Hi all.
We have just been granted our visa for Melbourne great news!! We now have 9 months to activate it. However we are going to Perth in November for holiday and were wondering if this would activate our visa or do we have to go to Melbourne for it to be activated (if so we will book internal flights to Melbourne) and then the big move to Melbourne next year. thanks

Congratulations!!

Validating your visa just means you have to visit Australia. Doesn't matter where you arrive, once you go through Immigration at whichever airport it is validated

Polly, you might have forgot to mention that you also have to thoroughly embarrass yourself and of course post the photographic evidence to the forum to be judged by the independent panel LOL

Pictures of them kissing the ground as they are so glad to be here you mean?!

Hahaha I'll have the camera and video recorder fully charged from landing

Thanks pollyana
Thats great news.....but maybe we might visit Melbourne too just to tickle the tastebuds!!

Congratuations! that didnt take long did it! Have you given up on the perth option completely now?

The July 1st cut off date was too close for us to start from scratch again.....and with perth we could only apply there and no where else Victoria was only state we could get the ball rolling without the completed skills test. So we were half way there before Ashley passed skills test. We are gonna give Melbourne a try and hopefully we will love it there, after 2 years we will reassess and maybe look to Perth again. Was very upset to start with that we didn't get Perth but were so happy and grateful for our entry.....yipee!!!!

Well, well done, thats great. Shame your not going in October as we are having our reccie then! cant beleive how quick you have managed to get it, your meds must of been super quick!

that, or something involving a bucket of local shiraz, appearance in front of a local attraction and a photo camera (in that order)

Jokes aside, congrats, and a piece of advice on the local air travel - you can buy domestic tickets for as little as $29 each way, some times they run specials like that, but with the idea of buying as early as possible, so start planning away!

Thanks for that.....will jump on the net and have a look....am liking the sound of that. Oh I love a bargain!! Our flights are already booked, so dates already known which makes it easier. The excitement

Just sent a pm

Hopefully a simple question related to this.. Does only the main applicant have to validate the visa, or do all the family members have to validate as well ?

AlL family members need to validate

Yeah all applicants that have been stated in the written process have to validate visa in person.