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Diary & Deliberations of the Dinkies


EmNew

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Tick Tock, Tick Tock.....

Awaiting VPO appointment......all else is done and dusted. Of all the waiting times, this feels like the worst. The goal is JUST out of reach, all needed now is a VPO ( that doesn't ask for even MORE documentation ) and a grant notification.

This coming week should keep my mind off it all a bit - financial year end for most clients, provisional tax deadlines, company 2014 tax return deadlines and the 2015/2016 Budget speech to dissect and digest. Perhaps the workload is for the best. The VPO situation is beyond my control, and I have enough on my plate that I can take charge of, so let's just focus on that, and have faith that all will happen as and when it should.

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  • 2 weeks later...

A new month, a new day, and I have never checked my phone / emails so much in my life. I am normally a completely client focussed service provider and never check / answer my phone during an appointment with them, but recently I have started to sneak a peak to see if it's our Agent, phoning with good news....even if it's just to tell us we have a VPO allocated to us.

Sadly no such call yet.

On another note, yesterday we decided to take a drive from our home to Simons Town, to get slap chips from The Salty Sea Dog, and eat them overlooking False Bay near Cape Point. The thinking was that whilst we are in limbo awaiting our visa grant, and don't need to urgently sort/pack/sell house etc, we will make most of the time we have left in Cape Town. Our route took us over Ou Kaapse Weg, through Silvermine, where the only sign of fire at the time was a brown haze in the clouds - roads still open etc, and no visible flames and damage.

Quite sobering to think that it is all gone this afternoon - just an ash wasteland, and that teams are desperately trying to get it all under control. Praying that no lives get lost, that the wind stays lighter than the gale it's been and that property damage is minimised.........

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We now enter week 8 since application as been lodged.....with no news of VPO/CO appointment yet.

Before we lodged, I thought I would be at my calmest at this stage, as I know we got all the necessary items together, and it's just a matter of getting a favourable grant outcome.

However, NOTHING prepared me for this waiting game!

I have become volcanic, irritability simmering just below the surface, ready to explode at any thing and anyone.

I think I also now suffer from FOMO ( fear of missing out ) as I check emails, phone, immi account constantly JUST in case.......

Comfort foods beckon me all the time - baking itself use to be a stress reliever, now I just don't have the energy, so am buying lots of naughty things, such as chips, chocolates and biscuits and when I am working at my home office, I wear a path between my desk and kitchen cupboards!

Sleep.........what does a full night's sleep feel like again? Even prescription sleeping tablets can't keep me asleep throughout the night - 2am wakeups seem to be the norm ( must be a sub conscious thought that Australia is now really beginning its day, so MAYBE today's the day..... )

Not sure how much longer I can handle the waiting, without a serious crash and burn...........

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I can relate, Em! Everything has been front-loaded, so I'm 60% waiting for a direct grant letter, 40% wondering if a VO is going to be allocated, and 100% frustrated that I haven't yet heard anything :)

Edited by mistermoose
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Frustrating indeed, Mistermoose.

Logic, rational thought and friends tell me just to relax, but that ain't gonna happen! I don't care when all was finalised, all information IS finalised now, and no VPO appointed yet, so it's not a matter of having VPO, having outstanding info, and being put back in queue for 28 days.....need a VPO for that.........

I was told by our agent to enjoy the stress while it lasts. The most enjoyment I have had in a long time, is after reading that statement, imagining picking up our agent by his ankles, and recreating a scene from Guardians of the Galaxy.......

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Em,

I prefer the scene in Avengers where hulk smacks Loki around myself :boxing:

I guess not even rubbing your ears and chanting "Woosa" ala Bad Boys will help in this situation.

Stay strong

Edited by SDTCPT
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Mmm, perhaps I am mis-remembering which Marvel scene it is..

I do remember that great Loki/Hulk scene vividly now that you mention it, and now find myself needing to watch Guardians again to see which scene I think I was re-creating...it may have involved Groot/enemy and a corridor, or Drax/enemy and a corridor...oh dear.....................

What to do - year end recons, or refresh my memory by finding that scene.............. ;)

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Inching our way to the finish line....VPO assigned today!

I think that I am just too tired to react strongly to the news, as I don't feel as excited as I thought I would be.

I am relieved though, that much I CAN attest to feeling. I like progress, and after 2 months of nail biting and chocolate bingeing sessions, it is good to know we're one step closer.........

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Fantastic news, Em. Just in time for the weekend :)

I'd love to know whether there's some fixed criteria that VPOs use to distinguish between direct grants and extra processing, or if it's just up to the mood of the VPO you're randomly allocated.

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Wait until the visa arrives. My first emotions was a fairly calm (aka slightly numb) "oh, that's nice". Then we had jubilation and hysteria.

Then comes the "oh, s***!!!" moment.

Almost there

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Oh my word... we're still waiting for VPO, should be by end of month if working on 8week rule... also hoping for direct grant :-)

However it seems like im skipping all other emotions and strait into "oh, s***!" Already!!!!

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So needed a pick me up good news story today, but seems as if no-one has posted happy visa grant news for weeks!

It appears St Patrick has not been good to me. Or perhaps NOT getting good news IS the luck of the Irish? Haven't had a request from our VPO for additional information, but neither has he/she graced us with a grant letter......

Neither was SARS good to me today - hoping once in Aus, that dealing with ATO is not a 5 hour utter waste of time!

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Hi Em,

Can't help you with any good news, but like you say maybe no news is good news in this case and they are just checking everything before you get your grant letter.

Seeing as you like Guardians of the Galaxy I thought this would put a (small) smile on your face...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=1GncYQHBJIw

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Thanks - it put a big smile on my face :D

Seriously thinking of therapy at this stage - stress of all of this, capped with dealing with SARS, has me thinking I am hallucinating - swear I just saw 4 policeman on horseback ride past our house a few minutes ago............. lived here/worked from home for 10 years and that's a new one! ( if it actually happened ........ )

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At least you get cops on horses. They at least don't make much of a noise. Where we live it seems like almost every weekend we get a police chopper hovering around. That thing gives you a serious wakeup when it goes past just over roof height. I wonder some times if they have a helipad at the police station because I swear the chopper has to be permanently stationed there. I bet the pilot does a little dance of join when he/she gets to fly somewhere else :D

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Em, is it not worth getting in touch with your CO to ask if they have any questions?

Do ALL applications have a CO officially assigned, with some just not asking questions? Thought direct grants meant you heard nothing until the grant mail?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have to admit , this has been the hardest week so far. 11 weeks since submission, 2 weeks since VPO assigned to us, 9 months to the day since signing up with our agent, and there is just silence from DIPB - status 'in progress'. There are no outstanding documents, and no requests for additional documents.

I feel terrible confessing it, but was particularly hard to see grant announcements this week for people that had submitted applications later than us, and received a VPO after us, and were clients of the same agent we're using.( my congratulations were heartfelt at their gains, but it was difficult to accept that we didn't have our turn too )

Every day starts on a positive note , really early, as I tend to wake up between 2 and 3 am without fail. Of course I cannot resist logging into to our immi account .Then after a shallow snooze, if I am lucky, the alarm goes off at 5am, and I check again, in case some movement happened after lunch time in Adelaide ( where our case is being handled ). Then again around 7am, as they knock off for the day, holding out hope that perhaps our VPO wrapped our case up before calling it a day, I check again. Becoming rather obsessed! By Thursday however, the routine was depressing , as no good news. I decided that despite having a workload up to my eyeballs, some retail therapy was in order, and allowed myself an hour to window shop at Tygervalley. Found myself in @Home, stroking the faux fur throws in a daze, but it was very soothing to my nerves - I am sure I was receiving strange looks, but I didn't care, I was in a happy zone..... :blink:

In more ways than one, I am glad it's the weekend. Time to pull ourselves towards ourselves, breath , realise and understand that it's out of our hands. I do have irrational fears about aspects of our application that worried me from the start, and of course I am jumping to conclusions that it MUST be that that's putting a spanner in the works. I guess I just can't see the wood for the trees.

Time to take it easy, make the most of the gorgeous weather Cape Town has this time of year, and let go, even if it's for just the 2 days of the weekend!

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Visa's are not issued in consecutive order. This was one of the big changes made 2 and half years ago by DIBP.

Visa's are issued by ranking the number of points candidates have and by occupation (and there ceilings).

So a candidate with 80 points should be issued a visa earlier than someone with 60.

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@18yearsoutofrsa, that does make certain sense, BUT on the google doc link provided by Mistermoose on another topic, that is drawn up by pomsinoz members, there are applicants with fewer points, in same occupation, that were granted their visa already.

How come there are ceilings at grant level ? Surely the quota / ceiling levels only apply at EOI / invite stage ?

I am saddled with a logical mind, and so far can find no pattern of logic in the process. Lots of explanations and theories given, to which I can provide counter evidence, so I am going to just sit back and wait for the spinning wheel to land at my spot

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Hi Em,

Have not seen a post from you saying "we got it" so I hope you guys get some good news before the weekend.

I know it's only Tuesday but if I don't msg you again have a great Easter weekend.

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Hi,

Yeah, no good news yet - March was clearly not to be my month. Perhaps I am meant to be an April Fool :jester:;)

Also hoping to hear before the long weekend - especially as we're taking some extra days next week to have an itty bitty break. Currently having panic attacks about lack of feedback on application and I sure don't want to deal with those whilst trying to relax!

You must also have a great weekend if we don't 'chat' before then.

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Hi EmNew,

I know quiet a few people that actually get quiet stressed when a C/O is assigned and they don't hear from him/her for a while. I had the same situation.

However, if something was wrong- they most likely would have informed you by now.

Someone once told me- that DIAC has to process "so many" applications out per month and once they reach the quotas for the month than they won't turn out any more grants for that month but wait for the next month. Seeing as you are very high up in the que having been assigned a C/O this month and the fact that you said they have released a list of grants for the month. I would safely bet that your grant would be given to you Next month (April). So hang in there. Take deep breaths and enjoy life. It is on it's way... It will be a surreal feeling having that golden ticket in hand.

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Thanks Sol1 :D

Weird re the application process having quotas - you would think that if they haven't reached the EOI invite quota in total for the 2014/2015 year, then how many visa applications are granted in a month would be irrelevant. Oh well.....

I think I fried a brain cell or 2 trying to establish a pattern of logic in the process, and have now given up ;)

Tomorrow is April.......................

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A great way to start our leave post a Blessed Easter long weekend!!!

At 7.50am this morning, the golden egg was laid - the grant letter email arrived in our inbox!!!!

To say we're relieved and happy is quite the understatement....

Thanks to all who gave support and encouragement over this period of stress, uncertainty , waiting and more stress ;)

Off to celebrate........

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Congrats, Em! At least you can let your nails grow out a bit again. Enjoy the champagne, oysters, caviar and chocolate. Soak it all in. The start of new and exciting things to come :)

You are now a PERMANENT RESIDENT OF AUSTRALIA!

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