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Partner Visa 300/309/100 Offshore - Waiting Room

96K views 249 replies 63 participants last post by  JandE 
#1 · (Edited)
Partner Visa 300/309/100 Offshore Waiting Room

Welcome future Australians!

The previous waiting room threads for partner visa are missing so here is the new one.

We'll begin with info to bust some common myths and folklores on partner visa processing:


SBS Radio Interview: Inside the Mind of a Former-Immigration Case Officer (Part I)

Kim Anh: When considering the visa application, what factors does the Department of Home Affairs consider? (Common and basic elements)?

Tony: The 1st factor that the case officer will typically consider is the application's profile. These include passport, the type of visas, occupation, field of study and, if they are applying for a partner visa, the main factor will be the relationship. This is because this information is easy for visa processing officers to assess. This helps gives them make an overall assessment of whether or not your application is likely to be approved or rejected.

The 2nd factor would have to be based on the documents which have been provided, how genuine does the application look/is it likely to be a strong application? The officer can make this assessment in a very short time.

They may also look at other factors like: Whether the migration agent has a history of lodging fraudulent applications, whether the application will comply with immigration laws...For example, if an applicant applies for a Student Visa, the case officer will consider if he or she genuinely wants to study or if they just want to work. If they only want to work, they need to apply for a different visa type.


Kim Anh: Since you used to work for the Department of Immigration, can you please let us know the procedure and steps for document review?

Tony: I'd like to first paint a picture of a case officer's daily work.

Case officers work in Departments specializing in one visa type at a time. At the start of the day, the manager would assign them a number of cases to the visa processing officers. These cases only belong to a specific type of visa such as student visa, working visa. The number of cases that are assigned is based on a daily working target. Usually the manager will assign to the officer about 20-25 applications. The department dealing with Student Visa would usually need to process 20-25 applications within a day.

After receiving the assigned cases, the visa processing officer would open the system to display the client’s profile. They would first look at the name, age, country of passport, and especially visa history of the applicant.

This part is really important as the officer always look at your visa history first.

If the applicant has many previous visa refusals, this will immediately affect the opinion of the case officer and create prejudice. On the screen, it would display all the types of visas which had been applied for and which applications were granted and which application were refused.

Then, they would open up your current application. Before the visa processing officer looks at the current application, they would already have an overall idea about the applicant based on the previous step. Then, case officers would look at either the form or the documents first – this depends on the individiual case officer.

As for myself, I used to look at the provided documents first because I found that the documents would be more precise than the application itself, which has only basic information. When looking at the documents, I could guage the applicant's intention and get an impression of whether this is a strong application or not. I would then decide what to do with this application. If this was a strong application, I would usually approve it. If it was a weak application, I'd need to then find the document that supports the reason for the refusal.

After visa processing officer get an idea of what the application is about, then they'll focus on the details. They have a checklist of key criteria against which the application will be assessed. For example: 'Is the passport within the expiry date?' or 'Is the applicant currently enrolled in a course?'. They'll then check the details to see if you meet all specific requirements.

This applies usually for visa types which have many criteria that are black and white. However, for certain visa types, the criteria is more vague with more discretionary requirements, especially for partner visas for example. In these cases, it will depend on the "feeling" of the case officer to see if you meet the specific requirements. So this means they judge an application based on the impression given off by the documents. This way is more difficult. Let’s say with the age criterion, if the requirement is for the applicantto be is under 45 years old, then the applicant clearly knows if they meet the requirement or not. However, with the genuine relationship criterion, how can you know whether the relationship is genuine? It depends on the judgement of the individual officer. If the visa type belongs to the category with less specific criteria, the case officer would need to go through all documents and make the decision of whether to granting or rejecting the visa application.

If the decision is to grant, it is easy. They just need to press the button and the visa is automatically printed out and updated in the migration system. If it is to refuse, they are required to write a letter indicating the reasons for which they are refusing this visa.


Kim Anh: So you are saying that on a daily basis, case officers will be assigned 20-25 visa applications?

Tony: It depend on the visa type. For example, for Student visas, the number of cases assigned might be around 20-25. Whereas if it was for Partner visas, it might only be 3-4 cases.


Kim Anh: So how long will it take an officer to decide for a visa application?

Tony: Within 1 day. If the manager assigned the cases to you for that day, you'd have to complete them all on that day.


Kim Anh: I know that there are many types of visas with different visa processing times. For example, a parent visa application can take 3-4 years to process. But you you say that the officer takes only 1 day to approve them?



Tony: We have to wait for a long time because of the high number of applications in the system and the quota set by the Australian government.


Kim Anh: What are the three biggest psychological factors that affect the immigration process?

Tony: Firstly, as we discussed earlier, the time for processing a visa application is actually very short.

Case officers can form an overall idea of the case in less than a minute.


This is important for them because they have strict targets, e.g. processing 20 applications within 1 day, which means they may not have the luxury to form an opinion only after looking at all the documents. This means they judge an application based on the "feelings" given off by the documents, particularly for visa types that rely heavily on discretionary criteria like Partner visas.

If the officer feels that this is a strong application, with a strong profile and good circumstances, then the officer may not look into details as much and would only do a high-level assessment to see if the applicant meets all the requirements, and then would grant the visa. This way, they will have more time to spend on other applications. In contrast, if they feel that it is a weak application, then, psychologically knowing that they don't have enough time to comb through the application, they would have to arrive at a quick conclusion about the application.

The second pyschological factor is that, in some cases, if a certain condition exists in an application which makes the application appear weak or not genuine, the officer would automatically flag that application and change the way they process that application.


They will check the application carefully and cautiously to find if there is strong reason to refuse this application.

Thirdly, it is how the documents are organized. If all documents required have been provided, it makes it easier for them to grant. Providing thorough documentation is a good way to encourage the officer to grant because they just need to click one button, whereas they would have to write up a whole letter to explain the reason for refusal decision if they want to refuse the application. Therefore, as long as they have sufficient reasons to grant the visa, they would typically rather grant the visa than refuse it.

Unfortunately, in some cases, the case officers like to refuse the application as they want to feel more powerful over the applicant. It is unfortunate that we have to come across these types of case officers.


Kim Anh: Can you please explain the difference between strong and weak application?

Tony: The case officers are looking for different types of documents depending on the type of visa application.

A strong application is one that is close to the standard, as it will be similar to other applications that the case officer has previously granted.

For example, for partner visas, there are certain documents that are considered to be standard, such as lease agreements. If the couple lives at their parents' homes, it is more difficult to prove that they live together. Whereas, if they rent together themselves, they will have a joint lease agreement. This way, because they can provide another independent third party signed document to prove they live together, the application will be stronger. It doesn't mean that just because you live with parents your application will be not successful, but it does makes your application weaker versus what the case officer is looking for.

Next week we'll share the translations for part 2 of Tony's interview where he answers questions from the audience, some of which could be the exact questions you have!


SBS Radio Interview: Inside the Mind of a Former-Immigration Case Officer (Part II)

Kim Anh: We have some questions from the viewers. Lanh Huynh: My parents had previously applied for a visitor visa and were refused entry. Now, they are applying for the visitor visa again. However, it has been 5 weeks since the submission. Will it likely be refused again?


Tony: It’s hard to say without knowing the applicant’s circumstance and profile in depth. For visitor visa applications though, the most important factor is the incentive to go back to Vietnam. There are 3 main criteria: 1) the reason for visiting, 2) strong evidence of financial capacity and 3) the incentive to return to Vietnam. For example, if the applicant is unemployed or they don't have any remaining relatives in Vietnam, this would make the application riskier.


Kim Anh: In the audience's case, his parent had been refused the visitor visa. Can they receive the reason for refusal?

Tony: (Other than what is stated on the refusal letter) 80-90% of the time, the reason for refusal is not having enough incentive to return to Vietnam.


Kim Anh: As Tony mentioned, the officer will be able to see the visa history when they process the applications. However, it has been 5 weeks since the application was submitted. Do you think there is a high chance that this application will be rejected?

Tony: I think a five-week wait is not that long. For Vietnam, a processing time of 3-5 weeks for visitor visas is normal. In this case, it does not necessarily mean that the application will be rejected.


Kim Anh: If it has been longer than 5 weeks?

Tony: It depends. From my experience, if the case officer has already decided to refuse your application, they will not delay the refusal. If they intend to refuse, they will do so within the day or, at the latest, a week. In the audience's case, I believe that because your application has been refused many times, the manager might consider it a complex case and assign it to another person. This would prolong the processing time. In this situation, I would recommend providing more documents to prove that you have reason to return to Vietnam.


Kim Anh: How can you do that if you already submitted your application? Can you provide additional documents after lodging your application?

Yes, you can provide further documents after applying. If the applicants provide additional information, the Department of Immigration is obliged to consider all the provided information.


Kim Anh: Question from Trong San. He says he wants to apply for a 482 visa as a butcher. Will it be okay to submit and how long would you estimate the processing time to be?

The processing time for 482 visas are now faster than 457 visas, so it might only take a month to grant the visa.

Now, whether or not the occupation can be sponsored also depends on the business. The most important criterion that makes or breaks a 482 visa is having a genuine position. The business owner needs to prove that they have a demand for that occupation. For example, restaurants that want to sponsor cooks can successfully have a visa approved quite easily. Whereas, if a restaurant wanted to sponsor a marketing specialist instead, it would be harder for them to prove that the role is necessary. In your situation, you must consider whether a butcher is necessary for your business to operate. Of course, there are also other requirements involved with this visa type. As for myself, as a case officer, if I opened the application and saw that a butcher shop is sponsoring a butcher, then I would likely not see an issue, as far as occupation goes.


Kim Anh: Question from Xi Muoi Nguyen. Her aunt applied for a visitor visa twice and was refused because she declared different occupations in each application and was unable to provide enough financial capacity. She declared her job as a housemaid and as a small business owner in two applications.

Tony: Yes, I understand that is it difficult to prove your income as a small business in Vietnam. The evidence of income is very important because if the business earns a significant income, they will have stronger incentives to return. However, if the business has a small income, the officer might assume that the applicant might be willing to abandon the business and remain in Australia. For example, you cannot simply provide a profit and loss statement, you must also provide invoices etc.


Kim Anh: So in this third time applying for the visa, which occupation should she declare? If she only works for a small business, it might be difficult for her to provide the documents.



Tony: Yeah, I do think it is a challenge for us Vietnamese. Jobs with a fixed income is better than owning a small business. For high-risk applications, the Department of Immigration may be very strict when it comes to evaluating the visa. For example, depending on the circumstances, for applicants with a small business, with no fixed income, with no dependents to take care of in Vietnam, I believe that the application will not be successful no matter how many times it is applied for. Although the applicant might have a genuine intention to visit Australia only temporarily, it is difficult for them to satisfy the requirements for a Visitor visa.

In your situation, my suggestion is that in your new application, you can explain why the reason for the previous visa refusals is not correct and that the circumstances have changed. Otherwise, the second method is that if the applicant has any close family unit members, she can ask them to sponsor the her under 600 Visa (sponsored family stream) and pay the fee. If you use this method, on one hand, the duration that you can stay in Australia might be shorter and more expensive as you have to make a payment. On the other hand, this method allows you to have the chance to visit Australia and thus improve your visa history in order to apply for a Visitor Visa in the future.


Kim Anh: So you should apply for another visa type, then re-apply for Visitor Visa. Questions from Lanh Huynh. What should I do now?

Tony: You can contact the Department of Immigration via Global Feedback Unit and enquire about your application. It is compulsory for the Department to respond to you. If the case takes longer, you will soon get results. However, I recommend that you should only contact them if the application has been in review for more than 6-7 weeks. Otherwise, if you contact them too early, they will just advise that your application is within the processing time.


Kim Anh: Question from Cau Ba. He wants to apply for Partner Visa in Australia but he does not have an official visa, only a Bridging Visa. He understands that he will need to have special reasons so that he can be eligible to apply for a Partner Visa in Australia. Which are the reasons that are allowed for visa submission? And should we have the documents at the time of submission or after?

Tony: You will need to provide all the documents at the time of lodging the application.

From my experience, it is quite difficult to satisfy those reasons. For example, if the applicant has a new-born child who will be an Australian citizen, the Department might allow them to submit their application in Australia because if one of the parents is leaving Australia, this will have a negative impact on the child. Alternatively, it might be allowed if the applicant has a health problem that might prevent him/her from returning to his/her country. In your case, you should consult with your migration agent to see if there is a specific solution for your circumstances. Otherwise, it’s better if you apply for the Partner Visa offshore.


Kim Anh: In the waiting time for their 143 Parent Visa, his parents traveled to Australia (on a visitor visa). Will this have any impact on the 143 visa processing time?

Tony: No, the 143 visa is separate from the Visitor Visa. I don’t really remember the exact processing time currently, but it should be around 3.5 - 4 years. If you want to know, you can send the email to the visa processing department and receive an automated-response email. In this email, you will be able to see the date of processing. You can also view the processing times on the Department of Immigration website.


Kim Anh: Common reasons why an applicant is refused an Australian visa?

Tony: It depends on the types of visa and also on the processing officer.

With the visa types that have specific requirements that the applicants can all satisfy, it will be easy to get granted. However, with visa types that have discretionary requirements, it depends on the processing officers.

For example, when applying for the Student Visa, there is one requirement called GTE – Genuine Temporary Entrance, in which the applicant must prove that they intend to come to Australia temporarily for study-purposes. In most cases where the student applicants get refused for the Student Visa, they are unable to explain why the course in Australia is valuable to them. They mention that they want to apply for PR or other types of visas, or that they don't have a strong reason for why they want to study their selected course.

For Partner Visas, the common reasons for refusal are if the applicants cannot provide sufficient evidence to prove the genuiness of their relationship. Proving this can be a challenge for applicants, because we often only share our relationship with family members, friends or relatives. In some situations, (I've come across) applicants who are very confident about their genuine relationship, but they don't know how to prove it through documentation. Their applications are unlikely to be successful, especially if they unintentionally provide information that might raise suspicion. For example, if the applicant says that they do not normally take pictures.

I do have some clients who don’t like taking pictures. I usually advise them to take more pictures because lacking photos could lead to an unsuccessful application.



Kim Anh: Question from Anthony Tran: For Visa 189, 190, do case officers contact previous employers for investigation? If yes, will they contact them directly or they will contact via the Vietnam Embassy in Vietnam?

Tony: The answer is no. Generally, you need to complete a skills assessment before you apply for the visa. The case officers will base their decisions around your 189/189 application on the result of your skill assessments, and other documents of course. This comes back to the previous point, the case officer will decide if they have a reason to make a call based on the feeling that they get about the application, whether it is strong and genuine. In contrast, if they feel like this application is not strong or if they flag a specific unofficial document, they will make a call. Therefore, it comes down to the way that you provide the documents.

By the way, the audience also asked who will make the call. Usually, the case officers will go through the Vietnam Embassy to contact the employers. In some cases, the case officers will investigate in Australia by using interpreters. However, they prefer working with the Vietnam Embassy because it is easier; they know Vietnamese and are knowledgeable about the visa requirements.


Kim Anh: In case the visa is denied, what should the applicant do?

Tony: It depends on the visa types and the reasons for your refusal.

If you are refused a visa due to the discretion of the case officers, you can always go to the AAT to challenge the decision. They will have a separate department to process your application in a similar manner to the first time. However, this time they will not process your application based on feeling, they will base the application on Immigration laws and policies. This could be more advantageous for the applicant. However, if the requirement is a straightforward one such as a being below a certain level of income, you might be refused for the second time.

On the other hand, since the cost of the AAT is expensive and takes more time, you might find that resubmitting your application is a better way as it takes less time and money. Also, you definitely should seek professional advice for this. Since professionals probably have worked on many applications, they will know whether your application will be more likely to succeed if you choose to resubmit or go to AAT.


Kim Anh: Question from Cau Ba. He applied for the 820 Partner Visa, he has been separated from his wife for 8 years but he has not divorced yet. He can prove that he has been living with his current partner for 12 months in a de facto relationship.

Tony: Based on this information, I think it could be possible. You don't need to have the divorce be finalized as long as you have been separated for a long time and there is no connection with your previous spouse. You don’t need to get married either in the case ofthe 820 visa.


Kim Anh: KA: Question from Misa Pham. As for Visa 189, Core ICT units belong to occupations on the long-term list, is she eligible to apply for a PR?

Tony: I think that she is referring to the skill assessment. If you want to get the skill assessment as an ICT business analyst, ACS has a list of subjects that are required in your study and lists what percentages you get according to their list. If your qualification meets their requirements, you will be able to get the skill assessment. Once you get the skill assessment, you will be able to apply for PR. However, getting a PR also depends on other factors besides the skill assessment. You have to take into consideration whether you can earn enough points. You will need at least 95 points for PR with IT occupations now.


Kim Anh: Question from Nguyen Vy asking about the Visitor visa. Her sister's family is staying in Australia on a Visitor visa. Now the husband wants to stay in Australia and study. Will he be able to transfer to a student visa and include his wife and children in his application?

Tony: It depends on the Visitor visa that they have. If there is a condition called "No further stay - 8503" preventing the applicant from applying for another visa, then they cannot. Otherwise, if there are no such conditions, then he will be able to apply for a student visa.

You have to also consider whether or not he is eligible to apply for a student visa. As I mentioned earlier, it depends on the feeling of the case officers to see what the applicant has done overseas, why he wants to study in Australia, and if the course will be valuable for him. If these factors can persuade the case officer, only then should you go for it. If the application is not strong enough, you should find a way to make it stronger. Otherwise, you should not apply for the student visa. Especially considering, a student visa needs to proof of Genuine Temporary Entrant, which could be hard for the applicant to persuade the case officer of.


Kim Anh: So you mention “No further stay - 8503”, if there is a condition like that, it means that there is no chance for the applicant?

Tony: (It's not easy, but) there is still a way. You can ask for a special consideration to remove this condition, for special reasons such as you needing to stay back to take care of someone else etc. This reason has to occur after you were granted the visa.


Kim Anh: Question from Trong Sang. Instead of applying for Visa 482 as a Butcher, now he wants to apply as a Slaughterer. How long will it take at the moment?

Tony: The processing time is still the same regardless of the occupation.


Kim Anh: Due to time limitations, I would like to end the Livestream here. In the coming February, Tony will come back in the next Livestream – Luat Di Tru and focus more on Partner Visas. Can you please give an overview of the topic of the next Livestream?

Tony: I will discuss when you should and when you should not apply for Partner visas. There are many streams for Partner visas, such as applying from overseas or from Australia. I will explain how you should choose the correct Partner visa stream. Then I will discuss the main requirements for this visa and how to provide the documents so that we can meet those requirements. This type of visa depends heavily on the discretion of the case officers. Therefore, I will talk about how the case officer will assess the application in Australia and explain how we can meet these requirements.


Kim Anh: So it means that you will provide the information based on your experience both as a case officer and as a migration agent?

Tony: Yes, of course!

Kim Anh: Thank you for your time.
 
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#2 ·

300 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2021-Dec)

25% of applications: 9 months
50% of applications: 20 months
75% of applications: 29 months
90% of applications: 34 months


309 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2021-Dec)

25% of applications: 5 months
50% of applications: 10 months
75% of applications: 22 months
90% of applications: 29 months


100 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2021-Dec)

75% of applications: 13 months
90% of applications: 19 months
 
#3 ·
Hello, hello :)
Has anyone else applied from Germany recently? We submitted our application a week ago and now waiting for the medicals appointment in two weeks. I am absolutely not stressed about the waiting, since we have been a couple for the last 7 years and are currently not unhappy in Germany (where we probably had a bit more freedom in the pandemic than we would have had in Australia).
 
#4 ·
Hi,

I have applied for my 309 in June 2019 & still waiting for my visa. I was going through my application (shared with me by my agent) and just saw a section called "Photograph - Other" (Provide a recent photograph of the visa applicant (other than a passport photograph).

Even though my application is old, do I need to add a photograph of mine or is this section to add the relationship evidence pics?
 
#6 ·

300 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2022-Jan)

25% of applications: 8 months
50% of applications: 18 months
75% of applications: 26 months
90% of applications: 31 months


309 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2022-Jan)

25% of applications: 4 months
50% of applications: 8 months
75% of applications: 21 months
90% of applications: 29 months


100 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2022-Jan)

25% of applications: 6 months
50% of applications: 9 months
75% of applications: 12 months
90% of applications: 18 months
 
#7 ·

100 Visa Processing times (stats from previous month, 2022-Jan)

25% of applications: 6 months
50% of applications: 9 months
75% of applications: 12 months
90% of applications: 18 months
Thank you for seeking this information out.

I do wonder how accurate that information the DHA provide is.
It has been about 27 months since we lodged the 309/100 visa together and we are still awaiting the 100 visa grant.
Based on those stats in the linke, we are well above the 90% of applications limit if it starts to count from DOL (date of lodgement) of both the visas.

November 2019 - Lodged 309/100 via RMA (Registered Migration Agent).
November 2020 - 309 Grant
February 2021 - Visa Applicant arrived on 309 Visa
November 2021 - We received invitation letter to apply for 100 Visa and we have submitted this ourselves (not via RMA).
February 2022 - No Update on 100 Visa status or anything else...
 
#8 ·
Hello,

I also agree with AG09, my partner and I’s visa has been about 25/26 months and we’re also still waiting for the final grant.

I think that there are actually two separate time frames, one for the 301, and one for the 109 which I've found on the visa gov page.

For 309 it says:

Processing Time
  • 25% of applications: 4 months​
  • 50% of applications: 8 months​
  • 75% of applications: 21 months​
  • 90% of applications: 29 months​
For 100 it says:

Processing Time
  • 25% of applications: 6 months
  • 50% of applications: 9 months
  • 75% of applications: 12 months
  • 90% of applications: 18 months

I've attatched the screenshot from the site as well. Fingers crossed the wait isn't too much longer.

For us it's been:
December 2019: lodged 309/100 on our own without assistance from a migration agent
July 2020: 309 it was granted luckily 6 months later
December 2021: got the invitation to submit 100 evidence
Feb: no update yet.
 

Attachments

#9 ·
Hello,

I also agree with AG09, my partner and I’s visa has been about 25/26 months and we’re also still waiting for the final grant.

I think that there are actually two separate time frames, one for the 301, and one for the 109 which I've found on the visa gov page.

For 309 it says:

Processing Time
  • 25% of applications: 4 months​
  • 50% of applications: 8 months​
  • 75% of applications: 21 months​
  • 90% of applications: 29 months​
For 100 it says:

Processing Time
  • 25% of applications: 6 months
  • 50% of applications: 9 months
  • 75% of applications: 12 months
  • 90% of applications: 18 months

I've attatched the screenshot from the site as well. Fingers crossed the wait isn't too much longer.

For us it's been:
December 2019: lodged 309/100 on our own without assistance from a migration agent
July 2020: 309 it was granted luckily 6 months later
December 2021: got the invitation to submit 100 evidence
Feb: no update yet.
For what it's worth/I forgot to mention, the call I received from my RMA who did the 309 did warn me that she found that most 100 Visas have seemed to take a very long time and on average about a full year from lodgement for the 100 visa.
 
#16 ·
Ah, fingers crossed! It's good they asked for more information, that means they're looking at your case. Hopefully, it won't be too much longer!

For our 309 visa we were asked for more info in Jan 2021 and then we got approved around July, though we've discussed that the 100 seems to take a bit longer. Hopefully not too much longer!
 
#23 ·
Dear all
I have submitted my application on 27 January 2022 and also submitted my sponsor application, the current status is “stage 1- received”. I am wondering for my current status, I just need to wait for them to assign a case officer for me? Do I need to do something else to let them know I have submitted everything they asked for?
also, since I am from Hong Kong and I am applying the visa 309 offshore via online, does this mean that my application will be handle by the Hong Kong office?

Thank you very much
 
#24 ·
Good morning, everyone! I am new to the Forum and this is my first post :)
I would also like to share my story about this visa.
I am Italian and my partner is Australian, we are engaged since November 2017, we lived together for almost two years in his house in Australia and every year he came here in Sardinia on holiday and now after more than 1 year of separation due to covid he is here with me indetemrinate.

Through a migration agent we have sent our visa 309/100 which was received on 6 February 2022. We have forwarded lots of evidence including several photos over the years during our travels together. Unfortunately, as we have never had a joint account, and also the fact that we are financially independent and each own our own home, it has been difficult to meet the evidence financially.

Now I have been sent the letter to proceed with the medical examination even if the immigration assistant has advised me to wait a bit... but I would like to do everything in order to get it all out of the way... let's hope well!

What do you think, is it better to do the medical examination immediately?
 
#25 ·
Good morning, everyone! I am new to the Forum and this is my first post :)
I would also like to share my story about this visa.
I am Italian and my partner is Australian, we are engaged since November 2017, we lived together for almost two years in his house in Australia and every year he came here in Sardinia on holiday and now after more than 1 year of separation due to covid he is here with me indetemrinate.

Through a migration agent we have sent our visa 309/100 which was received on 6 February 2022. We have forwarded lots of evidence including several photos over the years during our travels together. Unfortunately, as we have never had a joint account, and also the fact that we are financially independent and each own our own home, it has been difficult to meet the evidence financially.

Now I have been sent the letter to proceed with the medical examination even if the immigration assistant has advised me to wait a bit... but I would like to do everything in order to get it all out of the way... let's hope well!

What do you think, is it better to do the medical examination immediately?
We did the medical within a few days of applying offshore (subclass 300). Well worth it for us.

With 25% of subclass 309s being finalised within 6 months, it's seems lodging everything early can help, unless you have a complex application requiring more than average scrutiny.

75% were finalised with 12 months, within the normal validity of a medical report.
 
#27 ·
Hi all,
These are all great tips that you are giving here. I had a couple of questions that you might help me with. I'm an Australian citizen and my husband and I will be applying for his 309/100 visa. I had a couple of questions in regards to when the 309 gets approved and was hoping someone here can answer them.
1. After the 309 gets approved, do you have a time limit of when you must enter Australia?
2. When you get invited to send additional paperwork to be considered for the 100, do you need to be in Australia or you could still be residing in another country?

My husband and I have been married for almost 14 years and we do have a daughter together so I'm not that worried about the application but I am worried in regards to when the application is approved since we are kind of a schedule when to leave our current place!!

Thanks all!
 
#28 ·
Hi all,
These are all great tips that you are giving here. I had a couple of questions that you might help me with. I'm an Australian citizen and my husband and I will be applying for his 309/100 visa. I had a couple of questions in regards to when the 309 gets approved and was hoping someone here can answer them.
1. After the 309 gets approved, do you have a time limit of when you must enter Australia?
2. When you get invited to send additional paperwork to be considered for the 100, do you need to be in Australia or you could still be residing in another country?

My husband and I have been married for almost 14 years and we do have a daughter together so I'm not that worried about the application but I am worried in regards to when the application is approved since we are kind of a schedule when to leave our current place!!

Thanks all!
Hello!

I'm also an Australian citizen, and my partner is Malaysian :) We're currently waiting for our 100 to be approved.

After your 309 gets approved you basically have 1 year from that exact date for your partner to move to the country. I believe you can apply for extensions somehow, but I'm not sure about what that process looks like/how difficult it is.

For example, my partner and I's 309 was approved on the 21st of July 2020, so my partner had to be in Australia before the 21st of July 2022.

You get invited to submit the docs for the 100 2 years after submitting your 309 and in which time (roughly around the same date, two years later), so technically by then your partner should be in Australia to satisfy the requirement to come in if your 309 has been approved.

However, I'm not too sure about whether you have to be in Australia when they ask for further information for the 100 though. I believe you can be traveling on a 309, so unless there's a direct requirement by the government that you be in Australia, I wouldn't think so (and I haven't personally heard this anywhere)? I would check via the site to see if there's a requirement like that- like there is in regards to you being outside of Australia when you first apply for the 309.

I hope this helped a little! There's lot of grey areas and tricky questions I know. We went to a migration agent as a once off to ask a bunch of questions like this.
 
#30 ·
Thank you @vee122 and @JandE for you considerations and your feedback!

My partner has currently left his job to come and live with me here in Italy and will stay here indefinitely for now. When I get the 309 I guess I will have to go to Australia within a certain period but we will definitely be out during the approval of the 100 visa (maybe still in Italy or travelling).

I was reading that anyway it's enough for me to enter Australia even for a very short time for the first access after the 309 visa is issued.
 
#31 ·
That’s okay, you’re welcome! :)

Yeah to be honest I’ve never seen anything about having to be in Australia to submit the 100. I suppose as long as you show you’re still in a relationship and want to settle in australia long term it should be fine!

good luck and hopefully you get your 309 soon! :)
 
#35 ·
The median average, for the subclass 100 grants, has increased from 9 months to 10 months in the latest figures.

Actual processing times for subclass 100 visas finalised in January 2022.

Global median average of 10 months.
  • 25% finalised in under 6 months.
  • 25% finalised between 5 and 10 months.
  • 25% finalised between 10 and 17 months.
  • 15% finalised between 17 and 24 months.
  • 10% finalised in over 24 months.
These processing times do not take into account any visas that have still not been finalised, and may exceed any quoted times, once actually finalised.
 
#41 ·
My Australian lawyer who is dealing with the visa has just written to me that the time taken to issue the visa has been significantly reduced. I don't know if these times can change depending on the country of residence of the applicant.
In any case, I have my medical examinations scheduled for 8 March in Rome.
 
#42 ·
We don’t call lawyer they are immigration agent lawyer totally different with immigration agent.
It’s not related to country of resident I’ve got my visa subclass 309 within 12 months and I’m from turkey my mate from USA And he had his visa Subclass 309 granted after 23 months.
 
#57 ·
Is there specific information on different embassies and their processing times?

We are about to apply for the 309 for my wife who is a Mexican Citizen and the application goes via Ottawa - is this a troublesome embassy? It seems they attend to a lot of different countries in the Americas.

If there is any particular embassy which much quicker would we be able to fly over and apply from there?

Cheers.
 
#58 ·
Is there specific information on different embassies and their processing times?

We are about to apply for the 309 for my wife who is a Mexican Citizen and the application goes via Ottawa - is this a troublesome embassy? It seems they attend to a lot of different countries in the Americas.

If there is any particular embassy which much quicker would we be able to fly over and apply from there?

Cheers.
Nothing recently that I have seen, but some older info for 309 visa finalisations shows:
Times vary a lot, possibly due to the times it takes when dealing with the applicants home country.

This could be applicable for any processing office, that might get delays when dealing with the Mexican authorities in your particular case.
 
#59 ·
Super excited, I have just been granted both 309 and 100 after a bit less than 3 months.

Application submitted: 13 Jan 2022
Medicals: 3 Feb 2022
RFI: 6 Apr 2022
Grant 309 and 100: 7 Apr 2022

The visa was processed in Berlin, I am German and my husband is Australian. We have been in a relationship for a bit more than 7 years and married since Dec 2021.

We supplied most things when we submitted the application, except for 6 of the stat decs (friends and family can't be hurried), some of the police certificates and the medicals. We did update a couple of things (like a trip to Melbourne in February and the confirmation that we are now expecting our first child).

Good luck to everyone else who is waiting!
 
#62 ·
No, I did it by myself because our case was reasonably straight forward, as we could proof we moved countries for each other multiple times, and had proof of commitment from pretty early on. Call me weird, but I kinda like organised tasks like this (I was looking forward to the visa application, though maybe not to the price tag and the uncertainty).
 
#63 · (Edited)
Quick update, the immigration assistant contacted me writing that the Department has started working on my case and requested me to resend the Italian police check ( the one I sent was from 2019 so they want a updated one ). My visa application was registered on February 2, 2022.

Thats a good news right?
 
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