Spouse visa lodged pretoria

[claireandjedi]

Hi, can anyone who has lodged a spouse visa with pretoria office help me with some answers?! Thank you!

I am an australian citizen, I have been with my south african partner for nearly two years now. We are due to have a baby in May of this year.

My partner has had to return to south africa to lodge our spouse visa with the pretoria office.

Medical was done prior to lodging our application with a panel doctor (they send to pretoria directly)

Police clearance we have just lodged upon receiving back. so as far as checklists go, all forms etc have been lodged.

We lodged initial application 26 Feb 2007.

Police clearance lodged 19 March 2007.

We haven't received any notification that our application, medicals etc have even been received. very frustrating as most of you in the same situation can appreciate.

How can we obtain our file reference number or case officer details without having our file put to the bottom of the pile???

We need to send in a change of details form (which asks for our application reference number) How can we do this if we don't know it?

Does it make any difference to this office that our baby is due May 19 in regards to processing this application, if not is my partner likely to be granted a tourist visa in the mean time so he can come here to Australia for the birth of the baby?

I read that it takes months to be assigned a case officer?? But the standard processing time is 3-6mths. Immigration website also states they endeavour to send a letter of acknowlegement within 7 working days of receiving the application. Does this only apply to applications lodged within Australia??

It's so frustrating when you know you have to wait, but not knowing if they even have the documents is worse. I would hate to find out in three months they don't even have it?

Hoping someone can help. I know there are alot of people in the same boat, it's very hard to get answers and when you are separated from your partner and having a baby it's so upsetting.

THanks. Claire

[australian]

Hi Claire

I am also an Australian citizen, but my husband, kids and I are in South Africa until such time as the visa's are approved. We lodged our Spouse's visa at the end of February and we got a resonse within 2 days, giving us the details of our case officer and a reference number. Where did your partner lodge his application. We sent ours directly to Pretoria. We also gave them our email address and they emailed us the confirmation letter. We have been advised that we should have a response by June this year.

I would suggest that he phones the Australian High Commission, everytime I have contacted them they have been very helpful.

Good luck. I am sure you will get a positive response from them soon

Robyn

[claireandjedi]

Hi Claire

I am also an Australian citizen, but my husband, kids and I are in South Africa until such time as the visa's are approved. We lodged our Spouse's visa at the end of February and we got a resonse within 2 days, giving us the details of our case officer and a reference number. Where did your partner lodge his application. We sent ours directly to Pretoria. We also gave them our email address and they emailed us the confirmation letter. We have been advised that we should have a response by June this year.

I would suggest that he phones the Australian High Commission, everytime I have contacted them they have been very helpful.

Good luck. I am sure you will get a positive response from them soon

Robyn

Hi Robyn,

Wow, that's a worry that we haven't heard then. Did you lodge in person? Our application was sent via courier so we haven't met with anyone. I did manage to check via a lady in a completely different section that the application was received 2 March but that is all I could find out? We don't have any information on if they received the medicals, clearance or who our case officer might be?

I will take your advice and have my partner try phoning them to see if we can get any information. It seems strange that they haven't acknowledged the application via a letter or email if they have it there?

Thanks again and good luck.

Claire

[australian]

[Hi Claire

We also sent ours by courier (we live in Durban). My husband has not done his medicals yet, although he has sent in a police clearance that expires in June 2007.

Let me know how your process is going, we seemed to have lodged around the same time, so I am hoping that the process is quick and we both get a positive response soon.

Good luck with your baby, I am sure you can make arrangements for your partner to come accross on a 3 month holiday visa if you have not a response from them by May. Also maybe get him to explain the situation, they may just speed it up for you!! I was told by someone at the High Commission, that if all the paperwork is in order, and they are quiet, it can take as little as 6 weeks!!

Robyn

[Hi Claire

me again....just out of interest, where are you from in Australia?? I am hoping to also have a baby soon after we arrive in Australia. I would be interested to find out about the hospitals there, and what benefit ect we recieve being Australian citizens. My other children were born in South Africa, so I am sure it will be a very different experience!!

[claireandjedi]

Hi Robyn,

I hope that if they are quiet it means something is happening, hopefully positive. We were hoping that with our baby on the way and they have this information included in the file that perhaps they could speed the process but I guess at the end of the day you are still just a number?

I am praying to god for some news soon, it's so hard to think that they have the power to say whether we are able to start a life together as a family or not. What would happen to us if we are forced to be apart with a small baby? We are quite hesitant to phone and contact them after reading all the bad experiences on the net. It's so difficult. If it was financially viable I would just wait in South Africa with my partner but as I am now 7 weeks away from giving birth, I am unable to do so, let alone fly at this stage in pregnancy.

In regards to benefits back here in oz. well I know you will receive a baby bonus of $4,100 for 2007. that's a great help for any family! I am based in Sydney at the moment, most of the public hospitals here are fantastic and if you can afford private, even better.

Well, I will keep you posted. It's so difficult being here on my own and awaiting our first baby without my partner. It's even harder that we haven't heard anything after a month, but I will keep my fingers crossed.

My partner is in the Transkei until Wednesday. I will have him phone immigration then. Fingers Crossed. Keep in touch! Claire