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

[dmalde]

Hi All,

 

I think like everyone else im hoping for the 5 month estimated timeframe rather than the 10-14 month as we are planning to move at the end of Feb.

Hopefully some evidence of the 5 month will pop up soon as it seems to be 6-8 average for low risk ATM.

 

 

Visa submitted:

17 Jul 2016,

CO assigned:

21 Aug 2016,

Police and medicals requested:

21 Aug 2016

Police and medicals submitted:

21 Sept 2016,

 

 

 

[can1983]

Yes the timeline is hard to define, ALL cases are given 10-14 months in the UK as the time, my letter said the same so we have to assume that is what it takes

 

BUT clearly if your sponsor and you have been together just 12 months, they have Australian citizenship via asylum, you are their second sponsorship, there are children of yours that are not your sponsors, you have served time inside, had TB a year ago and you once served in the Iranian armed forces then its more complicated than married to an aussie by birth for 10 years.....

[koalakate]

I called the Embassy today and a helpful lady answered, eventually. She said not to worry, my case was being processed, but there was a back log at the moment. So that explains why I haven't been assigned a CO yet. There must have been an influx of applications over the past couple of months... Brexit? School holidays? I feel reassured, however.

[carahunter4]

I'm glad you've been reassured, I'm sure you'll hear soon.

 

 

I called the Embassy today and a helpful lady answered, eventually. She said not to worry, my case was being processed, but there was a back log at the moment. So that explains why I haven't been assigned a CO yet. There must have been an influx of applications over the past couple of months... Brexit? School holidays? I feel reassured, however.

[carahunter4]

Hi all, I thought I'd get prepared while I'm waiting so I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to get my police check please? There seems to be more than one way and I want to go through the official route which I'm sure is the quickest & cheapest..............

 

Thanks

[Guest]

Hi all, I thought I'd get prepared while I'm waiting so I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction to get my police check please? There seems to be more than one way and I want to go through the official route which I'm sure is the quickest & cheapest..............

Thanks

 

There is only one option. https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

[carahunter4]

Great, thank you. I was pretty sure that was the one but there were others advertised - I think they are companies offering to do it for you like the migration agents.

 

 

There is only one option. https://www.acro.police.uk/police_certificates.aspx

[Nifa77]

Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin

[koalakate]

Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin ?

Congratulations! Happy planning your new life! ??

[carahunter4]

That's wonderful news!! :-) I'm so pleased for you. :smile:

 

So it is possible to get a visa in about 5 months, I guess it depends on each individual case and how busy they are at the time. May I ask what your situation is?

 

 

Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin

[Nifa77]

That's wonderful news!! :-) I'm so pleased for you. :smile:

 

So it is possible to get a visa in about 5 months, I guess it depends on each individual case and how busy they are at the time. May I ask what your situation is?

@carahunter4

I have been with my husband for 22 years and married for 14. I am Australian by birth. We applied for our 2 daughters citizenships back in April and they both now have Australian passports, so it was just my husband to sort out. We're all very happy he has been granted his visa, especially to be given the subclass 100 straight away. Our case officer was really lovely and helpful and answered all of my questions. It is definitely possible to get the visa granted quicker than the time stated but like you said it depends on each case.

[carahunter4]

I can see why you got granted quickly as yours was a pretty straight forward case.

 

Congratulations again and good luck in your new life :-)

 

@carahunter4

I have been with my husband for 22 years and married for 14. I am Australian by birth. We applied for our 2 daughters citizenships back in April and they both now have Australian passports, so it was just my husband to sort out. We're all very happy he has been granted his visa, especially to be given the subclass 100 straight away. Our case officer was really lovely and helpful and answered all of my questions. It is definitely possible to get the visa granted quicker than the time stated but like you said it depends on each case.

[NikkiLondon]

Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin í*½í¸

 

That's so great Nifa, congratulations!!!

 

 

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[Alycat]

Today is a great day, 309 and 100 visa granted today. 20 weeks and 2 days of waiting over. Our new adventure can finally begin ?

 

Oh what great news!All the best with your new adventure:)

 

Hopefully this means mine isn't far off too!!

[taggstigress]

That was amazing. I thought ours was straight forward yet noone looked at it from Feb-May when it was discovered it wasn't

[koalakate]

In what way was yours not straight forward (if you don't mind me asking)? I wondered if anyone pre-checked the application before the CO looked at it? We still haven't heard anything. I'm hoping we get a CO soon;there were a few grants this week (on here and another forum) so assume they pick up new cases. I would love to know how it all works!!

[taggstigress]

They discovered that I, the sponsor had had my Australian citizenship taken away when I took up British citizenship in 1999. This was news to me- I had a new passport etc etc, therefore the visa for my husband was put on hold while I resumed my citizenship- this took 4 months because of bureaucratic bungling - but that is another story.

 

We were told that no one looks at application before the CO is appointed. I was told that they can only look at a certain number each month and when the quota for that month is full, that is the delay- bureaucracy!!! Once you get a CO, it is much quicker if there are no issues

[koalakate]

I've just read back and seen your story. I'm glad it has all been sorted and you are now planning your new life. Did they make you pay the extortionate fee twice?

Interesting to know how they work on a monthly quota. I wish the process was more transparent...

 

 

 

They discovered that I, the sponsor had had my Australian citizenship taken away when I took up British citizenship in 1999. This was news to me- I had a new passport etc etc, therefore the visa for my husband was put on hold while I resumed my citizenship- this took 4 months because of bureaucratic bungling - but that is another story.

 

We were told that no one looks at application before the CO is appointed. I was told that they can only look at a certain number each month and when the quota for that month is full, that is the delay- bureaucracy!!! Once you get a CO, it is much quicker if there are no issues

[taggstigress]

No

But paying the fee was one of the bureaucratic nightmares. They insisted on returning the fee and me paying again but when I finally got my Australian citizenship back I discovered there had been an error and the money hadn't been sent. So I say well keep it on the new application. But no. They had to formally return it - and this took 3 weeks!!! To return and accept the new one again. The new application, including payment had to be sent by snail mail and not online. Then it went in the wrong in tray

[NikkiLondon]

No

But paying the fee was one of the bureaucratic nightmares. They insisted on returning the fee and me paying again but when I finally got my Australian citizenship back I discovered there had been an error and the money hadn't been sent. So I say well keep it on the new application. But no. They had to formally return it - and this took 3 weeks!!! To return and accept the new one again. The new application, including payment had to be sent by snail mail and not online. Then it went in the wrong in tray

 

Wow, that must have been the most frustrating experience! So glad it is sorted for you now.

 

 

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[Guest]

I've just read back and seen your story. I'm glad it has all been sorted and you are now planning your new life. Did they make you pay the extortionate fee twice?

Interesting to know how they work on a monthly quota. I wish the process was more transparent...

 

Re the process, tbh the CO's don't have the luxury of time to contact everyone and let them know how its going or what stage they are at. They don't just deal with partner visa applications and some only work part time.

 

Your application is considered lodged from when it arrives and its paid for. So its already processing as it were early on, before a CO looks at it. Its not like the clock only starts ticking from when a CO is assigned or looks the application over.

 

Afaik the process can still be a long one so depending on when you lodged, work to the 10-14 month timeline and if it comes though sooner, then its a bonus and you can either move a bit sooner or validate to allow you to move at a later date.

 

Once you get a CO, they will usually request you undertake your medical and police check by X date and if its required for your application, any further info or documents. If they don't request further info, this is not a bad thing and don't panic. Its actually fine and perfectly normal to not be asked to provide extra info. Once your CO has looked at the application and the medical and police check is added to it, it goes into the pile for visa grants and just has to waits its turn to come round to be granted. As to how long that will take, as I said, be prepared for a longer wait over a shorter one and try not to fret about it.

 

I found it useful to just get on and do things in readiness for when it was granted and we could move. So started whittling down the household contents to ship. Had a few car boot sales, looked into options if we decided we wanted a leaving BBQ (as it turns out we did, very low key and casual, bbq in fab pub's beer garden where we did the food, people bought their own drinks in the pub and the kids had a blast, all over in 3-4 hours). Make some lists of what you want to ship or leave, look at your clothes and realise now is the best time to clear out the stuff you don't wear or haven't worn in eons. Also list who you need to inform you are moving overseas and when (ie car insurance we could not cancel until the day we no longer had the car but phone and internet we could notify ahead of time and specify a date). That way you have it all recorded who you need to tell and when before the move.

 

FWIW I always suggest people work from the Aus High Commission website if they apply from the UK. You can read all the partner visa info here http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_partner.html

[koalakate]

Thank you for your comprehensive response. We will definitely plan and organise things once we have a CO assigned. Maybe this week?! I'm feeling optimistic!

 

 

Re the process, tbh the CO's don't have the luxury of time to contact everyone and let them know how its going or what stage they are at. They don't just deal with partner visa applications and some only work part time.

 

Your application is considered lodged from when it arrives and its paid for. So its already processing as it were early on, before a CO looks at it. Its not like the clock only starts ticking from when a CO is assigned or looks the application over.

 

Afaik the process can still be a long one so depending on when you lodged, work to the 10-14 month timeline and if it comes though sooner, then its a bonus and you can either move a bit sooner or validate to allow you to move at a later date.

 

Once you get a CO, they will usually request you undertake your medical and police check by X date and if its required for your application, any further info or documents. If they don't request further info, this is not a bad thing and don't panic. Its actually fine and perfectly normal to not be asked to provide extra info. Once your CO has looked at the application and the medical and police check is added to it, it goes into the pile for visa grants and just has to waits its turn to come round to be granted. As to how long that will take, as I said, be prepared for a longer wait over a shorter one and try not to fret about it.

 

I found it useful to just get on and do things in readiness for when it was granted and we could move. So started whittling down the household contents to ship. Had a few car boot sales, looked into options if we decided we wanted a leaving BBQ (as it turns out we did, very low key and casual, bbq in fab pub's beer garden where we did the food, people bought their own drinks in the pub and the kids had a blast, all over in 3-4 hours). Make some lists of what you want to ship or leave, look at your clothes and realise now is the best time to clear out the stuff you don't wear or haven't worn in eons. Also list who you need to inform you are moving overseas and when (ie car insurance we could not cancel until the day we no longer had the car but phone and internet we could notify ahead of time and specify a date). That way you have it all recorded who you need to tell and when before the move.

 

FWIW I always suggest people work from the Aus High Commission website if they apply from the UK. You can read all the partner visa info here http://uk.embassy.gov.au/lhlh/immi_partner.html

[Jordan01]

Hi everyone

A fantastic day for us today - we received an email from our visa agent at 4pm today saying CONGRATULATIONS! Your visa has been granted after just 5 months!

Celebrating over a jeroboam of champagne! We wish everyone who is waiting for their visa the best of luck!

[carahunter4]

@snifter thank you for the info that's really helpful :smile: So it seems that once the medicals and police checks are submitted it's just a formality and a case of waiting.

@koalakate - hopefully if they filled the quota in October and stopped processing then you will get your CO early November, this week! Fingers crossed we get in Novembers quota too!

@Jordan01 that's fab news, congratulations!

[bobby122]

Sorry this is not entirely relevant to this thread, but it's now time for me to start putting my 100 application together after being granted the 309 in Feb. Its been ages since I applied for 309, I need refreshing, is there a checklist for things I need to include for 100? Medicals/police checks etc? All done through immiaccount like before? If someone can point me in the right direction that'd be great.