[irti3]

Hi Mark,

My wife and i have applied for subclass 489 visa on April 23rd 2019. We had one contact from CO back in October 2019 asking for my wife’s recent payslips.It has been excruciatingly painful waiting all these months to get some sort of reply.Although Australian immigration has informed everyone not to make any future decisions until there is an outcome but we are living in limbo.
I am aware COVID-19 hasn’t ended yet but does this lengthy process has got something to do with us applying from a high risk country.We are applying from Pakistan and your response will be highly appreciated Mark !

 

[Aliki]

Hello Mark
I applied for partner visa 309 on 21 of March 2019.
My wife is from Morocco and our case is in Australian embassy in Cairo.
We submitted almost all the required documents, such as photos, mariage certificate, tickets airline, western union receipt, whats app chat...
We got two RFI one on October 2019 and other on February 2020.
They asked on the last one for police clearance, statutory declaration for my wife and some questions on form 80.
We asked for an expedite on March for the visa but we received an email from Australian embassy in Cairo and they said that the visas are suspended Due to the Covid-19.
Last week we sent an email to them and asked when the visas will be on process again and they said that a small number of cases will be on processed but they didn't mention my case are included or not.
My question is : is it true that Cairo visas processing has been transferred to Onshore processing office due to the local lockdown? They reduced the processing time from 21 to 17 months, do we have the right to talk to them if they didn't grant my wife visa after the 17 months?

Hi All -

I'm very excited to be back on the Australia Forum after some time away - it's such a fantastic and friendly community here. I wanted to announce a new 2020 edition of my Ask Mark! thread which I've hosted previously here for some time - as before, happy to do my best to provide information to anyone about Australian migraiton. A few notes:

* I tend to focus on family/partner visas, skilled and employer sponsored visas, and complex cases such as Schedule 3, PIC 4020, health and character cases, and do cases at the AAT Tribunal and the Courts
* I don't work a lot in the areas of student and refugee visas, so may not be the best source of info for these
* I may not be able to give you specific advice for your case if it involves complex or private issues that it's not practical to go into on a public forum - will let you know in this case

In these challenging times, communicating and sharing information is more important than ever, especially with things changing so quickly as they are now with the COVID-19 situation. I'm happy to be here to help, and look forward to your questions.

Best,

Mark Northam

 

[Vanessababa1]

Citizenship by Descent

Hi Mark,

I hope you are well? and thank you for all of your help and advice.

In March 2020 from the UK, I applied for Citizenship by Descent (my father was born in Adelaide and has an Australian birth certificate). On my Immi Account it is showing as "Received" but nothing else, would you know roughly how long these types of visa's are taking to be processed?

Also, if I may ask when I become a Citizen would the process be quicker for a Child 101 visa? I think normally can take up to 14 months but if we were to make the move, whould it be better to apply for a tourist visa then apply onshore?

Many thanks & take care

 

[daredevil]

Hi, I am a professional in Australia and like a pharmacist. As a sponsor, can I also be a notary witness for the applicant?

 

[daredevil]

Hi Achmat -

Thanks for the note. Under the current legislation there is no specific income or asset test for partner visa sponsors, however you must be able to show that you "would be able" to financially support your partner for the first 2 years after they are granted a visa. Often payslips from previous work (if you are not employed currently) or current employment info, resume, etc can be helpful here.

Hope this helps -

Best,

Mark Northam

Hi Mark, you have been a great help in answering questions here and there. Further to the evidences provided, which documents like joint account, pay slips need to be sighted by JPs as true copies of the originals to be submitted to DHA?

 

[daredevil]

Hi Mark,

Just a simple question, In overseas, who are the notary public that is recognised to signed or certified documents?

Thank you

 

[deck11]

462 visa

Hi Mark,

Appreciate you taking the time to answer questions.

Just wondering if you have any insight on 462 visa approvals at the moment. I am an Australian returning from the US due to a change in work and am looking at options to bring my American partner back also. We are getting married before the move but would like to have some experience living in Aus together before moving forward with a permanent resident visa.

Our other thought was the visitor 600 visa - how do they determine the length of stay? Is a 3 month 600 visa any different than an ETA? She currently has an active ETA which we could fall back on.

Thank you!

 

[Christianb]

38 months after my application

Hi Mark, thanks for all your help in this forum. What a wonderful initiative. I am Sorry to bother you with my case but I feel like a need a bit of help with my application.

I'm Colombian and my partner is Australian. We PAPER lodged our application more than 3 years ago and we haven't received any other email, letter or call about our process so I am still in Bridging A and No medical examinations have been requested or 820 have been granted yet. Here is my time line:

April 2016: relationship started with my Australian partner
Sept 2016: started living together
March 2017: our relationship was registered and Bridging Visa A granted
April 2017: we applied for our visa subclass 820/801
Jan 2019: Bridging Visa B granted for 3 months to go to Col
June 2019: Bridging Vida B approved for 1 year to go to Vietnam. It will expire next month

Could you please advise me in how to proceed. I have written several emails and responses from [email protected] are always an automatic response with no more than links and links that take me to the same spot, waiting longer or the online immi account. Whike trying to do it there it doesn't allowed me with an error that says I'm not entitled yet to do it and/or my paper lodged application can't be processed online.

Thank you for your time and any idea or suggestion is greatly appreciated.
Cheers

 

[apurvwalia]

Hi Mark,
Found the answer so deleting this

 

[John Clip]

Hi, Question removed as I found the answer & Marks time is important.

 

[Motunrayo]

Hello mark
Thanks for your time, am on pmv my fiancee is Australia citizen, we are dating for more than 4year, but he break up with me of recent, if I still grant the visa, can I still travel to Australia or I should just forget the visa, thanks

 

[Hannah404]

Hi mark! I really appreciate your help on this forum. I'm currently in Australia on a subclass 476 and my visa is due to expire in a month and a half. The situation back home is really bad in terms of the pandemic. I am currently working in the food industry.
What are my chances of getting the temporary activity visa and will my case have chances of being accepted?

 

[Salmn669]

Hi Mark.
"Posting this Post on behalf of someone"
This lady who just came back from overseas(Pakistan) after 2 years which her husband didnt want her to come here but she came in Australia anyway and she holds Permanent residency which she got in 2016 along with her husband and from 2016 until 2020 she did only 3 visits and the longest visit was in 2018 which was for 4months only.Now from 2018 until 3 weeks ago her husband didn't contact her through any sort which made her broken so she came back to Australia for finding out that what's actually happening and after arriving here she went to her husband place which he Is renting but she been kicked out by her husband without any reason(she said from my husband behaviour it feels like he doesn't want relationship anymore) She is not living with her husband and she have a plan to stay here.
Now my questions are
1. How she can monitor her martial status?
2. What benefits she can have from her husband(they don't have any kids)
3. For separation do both have to fill any form or report immigration about not living together even though you both are in same city?
4. Any Possiblilty that her husband divorced her already which she doesn't know cause she was in overseas and wasnt get in contact with husband.
Kindly need advise.

 

[KarenP]

Ask Mark! New 2020

Hi Mark,
Is the department still processing TSS 482 visas at the moment due to the high unemployment rate in Australia at the moment?
Thanks

 

[JMM]

Hi Mark,

I wanted to get some advice on the location change for the 417 visa.

As we all know, the 417 visa comes with a 6 month work limitation (8457) for the same employer.

I was reading that you do not need to notify the department and can work with one employer for up to 12 months as long as work in one location does not exceed 6 months.

Therefore, if you worked for an organisation that had multiple offices in a city, you could re-set the 6 month limitation by moving to another office?

For example, if you worked for an organisation in Perth and spent 6 months in one office and then moved to another office with a different address (which was in another suburb also in Perth), you could work for that same company for up to 12 months?

Many thanks,
Matt

 

[Aeai13]

Hi Mark, I am messaging on behalf of my friend. She applied for 820/801 partner visa, but then she had abusive threat from her husband when she was pregnant. Her husband is the one who offered her to sponsor the visa after married. They married for almost 1 year and he has changed since her wife got pregnant, he betrayed her and did so many abusive threat which made my friend worry about herself and her pregnancy. She decided return to her country to give a birth there to get support from her family. I am looking for some informations for her:

She is now with BVB and her visa nearly expired, she want return to Australia with her baby, she has a good career here as Early childcare educator. But, the travel restriction makes her plan to come back before her BVB expired will be impossible.

If she apply for 600 visitor visa with her baby, is it possible for her to reinstate her Bridging Visa and continue her partner visa? As I read from some information that her circumstance for DV and has child from their marriage, she might can get the visa granted.

Before she left Australia, she reported all the DV that she got from her husband, she had all the evidences.

She already reported to the Immigration regarding her relationship breakdown and Immi asked her to write down her information about it with time frame 28 days. Since the Covid19 kicked in, she has no response anymore from Immi.

I am really appreciate if you can give all the information about what to do next on her situation. Thank you in advance.

 

[Rapha17]

Skill Assessment Documentation

Hi Mark,

Appreciate that you are opening up this thread for us who are seeking advice.

Situation : Application of Skills Assessment for 190 Visa in Engineers Australia.

Question 1: Should I choose the purely Qualifications Assessment, or both Qualifications Assessment + Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment?

Question 2: What supporting documentation are the minimum requirement for the Relevant Skilled Employment Assessment?

Grateful for any reply or kind of advice.

Rapha

 

[Abedin]

Tourist Visa Re-apply COVID19

Hi Mark,
Great to see you are back as you helped me a lot with your expertise during my PR application back in 2013.Hope to get your insights once again.

This is regarding reapplying my Parents Tourist visa (Passport: Bangladesh). They are also waiting on offshore 173 visa applied on OCT 2016.

1. Arrived: 4 Oct 2019 (6 months stay)
2. Applied onshore tourist visa on March 2020 - as border restrictions came into effect
3. Granted on May and Stay granted until 4 Oct 2020 (12 cons months)

Current Visa conditions: No work and Max 3 months Travel

Although they do not have any other conditions, I believe they were granted only 5 months visa and until 4 Oct because of the condition - maximum CONSECUTIVE stay of 12 months in Australia.

Now, with the restrictions and sever covid situation do I reapply:

1. Tourist Visa - (pay onshore fees+subsequent TAC) what are the chances of getting approved as their stay will be beyond 12 consecutive months?

Or, 2. Apply Covid 408 visa (no cost)- as this is the last resort visa if the chances of getting tourist visa is low.

Thanks in advance for your great help.

Regards,
Abedin

 

[ellie.198]

onshore 482 app

Hi Mark!

Firstly, thank you for giving up your time to answer our questions.

I did start a new thread with my question, but chances are you'll probably be the best person to give me advice (hopefully!)

From my thread;

I'm wondering if anyone has been in the same position and could offer me advice on where I stand.

So, a little background, I am currently employed with the business who wishes to sponsor me for a 482 visa (currently on a 417 working holiday visa, expires October 2020) for a Short-Term TTS. We have completed the SBS application and it has been received by immigration. Job adverts are out for labour market testing etc. so that ball is rolling. I'm now in process of getting everything together for what I need submit the nomination/application. I've seen noted on multiple agency sites that the SBS, nomination and application can all be submitted together. Obviously, we need to complete LMT, but am I correct in assuming that once the 28 days has elapsed, I can submit nomination/application if the SBS is still pending approval? The current processing time is 62-79 days, which takes me dangerously close to the end of my visa.

My ANZSCO code indicates I do not need a skills assessment.
My issue is that, although I have the required minimum 3 years work experience (no degree, unfortunately), the company I gained the most experience from has liquidated and I have no way of contacting my manager to be a referee as they do not use social media. I mean, I can go down the route of contacting people I knew she was friendly with when I worked with her, in hopes they have contact information and are willing to pass it along, but its been over two years now, so I'm not sure that's a viable option.

I know I could submit a statutory declaration, but if I go this route, what evidence is best to submit with it? All my tax return and end of year statement paperwork is buried somewhere in my mothers loft (or my partners dads, I can't remember!), I have access to HMRC's my Gov PAYE information where it shows where I was employed and my income information, but I cannot create a downloadable report for this, would screenshots suffice? Likewise for payslips, since the company is liquidated, I cant contact HR and the online portal they used to distribute payslips has since been deactivated. I could kick myself for not downloading everything when I had the chance!

I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place, all the evidence and information I'm claiming is genuine, but I think I'll have a hard time proving it. I'm just apprehensive to allow my employer to spend thousands of dollars if the risk is too great.

Does anyone know is immigration accepts screen shots or would even accept such wishy-washy information?

Any advice is greatly appreciated! Apologies for the sheer volume of information!!

thank you

 

[alicevisahell]

Partner secretly kept visa

Hi Mark,

I applied for a partner visa with my partner at the time in 2018. By 2019 it had not been granted. He had worked all over the world and so we had to get police checks for each country. He was getting angry with all the papers needed so I tried to get them all for him, contacting his old employers and paying chinese agents for paper work for when he worked in China.

Finally he said that he wanted to be with other people until the visa came through. I was heartbroken but I had hoped that the visa would be granted before he could act on this. Then I found out that he had been using all the documents I had been getting so he could apply for a 2 year working visa in Canada. So I broke it off with him but I told him to cancel the visa as I had done so much. He said he would.

I later found out he didn't cancel the visa, it was granted and he didn't tell me and he was using it as a backup for if his canadian one didn't go through. I confronted him and he made up some silly excuse about it being too hard.

He said he was going to canada anyway and that he had to be in Australia by 5 July 2020 for it to be valid. But the other day a friend was asking what would stop him coming in on the visa anyway and I wasn't worried as that date has passed and I know he is still in Canada.

But when I logged in to our immi account even though it says first entry must be before 5 July 2020 it doesn't expire until 2024.

I called immi today and they can't tell me anything he has done on his end. I wish I had cancelled the visa myself before it was granted but I was heartbroken and was hoping pathetically that he would change his mind.

I want to withdraw my sponsorship but I can't see how? I don't want him entering the country on my sweat and so many tears. But I can't upload anything to our immi account.

What can I do?