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| Lodging on-shore spouse visa (after PMV); appointment or mail? | |
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| Topic Started: Feb 25 2010, 06:11:50 PM (978 Views) | |
| meg1388 | Feb 25 2010, 06:11:50 PM Post #1 |
True Blue Mate
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My apologies if this question has been answered already - can't seem to find it. I arrived in Australia in January 2010 on a prospective marriage visa and will get married this April. Soon after I plan to submit my onshore spouse visa in May. My question is: how do I lodge the application? For some reason I always thought I needed an appointment to lodge the visa. But I just called the immigration hotline, and I was told to just mail the thing in. I could have sworn that others filing spouse visas needed to lodge the application in person--or am I crazy? What have others done? 
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| shylady | Feb 25 2010, 09:30:09 PM Post #2 |
oldYank
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 Hi meg!(Hope you didn't melt today!  )We went downtown and lodged it in person. We had an appointment, but it didn't seem to matter.  We still took a number and waited in line with everyone else there. And the person who finally "interviewed" us was NOT the case officer that ultimately even dealt with the application! She just flipped through it to make sure it was complete, and said to provide a few more cards/letters addressed to both of us. It was nearly 6 months before it was granted. So based on this, I think it's just as well to mail it in, the Perth office has been very slow and disorganized, lately. If they told you to mail it in, I'm sure it will be looked at as fast as ours was, and it will save you the trip and a long wait! After your wedding, bring or mail the marriage certificate to the Registry of Births, Deaths, and Marriages to be registered. The celebrant may offer to mail it in for you. This is the document which you need to prove your marriage to Immigration, and for further name changes. Anything else I can help you with, let me know, or give a holler on FB.  Lisa |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| meg1388 | Feb 25 2010, 09:40:41 PM Post #3 |
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True Blue Mate
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Thanks Lisa hot today. too hot. 42 C! I have no dramas mailing the application in, but my question is: will I get a receipt? I never got a receipt for my PMV application when I mailed it to the DC office, and I'm worried the same will happen if I just mail it to the Perth office. Don't you need the receipt to get a medicare card? |
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| shylady | Feb 25 2010, 11:34:00 PM Post #4 |
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oldYank
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oh yeah, I didn't think of that! Yes, I guess maybe that's why we went in person, to pay and get the receipt. (It's been over 4 years, and my memory is poor!  ) I do remember calling for the appointment, and I was asked if I was on a Prospective Marriage Visa, and was told I could get an appointment within a few days, if that was the case. If I'd been applying onshore for a Spouse Visa without the PMV, the wait would have been several weeks. hmmm... In that case, if you could go downtown, maybe it's best. |
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"I could’ve turned a different corner, I could’ve gone another place... " ku,'09 | |
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| blarg | Feb 26 2010, 10:52:43 AM Post #5 |
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True Blue Mate
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Appointment or no, you can always bring it down to immigration, pay the fee, get your receipt, and basically have them put it in the queue. I got an appointment to lodge my interdependency application and was actually interviewed by my case officer, but that was in Sydney. 
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| saimin | May 10 2010, 09:14:30 PM Post #6 |
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Yacker
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hi everyone! i am actually in the same position. i just called the immigration today to ask if i can make an appointment to lodge a spouse visa. they told me that they don't do that anymore unless it's very urgent (like your visa will expire on the next 3 days). i told them my PMV will expire in 15 days, but the lady just said to mail the forms [shrug]. i'm from sydney. i was kinda expecting to lodge the papers ourselves since the website says that it is more efficient if we apply in person. any thoughts? |
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| blarg | May 13 2010, 12:39:50 AM Post #7 |
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True Blue Mate
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I'd just rock up with the papers so you can at least hand it to someone and get some sort of evidence that it was lodged on that date. In regards to getting an appointment, they may or may not do that for PMV holders. I wouldn't know, because I went the De Facto route. If they tell you they don't do appointments, then I'd just take them at their word. |
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| AmbroseChick | May 13 2010, 08:49:54 AM Post #8 |
True Blue Mate
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I have to agree with everyone here - we were really glad that we lodged our application in person. The person we met with was super helpful and assisted us in getting bits of the application completed that we weren't aware of. I imagine it shaved off at least 2 months to our immigration process just handing the application in in person. Best of luck to you! |
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| saimin | May 17 2010, 07:40:55 PM Post #9 |
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Yacker
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thanks for the response everyone. we decided to mail it and hope for the best.
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| blarg | May 17 2010, 09:42:33 PM Post #10 |
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True Blue Mate
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I just split off the aussie sayings tangent: http://yanksdownunder.net/topic/8642946/1/ |
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6:27 AM Feb 8