Hey, I have spent over 4 years now, from the first contact with the agent for a 175 subclass visa, when it was granted they gave an initial entry date to validate of october 2009. However in october 2008, I started having personal problems and when the time came to validate (I had already paid out a few thousand pounds on flights and hotels etc) I did not get on the plane. Im sure you can imagine, my wife was not very happy at the time! All our plans seemed to be going down the sh***er at the time. But she went ahead and validated her visa on the advice of an agent, even though she was the secondary applicant. I was told by the agent that they would not accept my reasons for non validation and that i would have to apply for a spouse visa, costing another 13, to 14 hundred pounds, (not including their fee) going on this and from the the posts i received on here, I was not hopeful of getting the original visa reinstated So, I started the ball rolling for a spouse visa, which we did ourselves, paid the fee, solicitors copies etc. only to be asked straight away why i had not validated the original visa. When I gave the reason, they asked for proof, which i provided in the form of doctors notes..............and guess what, they reinstated the original visa, im so happy right now, result or what. Thank you to everyone who replied to our questions, it really is appreciated. To all the people who said ridiculous things like 'if you dont fly why are you moving there' and 'is there any point' etc. Really? Seriously? Do you think we havn't spent hundreds of hours discussing these issues?? If they had read the whole post they would have realised that I am going by boat!! Jan 4th p & o cruise, southampton to sydney, via some really nice places, cant wait!! Thanks again. Paul.

That's really good news Paul, I enjoy reading posts like this its nice to see people have a bit of luck in life. Hope everything goes well for you. Just out of interest how long will the trip take?

Thats fantastic news. I hope all goes well for you. Best Wishes Tye

Cheers guys, 42 nights, 6 weeks, stops randomly at certain places, west bound cruise, so places like, st lucia, mexico, california, honolulu, fiji to name a few, I dont seem to get much luck, but ill take this bit and hold on to it!! for me this is a once in a lifetime trip!

Well done!

Enjoy the cruise, I bet your wife is soooo jealous

Well done!!!

sometimes posters responses arent the most supportive on here, i know.

but this just goes to show that no matter the complications you'll all get there somehow it just takes a bit of grit, some balls and a lot alot of time, youve got there, so when your on that boat sit back looking at the sunset and think of the future.

Just come back here and support otheres stumbling along the same path youve walked.

All the very best to you and yours

Marie

Congratulations!!!!
The Cruise sounds like a fantastic way to get there!!!