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From Russia With Love - PMV (Subclass 300)

18K views 127 replies 19 participants last post by  Aussie83 
#1 ·
Paid the ferryman $7160 big ones on Thursday 10th of January 2019 to have my fiance live with me in Australia. Uploaded documents this weekend and have a Medical Examination for her to book next week. It seems we have all the documents but I am sure that greater appeasement will be required.

Such a long and exhaustive process but necessary to keep out criminals, disease carriers, whingers, bludgers and backdoorers.
 
#2 ·


Such a long and exhaustive process but necessary to keep out criminals, disease carriers, whingers, bludgers and backdoorers.


Also meant to stop sponsors with a criminal history or with a history of domestic violence and abuse from sponsoring their unsuspecting partners.

Not sure how the process will be stopping bludgers or whingers...
 
#3 · (Edited)
Something of great personal satisfaction was not paying $3000 + for a Migration Agent. At first we thought it would be a faster and surer option but after stepping through the online application we soon learned that information required was as simple as obtain, scan, translate (we hired and recommend ProTranslations for NAATI Certification) and upload the documents to ImmiAccount.

Obtaining documents takes time. For me here in Australia to have a Federal Police Check returned took over 1 month. For her we had to wait until after payment before getting the HAP ID number so we are now looking at a further wait.

We, the applicants, had to do the leg work in obtaining documents and providing the required information so definitely made the right choice.
 
#4 ·
Something of great personal satisfaction was not paying $3000 + for a Migration Agent. At first we thought it would be a faster and surer option but after stepping through the online application we soon learned that information required was as simple as obtain, scan, translate (we hired and recommend ProTranslations for NAATI Certification) and upload the documents to ImmiAccount.

Obtaining documents takes time. For me here in Australia to have a Federal Police Check returned took over 1 month. For her we had to wait until after payment before getting the HAP ID number so we are now looking at a further wait.

We, the applicants, had to do the leg work in obtaining documents and providing the required information so definitely made the right choice.
That $ number varies a lot for a migration agent, in fact it seems low for some.

For a simple Partner Visa application it is certainly possible to find the info online to do a DIY application under most circumstances if you understand some basics.

But out of the norm or with any issues it is a mine field, there is a very large number of Partner Visas currently refused awaiting review (obviously many refused do not seek review).

Every applicant must do the leg work to get the documents and evidence - knowing what and how to get it can be key.

I have done more visa applications than most - now I am more inclined to use an agent in certain cases/places than use my knowledge for a DIY.

If I ever attempted another Partner Visa it would only be with a Registered Migration Agent and I expect it would be far greater than $3,000.
 
#6 ·
Applicants from Russia have some "extra" issues, less than many from the Eastern Bloc but still issues that need addressing.

The issues are reduced with a PMV application compared to a 309 application but still exist.

While the Immi website exists it is regulations (available) and policy (not available - mostly) that determin if a visa "can/should" be granted.

Have you read or seen the PAM 3 for your visa application?

I have never seen it for the PMV or the 309 but have for the 820 - very interesting stuff and why many are waiting at the AAT/MRT.

Often simple errors, often not.
 
#7 ·
While the Immi website exists it is regulations (available) and policy (not available - mostly) that determin if a visa "can/should" be granted.
Yes that I understand for undesirable countries of origin. I.e. countries with poor human right practices and archaic religious dogma.

Have you read or seen the PAM 3 for your visa application?
No I have not seen. Can you direct me to this information please?
 
#14 · (Edited)
You don't necessarily have to pay for the entire application to be overseen, if there's something specific you're unsure about then you could do a few small consultations. Advice from someone who has specialist training and has done 100s of applications is going to be far more valuable than the experts on google who have only done their own.

Best of luck with the application.
 
#16 ·
No I have not seen. Can you direct me to this information please?
You can access PAM 3 through the LexisNexis portal, a US based legal research site that most lawyers have access to. Otherwise you can subscribe to it or Legend.com.

Alternatively you can view it at the State Library in NSW and Victoria as well as the University of Melbourne.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/13441716?selectedversion=NBD28064360

Also a few years back someone put a link on reddit to access it.
 
#17 · (Edited)
I believe you can access LegsndCom for free at some libraries. A non-commercial subscription is $420 for a year. Accessing PAM3 without proper training and understanding of the Migration Regulations and the Migration Act will have very little value for most people.

As far as mechanics are concerned, many years ago I completely stripped and rebuilt an old HQ Holden. The final job was to connect one single electrical wire and despite having been off the road for 6 months, the car started at the first attempt. I used a Holden manual that you could buy from newsagents back then. I would not dream to try and do this with a modern car. Neither would I try to read and understand a currrent factory manual. Once a year I take the car in for service by an expert and unless one of the dashboard lights comes on, I leave it alone.
 
#18 ·
Hi, I sponsored my fiancé, now wife from Ukraine to Australia in 2016 on the PMV300 820/801. I found the online application very easy to use and all required documentation was not difficult to obtain, I certainly did not need an agent to help us with that. With a few other issues I called immigration for assistance, they were super friendly and helpful. The entire process of the visa went smoothly with no hiccups at all, I uploaded plenty, possibly more than needed, information/evidence and all stages of the visa were approved without any hiccups. So even with the few questions I had, I did not need to pay an agent to help me with them. I think that if the relationship is genuine, you know how to write up evidence reports and provide all required docs, then I see no reason to pay huge fees for assistance. For my wife and I, we had "simple/ordinary" lives and our relationship is 100% genuine, makes the process very easy for all I'd think.

Hope you get approval soon......you may request my private details for assistance if required....free of charge.
 
#20 ·
Hi, I sponsored my fiancé, now wife from Ukraine to Australia in 2016 on the PMV300 820/801. I found the online application very easy to use and all required documentation was not difficult to obtain, I certainly did not need an agent to help us with that. With a few other issues I called immigration for assistance, they were super friendly and helpful. The entire process of the visa went smoothly with no hiccups at all, I uploaded plenty, possibly more than needed, information/evidence and all stages of the visa were approved without any hiccups. So even with the few questions I had, I did not need to pay an agent to help me with them. I think that if the relationship is genuine, you know how to write up evidence reports and provide all required docs, then I see no reason to pay huge fees for assistance. For my wife and I, we had "simple/ordinary" lives and our relationship is 100% genuine, makes the process very easy for all I'd think.

Hope you get approval soon......you may request my private details for assistance if required....free of charge.
Please correct me if wrong - but NONE of your visas were processed in Russia.(with love)
 
#19 ·
Dinosaurs67,

If your application was for the PMV in 2016, then your application will not have been processed in Russia - normally Ukraine now is done at what they call the European Processing centre in London. There is very good reason it was moved there and I am probably a large reason for that move.

There were a few Case Officers (and higher up) in Moscow that had a few please explains from higher up people in Australia about my Ukrainian partners Visitor Visa and PMV applications. There were some pretty big errors that then came back to bite them as they tried to sweep them under the carpet.

As for calling immigration for advice - that is very dangerous no matter how nice and helpful they are. Many people have had suffered greatly from taking the advice from immigration staff that simply are not qualified to give that advice nor are they accountable for giving false/wrong advice.
 
#27 ·
At embassies outside Australia most of the staff are local residents of that country.

They are paid in the local way, in Russia the Case Officer position was advertised and from memory English was a requirement and the salary was around $2,000 AUD per month ( but was a fix rouble amount). Conditions seemed pretty good.

While the Case Officer processes the applications, they do not approve them. The Case officer after processing the application presents it to an Australian, in my cases and seems most with the title of Second Secretary.

The Second Secretary can review the application and agree or disagree with the Case Officers recommendation and grant or refuse the application. The Case Officer will then give you a grant or refusal letter.

So that is why the documents have English Translation requirement, so the Australian/s at the embassy can read the documents if they do not speak the local language. Some embassies will accept documents not translated and I expect that is because the Australian can understand the local language.

Here is a current vacancy.

https://russia.embassy.gov.au/mscw/jobs.html
 
#28 ·
Dear X and Y

Your application is moving ahead.

Please provide the further information requested in the attached documents. All requested information can be emailed as colour scans. Apparently the evidence that you children are Australian citizens by descent was not enough, they warn to see their birth certificates.

You will note that your application is being processed in Brasilia. I had a US citizen who is in Melbourne granted PR today, from Jakarta. So much for bringing partner visa applications onshore for consistent decision making.

The medical report will be sent electronically to immigration and I will be able to access it. Please email me the receipt for the medical examination fee and the receipts for police clearance applications.

Here is a link to the details of panel physicians and police clearances from which you can select United States of America for particulars:
 
#30 ·
The questions to be answered are:

1. What percentage of DIY (or unregistered agent-represented) partner applications are refused?

2. What percentage of RMA-managed partner applications are refused?

HINT for 2:
I do not know of any RMA having a finalised partner visa (of any flavour) refused, except where the client had lied and been caught out. I have never had one refused, although I have had to withdraw an application to avoid this and adopt another strategy.

HINT for 1.
Lodge of Freedom of Information request with THE department.

Notes:

A frequent reason for partner refusals is an applicant forgetting s/he is married to someone other than the sponsor and lying about it. In most cases, being married to someone other than the sponsor is not fatal (can be worked around) but lying about it is often (not always) fatal. Another question to be answered is: what percentage of DIY applicants consult a RMA for advice about this an other issues and are saved from making a fatal error?
 
#31 · (Edited)
I guess these numbers will be correct!

https://www.peakmigration.com.au/ne...sed-when-not-represented-by-a-migration-agent

Then the following year.

Why the reduction in the number of partner visas granted?
It's certainly not due to a drop in the number of applications.

The cut to the number of visa grants in 2017-18 has been attributed to new integrity measures applied to the system following the discovery of a high number of fraudulent claims being made
every year.

The Australian newspaper reports that it has confirmed that the integrity measures resulted in a 46 per cent increase in visas being refused and a further 17 per cent rise in applications being withdrawn due to the greater scrutiny. The number of applications processed remained at similar levels.
 
#34 ·
"Half of all partner visas are refused when not represented by a migration agent-May 17, 2018

'Partner visas are easy,' some visa applicants and their sponsors say, dismissing the need for immigration assistance. The statistics suggest a much different reality.

A Freedom of Information (FOI) request to the Department of Home Affairs earlier this year exposed a startling picture on the visa refusal rates of the offshore Subclass 309/100 - Partner and onshore Subclass 820/801 - Partner visa when a migration agent is not appointed (and therefore assumed to have not assisted with the application).

The statistics for the 2015/16 financial year revealed that 63.4% of partner visas lodged did not appoint a migration agent, while in the 2016/17 financial year it was 59.6%. This is not surprising.

What is surprising is the visa refusal rates for unrepresented applicants. In the 2015/16 financial year it was an incredible 53.8%. In 2016/17, it was not much better at 47%. Average both years and it comes to just above half of all do-it-yourself partner visa applications being refused".

I cannot verify these figures, but I have no reason to doubt them. But apparently it is so easy, that anyone can do it themselves. There are lots of blogs out there (wrtitten by people who have done one successful visa application in their entire life-their own). Apart from bad-mouthing all Registered Migration Agents and the fact that these blogs are riddled with incorrect and outdated information, these bloggers are also breaking Australian law by illegally providing migration advice.
 
#32 ·
The numbers are not far wrong.

If an experienced RMA has never lodged a BS (doomed) application this counts for something with experienced delegates.

Aside:
I have lodged a doomed application, but only to then be able lodge a doomed review application to enliven ministerial intervention. PR was granted in due course.

I have four pet hates:

1. Delegates suffer no consequences for stuffing up and the visa applicants pay the costs.

2. Nitwit politicians frequently change the rules in the middle of the game.

3. In some cases there is not enough time between a refusal decision and the date to lodge a review application for all the relevant particulars to be ascertained.

4. Many visa refusals are not reviewable on the merits. Are we to believe that delegates stuff up only when issuing reviewable refusals?

THE deportment has one pet hate:
Registered Migration Agents. They do not seem to be at all troubled by the antics of education agents or unregistered agents. This could be a matter of - follow the money.
 
#35 ·
I would expect that the complete DIY application refusal %, is actually a fair bit higher than the 50%.

Often a review service by a RMA requires the applicant to lodge the application, the RMA is not then put on the application as an appointed person. But the applicant has certainly used a RMA to reduce a refusal by being a valid application with all required documentation.

DIY applications are not easy, but some applications can be easier than others based on several things such as length and depth of relationship and passport held. Some people have collected evidence for years, others almost nothing over the same years.

Bottom line is a non-complicated relationship of a good deal more than 365 days can be a reasonable DIY project with a bit of homework, as the costs keep increasing for the visa fees - it is also a good option to take out the "insurance policy" by using an RMA.
 
#36 ·
PMV 300 Update.

Medical Examination completed and awaiting results.

Step by step
Ooh baby
Gonna get to you girl
Step by step
Ooh baby
Really want you in my world
 
#38 ·
The only notice that changed in Immiaccount is the Medical Examination went to completed. Likely this week we will receive contact from a CO for the first time.
 
#40 ·
Really? That's great news, right? How did you know that the CO will contact you?
Thank you. I don't know for sure hence the word 'likely' because everything requested is now submitted.
 
#44 ·
Interesting. On exactly the same date and day as you, I also paid the same amount of money for a 309 visa for my Russian fiance to come and live with me in Australia. I also paid $3300 to an Australian based Russian MARA registered Migration Agent who assisted with the preparation and submission of the documents. It will be interesting to see which visa is processed quicker. Good luck!
 
#46 ·
I think there are many factors that lead to a grant. We are closer now since the London Embassy contacted us today requesting further information.
 
#48 · (Edited)
Happy to receive Initial Assessment Status and request for Biometric Data to be submitted. We booked an appointment at an Australian Biometric Collection Centre for Friday 5th April. I feel the Final Assessment is near.

Very Happy ...... :D
 

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#50 ·
Yes often offshore applications have been faster.

Onshore (Partner Visas) applications get Bridging Visas that allow study and work also they are eligible for Medicare.

Often offshore applicants have long periods of forced separation (can not get visitor visas) or expensive travel using up leave with or without pay.

Also a lot of people come to Australia on another visa with intent to apply onshore, until recently most if not all onshore applications were processed in Australia. This resulted in a large back log that results in increased process time.
 
#51 ·
A few days passed since Biometric Data submitted and we have been moved to "Further Assessment". All very easy so far. Being a straightforward and obviously genuine application has likely progressed this relatively quickly.

Both very, very :D:D
 
#52 ·
A few days passed since Biometric Data submitted and we have been moved to "Further Assessment". All very easy so far. Being a straightforward and obviously genuine application has likely progressed this relatively quickly.

Both very, very
While it's good to try to stay positive in this process, it's not as cut and dry that 'Further Assessment' means progress.

After doing my biometrics and medicals in July last year, our status also changed on 7 August to 'Further Assessment'. Only in March when I followed up again was I told that the application has just now been allocated to a CO for assessment. From August to February/March nothing advanced at all.

We also consider our application straightforward and genuine, but have now been asked for further information.

That said, I wish you luck as I know how frustrating it is to wait. It's also very tough on relationships. Keep your focus on your partner and try to meet each other's needs as best as you can.
 
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