Guest Rabid Warrior Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Hi, Apologies if this question has been asked numerous times before. Can anyone please let me know the approx waiting / processing times for the 309 Spouse Visa? I need to head back to Oz for work in 3 months and want to know whether my British wife should apply now in the hope of it being approved in 3 months or for her to enter Oz as a tourist and apply in Oz. My next question is whether it is acceptable for her to enter with a one way ticket? We and our 2 (British) sons are wanting to move to Oz permanently. I am an Aussie who has lived in the UK for 10 years. Many thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GoldCoastMag Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I think applying offshore is preferred, then travel to oz is allowed on a tourist visa if the CO is informed. If the visa is approved she would have to travel to NZ or somewhere to validate it. A tourist visa isn't meant to be used as an immigrant visa, but from reading on the forum, some do use it without problems with the immigration people at the airport. Best wishes for your life in Australia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Apply offshore now for a couple of reasons: 1) Offshore applications are cheaper 2) Offhsore processing time is normally shorter Whilst she might not receive the partner visa in time to migrate on it, she will be allowed to enter Australia on a tourist visa after applying (I did this). If she applies onshore, it costs more and can take longer, during which time she would only have the same rights as the visa on which she entered the country ie, a tourist visa with no work rights. The fact she is also applying 3 months earlier than doing it onshore also means she will have it quicker. As for the one way ticket...not so sure about that one. I suppose as long as your wife can show she has the means to book a ticket to leave then it might be OK. The immigration officer at the border has to decide if she is using the right visa for the purpose of her trip. It's not unreasonable for a tourist to not be 100% sure of the date of their departure so not have a ticket booked. As long as she has the luggage of a tourist it should be OK Don't have it stuffed with CVs, references, qualification certificates, official docs like birth cert and marriage cert (in oher words all the docs someone wanting to live there permanently would bring), work clothing, high visability jackets, joinery tools, etc. You might want to consider booking and travelling separately from her so it doesn't look as though you are coming in together to live permanently...although you could argue you are just visiting also. On the plus side, she doesn't come from a High Risk country, as as long as she hasn't broken any visa conditions in the past it should be OK. Why not book a return ticket if it isn't too much more expensive...a number of airlines will let you change the date of the return flight for a nominal fee (Emirates charged me 75 pounds) She could then change the return date 9-12 months later than planned and go back for a visit if she gets homesick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest zamzam Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Not sure if this is helpful or not, but our experience (in 2006-7) was that coming in as a tourist while the offshore 309 visa application was being processed was no problem at all. We applied in Germany, my spouse and I flew to Australia on a tourist visa a month later and stayed there (spouse not working, of course!) until the visa was approved, then we went to New Zealand to have it activated (I didn't have to go too, we just decided to make a holiday of it!). The processing time for the 309 visa was three months. I'm sure a one way ticket would be fine if she has the spouse visa, but I wouldn't risk it as a tourist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danniecorizza Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 I applied for my 309/100 and traveled into the country (on a one way ticket) on a tourist visa whilst I waited out my response. I then traveled to NZ to validate it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rabid Warrior Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 309/100 visa application now lodged in London. They have advised current processing times are 5 to 6 months due to workload. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.