[oznuck]

Hello,

I am relatively new to this forum, so forgive me if I've missed a discussion about this somewhere else (I did spend quite a bit of time looking first, honest!).

I submitted a de facto application on June 22, 2011. I had been waiting for my final document to come through for weeks (my police check from Canada, which, incidentally, took a whopping four months). I decided to ring Immigration to ask for advice. I ended up making two separate calls and both people I spoke to gave me the same advice: submit the application package as is, and then send the police clearance once it comes. It won't affect wait times, I was informed, as the first stage of the de facto assessment is the lengthy analysis of the Relationship requirement. On this advice, I sent the application package, missing just one police clearance. Today, I received an email from Immigration indicating that now that everything has been received, it could take up to ELEVEN months for the visa to be processed. Because I did not submit a complete application, I was put in a long queue. I have been in tears all afternoon about this. I cannot believe that two separate people gave me incorrect advice. Obviously, had I known this was the case, I would have waited the extra month for the police clearance from Canada to send the whole package together, but I was assured that the sooner I sent anything, the sooner the assessment process could begin.

I have emailed Immigration asking if I can go into the Brisbane office and collect my application, in order to re-submit it in its entirety and avoid a potential eleven month wait (during which time my medical and Australian police check would become expired - in April 2012). My question: has anyone ever gone to the office to retrieve their application and re-submit it? Is this an option? We are expecting a bub in February and I don't want to continue to have the stress of waiting (and the added time/expense of re-doing medicals and police checks) until possibly this time next year. Any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[aussiegirl]

I think if you could withdraw it and resubmit it, you would probably have to pay the application fee again. I would leave it if I were you, and don't take the 11 month thing too seriously, as many onshore applicants have gotten it within 8 or 9, some even in a couple of weeks.

Calm down and think rationally here.

 

[Bea Mazur]

I am not much of an expert myself, but everywhere where the officials state a waiting period there is always that horrible "COULD take up to x months/days...". In my experience it has always been like a back up for them. So I think you better wait and see how the situation progresses. There have been cases (I read about o this forum) where people submitted their application and later were asked to provide police checks&medicals and the process still didn't take the maximum waiting period. But to be honest with you this situation is exactly the reason why I am considering NOT sending police check with my application. ( I am worried it might expire before they even look at it).

All in all I think aussiegirl might be right. You better wait. It might all come together sooner than you think. Good luck to you!

 

[voebe]

If you have a look at alot of the timelines some people who submitted a"complete" application still have waited a considerable amount of time.

In some cases, being front loaded really doesnt make a difference and if you resubmit your application the official processing time at the moment is still 9-12 months. Not to mention having to pay the application fee again.

As others have said before, be patient because you might get lucky and get it processed much faster.

 

[nighstar]

i share your concern! just this past Wednesday i lodged a de facto visa missing only 2 out of 3 PCCs at the Brisbane processing center. i was worried about this very thing but had no choice but to go ahead and apply because my visa expired that very day. :/

when i applied on Wednesday i was told that the current processing time is 9~12 months but closer to 12 than 9.... :/ so if you re-submit your app not only will you loose money you will have to pay more to resubmit it as prices have risen. PLUS you very well may have to wait 11 months regardless. :/ as others have said, i would just be patient. your app may get processed sooner than the time they told you, so stay calm and hang in there!

 

[Bea Mazur]

very fair point with the change of charges nighstar!

 

[oznuck]

Yes, having had the weekend to consider the situation, I think you are all right: I have no choice but to wait it out. I am just so very disappointed that I was advised by two separate people at Immigration that submitting one item after the rest of the package would not delay the processing of my application. I guess the lesson is to beware information given over the phone by Immigration? I realise they are doing their best, but perhaps they are answering some queries without knowing the best/correct response. I hadn't even considered the notion that I might have to pay the application fee again, so I definitely won't be retracting and re-submitting the application now—especially when considering the thousands of dollars that I've already paid the Australian government for my two previous visas.

Patience is a virtue, as they say, and I will just have to hunker down and find some! Thanks for all of your thoughts and advice.

 

[Turboadam]

You are not subjected to 11 months BECAUSE of an incomplete application.
You have been subjected to the standard processing time.

 

[oznuck]

You are not subjected to 11 months BECAUSE of an incomplete application.
You have been subjected to the standard processing time.

Actually, the first letter I received indicated that the processing time would be 9 months. It was only after a follow-up message, indicating I had a police check to follow, that I received this message:

"...if your application was ready to grant at the time of lodgement it would have been processed as soon as possible.

As you did not have a complete application your case has been placed in the pipeline and we are processing cases from the oldest to the newest." This message then went on to tell me they are currently processing applications submitted in September 2010.

After receiving information indicating nine months was the standard processing time one day, and then being told eleven months a couple of weeks later, I was shocked and disappointed. Further, the Immigration website still indicates 6 months as the processing time. Eleven months may be the "current standard processing time", but it wasn't when I initially applied in mid-June.

 

[voebe]

The thing about standard processing times, they seem to change all the time. When I applied in April 2011 it was 9 months, when I rang immigration last week they told me 12 months.

There is clearly nothing Ive done differently to increase the processing time. They just seem to be going slower and slower.

Its a good thing they are now on sept 2010 applications, last week it was august 2010. So they must be churning through them.

 

[nighstar]

Actually, the first letter I received indicated that the processing time would be 9 months. It was only after a follow-up message, indicating I had a police check to follow, that I received this message:

"...if your application was ready to grant at the time of lodgement it would have been processed as soon as possible.

As you did not have a complete application your case has been placed in the pipeline and we are processing cases from the oldest to the newest." This message then went on to tell me they are currently processing applications submitted in September 2010.

After receiving information indicating nine months was the standard processing time one day, and then being told eleven months a couple of weeks later, I was shocked and disappointed. Further, the Immigration website still indicates 6 months as the processing time. Eleven months may be the "current standard processing time", but it wasn't when I initially applied in mid-June.

..........seeing as how you and i are in nearly identical situations, my heart just got flushed down the toilet.

according to that letter you received, applications that aren't complete when submitted get sent to the back of the queue once they are.... even if only a single PCC is missing; even if that PCC had already been applied for before the application had been submitted... and on top of this, the Brisbane processing center is just now processing apps from Sep 2010???

*heartbreak*