of booking our shipping company and I have booked flights for the beginning of December to Sydney with Singapore Airlines.

 

:jiggy:

 

WHOOP WHOOP!!! well done! is that all us March stragglers done now? I bet your pleased? it's a massive relief when you know you've done it!! :biggrin:

 

I sent my passport and visa grant off to AH on Saturday by Speical Delivery to have some bling put in it! lol I need to see it visually in my hands!! lol

 

Good luck with the move!! :hug:

[JoandJon]

Gotta love the Visa bling

 

I collapsed on the floor and cried when I got my UK indefinite leave back (mind you that was mostly because I'd applied late and was convinced they were going to refuse me...)

[aussiedad]

Have any April applicants heard back about their visa's yet?

 

We are coming up to 4 months this week and not heard anything from our CO (AB).

[Peemacgee]

Have any April applicants heard back about their visa's yet?

 

We are coming up to 4 months this week and not heard anything from our CO (AB).

 

I'm in the same boat. 4 months on 27th we have wp who seams to like 4 months too

[nellandged]

We were end of April and granted 12th Aug, seems to vary from different C.O.'s, hope it comes soon!

[aussiedad]

I'm in the same boat. 4 months on 27th we have wp who seams to like 4 months too

 

exactly the same board, Peemacgee. We are 4 months on 26th.

[Peemacgee]

We were end of April and granted 12th Aug, seems to vary from different C.O.'s, hope it comes soon!

 

Who was your co? I want mine to hurry up

[nellandged]

Our CO was JF, i think others that had him were pretty quick too. We emailed him at about 3 months to ask were up to and he told us would be issued early sept which would have been just over 4 months, then came through at 3 and a half. Flights now booked and leave 12th Oct! Hope you hear soon, good luck!

[BackToAdelaide]

Have any April applicants heard back about their visa's yet?

 

We are coming up to 4 months this week and not heard anything from our CO (AB).

We applied in April and received our visa in just under 4 months.