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The following is self explanatory and for information only.
It is possible to apply for more than one visa at a time though only one can be held and outcome of tweaking the system will like visa grants always be unknown until something happens, perhaps some luck involved as to who is looking at what.
It is possible to apply for more than one visa at a time though only one can be held and outcome of tweaking the system will like visa grants always be unknown until something happens, perhaps some luck involved as to who is looking at what.
So being informed, you can make your choice.Onshore/Offshore Partner visas and Visiting visas.
Aside from the issue of eligibility,many people are posting re wanting to travel to Australia whilst a partner visa is being processed or to alternately travel to Australia and apply onshore.
I've prepared this simple outline of the facts to save repetitive responses time, there being some key issues of risk involved.
1. Using a Visa for correct Intent
There is a general policy that people should use a visa for its intended purpose and though the following release was for 457 visas, there is a general reference and I think there is another more pertinent release about somewhere in the Immi system.
http://www.immi.gov.au/gateways/agents/pdf/subclass-457-visitors.pdf
So the risk that people take in attempting to bend the system towards their own situation is always that they may run into an Immi officer at point of entry who is doing things by the book.
Anyone who has ever worked in a larger organisation with rules and regulations will know that it only takes one person to say these are the rules and you'll not likely get another wanting to buck the system in favour of compassion or practicality.
Another factor that can determine outcome is the circumstances of travel and any documentation being carried, like who takes things like birth certificates and certified copies etc. when supposedly going on a visit!
The result can be that you are catching the next plane out again.
2. Being in the right place for a visa grantThe onus has always been on an applicant to be in the right place for a visa to be granted, offshore for an offshore visa or onshore for an onshore visa, an exception now being with onshore partner applicants who can now be offshore when the PR is granted.
If people are successful with entering Australia whilst awaiting another visa processing, it does seem that there are embassy/consulate/high commission based Immi people who will let applicants know that their granting is imminent and if they are in Australia, arrangements should be made to leave.
It is something that is also done for skilled visa applicants where someone may be on an employer sponsorship in Australia whilst awaiting an independent skilled visa decision, that type of visa being processed by Immi in Australia.
It, along with any embassy/consulate/HC action is outside of Immi regulations and something I could understand some bureaucrats being loathe to endorse, let alone the lesser echelons, the reasons being I'd suggest:
. Immi have a firm policy of a decision on visas not being projected and so it really means a visa has to be ready for granting before a person in theory can be notified.
If a slip up occurs, change of staff, Form 1022 misplaced, whatever and the visa goes up for entering into the system and a rejection occurs because a person is in Oz when they need to be abroad or vice versa, the system is not going to cope so well, and nor will the applicant with a visa rejected.
Immi like all government departments of most governments cop more flack than they want so why make a rod for their own back.
One poster from the USA was recently told that she may put her visa grant in jeopardy if having travelled to Oz.
. So basically, though people in many levels may want to be friendly and helpful and are, there is such a thing as putting yourself out on a limb and wanting to cover your backside from a good kick for not following the regulations.
. It also introduces another not regular step into a process designed for the masses and not with the flexibility to handle individual wants, thus more work and more reliance on the human fallibility factor.
And I am not saying that all Immi people are Ogres either, just waiting to turn people away on arrival but there are regulations and people who do like to see them adhered to as well as those who may adopt a more lenient approach when they can.
3. Bridging Visa on Expiry of an Existing VisaThe ability to come onshore and apply for a visa and then get a bridging visa is reliant on entering Australia on a visa that not have a No Further Stay condition.
For people from countries eligible to get an ETA, that is easy fixed and even for some who apply for the eVisa, it seems that visas are being issued with ETA like conditions.
That raises the case of an ETA not having an expiry date in theory until the end of 12 months and several trips out and back in is reached.
I am not aware if Immi have introduced an approach of saying OK, we can issue a bridging visa at the end of your first three months stint.
I'll update the situation if anything becomes apparent, a recent poster having applied for a partner visa, been on a bridging visa and also got the work restriction removed though I'm not aware of what visa she entered on - I'll check.