home alone

Go on Matt, phone them, you might discover, like me, that your CO, is at the end of the phone line, waiting for you to contact him/her! It's 1620 there you might catch them before the end of their shift

Good luck Lin

sirmatt101

Welcome Joanne, and thanks for the info.

My keyboard is now redhot from firing off an email to PVC, and I will try phoning them tonight and see what the story is. Having had to email them twice about contact details which needed changing, and from past posts on here its possible for things to go astray!!

Incidentally, which phone number have those that have phoned used?

Cheers

Matt

home alone

Hi! Matt, used the 61 1300 652 421 number, if you explain about, how long you've waited, longer than most, which is true, and your holiday etc; 'hold on as long as poss, keep the conversation going' and hopefully, with any luck you'll be dealt with! Regards Lin

donovandenese

for anyone who is thinking of moving money to Oz in the near future - mum had to move her UK house sale money today as she has found a house to buy in Oz. She was registered with a variety of exchange companies and her bank, so we could get the best transfer rate possible, but the best rate she could get anywhere was 1.79 (that was hifx) - and she was told that they are expecting the rate to plummet further over the next few weeks.
She had been lucky enough to move some money last year at closer to 2.3 to pay for the visa itself, but it was still pretty demoralising to see how little she got in AU$ for the UK house sale after the falling UK house values and falling exchange rate. Especially given the rising house prices here!! What she could have bought back in 2007 when she first applied for the visa is very different to what she is now able to buy approx 22months later.
Having said that she is very excited to finally be here

durhamlad

I emailed the Oz immigration people about having documents certified and this is a copy of the list they have sent me.
I know others have used a variety of people but to be on the safe side I think I will go with someone from the list.

Certification of Documents

The following people in the UK can certify documents for Australian visas:
Solicitor
Magistrate
Notary Public
Justice of the Peace
Commissioner for Oaths
Officer of a Court appointed by a Judge to take affidavits


Please note:
• In Scotland a Councillor may also certify documents.
• A Registered Migration Agent may certify copies of original documents for visa applications they make on behalf of clients.

sirmatt101

Hi Lin, I forgot that Perth time was 2 hours behind Brisbane so didn't phone this morning. Am staying up very late tonight to phone then!

Cheers

Matt.

Katie1955

Hi Matt,

good luck with the phone call - I really hope you receive excellent news, you deserve it. I've yet to start this waiting game. Not submitting my application until the New Year

mark213

So sorry to hear that. We had to pay 1.93 for the visa and it was pretty heartbreaking! We did get around 2.3 for the AOS previously but it all hurts. When I migrated I got 2.4 and my sister 2.6!

Its all about life balance in the end and what you get here is in the end much more valuable in terms of life balance.

My parents are due to sell I think early/mid 2010 so maybe by then the UK economy may have picked up after the next election, and the rate back to some normality!

Saying that we are off on holiday to Europe and the US soon so we are happy with our AUD buying power!

ivanab

Matt/Folks,

Get a load of this!..I emailed PVC about the status as we had lodged our application on the same date as Joanne did (29 May 2009). I got a reply saying that my query has been forwarded to my CO (????!!!!! ) and the CO will respond to me directly incase if they need more information, which means that we have been assigned a CO.

sirmatt101

Ivanab's date is 29 May 2008 folks, just in case you are wondering/hoping!!

Cheers

Matt

sirmatt101

Hi, I emailed PVC yesterday and am still awaiting a reply, would expect on Monday at their standard reply time!

I also phoned PVC this morning about an hour ago, and got the same reply as Joanne, we have been assigned a case officer, BUT, they have not got around to it just yet, and that we should expect contact within the next 1 - 3 weeks! So pretty much a standard reply to all those in May 2008!

They did actually quote my correct email address for contact which is good, but the phone call goes through about 3 - 4 minutes of automated information and selections before you get queued to speak to an operator, so make sure you have your cup of tea, have been to the loo, and anything else before dialing the number!!!

I am not getting excited just yet, will wait on that contact before doing back flips, cartwheels etc

Cheers

Matt

ivanab

Thanks for the correction Matt!!

sandch

Hi Matt (and other May 08 hopefuls). For the date tracker, I suppose we should wait until contact is actually made, and use that date?

A frustrating period.

I agree with Mark, there probably won't be any great improvement in the exchange rate until after the next election when the recovery is underway and interest rates are getting back to normal. And even at 1.8 comparing houses for £250,000 in Australia with the same priced ones here still seems mostly favourable depending on where you come from. I could do with earning some Australian dollars now though rather than unfancied sterling!

Cheers

Steve

donovandenese

agree it will be a while before the rate improves....

yeah, wasnt comparing a house for x in oz against an equivalent priced one in the UK, because as you say that varies depending on where you come from and where you go to.

however, what became really noticeable to us when we have been searching for a house for mum over the last few weeks is that when mum first applied for the visa in 2007 we looked at the type of house/suburbs etc she could afford in Adelaide based on what her house was worth in the UK - and it was very favourable - but in the 22 months that have passed since then Oz house prices rose dramatically, Uk house prices plummeted and the exchange rate took a nosedive - so now she is here we had to look at different suburbs completely. Its just annoying that immig take so long to process the visa!!! :

sandch

True - we've been through the same process, but we're trying to get our minds realigned to the here and now, rather than the what might have been. It's proving a hard process for us mere mortals!