NEW THREAD - 143 Contributory Parent (Migrant) Visa - Tips and Other information

[Belindaf]

Thank you, that sounds encouraging. Good luck with your parents process too.

[Niamatbir]

Woohoooo, finally "the email" has arrived! CO has requested for pending documents and gave us 28 calender days time!

I hope everything goes fine! Will keep you guys updated!

Rich/niamatbir

[Belindaf]

AWESOME !! keep us posted

[Orphan]

Excellent news Rich!!!!!

I know how frustrated you have been with all the waiting, so this must have come as a huge relief. Hopefully everything will go smoothly from this point on, particularly in respect of your son's dependency status.

For the rest of us in the Waiting Room, this is definite confirmation on the current processing delay, which has taken Rich exactly 18 months and 3 weeks from Visa Lodgement to CO appointment..

[ShazPas]

This is what I just got back today with regards to processing times

PROCESSING TIMES FOR CONTRIBUTORY PARENT VISAS

SUBCLASS 143 and 173

Receipting sc. 143/173

03 October 2014

Assessing sc. 143/173

09 April 2013

I wonder if they will close over Christmas / New year

[Orphan]

Hi ShazPas

The automated response from the Parent Visa Centre is not being updated on a regular basis. I received exactly the same response from them on the 30th October, and we do know for sure that Richard/Niamatbir (whose visa lodgement date was 12 April 2013) had his CO appointed yesterday.

On your second point, the PVC will undoubtedly close for the public holidays, which this year are on Thursday 25th and Friday 26th. Typically, the office will move into holiday mode on Wednesday 24th. Because of the long weekend, and New Year falling on the following Thursday, it is also likely that staff will take the interim days as annual leave. So I don't expect much activity on the visa front between Wednesday 24th December and Monday 5th January 2015

[Orphan]

NEWS FLASH : Form 1221 – "Additional personal particulars information"

An important bit of new information for all those in the 143 Waiting Room.

I mentioned in a previous post (30th September) of the existence of the "Form 221-Additional personal particulars information", but as there was very little information on this at the time, I wasn't sure whether it applied to us.

I have just received confirmation from another visa applicant that this form is part of the additional documents being called for by the Case Officers. Though it is still not clear whether this applies to all 143 Visa Applicants, but it certainly does seem to be the case. I would therefore suggest you complete it and have it ready.

You can download a copy of this form at: http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/1221.pdf

[ShazPas]

I have just given my parents some homework to do

[Orphan]

VISA PROCESSING UPDATE as at 14 November 2014

The Visa Processing Centre has just caught up another one week, and is currently tracking at 18 months, 2 Weeks from visa Lodgement date to Case Officer Appointment Date.

A UK-based applicant ("Cass1e04") has just posted the following timeline:

Visa Lodgement Date : 29 April 2013

Case Officer Appointed : 13 November 2014

[HappyIsland]

Advice I have received from my Migration Agent, and thought this might help others.

The long term visitor visa (600) generally has a no stay condition attached to it.

The short term (3 month) visitor visa may not have a no stay condition attached to it.

If your parents visit whilst on a no stay visa, they are over 65, and you have been in Australia for 2 or more years, they can apply for a 864 Contributory Aged Parent visa, and they will be able to stay in Australia while waiting for the visa to come through.

Hi Dirkz,

It is my understanding in respect of an off-shore visa application, that you must be out of the country when your visa is issued; but that there is no restriction preventing you from visiting the country on a tourist visa prior to then.

I think the problem arises if you mess up the timing and are still in Australia when the visa is issued. But I have read somewhere about someone who circumvented this by informing their CO that they were still in Australia, resulting in the visa being delayed, and allowing them time to quickly pop across to New Zealand.

The only other issue I can see is having access to documents requested by the CO, which may be sitting in South Africa while you are overseas.

And now I am going to go out on a limb and tell you about people we know who got their visa via the "onshore" application route. Why I hesitate slightly is because although I know of their experience, I don't know whether this was an exception, or something anyone can do.

Our friends submitted an off-shore 143 Visa application from South Africa in early 2010. Later that same year, they put in a second off-shore visa application after realising that their daughter hadn't been living in Australia long enough at the time of the first application. Then they went to Australia as tourists to visit their daughter, While there, they received a call from someone at the Parent Visa centre querying why they had submitted two applications. But when this woman from the Centre heard that they were actually in Australia, she suggested they submit a letter to the Visa Centre, changing their application to an "on-shore" application, as this would, according to her, take only "3-6 months". They wrote the letter, got a bridging visa to allow them to remain in Australia, and were issued their Parent visa six months later.

I reiterate that this all took place at the end of 2010, and so the delay will probably be different today. However, if you intend to go and visit your children in Australia, and have the means to stay on there for a lengthy period (perhaps up to one year), perhaps it is worth investigating this option before submitting your off-shore application?

[Dirkz]

Thanks for the advice, Happylands, but let me just add to that.

Both my wife and I applied for Visitor 600 visas in October 2014 (online).

We received our visas one day apart 12 days after application.

I applied for 1 year stay for both of us.

My visa has a No Further Stay (8503) and hers has NOT ! So I don't think it matters whether you have been there how many times (we've been there 3 times) or for which length of stay you apply. Maybe if I applied for 3months stay I would not have gotten No Further Stay ?

So what I want to say is that you can get a visa without 8503 even if you get a year stay on your 600 visitor visa.

I guess that it is because I filled in that I'm retired and she is working. So maybe they thought that I'll be more prone to stay on because I'm retired. But that's just speculating.

[ShazPas]

I think this is good news, last night I received an email from the Parent Visa Centre - REQUEST FOR DOCUMENTS

they wanted our Centrelink acceptance letter and Bank Guarantee, Police Certificates and my step dads Passport bio data page thank goodness I have everything

ready so sent today because they gave me 28 days for these documents and also said that we had to have the 2nd Visa Application Charge ready of ( $42 440 )

they have also given us a position number : 60006106 just thought I will mention this because I have not seen this before.

[Dirkz]

Congrats, you're very close to having your parents with you.

We're just on the other side of the waiting room, having just today received our confirmation of lodgement after delivering it to them on 6 November. So it took almost 3 weeks of worrying whether they received it and not using the money in the credit card !

[Orphan]

ShazPas

What fantastic news! You are definitely in the final stage. And depending on how organised all your documents are, you could have your parent visa in a couple of weeks!!!

(Don't know what has happened to ours though . Our lodgement date was a couple of weeks before yours! Getting hold of my son now!)

[ShazPas]

my brother and I sorted out the AOS in December last year and did the bank Guarantee 10 Jan 2014, I think that is what takes the longest we were back and forth

to Centrelink 3/4 times then had to wait for the acceptance letter then fill out all the forms at the bank for the bank guarantee then wait for Centrelink to send the instruction to

pay the money over, so I would say total of 2 months just sorting that out.

my parents went for the final thing on our check list which was the medicals they did that 1st week of Nov 2014, and here we are now, wooohooo I was hoping to have them here for Christmas

but they are still trying to sell their house been on the market now for 2 months no one can get home loans anymore and they are sitting with 4 million invested bond free.

[Dirkz]

Hope they get their house sold soon.

A lesson for us to not leave the selling of our house too late

[Orphan]

Yes Dirkz. Don't leave this part too late, particularly if you need the money form the sale of your house to pay the vac2 visa charge.

I have heard of many people who have struggled to sell their houses, and then had to give it away through desperation.

We placed our house on the market the moment we lodged our application. Once sold, we then rented, and everything worked out fine. Whatever it cost us in rent we made up on through the forex gain on our capital sum which we had invested in Australia.

Moreover, the SA housing market is starting to peak right now, so the time to sell couldn't be better.

[ShazPas]

Whooo hooo, its done I am so happy my parents 2nd Visa Application charge has just been requested I am going to the bank to sort out the payment, they have just been issued thier

PRE-VISA GRANT ADVICE they have to entre Australia before the 17 June 2015.

Happy Days........

[Orphan]

ShazPas,

That is quite unbelievably good news! Sincere congratulations! It has taken you only 3 days from CO appointment to Vac2 request, which is a great testimony to your organisational skills.

There are important lessons here for the rest of us in the Waiting Room, and for those who follow in future.

1. ShazPas had all her ducks in a row by the time her CO appointment came through. Nothing had been left too chance; for example she had even completed the Form 1221, even though it wasn't requested in her case. This shows that if you have everything ready by the time the CO is appointed, the Visa will be issued very shortly afterwards.

2. ShazPas had already completed the AoS application process, received sponsorship approval, and paid the AoS Bond, well before the time (in fact 10 months before the time!). This process will normally take up to 4 weeks to complete, and many applicants make the mistake of only starting this once their CO is appointed. There is no need to wait. Your original lodgement letter specifies when you are allowed to start this, which is well before the review date.

3. ShazPas had the foresight of sending her parents' application form to an immigration agency for checking, prior to lodging it with the PVC. Her agent identified a number of mistakes and omissions on the documents which she could rectify before submission, and also warned her of additional forms peculiar to her parents situation that the CO would call for. As this professional review process only cost her $440 inclusive of GST, it may be a worthwhile option for those applicants completing the application process themselves and not wishing to pay an immigration agency for the full service.

[ShazPas]

Well said Orphan, I have just phoned my mom to tell her and she is over the moon, I told her to just stay safe until they depart for Australia.

[Dirkz]

We're very glad for you and your family!

Thanks for keeping is updated and also a big thank you to Orphan for summing up the process so well. We are learning all the time ?

[Niamatbir]

Congrats Shazpas!!! (im jealous )

If my agent didn't had misguided me about the aos, i would have gotten my visa a little early.

As of now, i have submitted all of the pending documents and lodged my aos( it has been more then a week).\

Just waiting for the aos acceptance letter now

Rich

[Belindaf]

Congratulations Shazpas, this is wonderful news.

[Elna57]

Hi Orphan. I am so glad that I stumbled upon your blog. Fantastic tips and very interesting to see all the comments. We are hoping to apply for our visas soon and have started filling out the forms. Can not wait to tell you that we have submitted them. Good luck, I am sure you will be getting your visa pretty soon.

[Orphan]

A very warm welcome Elna to our special parents thread.

Although you are only at the start of your journey, you will be in good company here, among the many others either already sitting in the Waiting Room, or those like you about to take the plunge, or those just looking in while they contemplate their decision.

Remember, you are not alone in this; and there will always be someone further down the line willing to share their experiences and offer advice. So ask away, no matter how trivial it may seem to you!

Please keep adding to our common pool of knowledge by including us in your journey. Your experiences will help make this road we all travel much easier and more enjoyable to follow.