Guest Cameron Clan Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi Does anyone know, if it is possible to travel over to Oz on a tourist visa whilst awaiting a spouses visa (subclass 309) to be processed. My husband has Oz citizenship and I am applying for a 309, however after reading some threads on the forum quite nervous this will take some time to come through. We plan to be move over in September, so was hoping it is possible to apply for tourist visa whilst 309 visa is being processes, is this allowed? Also what is the status with schooling without a visa, we have found a place at a private school for our daughter in Melbourne and would like to enrol her for October start. Will her visa application need to be processed before she can start school? Any advise appreciated. I am a British citizen and have applied for visa through Australia House in London, clean bill of health, no criminal record and have been married for years so anticipating it will be processed with no hitches. Thank you AC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurls Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Hi Does anyone know, if it is possible to travel over to Oz on a tourist visa whilst awaiting a spouses visa (subclass 309) to be processed. My husband has Oz citizenship and I am applying for a 309, however after reading some threads on the forum quite nervous this will take some time to come through. We plan to be move over in September, so was hoping it is possible to apply for tourist visa whilst 309 visa is being processes, is this allowed? Yes it is possible, I did this myself. My husband is Australian and we applied for a 309 offshore in NZ where we were living at the time. The lease on our rental ended before the 309 was actually granted so we travelled with me on a tourist visa to enter Australia. We were however, staying with my in laws so we didn't have to organise rentals etc and our application was straightforward so it we perceived it unlikely that they would refuse the visa. Bear in mind though, they can't grant the 309 while you are in Australia. My CO emailed me when she was ready to grant the visa and I had to leave the country and go to Auckland to get it granted so I could re-enter Australia on the 309. I only had to stay overnight in Auckland but it is an additional cost of a flight. You'll need to make sure your CO is aware of your plans and have an email address for you. They'll probably tell you that going on a tourist visa "won't guarantee your visa will be approved so you'll be entering on a tourist visa at your own risk". Not sure about schooling sorry, my children aren't at that stage yet. :biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted June 14, 2011 Share Posted June 14, 2011 No problem with entering on a tourist visa whilst awaiting the decision on a partner visa. I did it too. Like the previous poster said, you will need to leave the country to have it granted (and anyone else on it, such as your child) Not sure about the school fees...if you and your daughter are on tourist visas then you will be charged international fees which can be high. If you have been married for years then you may be eligible for the Subclass 100 visa rather than the 309 which means you immediately become a permanent resident, as will your daughter (and therefore pay normal tuition fees, not international student fees) If your daughter qualifies for Australian CItizenship by descent then applying for that means she wouldn't pay international student fees either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rabid Warrior Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Cameron Clan, My wife and I are in a similar position to you. I am Australian and my wife is British. I need to start work in Melb on 1st Oct and the Australian High Commission in London has advised today that the estimated decision date for the 100/309 visa is at the end October. If she enters Australia on a tourist visa I assume she needs to have a return ticket (back to the UK) as immigration wouldn't let her in on a one-way ticket.....they're quite tough and we're concerned that we could jeopardise her current application. I suppose the best thing to do is to be open with her CO about it? Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ozmaniac Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Cameron Clan, My wife and I are in a similar position to you. I am Australian and my wife is British. I need to start work in Melb on 1st Oct and the Australian High Commission in London has advised today that the estimated decision date for the 100/309 visa is at the end October. If she enters Australia on a tourist visa I assume she needs to have a return ticket (back to the UK) as immigration wouldn't let her in on a one-way ticket.....they're quite tough and we're concerned that we could jeopardise her current application. I suppose the best thing to do is to be open with her CO about it? Thanks. When a Partner visa application has been lodged, you'll find that immigration won't enforce the return/onward ticket requirements that apply to most people. In any case, she will have to leave Australia for her visa to be granted offshore so if you're concerned about the return ticket issue, why not just get her an onward ticket to New Zealand or wherever she will be going for her visa grant. She should be completely up front with her CO. Partner visa applicants come on Tourist visas all the timeso it's standard operating procedure and your CO needs to be in the loop so that s/he knows to send a pre-grant letter so that your wife knows to leave to country. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rabid Warrior Posted July 22, 2011 Share Posted July 22, 2011 Thanks. My wife's CO has confirmed in writing that she can enter on a tourist visa and like others have stated she will get an email from her CO when they are ready to issue the visa and she will need to head to NZ for a day or so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heartwinnerOCT2009 Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 No problem with entering on a tourist visa whilst awaiting the decision on a partner visa. I did it too. Like the previous poster said, you will need to leave the country to have it granted (and anyone else on it, such as your child) Not sure about the school fees...if you and your daughter are on tourist visas then you will be charged international fees which can be high. If you have been married for years then you may be eligible for the Subclass 100 visa rather than the 309 which means you immediately become a permanent resident, as will your daughter (and therefore pay normal tuition fees, not international student fees) If your daughter qualifies for Australian CItizenship by descent then applying for that means she wouldn't pay international student fees either. Hi, Soon my spouse will be granted 309 and will be asked to go offshore to get 309 finalised. My spouse is in Australia on tourist visa at the moment. I am wondering if My spouse go to New Zealand, how long one has to stay offshore to get visa 309 finalised. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blossom Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Hi, Soon my spouse will be granted 309 and will be asked to go offshore to get 309 finalised. My spouse is in Australia on tourist visa at the moment. I am wondering if My spouse go to New Zealand, how long one has to stay offshore to get visa 309 finalised. Thanks. This is a very old thread. If you have questions you are best off starting a new thread. But anyway, I think most people go for at least a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeorgeD Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Strictly speaking you only need to be offshore when your CO presses the button on your application, so a day would be enough. But that assumes your Co actually grants it on the day you are out...sickness, IT problems, power cuts, local holidays, simply forgetting, etc are all things which come into play when you are using such tight timelines as that...hence the fact most people go away for a longer period of time. A week would be good. Remember your CO is on the other side of the world too...so bear in mind a 10 hour or so time difference...and public holidays in the Uk are different from Oz, etc. If your CO says they will grant on the 27th but doesn't do it until the 28th, well that's your problem not theirs, you landed back in Oz with a tourist visa so they will let you in...but your Spouse Visa will be invalid or you might be lucky and they won't grant until you leave again which will cost more flights, etc...so give it a bit of leeway. And COs don't work weekends either remember! As Blossom79 says, you might be better off starting a new thread asking how long other people have stayed out of Oz while the CO grants it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pharb Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 My fiance applied for a 309 from Brazil after having lived with me in Australia for a year and a half. She also applied for a student visa and got refused on grounds of genuine temporary entrant requirement not being satisfied. We were truthful and said in the application that this is a one year course and the waiting period for the partner visa is around one year too, so we have to leave the country anyway to get the 309 approved and therefore she has a genuine intention to stay temporarily because why would we squander the $7000 partner application fee by not leaving. They said no you just want to come here to be together, you don't really want to study the course, she really does though, I'm so sad and devastated, it says no right to a review either =( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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