Just submitted Prospective Marriage Visa (300) - FYI, what we included

[Guest Katc78]

Hi all

 

Feeling quite proud of myself as just went to the Aus High Commission in London and submitted my fiance's PMV 300 app. Decided to hand deliver because we don't trust Royal Mail and there are all these strikes on now. Just thought I'd list what we included, so those applying can see and perhaps it will help.

 

- They don't like lots of dividers or paperclips or post-its everywhere, just a big wad of paper is good! I stuck a couple of post-its just on the front of a few bits where it wasn't easy to tell what the evidence was exactly.

 

- If you're hand delivering, don't seal your envelope - they make you open it as they can't accept sealed envelopes by hand (security issue)

 

- We included a cover letter, giving a bullet-pointed list of each item in the app, that way it's clear what's in there and we're not having to put sticky notes on everything. We also put in a stamped, self-addressed envelope and asked in the letter that they send back anything they can because we'll need it for the next stages of the visa (ie. the permanent ones). The dude at the counter said they will definitely send it back to us.

 

List of stuff included:

- Forms 40SP and 47SP (applicant and sponsor)

- Police check (original)

- Letter from our celebrant in Aus

- Certified copies of both our birth certificates and passports (I have a Brit and an Aus one, so included copies of both)

- Certified copies of my fiance's previous marriage cert and divorce decree absolute

- 4x passport photos of my fiance (the applicant) and 2 of me (the sponsor)

- 4xA4 sheets with copies of photos of us together at various points in time - put a little line of text explaining where and approx when each was taken

- Copies of emails from family and friends saying they're coming to our wedding

- Copy of our tenancy agreement, in both names

- Copy of the letter confirming opening of our joint bank account

- Bank statements from our joint account

- Bills in both our names (we gave them originals, made copies for ourselves)

- Confirmation (signed) of our wedding venue hire in Sydney

- Travel itinerary and boarding passes from a trip together to South Africa

- Statements from both me and fiance explaining everything about our relationship - mine was four pages, his was three (I'm a writer, can't keep it short!)

- Two stat decs from friends (both Aussies, one in UK, one in Aus - on form 888)

- My tax returns from the last two years (submitted certified copies of P60s, plus bank and mortgage statements from Aus and payslips from here to cover periods not included in the tax periods - must cover last two years)

- Extra statement from me explaining why I can't provide a fixed address in Sydney where we plan to move (as I live over here)

- Payment mandate from London office (if you're applying in London, print off this form from the actual London Aus High Commission site, and it allows you to pay by UK debit or credit card in pounds - replaces the payment section in the form itself)

 

Phew!! So glad it's in! The dude at the counter said it's three months processing time, but I said I'd heard others had theirs done in three weeks, and he said yes, depends on the circumstances, the back log, the case officer. He said it all looked really good and the main thing that will slow down an app is if it's incomplete, so if you haven't addressed everything required - eg. if you don't have a piece of evidence or you don't know how to get it or you don't think it applies to you, either go in and talk to them (or ring the stupidly expensive enquiry line!) or submit something in writing with your app explaining what the deal is. He also said including a massive bunch of cards and stuff from ages ago is not that helpful - better to have stuff that covers recent timeframes and actually evidences your relationship in the last 12 months (because otherwise you'd be applying for the partner visa and establishing your relationship for 12 months anyway).

 

Also re. medicals - he said many docs will refuse to do it before you hand in the app if it's a TEMPORARY visa app, as depending on the circumstances of the app, the type of medical required may change. So, if you're applying for a permanent visa (not this one!), you should front load your app with your medical, but if a temp, you don't need to.

 

Yippee! Will provide updates on how it goes... hope that was helpful for someone, sorry it's so long! :wacko:

[Happy Lass 864]

Wow that looks very comprehensive to me Best of luck for a speedy yes answer :hug:

[Guest Katc78]

Thanks Happy Lass! I worked in government for years (still do actually) so have my head around bureacracy and the like, think that helped... best of luck with your preparation! :-)

[Guest Nadjez]

hey good on ya for getting it in, and lets hope it's a smooth speedy answer : )

[Guest lilunoz]

Oh that's great. Thank you so much for that. I have just arrived back in the UK after leaving my fiance on saturday and it killed me!! I didn't want to leave him. I am just about to go through all this. Fingers crossed for you. What date is your wedding? We have booked ours for the 30th April but haven't actually booked a venue yet, so from reading what you have included in your pack, I'd better get straight onto it.

 

Laura

[Guest Kazza2008]

Thanks for all the info, everything at this stage for me helps:wacko:!!

Have almost got all of the certs required (we have both been married before) and we are presently writing the statement we each have to do explaining about our relationship etc. Forms 40 & 47 completed and have 4 stat decs from Oz family and friends. Meds booked and police check applied for............the list is endless but will be well worth it. Hard being so far away from each other as I have only been back a few weeks and just want to get back to him.

 

We have a problem that my OH proposed over the phone (obviously missed me!!!) when I returned and so we have not seen a celebrant.......will this be a problem? Any help and advice appreciated and good luck all you other PMV couples out there :wink:

[Guest Nadjez]

hey kazza are you applying for the pmv? if so you do need a letter from ur marriage celebrant, not a problem is ur oh the one in oz? they can arrange to see a celebrant then it's up to the celebrant to decide to accept the noim paperwork signed by u and then ur oh half can sign theirs in front of the marriage celebrant.ahr yep you need to fill out relevant bit for notice of intended marriage along with maybe copy of ur birth cert with ur parents names on maybe copies of marriage and divorce papers to send to oh to show celebrant.

 

 

good luck and keep us posted : )

[Happy Lass 864]

Hi Kezza,

When we met our celebrant, she told us that she had married a lot of couples who have travelled from overseas as well as couples applying for the Prospective Marriage Visa and said that she often accepts and arranges the ceremonies via e-mail and telephone. As Nadjez says, you need to lodge your Notice of Intent to Marry (NOIM) and your celebrant will write a letter for you to use for your visa application. It's ever so easy to arrange although it took us some time to find out how! :smile:

 

If you are planning to marry at the latter end of the 9 months you get once you receive your PMV grant, do let your celebrant know that you will need the official certificate for your 801 or 820 spouse visa application as soon as is possible. Our celebrant very kindly offered to register (or whatever it is they do!) on the Monday morning following our wedding, which will be on a Saturday, and this will allow us to pick up our certificate that afternoon for an extra $30.

 

Best of luck :hug:

[Guest Katc78]

No worries, glad to hear it helps some!

 

Oh, I can't imagine how hard it must be - I'm lucky to have both Brit and Aus passports so can stay here with my fiance until his visa comes through.

 

Our wedding is booked for 17 April - we went ahead and booked a venue without actually seeing it, ha ha! But have had some good feedback from friends and fam in Aus about it, so all good, not worried. We also haven't met our celebrant, just emailed, but she is fantastic and sent us the most awesome letter to give to immigration, very impressive!

 

I'd say defo get onto the wedding venue booking - not just so you can include a copy of the confirmation thing in the visa app, but because the good places sell out fast! Where are you getting married? We'll be in Sydney, so there's a lot to choose from but of course it books out fast there too...

 

Good luck with it all - any questions, just ask, happy to help. :smile:

 

Oh that's great. Thank you so much for that. I have just arrived back in the UK after leaving my fiance on saturday and it killed me!! I didn't want to leave him. I am just about to go through all this. Fingers crossed for you. What date is your wedding? We have booked ours for the 30th April but haven't actually booked a venue yet, so from reading what you have included in your pack, I'd better get straight onto it.

 

Laura

[Guest Katc78]

Heya Kazza

 

We have never met our celebrant - we just found one online (check out the Australian Wedding Forum, good discussions about celebrants, recommendations etc) and emailed her, paid her a deposit. We printed off the NOIM form (she emailed it, but you can also get it online), filled it out, took it to the Aus High Commission in London for our signatures to be witnessed (£20 a pop, fastest 40 quid I've ever spent!) then scanned it, emailed it back to her and put the hard copy in the post. she then lodged that NOIM for us in Aus, then sent us a letter giving all the details required and the date and place of our wedding. This is the letter you need to give to immigration with your app.

 

You should try and get some other evidence of your impending marriage, other than the letter from the celebrant, plus also make sure you get your people doing your stat decs to talk about how they know you intentions in the future - eg. proof that your relationship is both permanent and ongoing.

 

Best of luck - always happy to answer questions if I can... :-)

[Guest Kazza2008]

Thanks to you all for your advice and as soon as my OH wakes in Brisbane I will get him on to it asap! Luckily he is attending his best mates wedding this weekend so I am going to get him to speak to the celebrant there and start the ball rolling............hehe I love it how I can boss him from the other side of the world:laugh:may as well make the most of it!!

 

We are planning on a June/July wedding when my kids have finished uni for the summer. As for the venue my OH parent's have a lovely house and gardens so that is where we will 'tie the knot'..........getting all excited again now:jiggy:!!

Will keep you all posted x

[Guest Nadjez]

ahr that's good to hear Kazza : )

[Guest bigfatpom]

Me (the applicant) and my fiancee (Aussie) will be flying out to the UK (from Adelaide) tommorrow so submit my 300 app. This site has/is INVALUABLE in helping us complete the applicaiton forms.

 

We have of course had a few of what I like to call "debacles" (see the HSA/DIAC/HOC post). However, today was a debacle (borderline fiasco).

 

Had a NPC done by SAPOL about 6 months ago for work. After reading the forums decided to get an AFP NPC done as well, which arrived without problem a few weeks ago.

 

When putting the final paperwork together today I noticed that the SAPOL cert is vastly different from the AFP one. SAPOL is in colour and has a clear watermark. AFP is black and white with a slight watermark. Had a complete paranoia attack and thought that we had photocopied the original AFP cert and had and lost it.......Sounds stupid now but about an hour ago I was totally bricking it........till I rang the AFP and a woman in a "for gods sake not another one" voice kindly said "No - it's black & white - computer generated".................

 

Anyway..........I'll post what we are plannig to submit later - still packing/worrying at the moment. Just though it might be a bit of light-hearted relief.:swoon:

 

PS - Im still worried about the HSA/DIAC/HOC medical thing though. Thats me though I guess :confused:

[Guest siamsusie]

Have a very safe trip...oh i hate typing this word...BIGFATPOM..... try and relax, let the woman take the strain they multi task so much better and enjoy the UK and the Christmas decorations.. very best wishes ss x

[Happy Lass 864]

I don't think you have anything to worry about re. your medical as long as you keep that envelope safe! :cute:

 

Best of luck with your application and I hope you both have a safe and uneventful flight :smile:

[Guest Katc78]

Yeah, ditto what Happy Lass says, BigFatPom - my fiance had his medical yesterday and he'd been off on his stag do of sorts in Slovenia on the weekend so had some massive bruises on him from paintballing - they asked him and he had to explain but it was all fine, he passed it. They said he'll never see the results as they get sent straight to the HC, but they said he'd passed.

 

Best of luck with your app and the trip back - be prepared, it's absolutely freezing, winter has suddenly descended in London!! And don't stress, you can only do your best, just take it as it comes... :-)

[Guest kat3802]

I can't really...express my thanks enough for this post...this whole visa paperwork has left my partner and I completely mind boggled...even after talking to embassy in Australia and America...we never got definitive answers...but this was so straight forward and perfect, it was absolutely fantastic to be able to compare our notes to yours. There was so much that we did not think to include...and nobody ever told us to do so I might add - it becomes difficult in amongst the mess to remember every minor detail, I'm sure you know this well if you did it by yourselves which it looks like you did...

 

Thank you...so so much... :wubclub: from both my partner and I. We both really appreciate it...and I hope that you guys got a swift response - sorry it's such a late comment to the original post though. :unsure:

 

BUT REALLY, THANK YOU!!! :cute::cute::cute:

[Guest blondie8987]

Hi, im new to this forum and wasnt sure exactly where to post my question but hopefully someone can help me out. My boyfriend lives in Perth, WA and i live in California, USA. We are in the process of getting together all of our documents to submit our prospective marriage visa application. I just saw online on some forum that you get a pre approval and at that time you are able to migrate to australia before the visa is actually approved? is that true? from what the offices told me over her was that the wait right now is 5-12 months, any advice will help! thanks in advance :laugh:

[Guest jamesand sarah]

Yeah, ditto what Happy Lass says, BigFatPom - my fiance had his medical yesterday and he'd been off on his stag do of sorts in Slovenia on the weekend so had some massive bruises on him from paintballing - they asked him and he had to explain but it was all fine, he passed it. They said he'll never see the results as they get sent straight to the HC, but they said he'd passed.

 

Best of luck with your app and the trip back - be prepared, it's absolutely freezing, winter has suddenly descended in London!! And don't stress, you can only do your best, just take it as it comes... :-)

 

Hi we have applied for the same visa, all documents and medicals are in and done. we submitted on the 3rd July medical was done sept 23rd. Did you CO let you know when you could expect your visa approved? Im freaking out a bit as we need to go back on the 13th December and were being told not to contact our CO till 3rd December.

[Guest dr27]

Hey katc!!! Your first post was so helpful!!!!!! We are applying in jan and our wedding is already booked 26th October. I'm doing all the forms myself as it seems pretty straight forward. I'd really appreciate some help though...the post I've quote below >>>> I'm not too sure what you mean by getting the form signed and witnessed? I'm going to fill out the forms from aus immigration and then what do I need as evidence from my celebrant? Il be in the uk when I send it off and my partner will be in aus. Also could you tell me where I can find the list of doctors approved to give medicals and maybe an insight as to how much it costs?

 

I really hope you can email me back if you have the time, freaking out cuz it seems like so much! Sure we will be ok though, just wanna get it right first time. Thanks , Denise

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heya Kazza

 

We have never met our celebrant - we just found one online (check out the Australian Wedding Forum, good discussions about celebrants, recommendations etc) and emailed her, paid her a deposit. We printed off the NOIM form (she emailed it, but you can also get it online), filled it out, took it to the Aus High Commission in London for our signatures to be witnessed (£20 a pop, fastest 40 quid I've ever spent!) then scanned it, emailed it back to her and put the hard copy in the post. she then lodged that NOIM for us in Aus, then sent us a letter giving all the details required and the date and place of our wedding. This is the letter you need to give to immigration with your app.

 

You should try and get some other evidence of your impending marriage, other than the letter from the celebrant, plus also make sure you get your people doing your stat decs to talk about how they know you intentions in the future - eg. proof that your relationship is both permanent and ongoing.

 

Best of luck - always happy to answer questions if I can... :-)