Ready2go Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 (edited) Hi D & M, My hubby has two trades, Aircon and Refrig and also an Installation Electrician. Did his TRA under the Aircon trade. From my understanding - Your police clearance / Meds are valid for one year from the date stamped on the doc. You are then required to enter into AUS to validate the visa before this expires. I havent yet heard from anyone on the forum who has had theirs expire, so not sure if you have to redo them ???!!!As mentioned before, we lodged 28th, Meds asked day or so later, and our visa status page has said "processing commenced" since 28th Nov - we were thrilled thinking we had CO - since that date nothing has changed !!!However, dont give up, maybe you will be lucky !!! Edited August 20, 2008 by Ready2go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk and Mandy Posted August 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Ready2go - your police clearance is definitely only valid for 6 months. We checked this with the SAPS when we applied. Have your agents contacted DIAC to find out what is happening with your applications? From what we have seen, once a case officer is appointed, it seems to go through really quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Red Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 (edited) Ready2go - your police clearance is definitely only valid for 6 months.D&MIn terms of the Visa application the DIAC consider a PCC valid for 12 months...And to be honest, I think your agent might be misinformed. However, if you do get your Visa by the end of November as you mentioned earlier, I suggest you give everyone your agents details cause they sure are special!!! Edited August 20, 2008 by Red Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just B Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 This is the "Offical" processing times according to the Department ofImmigration and CultureApplication processing times For complete applications, department will process 75% of applications in the time listed in the table below.Processing times vary depending on 'high risk' or 'low risk' country requirements. Low risk countries are Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) eligible. High risk countries are those not on the ETA list. See: www.eta.immi.gov.auThe tables below outline service standards for low and high risk countries. Service Standard for Low Risk CountriesVisa type [ OffshoreGeneral Skilled Migration -- 12 months Skilled Independent Regional -- seven (7) months Service Standard for High Risk CountriesVisa type Offshore General Skilled Migration -- 15 months Skilled Independent Regional -- seven (7) months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donne' Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Hi Everyone! What a wonderful forum you all have going here! We are a family of four, my husband Dirk is in IT, we have two beautiful little girls, Tyra is 9, Paige is 7, and i am a stay at home mom. We have applied for a 175 Skilled Independent Visa. We started our whole process in mid-March this year. Dirk had to do an RPL for the ACS which was approved 2 weeks ago, we lodged our Visa application last Monday,and DIAC requested that we do our medicals last Wednesday. We went off and did them yesterday, and so now our wait has begun. Dirk has skills on MODL and SOL, so we are hoping that our application wont take too long! Once our visas are granted, we are hoping to settle in Adelaide. It is great to see so many wonderful people on this forum who are over in Australia and yet being so incredibly helpful and supportive to those of us who have yet to go. Reading your "packing" stories had me in stitches, and reading your experiences of your first few days over there had me in tears. We are looking forward to getting to know you guys and becoming part of this wonderful community!Dirk and Mandy Hi Dirk and Mandy ,Welcome .!! I agree the people on here are fantastic ,it makes one feel a little less stressed about the big move ! D. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willem en Luzelle JvR Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Baie welkom op die forum! Ek vind dat die forum ons help om te weet waarvoor ons onsself inlaat, en om op raad te soek. Sterkte met julle aansoek, hoop dit gaan sommer vinnig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Good Witch Posted August 20, 2008 Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Thank you Lindie and Pygmalion! Pygmalion - When we did our online submission on the Monday, our agents told us that we could expect to be requested to do our medicals within a few weeks. They were also quite surprised when DIAC contacted them two days later and requested that we do our medicals, and they said to us that that meant that a case officer had been appointed already. Dont know how this happened, but to be very honest with you, everything with regard to our emigration process has for some unknown reason happened a lot sooner than the time lines given! Hey, we're not complaining, we are just very grateful! Hi Dirk & Mandy,We also appointed an agent, and the timeframes given to us were quite similar to yours. Our actual visa application is only going in mid Oct 08 after the Vetassess external exam has been completed, we have been told that we can expect our visa to come thru any time from Feb - June 09. Initially we were told closer to Feb, but apparently there are a few delays being experienced at the moment by the Australian authorities, and we have been advised by our agents that we may experience a delay of a few months as a result. We are of course hoping that this will not be the case. As with you, everything, absolutely everything so far has slotted smoothly into place. Even our experiences with Home Affairs have been a breeze! we are "too blessed to be stressed!" Here's crossing fingers and toes that you have yours by December so that you can meet your future in Oz. And, may that be a very happy and fulfilling future indeed!Best rgdsAndi & Gunther Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk and Mandy Posted August 20, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2008 Thanks for all the input guys! We have contacted our agent and asked her to double check her time frames with DIAC. Africvision - we have had the exact same experience with Home Affairs - we had the girls passports and all unabridged documents within 3 weeks of applying, our IETLS exam date was moved up by 3 months and our PCC was also ready within 3 weeks of us applying, Dirk's military discharge certificate was ready for collection 10 days after he applied for it! We were told to expect to wait a few weeks before being requested to do medicals, but only waited 2 days. Absolutely brilliant! Everything has gone so smoothly! I am glad that someone else is having the amazing experience that we are, it certainly makes for a much less stressful experience! Red - Our agents were the first to tell us that nobody can speed your process up, and if anyone claims that they can, they are talking rubbish, so sorry, but wont be able to refer them for that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ready2go Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 (edited) Hi D & M,Yes our agents have emailed them and the response is that they cannot assist as the ASPC timelines are reflecting 21 Nov. So only after the timeline has moved past 28th can we start ranting and raving to them !!! Edited to add, my other half is also MODL and SOL. Just read under PR processing times that someone there in similar employment to you guys got a visa granted very quickly, the only thing is we think he applied on shore, hopefully they will answer our question and let us know.Take care Edited August 21, 2008 by Ready2go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Die Viljoens Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Hi, Dirk and Mandy,Welcome and I agree wiht newcomer, this forum is surely adictive!!Holding thumbs that everything works out, keep us updated!!Ursula Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk and Mandy Posted August 21, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 (edited) Good morning everyone! Ready2go - It seems like there is no hard and fast rule here! We know of people who applied from here and got Visas very, very quickly once medicals have been done, and now we are hearing about you guys where it is taking ages! Good luck, i hope it comes through sooner than expected! What are you doing in the mean time to get ready to go, or are you waiting for your visa to come through before you start the next step?Thanks Ursula! Edited August 21, 2008 by Dirk and Mandy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Impatient Posted August 21, 2008 Report Share Posted August 21, 2008 Thank you Lindie and Pygmalion! Pygmalion - When we did our online submission on the Monday, our agents told us that we could expect to be requested to do our medicals within a few weeks. They were also quite surprised when DIAC contacted them two days later and requested that we do our medicals, and they said to us that that meant that a case officer had been appointed already. Dont know how this happened, but to be very honest with you, everything with regard to our emigration process has for some unknown reason happened a lot sooner than the time lines given! Hey, we're not complaining, we are just very grateful! Dirk & MandyIt's just not fair! We submitted in May and still awaiting a CO - please send some of your good luck our way! Hubby also on the MODL and SOL.Welcome and congrats too.. Mel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jurgs Posted August 22, 2008 Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Good morning everyone.This is my first post on the forum, and thank you to Mandy for inviting me to join.My wife and I ( we live near Cape Town) started the process towards the end of March this year and hope to be able to leave South Africa, for Australia, as soon as possible ( with our two little boys ages 4 & 6) . Its a stressful process, filled with lots of hurdles, potholes and the odd crater ..... but we are hopeful that we will make it and emerge on the other side stronger and better people ... and of course free .We have completed our IELTS exams ( and both passed ) , our birth certificates, marriage certificate and other paperwork are all in order, and we are now waiting for our qualifications to be assessed. Are most of you already in Australia ? Or are there others ( like us ) who are still in the process of wanting to leave South Africa?We also belong to another forum (which I started almost 5 months ago ) and must say that its been really wonderful to meet so many people in the same situation to to be able to offer help and advice and to become friends ... its heart warming.If there is anything that I can do to help, please just ask . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dirk and Mandy Posted August 22, 2008 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2008 Good morning Everyone! Hello Jurgs! Welcome, nice to see you here! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GLS Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 (edited) Hi there Mandy and Jurgs.Jurgs - haven't heard from you in a long time.I'm also new to this forum. I mainly read through all the info on this forum, so much to learn from everyone.We are still having comeback on Elmarie's skills assessment. Documents that are not correct according to them ect. At least we know that they are working on her application so I suppose it's OK. Edited September 4, 2008 by GLS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SandraDee Posted September 4, 2008 Report Share Posted September 4, 2008 Maybe visas submitted after July are being processed quicker as they are all being administered in Brisbane. No backlog so they are worked on straight away? Just a thought! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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