e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Hi Folks

I have permanent residency status for OZ however my travel period has expired. I was advised by my agent that I could go back on an e651 when visiting for a holiday.

So we fly out on the 10th December and my e651 visa status has been at 'Further Assessment' for over a week now! I was expecting some feedback where I had to explain how long I was staying etc and uploaded those docs over a week ago now. Still nothing. We cant even check in as a family because of this. We are due to fly on the 10th and come back the 7th Jan. I always felt that I could still fly then deal with immigration in Brisbane airport but you simply cannot fly without it.

What can you do to get around this? Should I cancel and start again?

I phones the AUS home office and the girl sounded distraught. It took me 3 days to get through for her to say that this could take longer than 6 weeks!!?? There is nothing you can do to accelerate this? I am staring the real possibility of being without my partner and daughter over Xmas because of this.

I made a 'suggestion' on their site that they should ask for travel dates at the time of applying. In that case thy can at least prioritise their cases based on when folk are flying.

Is there anything else I can do? Read somewhere that you can apply for an ETA and cancel the 651? But wont I just be in the same position .i.e flagged up in the system and then need to supply extra documentation?

This is killing me and I just know this status isn't going to change anytime soon.

Thanks
Brissy

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Unless you wish to lose your PR status then applying for any visa other than a RRV is not a good idea. I would withdraw your application for a 651 immediately and lodge a RRV application. You can then try and badger the DoHA into granting it before the date of your current flight but you’ll need to be aware that you may not be able to travel as planned.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Thanks for reply. Agent is absolutely adamant that going to Oz on a e651 will have no bearing on my residency. I dont have an RRV in flight or submitted at the moment they said that's where you can get problems.

I really dont know what to do here? We do plan on getting my residency back next year via an RRV but this is just a family holiday. Is my agent wrong here? God I'm getting so stressed now. Its only working days immigration work as well? I dont think I'm going anywhere this xmas.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Get a new agent. You cannot hold more than one Australian visa at any given time so a 651 grant would knock out your PR. It’s probably the reason why your application has been placed on hold. DoHA has done you a solid there.

Probably not but worth trying if you will be applying for a RRV in the near future anyway.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

I think you are correct just reading the RRV section here pretty much explains it:

https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visa...verseas-travel


Returning to Australia without a permanent visa that has a valid travel facility (for example, entering Australia on an ETA or visitor visa) may impact both your:

• entitlements as a permanent resident
• ability to satisfy the permanent residence requirements when applying for Australian citizenship or when applying for another Resident Return visa.

Looks like I need to cancel ASAP and accept I wont be going anywhere at Xmas.

Thanks do much!! The RRV is way more important.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Hi Brissybound, sorry that your holiday plans haven't worked out. I just wanted to make a couple of comments, to be honest they're more for Brit in Paris and Pollyanna if they drop into this thread again so that they can give you their thoughts.

Your user name rang a bell so I had a sticky beak at your previous posts (promise I'm not stalking you!). From those posts, I may or may not have got the following correct:
You lived in Australia from 2008 to 2012
The majority of that time was spent as the holder of a temporary spouse visa as the spouse of a NZ resident?
You gained your Australia PR in 2012
You left Australia in 2012 and haven't returned since?
You have a partner (UK citizen?) and daughter in the UK, and once you get your RRV, have returned to Oz and set yourself up, they are going to travel to Oz on tourist visas and then your partner will apply onshore for a spouse visa?

If the above is correct then your immigration history and status seems quite complex, and as everyone wants to make sure you have the best help applicable to your circumstances I thought it would be beneficial to Brit in Paris, Pollyanna and the other knowledgeable people on here to have the full story.

On a different note, is it possible for your partner to cancel the proposed holiday so that you can all spend Christmas together? Wishing you all the best.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Hi Spouse of Scouse

Yes its pretty much like that. The thing is I'm not sure if I have the energy to move back out to Oz permanently its my partner who is driving this to be honest. The holiday is just that.. a holiday. Just off the phone to my agent and he said that yes the wording insinuates that going on an e651 may affect future applications. However he says in his experience he always advises clients to travel on e651 when returning for a holiday and in his experience it has no adverse affect when applying for an RRV. He says my case is very strong as I was due to return on 2016 when I had my flights booked with a job to go back to. However I had an accident at a wedding which left me in a coma for 6 weeks. This meant I missed my flight. They have all the relevant documentation and was very confident I would get a 12 month RRV.

They have advised I hold fire until Monday as it wont be looked at over the weekend. I'm so confused now. Im going to attach a letter explaining what my agent has advised me to do to see if they can provide feedback? In an ideal world I want to be on the holiday first and foremost. There is no way we can get refund on flights etc so will let them go for their holiday.

Devestated to be honest now.

Thanks
Jamie

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

I'm not surprised you're feeling so low Jamie, you're dealing with a lot right now. It doesn't help that you're getting conflicting advice re visas.

If I could just give you one piece of advice, please listen to what Brit in Paris says. He had helped countless people through the years and his knowledge is both extensive and evidence-based. He really does know what he's talking about, and every single time I've seen a poster go against his advice that their immigration agent's advice is incorrect, they've ended up in a pickle.

I hasten to add that there are brilliant immigration agents around who really know their stuff. Some of them post on here occasionally. Unfortunately there are also some who, while I'm sure are well-meaning, give incorrect advice and direction to their clients. There's no way for us 'laypeople' to know one from the other, apart from ensuring that any immigration adviser we retain has the necessary qualifications and accreditation. If I were in your shoes, with so much at stake, I'd follow Brit in Paris' suggestions and if you wish to retain another immigration adviser, perhaps ask on here for personal recommendations from long standing BE members.

Wishing you the best of luck mate.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

A little bird tells me that if you get your RRV application in this weekend then there’s a reasonable chance it’ll be granted in time for you to travel as planned.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Now that would be amazing. My agent isn't back until Monday though. I'm terrified to just cancel it as I dont think my agent would be ready to even submit by Monday. If they did submit it could you still travel on some sort of temp bridging visa until it got granted ?

Many thanks
Brissy

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

You don't need an agent to apply for a RRV.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

No. No such thing.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

As your agent doesn't have a clue what they're doing I wouldn't be waiting for them to come back to you on Monday. I'd have got the application in myself as soon as Brit mentioned his little bird.

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

:nod:

Re: e651 - Due to fly next week - HELP!!
 

Thanks for all the advise guys. The problem is my agent has all the relevant documentation for my RRV. For me to get all that back or dig it all out it would take ages. There is an awful lot of documentation due to the circumstances why I didn't return. Hospital documents from when I was in my coma. Spoke to my agent today and his adamant that an RRV at this time would definitely not get cleared in a week, he said it can take months.

I don't doubt Brit's credentials at all btw and I wish I had come on here earlier. Still e651 is sitting at 'further assessment'. The reality is if it is not granted in 6 more working days then that's that. I will cancel immediately and at least know my residency is safe. However it's definitely soul destroying. I would rather just go the holiday as I feel way too old now to relocate back to Oz.

The agent (who came highly recommended) said that he always puts clients through on e651 or ETA's after their residency travel period has expired. He says as long as it was just a family holiday and I wanted my family to experience Oz before submitting an application to re-enter as a perm resident there is never a problem?

He was genuinely confused as to why its has taken so long but I did get correspondence saying they have a very heavy backlog and shouldn't have booked flights until any visa was granted. If only there was an actual human being you could speak to over the phone that could help you. This is the bit that kills me the most. It's infuriating. I honestly dont think my daughter will last 4 weeks without me my partner is almost certain of that as well. Whole thing is a complete mess.

Thanks again especially Brit x

If it had been 2 weeks earlier I would have but Im just terrified now to do anything and just praying that the status changes from 'assessment' to 'granted' before the end of the week.