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

[Guest]

Police checks done and submitted final piece (hopefully) next week with the medical. Can anyone tell me how long usually takes after the medical for the documentation from the doctors to be submitted to the Immi account? Also how do you find out if your medical was fine or if has been referred for any reason?

 

What MtT said. If you ask at the time the Doc may tell you what rating you got for your medical (an A being the best). Even with an A rating though they can be referred and your Doc won't know at the time if that will happen or not.

 

Even if its referred you probably won't hear anything from your CO or get any acknowledgement regarding it. You may indeed only know it was referred if, once it lands on someones desk to cast their eye over they decide they need more info/tests from you. Mine was referred with an A rating and I never heard a thing about it (my CO informed me it was referred only because I was planning to head to Aus on a tourist visa and she wanted to let me know they had no control over the medical aspect nor could they tell me what it was referred for). As it was I never heard anything else and after about 3 months from the medical my visa was granted. It would tie in with the timeline for referred medicals running at about 3 months at the time and then as soon as it was given the ok, visa was granted.

 

If your medical was all in order (ie you know your BP was fine, your urine dip ok and all the other things you could see happening were normal) and you have no major health issues I'd just wait and let them do their thing. They'll be in touch if they need anything else.

[TheEscapePlan]

Any visas granted recently? We are at 8 months and 1 day.... Oh the waiting is excruciating!

[Seizethedance]

I applied a couple of weeks ago online (thanks to those who advised it was easy - it was!). Was shocked to be told 10-14 months! We need to leave at the end of August next year so hope it's not closer to 14 months...

[Guest]

Nope no visa granted and I keep wondering the same thing as it appears to have gone quiet on here lately we are at 8 months 2 weeks and 5 days (not that we are counting or anything!) I am guessing the extension of time for processing new applications means they are quite busy so we dont expect the visa until 9 months (even though we would much prefer - and need - it now).

[TP1]

My PMV was granted 28 July 2014- I had to go offshore so had 4 days in Auckland.

 

Now I'm looking for a job :-)

 

Congratulations Believe you applied 29th Oct 2013 so thats 9 months all but one day. All the best with the job hunting

Edited August 7, 2014 by TP1

[TheEscapePlan]

Nope no visa granted and I keep wondering the same thing as it appears to have gone quiet on here lately we are at 8 months 2 weeks and 5 days (not that we are counting or anything!) I am guessing the extension of time for processing new applications means they are quite busy so we dont expect the visa until 9 months (even though we would much prefer - and need - it now).

 

I really hope it isn't 9 months!

[StevenLozza]

I'm not sure how it all works,

 

My visa was straight forward as such,

We submitted ours paper based application 6th November 2013, case officer KC got in touch via email in December about 6weeks after it was lodged,

She at that point asked for extra info in regards to hoe me and my wife met and future plans together etc.

 

Then I had another email saying all the info they had was ok and I was to book my medical and police checks after 6th april.

 

Done all that, then she asked for an explanation on my police check as I had been a naughty boy, so sent that in, final email before my grant was she had everything and that it had been passed to the senior migration manager.

 

8months and a week I think I got my grant letter through.

 

So I don't think there is any reason or rhyme on grant times.

[Wozziegirl]

 

I really hope it isn't 9 months!

Ditto! We're at 8 months and 3 days. I'd been so hopeful that the grant would come around the 8 month mark but given how quiet it's been I have to be realistic and accept that it's likely to be nearer the 9 months. Que sera sera...

[Guest]

Yeah its the "no rhyme or reason" that gets me the most. Doesn't seem fair but alas it's completely out of our control.

[glowie]

I wanna hear people having their visa granted!! It has been soooo quiet on here recently! I'm at the 8 month 3 week mark today!!! Grrrrr C'mon!

[TP1]

I wanna hear people having their visa granted!! It has been soooo quiet on here recently! I'm at the 8 month 3 week mark today!!! Grrrrr C'mon!

 

Look on the bright side any new applications have to wait 10-14 months ... but fingers crossed for you all

[Lozza]

I wanna hear people having their visa granted!! It has been soooo quiet on here recently! I'm at the 8 month 3 week mark today!!! Grrrrr C'mon!

 

I know! Its the longest stretch i can remember without visas being granted. We are at 6 months so a while yet.

[Guest]

Well folks it isnt great news for us and the wait continues......we have just had an email from our CO (that went missing from last week - it took them all week to resend it to me despite me asking for it to be resent at the start of this week) and they have said there is no possibility of us getting the grant early (despite my partner needing it to secure an employment opportunity that now looks like it will no longer be available to him because of the delay) as they say "unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov" and even after asking her supervisor to expedite the approval for us (by a whole 2 weeks) she was told it is not possible. Our CO says "you should probably be looking at a few more weeks" (which takes us to the 9 month mark and possibly beyond) before the approval is likely to come in.

 

:arghh:

[Lozza]

Well folks it isnt great news for us and the wait continues......we have just had an email from our CO (that went missing from last week - it took them all week to resend it to me despite me asking for it to be resent at the start of this week) and they have said there is no possibility of us getting the grant early (despite my partner needing it to secure an employment opportunity that now looks like it will no longer be available to him because of the delay) as they say "unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov" and even after asking her supervisor to expedite the approval for us (by a whole 2 weeks) she was told it is not possible. Our CO says "you should probably be looking at a few more weeks" (which takes us to the 9 month mark and possibly beyond) before the approval is likely to come in.

 

:arghh:

 

Looks like this new financial year is going to be a tough one for all of us - id say some changes , not good ones have gone down at diac. Sounds like youll def get visa though so have u thought about just getting tourist visa and taking off?

[StevenLozza]

Well folks it isnt great news for us and the wait continues......we have just had an email from our CO (that went missing from last week - it took them all week to resend it to me despite me asking for it to be resent at the start of this week) and they have said there is no possibility of us getting the grant early (despite my partner needing it to secure an employment opportunity that now looks like it will no longer be available to him because of the delay) as they say "unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov" and even after asking her supervisor to expedite the approval for us (by a whole 2 weeks) she was told it is not possible. Our CO says "you should probably be looking at a few more weeks" (which takes us to the 9 month mark and possibly beyond) before the approval is likely to come in.

 

:arghh:

Sounds like nonsense to me in all honesty,

 

I lodged my paper application at London House and was received by them on the 6th November, I received my grant on the 14th July 2014,

So what they have told you makes no sense to me, its like its just the luck of the draw who you're CO is. My CO was really quick with replies and confirming info had been received etc.

[Guest]

Sounds like nonsense to me in all honesty,

 

I lodged my paper application at London House and was received by them on the 6th November, I received my grant on the 14th July 2014,

So what they have told you makes no sense to me, its like its just the luck of the draw who you're CO is. My CO was really quick with replies and confirming info had been received etc.

 

Congrats, you were very lucky and I am slightly jealous but again its that whole "no rhyme or reason" to the approvals that has me so frustrated. But I definitely believe what you say about it depending on who your CO is....its the luck of the draw when it shouldnt be that way at all.

[Guest]

Looks like this new financial year is going to be a tough one for all of us - id say some changes , not good ones have gone down at diac. Sounds like youll def get visa though so have u thought about just getting tourist visa and taking off?

 

I really wish we could as I desperately want to go home, but unfortunately my partner is the one who has to work (I am home with our two young children) and he is unable to work on a tourist visa, plus he doesnt want to leave his job here until he knows he can get employment in Adelaide or even a potential offer (long story but he had a job offer only if we got the visa through but the delay means it has disappeared now) so a tourist visa doesnt really work for us which is a total bummer

[Wozziegirl]

Well folks it isnt great news for us and the wait continues......we have just had an email from our CO (that went missing from last week - it took them all week to resend it to me despite me asking for it to be resent at the start of this week) and they have said there is no possibility of us getting the grant early (despite my partner needing it to secure an employment opportunity that now looks like it will no longer be available to him because of the delay) as they say "unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov" and even after asking her supervisor to expedite the approval for us (by a whole 2 weeks) she was told it is not possible. Our CO says "you should probably be looking at a few more weeks" (which takes us to the 9 month mark and possibly beyond) before the approval is likely to come in.

 

:arghh:

 

*sigh* Oh man! That's pants! You poor things. It's not like you're asking for them to hand over their first born! Sheesh! What the heck is going on?! 'Not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov' - eh? What's all that about? And it's not like they'd really have been expediting your visa - after all, you're closer to the 9 months than the 8!

 

Pfft!

[Wozziegirl]

"unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov"

 

Hmm. Methinks someone might be telling you a porky. I just remembered Emmie2010 from a wee while ago - application lodged 28 Nov 2013 and visa granted 23 Jun 2014, just under 7 months later! I was so excited when I read her post given ours was submitted less than a week later, and I'd been hopeful we might get ours early too.

 

I wonder who Emmie2010's CO was and how they managed it?

[Guest]

Well folks it isnt great news for us and the wait continues......we have just had an email from our CO (that went missing from last week - it took them all week to resend it to me despite me asking for it to be resent at the start of this week) and they have said there is no possibility of us getting the grant early (despite my partner needing it to secure an employment opportunity that now looks like it will no longer be available to him because of the delay) as they say "unfortunately we have not reached the point of granting visas lodged after 15 Nov" and even after asking her supervisor to expedite the approval for us (by a whole 2 weeks) she was told it is not possible. Our CO says "you should probably be looking at a few more weeks" (which takes us to the 9 month mark and possibly beyond) before the approval is likely to come in.

 

:arghh:

 

I'm sorry to hear this. It seems like they are working to a strict schedule and the 9 month mark is more the reality these days.

 

I think people should be cautious about seeking work in advance of this visa actually being granted unless the job is due to start further on down the road from the latest visa grant date. The immi site does specifically say not to plan life changing events like selling a house or quitting a job before the visa is granted. They do so for a reason. Of course, some do both and there are options if the visa is delayed or runs to the very end of the timeframe given. Renting, staying with family or finding another job till its time to depart the UK. Job hunting in Aus ahead of time can be a risky thing if you are at the mercy of the grant times. I'm sorry your hubby has missed out. Hopefully once his visa is granted and you are in Aus he'll not take too long to find something.

 

And sure plenty of partners (myself included but my visa grant came through well ahead of time) plan to enter Aus ahead of visa grant on a tourist or book a flight for a date after the 9 month window has passed but those are nothing too drastic as flights can be changed, trips out of Aus taken.

 

I think people should exercise more caution with the new longer wait times as it does seem to make it harder to do the tourist visa thing to wait out a grant date. With such a long wait time now the medical or police check won't happen till well down the road after applying and then there is a much wider timeframe of actual grant now, a 6 month period, not a 2 month one. So making it pretty impossible to know when its workable to head to Aus for that stint to wait out the visa grant. I'm sure as the time passes people will have more of an idea as medicals are requested and grants come though. The general rule of thumb when I applied was to have about 6 months within which to validate off the back of medicals and police checks. I would hope its the same or even longer, giving people up to 9 months within which to enter Aus. I can't see it becoming a shorter timeframe but you never know. So we can hope that there is a general pattern that will form.

[Guest]

I think trying to second guess DIAC and our CO's gets us nowhere. There is no way of us ever knowing if each CO has their own pile they refer to or if its a pool of everyones cases together and in which order they may grant from this. Each CO could have a limit each per week with a cut off being a Friday and they themselves simply have not reached that point in their pile or can only grant X amount in a week or are waiting for referred medicals to come back or some other thing. Other CO's may have less applications that week and so can get the grants done sooner. Some only work part time, others maybe full time. A grant might not come through on the days your CO is off, thereby throwing it in to the follwing weeks grants. The head honcho can maybe only sign off on X amount per week Who knows. None of us.

 

Triyng to compare CO patterns is pretty futile but it can be a good way to pass the hours and drive yourself slowing bonkers :cute: I advise anyone waiting for a partner visa to not do so and to try to ignore what other CO's seem to be doing and their timeframes. Focus on your own, work to the timeframe they have given, 8-9 months (and for new applicants the 10-14 months and perhaps be cautious and work to the 14 months as a worst case scenario and to cover yourselves and save any disappointment) and hopefully it will be through at the earlier end but prepare it will take the full 9 (or 14) months and even a week or two longer in some cases.

[CollegeGirl]

I'm sorry to hear this. It seems like they are working to a strict schedule and the 9 month mark is more the reality these days.

 

I think people should be cautious about seeking work in advance of this visa actually being granted unless the job is due to start further on down the road from the latest visa grant date. The immi site does specifically say not to plan life changing events like selling a house or quitting a job before the visa is granted. They do so for a reason. Of course, some do both and there are options if the visa is delayed or runs to the very end of the timeframe given. Renting, staying with family or finding another job till its time to depart the UK. Job hunting in Aus ahead of time can be a risky thing if you are at the mercy of the grant times. I'm sorry your hubby has missed out. Hopefully once his visa is granted and you are in Aus he'll not take too long to find something.

 

And sure plenty of partners (myself included but my visa grant came through well ahead of time) plan to enter Aus ahead of visa grant on a tourist or book a flight for a date after the 9 month window has passed but those are nothing too drastic as flights can be changed, trips out of Aus taken.

 

I think people should exercise more caution with the new longer wait times as it does seem to make it harder to do the tourist visa thing to wait out a grant date. With such a long wait time now the medical or police check won't happen till well down the road after applying and then there is a much wider timeframe of actual grant now, a 6 month period, not a 2 month one. So making it pretty impossible to know when its workable to head to Aus for that stint to wait out the visa grant. I'm sure as the time passes people will have more of an idea as medicals are requested and grants come though. The general rule of thumb when I applied was to have about 6 months within which to validate off the back of medicals and police checks. I would hope its the same or even longer, giving people up to 9 months within which to enter Aus. I can't see it becoming a shorter timeframe but you never know. So we can hope that there is a general pattern that will form.

 

FWIW, medicals can be done in Australia for offshore visas, so there's really nothing to keep someone from coming over on a tourist visa and waiting it out. Of course, it's a serious hassle without being able to work, and with the usual three-month stay types and having to go offshore between stays and the increasing possibility of being told "you're not supposed to be using it this way." But at least it's possible.

[Guest]

FWIW, medicals can be done in Australia for offshore visas, so there's really nothing to keep someone from coming over on a tourist visa and waiting it out. Of course, it's a serious hassle without being able to work, and with the usual three-month stay types and having to go offshore between stays and the increasing possibility of being told "you're not supposed to be using it this way." But at least it's possible.

 

I'm aware medicals can be done in Aus. The logistics of waiting out a visa grant in a tourist visa and having to depart and re enter Aus every 3 months can be expensive and the not working can be frustrating.

 

Tbh if the wait time is 10-14 now for offshore and you are going to wait out a chunk on shore it seems to make more sense to me to apply onshore and have work rights while on a bridging visa.

[CrossFit Mark]

Congratulations Believe you applied 29th Oct 2013 so thats 9 months all but one day. All the best with the job hunting

 

Thank you

[CollegeGirl]

I'm aware medicals can be done in Aus. The logistics of waiting out a visa grant in a tourist visa and having to depart and re enter Aus every 3 months can be expensive and the not working can be frustrating.

 

Tbh if the wait time is 10-14 now for offshore and you are going to wait out a chunk on shore it seems to make more sense to me to apply onshore and have work rights while on a bridging visa.

 

Oh, I fully agree, as long as people are aware of the "genuine temporary entrant" requirements. Frankly I think DIBP just need to relax that even further and let anyone who qualifies come onshore and apply openly. But I think there's as much chance of that happening as there is of me winning the lotto (and I don't play).