Pollyana

47A is for dependents - people that rely on you for support - that would be migrating with you.
You only need to fill in their details on the main form (47SP) as your family members.

JBlokeUK

Thanks Pollyana, I have just had this confirmed by Australia House so at least thats one less form/thing to worry about, phew!

After the spouse visa thread being closed in The Barbie, it would be good if this thread could be similar, but just for those applying for only the PMV?

Pollyana

For about the ninth time of explaining........the Spouse visa thread was closed because questions like this one were vanishing amongst the chat and lifestyle discussions.

BE has always tried to organise its country forums so that serious visa questions (like yours about 47A) are in a section reserved for that type of query. Agents often browse these sections, and those of us who have picked up info from them in the past also post answers here.
BE also provides lifestyle/chat forums where people can discuss the lighter side of life. Those of us who prefer to stick to answering visa enquiries rarely visit the long chatty threads - in many cases we don't have the time. As a result when visa questions get submerged into the lifestyle threads, the serious questions don't get the attention they need, and often don't get answeted at all. There were also some questions in the original Circle thread that got answers which were wrong and these were never corrected because agents and other experts would never see them in there.

There is already another thread in the Barbie, and one has been started in here which will hopefully stick to visa-related questions

In addition the original thread was so large that it was unworkable, taking ages to load via dialup. We reguarly close large threads for just that reason.

phobia

For the subclass 300 visa. Is it suggested/recommended to hire a migration agent (themara.com.au) to make sure everything is filled out correctly or is it straight forward to 'go it alone' as it were?

What might the the pros and cons for using or not using an agent?

As for time scale, after reading this thread seeing people's visa's only taking a matter of weeks to be granted, I'm wondering where some migration agents get the 6 month time frame from.

Thanks in advance.

Pollyana

The vast majority of spouse visas are very straightforward and don't need an agent. If yours involves medical/criminal/previous marriage issues or anything else which could complicate it, then you should consider consulting an agent.
As for the timeline. Agents will usually quote the official timeline given by DIAC, in order to cover themselves. Then is the visa is granted quicker, its a bonus! However there is no guarantee that it will be granted quicker, hence the official timlines quoted by DIAC.

Spouse visa for UK citizens, applying through London, with no major issue, usually are processed very quickly - often only a couple of weeks.

JBlokeUK

Hi Phobia

As Pollyana said, you dont really need an agent for this visa unless there are complications. I am just about to submit an aplication myself and me and my OH went it alone. It was fairly easy to go down this route as we dont have kids or previous marriages etc, I have a clean police record and yes I have suffered from depression 5 years ago but have had no other medical issues.

You can go it alone if there are no complications and as long as you double check EVERYTHING then you should be fine.

phobia

Thanks for the replies guys. My only complication would be a previous overseas marriage and the fact I haven't always lived in the UK since I was 16.

I have lived in Spain, and I know from personal experience how slow / useless the Spanish authorities can be. I just wanted to be safe than sorry so I think I'll hire an agent. I've been quoted a cost of $1800, so it's not too expensive.

I've also been told that there's no real pre-requisite with regards to having $X in the bank before heading over. From the experience of the forum users who used subclass 300, what's an acceptable minimum limit?

Thanks again for your replies.

JBlokeUK

I think, going by your situation, that being safe and going by an agent is a good idea, especially as the price quoted doesn't seem too bad. There is no real complications with mine, hence the need to not hire an agent for me.

In terms of $X in the bank before heading over - I dont think there is an acceptable minimum limit. As long as you can show evidence that your partner can support you financially on initial entry/before you get a job then that should be enough. However it would be nice if you could take a little with you.

Pollyana

I had £500, and a partner with a job, but on a fairly low wage. SHould't be a problem as long as the relationship as genuine and you have reasonable job prospects.