I'm getting mine done there - got an appointment in a couple of weeks time.

I am confused as to why you think that you would have to send your app to Berlin - there is an embassy in Brussels if you are in Belgium and if you go to the immigration website and go to the section about applying for a spouse visa, it has all the different country details on it. There is also a Spouse Visa Checklist on there which might be useful for you.

And on the app form it has a section where you fill in your credit card details.

We have to go to berlin because the visa side of the australian consulate hhere in belgium closed down a few yrs ago. sam as for dutch people.
It's pretty stupid. So all visas from belgium, luxemburg and holland have to go through berlin.
I think that the reason is that there wasn't enough work for them. of something like this.

Understandable, but still a pain in the a**e

oh nightmare - funny how they leave the details on the bloody website!! Anyhow no reason why you would have to go to Berlin anyway, you can jsut send off all the info with credit card details. I looked and there are details of the panel doctors in Belgium on the immigration website too - I presume that is up to date!

I just found that the values statement has been included in the updated 47SP application form. Now my OH has to complete the application again.

My OH had his medical today and all went well. It cost £195
Doctor was apparently very professional but OH says he felt slightly violated

Also has anyone ever submitted a stat dec 888 from a friend from the UK and who is not an Australian Citizen?

Hello your poor hubby !!

Several of my UK friends submitted stat decs saying we were a couple, they didnt bother to do it on the 888 form, just typed it out themselves and it was fine.

meant to say, they signed it in front of a solicitor tho

Yeah I know but he did well - I'm really proud of him but I just can't stop myself from

Stat decs - thanks for that. I think we might have to do that as one of our stat decs has a slight error on it and given the time it takes from Australia to get a new one ( plus any possible future postal strikes) !!!
We just want to submit it soon.

Thanks for your help!

is there a special form that the stat decs have to been on?
I better get searching then!!!

I got my sister who lives in the uk to go to her solicitor today and get a certified copy of her passport.
I was under the impression that if she types out a sat dec for me and oh and signs it and sends it to me with the copy of her passport that it would be enough? Does this mean that shes got to fill out the 888 form, go back to the solicitor and sign it infront of him, and pay the bugger again?
or would what shes done be enough??

There is a form - 888 which you can download and fill in, but you don't have to use it, its there like a guide I think , my friends didnt, they just typed theres out , I did get them to get their ones signed in front of a solicitor tho,

However, Medway Mark who posts on here I dont think got his ones signed in front of a solicitor and his wifes visa came no problems (I apoligise in advance mark if this is completely wrong!! )

I'm pretty sure that's right about Mark....

What is the error? Ours had the wrong applicant name (ie, they put me down as the applicant, but I'm the Aussie). I just changed it on the form.... no problems. You could put a covering letter in saying that there is an error and we are arranging for a new one to be sent, but my guess is that the visa would be issued before this is required anyway.

We didn't use solicitors. Our copied were certified by a nurse and the Stat decs (form 888) were witnessed by a building society manager, a teacher and a nurse.

No, that's right. I guess it depends on how well all the evidence stacks up. If you've only been together 5 minutes, they might look in to it in more detail.

If my memory serves me right, on form 888 it does say something along the lines of...if you're not in Australia, you can get a similarly professional person to witness the declaration. I took that to mean that a British teacher/nurse etc is similarly professional to Aussie ones. We asked people to do the form that we knew would have access to that kind of person...ie, one works in a Building society, one is a teaching assistant and the other one was a district nurse.

I didn't get anything certified. We sent all originals - pports, birth cert etc; and as for the stat decs, the only person who signed them, was the person who wrote them! (my cousin, her husband & we also got 2 'english' family friends to write one each)

We had been together for 9 years at the time of the application, & had (& still have!) a child together, not sure if that had anything to do with them not querying it, or whether it just isn't necessary to get things certified for this particular visa, they seem to hand the SV out like bus tickets!!!???

Oh & btw, can I join the dodgy husbands club... His PCC was queried, as he had something show up from his 'younger' days... Totally shat himself when he saw it... So did I actually! But had no bearing on the end result... Obviously, as we've been here for over 5 mths now!