prezy

Hi All,

Would just like to share our experience and ask a minor question...

I have recently applied for a temporary spouse visa (subclass 820) at DIMA (DIAC) Sydney office, me and my hubby just walked in to submit the application. The lady who took our application and payment adviced us it will take months before a case officer is allocated. We were a bit surprised because the average timeline for this type of visa based on other people's log @ AusTimeline seems to be around 2 to 6 weeks. Some even get it on the same day as lodging.

After doing further reading, we realized just now that the DIMIA website advices that to make an appointment when lodging an application in person. Not to be "paranoid" but was just wondering if this may have had an impact on the handling of our case.

Do on-shore spouse visa applicants normally just walk-in or is setting an appointment is the norm?

Hope those who had lodged temp spouse applications (specially in Sydney) could share their experience..

Thanks

Pollyana

The timelines quoted for spouse visas are usually a lot longer than the reality. The UK ones for instance say it can be 4-6 months before visa grant, yet it is far more common to get the visa in a couple of weeks, if its a spouse application.

prezy

Hi Pollyana, thanks for the insight .

My current visa (prospective marriage) is still valid till August (and there's the bridging visa) , we are just a bit in a hurry because my medical is expiring this April

By the way, nice to see you still hanging around B.E and sharing your knowledge with other members. My hubby who used to be a "B.E" addict told me about you, he still logs-in from time to time.

Pollyana

You get the bridging visa automatically as soon as your application is lodged, and it stays valid until they make a decision on the spouse visa
Just be aware that if you have to leave Aus you need to apply for a different bridging visa, and let DIMA/DIC know what you're doing. As you've lodged the visa application already the medical is valid and won't need re-doing

Thanks! I try to please!!

ptlabs

A key difference between lodging a spouse visa application in Australia and outside Australia is that when an onshore application is made, the applicant must be inside Australia for it to be granted.

So, if the OP wishes to go overseas, she needs to ensure she has a proper visa to re-enter Australia *and* she must be in Australia for her visa to be granted. This requirement continues to exist for the permanent spouse visa grant a couple of years down the road.

An applicant for an offshore provisional spouse visa (sc 309) does not need to be in Australia for the permanent spouse visa grant (sc 100) unless exempted from the provisional stage.

Peter