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Boy, do I have a story to tell you guys. This happened about two hours ago.
I mailed my onshore 820 application on Feb. 13th, 2013. I had included my credit card details on the payment form. This afternoon at about 3:30pm, I got a phone call from immigration, saying they had my application but were unable to process the credit card as it kept coming back "declined". I was pretty confused by this as there was no balance on the card so it wasn't over the limit, and I had used it plenty of times in Australia without issue. It's a Mastercard from a major Canadian bank that I've even used in China without problems.
Suffice it to say, after triple-checking all the details with him the card still came back declined. He told me that without immediate payment he would have to send my application back, and could I come to the processing centre to use a different form of payment in person. I said no, I couldn't, because I live six hours away from Sydney and don't own a car.
Even more problematic, on Monday 18th my current visa expires. I explained that I needed a bridging visa and he said he could only issue a bridging visa after he processed my payment and started work on my 820 application.
Even MORE problematic, just two hours before his phone call I had transferred the amount of the payment from my Canadian bank account to my Mastercard account in preparation for the visa fee coming out. So now there's the entire amount of the visa payment floating in limbo, somewhere between banks, and it will remain there for two or three days. I had absolutely no way of getting that money to my Australian account before Monday, and he said he couldn't hold my application any longer than Monday, and my current visa was running out on Monday, etc...
So I started marching into town with the wild hopes that I could use my Mastercard to withdraw cash from an ATM and make a money order, and somehow pay through the nose to have it couriered to the processing centre in Sydney. I knew that even if I could use it at an ATM, my withdrawal limit would be well less than $3975.
Then I had the idea to go to the Post Office and see if I could do a money order with the credit card. While standing in line I saw they had prepaid visas that you could load up to $10 000, so I grabbed one. I got up to the counter and explained the situation to the postal worker. She explained that you couldn't do a money order with a credit card, it had to be from a bank account. We tried to do the prepaid visa instead, but when it came time to pay for it.... I could only pay by cash or EFTPOS. No credit card.
Then I felt a tap on the shoulder. Behind me in line was a lovely older man who used to come into the shop where I worked every day for lunch. I hadn't seen him since the shop closed down in October. He jokingly asked if I was holding up the whole post office (which I was) and I said yep, but if I didn't I would probably have to leave the country on Monday. The postal worker came back from double-checking on the acceptable payment, and said there was no way to get money from that Mastercard onto anything.
I knew I was out of options. My brain was racing, I could see my entire future swirling down the toilet, having to leave my partner, somehow pack up my life and find a ticket back to Canada, with no idea how I would even achieve that. I was devastated and sick with shock.
Then, the miracle.
Ken, the lovely older gentleman, whipped out his bank card and told me to let him pay for it, and I could pay him back later. I immediately burst into tears and insisted that it was too much, the visa was $4000 and I couldn't let him do that... but he was even more insistent, and I had the knowledge that I could pay him back because the money actually existed. So he tried to pay for it but his card's daily spending limit wasn't high enough. He said, "Stay here, I'll be back in five minutes."
I stepped aside, sniffling and mopping my face, and sure enough Ken came back in five minutes. He handed me an envelope with $4000 in it and made me count it again, and there I am crying all over again. I wrote down my name and address and contact info and tried to give it to him but he didn't want it, he just said to pay him back whenever I could. He almost left without giving me HIS contact info but I caught him just in time. It was almost like he wasn't really interested in being paid back. He even invited my partner and I to his wedding in March!!
So in the end, I was able to get a preloaded Visa in Australian funds, so I could call immigration back and sort out the payment. By the time I walked home again the Sydney immigration office was closed for the weekend, but I got through to the Melbourne office and explained the situation. They've left a message on my file, and I can call the original agent back first thing Monday morning on his direct phone line to make my payment. And not get kicked out of the country.
If this hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe it. It's like one of those dumb "inspirational" stories people post on Facebook that aren't true but you wish they were. What are the chances that Ken, who had four grand to spare on the spot, and was willing to part with it, would be standing behind me in line at the post office at that exact time? A kajillion to one?
I have learned a couple of things. One, don't leave things to the last minute. Two, don't use Canadian credit cards to pay for Australian visas UNLESS you're paying from Canada (I can only assume this was the trouble, as I used this same card to pay for my first WHV two years ago). And three, human beings are capable of amazing acts of generosity and kindness... and you will never see them coming. I owe Ken my future here in Australia with my partner.
Phew. I need a stiff drink and a hot bath.
I mailed my onshore 820 application on Feb. 13th, 2013. I had included my credit card details on the payment form. This afternoon at about 3:30pm, I got a phone call from immigration, saying they had my application but were unable to process the credit card as it kept coming back "declined". I was pretty confused by this as there was no balance on the card so it wasn't over the limit, and I had used it plenty of times in Australia without issue. It's a Mastercard from a major Canadian bank that I've even used in China without problems.
Suffice it to say, after triple-checking all the details with him the card still came back declined. He told me that without immediate payment he would have to send my application back, and could I come to the processing centre to use a different form of payment in person. I said no, I couldn't, because I live six hours away from Sydney and don't own a car.
Even more problematic, on Monday 18th my current visa expires. I explained that I needed a bridging visa and he said he could only issue a bridging visa after he processed my payment and started work on my 820 application.
Even MORE problematic, just two hours before his phone call I had transferred the amount of the payment from my Canadian bank account to my Mastercard account in preparation for the visa fee coming out. So now there's the entire amount of the visa payment floating in limbo, somewhere between banks, and it will remain there for two or three days. I had absolutely no way of getting that money to my Australian account before Monday, and he said he couldn't hold my application any longer than Monday, and my current visa was running out on Monday, etc...
So I started marching into town with the wild hopes that I could use my Mastercard to withdraw cash from an ATM and make a money order, and somehow pay through the nose to have it couriered to the processing centre in Sydney. I knew that even if I could use it at an ATM, my withdrawal limit would be well less than $3975.
Then I had the idea to go to the Post Office and see if I could do a money order with the credit card. While standing in line I saw they had prepaid visas that you could load up to $10 000, so I grabbed one. I got up to the counter and explained the situation to the postal worker. She explained that you couldn't do a money order with a credit card, it had to be from a bank account. We tried to do the prepaid visa instead, but when it came time to pay for it.... I could only pay by cash or EFTPOS. No credit card.
Then I felt a tap on the shoulder. Behind me in line was a lovely older man who used to come into the shop where I worked every day for lunch. I hadn't seen him since the shop closed down in October. He jokingly asked if I was holding up the whole post office (which I was) and I said yep, but if I didn't I would probably have to leave the country on Monday. The postal worker came back from double-checking on the acceptable payment, and said there was no way to get money from that Mastercard onto anything.
I knew I was out of options. My brain was racing, I could see my entire future swirling down the toilet, having to leave my partner, somehow pack up my life and find a ticket back to Canada, with no idea how I would even achieve that. I was devastated and sick with shock.
Then, the miracle.
Ken, the lovely older gentleman, whipped out his bank card and told me to let him pay for it, and I could pay him back later. I immediately burst into tears and insisted that it was too much, the visa was $4000 and I couldn't let him do that... but he was even more insistent, and I had the knowledge that I could pay him back because the money actually existed. So he tried to pay for it but his card's daily spending limit wasn't high enough. He said, "Stay here, I'll be back in five minutes."
I stepped aside, sniffling and mopping my face, and sure enough Ken came back in five minutes. He handed me an envelope with $4000 in it and made me count it again, and there I am crying all over again. I wrote down my name and address and contact info and tried to give it to him but he didn't want it, he just said to pay him back whenever I could. He almost left without giving me HIS contact info but I caught him just in time. It was almost like he wasn't really interested in being paid back. He even invited my partner and I to his wedding in March!!
So in the end, I was able to get a preloaded Visa in Australian funds, so I could call immigration back and sort out the payment. By the time I walked home again the Sydney immigration office was closed for the weekend, but I got through to the Melbourne office and explained the situation. They've left a message on my file, and I can call the original agent back first thing Monday morning on his direct phone line to make my payment. And not get kicked out of the country.
If this hadn't happened to me, I wouldn't believe it. It's like one of those dumb "inspirational" stories people post on Facebook that aren't true but you wish they were. What are the chances that Ken, who had four grand to spare on the spot, and was willing to part with it, would be standing behind me in line at the post office at that exact time? A kajillion to one?
I have learned a couple of things. One, don't leave things to the last minute. Two, don't use Canadian credit cards to pay for Australian visas UNLESS you're paying from Canada (I can only assume this was the trouble, as I used this same card to pay for my first WHV two years ago). And three, human beings are capable of amazing acts of generosity and kindness... and you will never see them coming. I owe Ken my future here in Australia with my partner.
Phew. I need a stiff drink and a hot bath.
