My new husband, Steve and I decided to make the trip to Oz
last year when we were busy planning our wedding (see forthcoming blog posts
for our wedding experiences!). We got married in the UK but Steve has wanted to
go back to Australia for the last few years and I believe I owe him a year or
two of my life to try it out. Thus we decided to apply for a visa straight
after the wedding when I could apply as a Mrs and we had the whole stress of
planning a wedding out of the way. We thought that we could get a visa within
6-8 weeks of applying, as our friends had done a couple of years ago when they
were first married (same situation as us – he is Australian; she is English).
How wrong we were. Lots of looking at online forums later (Poms in Oz is a
great source of help and support) told us that most people were looking at a
four month wait at best, and at worst six months.
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| Bondi Beach. |
We had to get a move on then. When we’d finally said goodbye
to all the Aussies staying our place after the wedding, it was mid-February and
I got down to researching what had to go in the visa application and getting my
passport changed to reflect my new surname. This took 10 days to be returned to
me, so we were now at the end of February and still no nearer to getting the
visa. The next week/10 days was spent getting together all evidence I could find
that Steve and I had been living together for the six years we claimed to be
living together – this included rental agreements from our last three rental
properties, bills and bank statements addressed to us both at the same address
at the same time. We had a problem in that we do not pay any joint bills at our
current abode, as we have a lovely landlady (the mother-in-law of a good friend
of mine) who includes all bills in our
monthly rent, so we had nothing to show in that respect. We also included
emails dating back to when we first started seeing each other, and numerous
photos from our travels, wedding, my graduation and at various parties with
friends and family on both sides. These were returned pretty quickly when we
did send the application off though, so I don’t think these make much
difference. I did, however, include at the last minute copies of invitations to
weddings with both of our names included as well as various Christmas,
Valentine’s and birthday cards between the two of us and from both sets of
parents.
We sent the application off on 8th March 2012 and had an
email confirming receipt from my assigned case officer (CO) on 12th March 2012,
which also confirmed our fears that it will probably take 5-6 months to be
approved. My CO requested that I go for a medical as soon as possible so I
booked in with the Knightsbridge Doctors
at their West End branch. I would highly recommend them if you are looking for
a panel doctor in the South East as they were super efficient and really lovely
when I nervously arrived a few weeks ago! The examination took 40 minutes and
included a chest x-ray, blood test, urine sample, eye test and general poke
around (although nothing invasive!). I had a really nice and down-to-earth
female doctor, who explained to me everything that she was doing. It is pricy
though, at £270. However, it was all uploaded online and sent to Australia House within three days so it is speedy.
And so now we are playing the waiting game...hoping it’s not
going to take the full six months that they have suggested.
In summary, we sent the following to Australia House (recorded delivery):
- Statutory declarations from Steve’s cousin, best friend in Oz (who we lived with for a year in London) and father.
- Emails between us from the beginning of our relationship, and from friends inviting us both to various events.
- Copies of greetings cards to each other and from families and friends to both of us, joint invitations to weddings, christenings.
- Copies of bank statements and letters from the council showing us both living at the same address over the last five years.
- Copy of car insurance documents showing me as the policy holder and Steve as a named driver for the last few years.
- Copies of rental agreements at the three properties we have lived in together, and a letter from our current landlady stating how long we have been in our current flat and that she knows us as a couple in a committed relationship (she attended our wedding).
- Copy of a statement from our joint bank account.
- My police check certificate.
- Copy of our passports, birth certificates and marriage certificate.
- Photos (these were sent back straight away; can’t hurt to send them though).
I am always suspicious of how long things take, most of the time wondering if it is just to give people a job. Won't be long now before you're sunning on Ozzie Palm Beach. Just stay out of the water.
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