Aussie Partner Processing Wait times

[steve0367]

3 hours ago, machans88 said:

Congrats steve, it looks like the partner visas are being processed quicker now, 9months for me, 10months for you, compared to the 12months processs last year...maybe less applications...or dare do i say it, they have become more efficient in their jobs!!

Thank machans,

I think I would have had ours if it wasn't for her needing to get an Aussie police check. But it is good that they only took ten months.

[flash77]

My wife and kids got their Partner  visa grant today. The details:

10 Feb 2016 - submitted paper application at Bangkok VFS, included police certificates

15 Jun 2016 - request for health check ups

28 Jun 2016 - submitted health results

 

In October decided to apply for Visitor visa to come out over Nov/Dec while waiting.

 

18 Oct 2016 - submitted Visitor visa application online

10 Nov 2016 - Granted Visitor visa 600 (3 months, No Further Stay condition was NOT applied. We deliberately ticked 6 months on application giving an open ended return date, but immigration called my wife on the day of granting saying they were confused since indicated dates of travel would be 3 months 'did she make a mistake ticking 6 months?' My wife said it was mistake.)

 

Sent couple of emails to immigration informing them we applied for visitor visa and update on partner visa, but no reply.

 

15 Nov 2016 - Confirmed flights, arriving on 19 Nov. Sent another email to immigration saying will be in Australia on 19th.

16 Nov 2016 - Partner visa granted (both 309 and 100). My wife received call and email from Immigration explaining to use 100 visa - the visitor visa can be ignored. Also said they could not refund Visitor visa (we didn't ask for it, nor do we care at this stage). Latest date of entry is 3 Jan (when I got my AFP police check done).

 

19 Nov 2016 - Our family starts life together in Australia!

 

Thanks for advice and info, and good luck to everyone waiting.

 

[Northpoint]

2 hours ago, flash77 said:

My wife and kids got their Partner  visa grant today. The details:

10 Feb 2016 - submitted paper application at Bangkok VFS, included police certificates

15 Jun 2016 - request for health check ups

28 Jun 2016 - submitted health results

 

In October decided to apply for Visitor visa to come out over Nov/Dec while waiting.

 

18 Oct 2016 - submitted Visitor visa application online

10 Nov 2016 - Granted Visitor visa 600 (3 months, No Further Stay condition was NOT applied. We deliberately ticked 6 months on application giving an open ended return date, but immigration called my wife on the day of granting saying they were confused since indicated dates of travel would be 3 months 'did she make a mistake ticking 6 months?' My wife said it was mistake.)

 

Sent couple of emails to immigration informing them we applied for visitor visa and update on partner visa, but no reply.

 

15 Nov 2016 - Confirmed flights, arriving on 19 Nov. Sent another email to immigration saying will be in Australia on 19th.

16 Nov 2016 - Partner visa granted (both 309 and 100). My wife received call and email from Immigration explaining to use 100 visa - the visitor visa can be ignored. Also said they could not refund Visitor visa (we didn't ask for it, nor do we care at this stage). Latest date of entry is 3 Jan (when I got my AFP police check done).

 

19 Nov 2016 - Our family starts life together in Australia!

 

Thanks for advice and info, and good luck to everyone waiting.

 

Congratulations, mate. Did you expect to get both the 309 and 100 partner visa at the same time? You must feel over the moon. We received an email from the Bangkok Embassy yesterday, with an Acknowledgement notice from our case officer, that the application we submitted at VFS on 2. November and had been received by the embassy the following day (3.November) and that we will be contacted in the near future. I hope our application will be as successful as yours.

[steve0367]

Congrats flash, my wife is flying in on the 19th as well,

[flash77]

Quote

Did you expect to get both the 309 and 100 partner visa at the same time?

 

Yes. From all I've read most applicants that satisfy the conditions (3 years relationship when applying, or 2 years if have child) are granted both 309 and 100 at same time, i.e. don't have to wait the 2 years for permanent 100. We didn't do anything special in the application to request the 100.

[Northpoint]

38 minutes ago, flash77 said:

 

Yes. From all I've read most applicants that satisfy the conditions (3 years relationship when applying, or 2 years if have child) are granted both 309 and 100 at same time, i.e. don't have to wait the 2 years for permanent 100. We didn't do anything special in the application to request the 100.

That is great news. I first met my de facto in 2004 and we have been living together continously since 2010. She has been with me six times to Australia on tourist visa for a total of 512 days. So there is hoping. You just made my day and it's only half past five in the morning here in Jomtien.  

[Northpoint]

Hi all, It's been nearly 2 months since applying for a 309 temporary partner visa for my de-facto wife at the Trendy VFS office in Bangkok and receiving a letter of acknoledgement by email from a case officer in the Australian Embassy, telling us we would be contacted in the near future by them. I guess we will be contacted by email again within the next 2 months about getting my de-facto wife's health check done.

 

My de-facto wife has already done six trips to Austalia on tourist visas over the last six years for a total of 512 days stay in Australia. I therfore believe she will have to do an Australian Federal Police check as well. I would like to get the Australian Federal Police check done early in the new year, so there won't be any delays when the Australian Embassy asks for it.

 

My question is: What is the best way and easiest way of getting the AFP clearance from Australia here in Thailand. I have a downloaded AFP form. In the applicant's detail section it asks for the daytime contact number, Email address (optional), Australian Driver's Licence No. All my partner can provide is our Thai contact telephone number and her email address. Will the Australian Federal Police send the certificate by email? There are no instructions on the form on how to pay the $A 42.00 fee for the AFP check either. Can anyone with experience of getting the police check done give us some advice? Thanks in advance for any input. 

 

 

 

 

 

[simple1]

16 hours ago, Northpoint said:

Hi all, It's been nearly 2 months since applying for a 309 temporary partner visa for my de-facto wife at the Trendy VFS office in Bangkok and receiving a letter of acknoledgement by email from a case officer in the Australian Embassy, telling us we would be contacted in the near future by them. I guess we will be contacted by email again within the next 2 months about getting my de-facto wife's health check done.

 

My de-facto wife has already done six trips to Austalia on tourist visas over the last six years for a total of 512 days stay in Australia. I therfore believe she will have to do an Australian Federal Police check as well. I would like to get the Australian Federal Police check done early in the new year, so there won't be any delays when the Australian Embassy asks for it.

 

My question is: What is the best way and easiest way of getting the AFP clearance from Australia here in Thailand. I have a downloaded AFP form. In the applicant's detail section it asks for the daytime contact number, Email address (optional), Australian Driver's Licence No. All my partner can provide is our Thai contact telephone number and her email address. Will the Australian Federal Police send the certificate by email? There are no instructions on the form on how to pay the $A 42.00 fee for the AFP check either. Can anyone with experience of getting the police check done give us some advice? Thanks in advance for any input. 

 

 

 

The doco criteria & mailing / email info is provided below. As the AFP certificate is printed on secure paper it will be sent by mail, not as an email attachment.

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks#process

 

Alternatively you can wait until you are requested to provide your partners AFP check, which will contain details on how to submit.

 

Just as a comment I thought that the AFP check is only required if you have spent 12 months or more at one time in a country, not counted as repeat visits over a number of years, you may wish to verify this detail

Edited December 24, 2016 by simple1

[Northpoint]

2 hours ago, simple1 said:

 

The doco criteria & mailing / email info is provided below. As the AFP certificate is printed on secure paper it will be sent by mail, not as an email attachment.

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks#process

 

Alternatively you can wait until you are requested to provide your partners AFP check, which will contain details on how to submit.

 

Just as a comment I thought that the AFP check is only required if you have spent 12 months or more at one time in a country, not counted as repeat visits over a number of years, you may wish to verify this detail

Thanks very much for your detailed reply. I will try to find out, if my partner will have to do the AFP check or not, as she has only spent less than 3 months on each of her six previous visits on tourist visas to Australia. It would make the application process a bit easier, if there is no requirement for an AFP.

 

We already submitted her Thai police certificate with her 309 partner visa application at the VFS office in BKK, but I think she will have to do another one, as the one we submitted will expire next August, before her visa application will be considered. Getting her Thai police check done was not difficult when she applied in person at the Thai Police headquarters (Building 24) in Bangkok, close to the Siam BTS station (Exit 6). She only needed photo copies of her Thai passport, I.D card, birth certificate, 2 passport pictures, our house book (Tabien Baan) and the fee of THB 1600. We were able to pick up her Thai police certificate 10 days after applying for it. 

 

Thanks again for the helpful information about the AFP.

[patongphil]

Got an email on the 4th Jan approving the application for the missus. Came with 100 visa so great. 5 months and 7 days since first applied at VFS in Bangkok. Looks like waiting times sre comimg down.

 

[Northpoint]

On 05/01/2017 at 9:01 PM, patongphil said:

Got an email on the 4th Jan approving the application for the missus. Came with 100 visa so great. 5 months and 7 days since first applied at VFS in Bangkok. Looks like waiting times sre comimg down.

 

Congratulations, mate. Well, there is hope for us on the waiting list to get the partner visa sooner than later. How long after applying for the visa did the Embassy ask you to have te medical for the missus done?

[patongphil]

7 hours ago, Northpoint said:

Congratulations, mate. Well, there is hope for us on the waiting list to get the partner visa sooner than later. How long after applying for the visa did the Embassy ask you to have te medical for the missus done?

3 months after first application were asked for medical and police check.

[Northpoint]

4 hours ago, patongphil said:

3 months after first application were asked for medical and police check.

Thanks Phil. We applied a bit over 2 months ago. With a bit of luck we might get notification about the health and the police check in a month from now.

[The Real NCG]

On 06/01/2017 at 1:01 AM, patongphil said:

Got an email on the 4th Jan approving the application for the missus. Came with 100 visa so great. 5 months and 7 days since first applied at VFS in Bangkok. Looks like waiting times sre comimg down.

 

 

 

We got our 309 approved yesterday.

Submitted August 3

TR Visa 309 approved Jan 18th

 

So a little over 5 months. Caught us both by surprise as we have not finished making decisions about the timing of the move or started to organise things. We've now begun making decisions and starting to schedule stuff. Just have to wait on the PR 100 decision now but at least we can be together while we wait.

[Northpoint]

We applied on the 3rd of November 2016 for a partner visa at VFS with a paper application and got an email this afternoon from a case officer with attached "Request Checklist and Details".

 

1, Character requirements-Thai Police Check (Original Copy).

2. Character requirements- Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance National Police check (Original Copy)

3. Immigration Health Examination, medical examination, HIV, Chest X-ray.

 

We will go to the Bangkok Police headquarters tomorrow to apply for a Thai police certificate. There shouln't be any problem. We did a Thai police check last year, which has nearly expired.

 

We will also make an appointment with the Bangkok Hospital for the health checks. She has an HAP ID for the health checks on her email from the Embassy and I think the Bangkok Hospital is one of the approved panel hospitals.

 

I'm a bit concerned about how to do the Australian Federal Police check and if it will arrive safely at our address in Jomtien and in time. The Embassy letter says the three documents have to be submitted within 28 days. Could I use an iPhone for the documents required for the Australian police checks for the de facto wife doing it online ? She is required to do an AFP, as she has accumulated 512 days in Australia on six visits on tourist visas previously. I would be happy to pay an agent to do the AFP check for us.

 

There is also a mention on the email from the Embassy of an IMMI s56 Reqest for More Information.pdf (45.31KB) and

IMMI Request Checklist and Details.pdf (100.69 KB). I guess that is in regard to online applications with Immi accounts and not our paper application.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

[mfd101]

10 hours ago, Northpoint said:

We applied on the 3rd of November 2016 for a partner visa at VFS with a paper application and got an email this afternoon from a case officer with attached "Request Checklist and Details".

 

1, Character requirements-Thai Police Check (Original Copy).

2. Character requirements- Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance National Police check (Original Copy)

3. Immigration Health Examination, medical examination, HIV, Chest X-ray.

 

We will go to the Bangkok Police headquarters tomorrow to apply for a Thai police certificate. There shouln't be any problem. We did a Thai police check last year, which has nearly expired.

 

We will also make an appointment with the Bangkok Hospital for the health checks. She has an HAP ID for the health checks on her email from the Embassy and I think the Bangkok Hospital is one of the approved panel hospitals.

 

I'm a bit concerned about how to do the Australian Federal Police check and if it will arrive safely at our address in Jomtien and in time. The Embassy letter says the three documents have to be submitted within 28 days. Could I use an iPhone for the documents required for the Australian police checks for the de facto wife doing it online ? She is required to do an AFP, as she has accumulated 512 days in Australia on six visits on tourist visas previously. I would be happy to pay an agent to do the AFP check for us.

 

There is also a mention on the email from the Embassy of an IMMI s56 Reqest for More Information.pdf (45.31KB) and

IMMI Request Checklist and Details.pdf (100.69 KB). I guess that is in regard to online applications with Immi accounts and not our paper application.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

You can do the AFP check entirely by email, as I recall. First time, it takes a couple of weeks; quicker thereafter. The details on how to do it should be in your papers or on the relevant website. The checks are done from Perth.

[simple1]

15 hours ago, Northpoint said:

We applied on the 3rd of November 2016 for a partner visa at VFS with a paper application and got an email this afternoon from a case officer with attached "Request Checklist and Details".

 

1, Character requirements-Thai Police Check (Original Copy).

2. Character requirements- Australian Federal Police (AFP) clearance National Police check (Original Copy)

3. Immigration Health Examination, medical examination, HIV, Chest X-ray.

 

We will go to the Bangkok Police headquarters tomorrow to apply for a Thai police certificate. There shouln't be any problem. We did a Thai police check last year, which has nearly expired.

 

We will also make an appointment with the Bangkok Hospital for the health checks. She has an HAP ID for the health checks on her email from the Embassy and I think the Bangkok Hospital is one of the approved panel hospitals.

 

I'm a bit concerned about how to do the Australian Federal Police check and if it will arrive safely at our address in Jomtien and in time. The Embassy letter says the three documents have to be submitted within 28 days. Could I use an iPhone for the documents required for the Australian police checks for the de facto wife doing it online ? She is required to do an AFP, as she has accumulated 512 days in Australia on six visits on tourist visas previously. I would be happy to pay an agent to do the AFP check for us.

 

There is also a mention on the email from the Embassy of an IMMI s56 Reqest for More Information.pdf (45.31KB) and

IMMI Request Checklist and Details.pdf (100.69 KB). I guess that is in regard to online applications with Immi accounts and not our paper application.

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

Regards the AFP check details on how to apply online & payment at the URL link below...

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks

 

If I recall correctly AFP will not email the certificate as it is printed on secure paper, so if needed urgently I would contact the AFP to ascertain if it can be delivered at extra cost by express mail etc

 

If I were you, if instructions were not provided, I would not make any assumptions regards the additional info requested, but contact the Embassy for clarity.

 

 

[Northpoint]

14 hours ago, mfd101 said:

You can do the AFP check entirely by email, as I recall. First time, it takes a couple of weeks; quicker thereafter. The details on how to do it should be in your papers or on the relevant website. The checks are done from Perth.

I would be happy if the AFP check could be done by email. Email is not acceptable to apply for an AFP check and the certificate will not be sent by email either. The Australian Embassy only accept the original certificate as well. Thanks anyway.

[Northpoint]

10 hours ago, simple1 said:

 

Regards the AFP check details on how to apply online & payment at the URL link below...

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks

 

If I recall correctly AFP will not email the certificate as it is printed on secure paper, so if needed urgently I would contact the AFP to ascertain if it can be delivered at extra cost by express mail etc

 

If I were you, if instructions were not provided, I would not make any assumptions regards the additional info requested, but contact the Embassy for clarity.

 

 

Thanks for the link. I will go and study it in detail tomorrow. We had the health check done at the Bangkpk Hospital today and the missus is as healthy as can be. Cost THB 4200.

 

In the afternoon we had just enough time to apply for the Thai police clearance from Building 24 at the Thai Police Centre near the BTS Siam Station (exit 6). All our documents were in order and they told us to pick up the certificate in two weeks time. Cost THB 1600.

 

Two out of three isn't too bad. I hope I will find a way to get lucky with the Australian AFP check as well. I think we will be alright after that. Thanks again for always 

[Northpoint]

On 02/02/2017 at 2:10 PM, simple1 said:

 

Regards the AFP check details on how to apply online & payment at the URL link below...

 

https://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/services/criminal-records/national-police-checks

 

If I recall correctly AFP will not email the certificate as it is printed on secure paper, so if needed urgently I would contact the AFP to ascertain if it can be delivered at extra cost by express mail etc

 

If I were you, if instructions were not provided, I would not make any assumptions regards the additional info requested, but contact the Embassy for clarity.

 

 

I'm in the process of completing the paper application for my partner's Australian police check to be sent by registered mail as soon as the Jomtien post office opens on Monday morning. Under Section 6 on the form: Mailing Address for Police Certificate there is an option to have the certificate  sent to another address other than my own.

 

Would it be prudent to have the certificate sent straight to the visa processing centre at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok?

Thanks

 

 

[simple1]

21 minutes ago, Northpoint said:

I'm in the process of completing the paper application for my partner's Australian police check to be sent by registered mail as soon as the Jomtien post office opens on Monday morning. Under Section 6 on the form: Mailing Address for Police Certificate there is an option to have the certificate  sent to another address other than my own.

 

Would it be prudent to have the certificate sent straight to the visa processing centre at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok?

Thanks

 

 

Sorry, cannot factually answer your question, unless someone else responds based on recent experience, call the Embassy Monday AM for guidance

 

EDIT:

What I'm saying don't know if AFP would reference your case number

 

 

Edited February 4, 2017 by simple1

[Northpoint]

46 minutes ago, simple1 said:

Sorry, cannot factually answer your question, unless someone else responds based on recent experience, call the Embassy Monday AM for guidance

 

EDIT:

What I'm saying don't know if AFP would reference your case number

 

 

Thanks for the fast reply. I will try to contact the Embassy on Monday morning. We had lots of problems receiving mail at our condominium in Jomtien in the past. Having the certificate sent to the Embassy  would be ideal. Alternatively, I might have it sent to a friend's business address. Cheers

[Dodgydownunder]

4 months exactly today since our application went in. Oct 7, 2016. Have not heard a frigging thing. Have been married for 17 years. No children. Financially secure. Does not seem to be a fair process at all. Seems like some people get lucky with the case officer they are allocated. Good luck to those that get their visa quickly. Just wish it was standardised a bit better/ fairer. Anyway, we have to wait 6 months since our cats overseas rabies test. Exporting pets to Australia from a non approved country like Thailand is a much more complicated, frustrating and expensive process than applying for a 309/100. Getting pissed off with the Aust Govt/ Quarantine as they have closed ALL but ONE quarantine centre for cats and dogs and it's in Melbourne. 2 months waiting lsit at the moment. Thanks so much! Glad i don't come from Perth. Anyway, FYI your pets need to spend at least 4 weeks in Singapore or Malaysia before being allowed into Australia. Malaysia (KL) is the much cheaper option. ( 7 days quarantine and 3 weeks in a pet hotel) Hope this information helps anyone in the same situation. AND....pet agents are a complete rip off. you can do it yourself with a bit of research on the internet.

Edited February 7, 2017 by Dodgydownunder

[Northpoint]

16 hours ago, Dodgydownunder said:

4 months exactly today since our application went in. Oct 7, 2016. Have not heard a frigging thing. Have been married for 17 years. No children. Financially secure. Does not seem to be a fair process at all. Seems like some people get lucky with the case officer they are allocated. Good luck to those that get their visa quickly. Just wish it was standardised a bit better/ fairer. Anyway, we have to wait 6 months since our cats overseas rabies test. Exporting pets to Australia from a non approved country like Thailand is a much more complicated, frustrating and expensive process than applying for a 309/100. Getting pissed off with the Aust Govt/ Quarantine as they have closed ALL but ONE quarantine centre for cats and dogs and it's in Melbourne. 2 months waiting lsit at the moment. Thanks so much! Glad i don't come from Perth. Anyway, FYI your pets need to spend at least 4 weeks in Singapore or Malaysia before being allowed into Australia. Malaysia (KL) is the much cheaper option. ( 7 days quarantine and 3 weeks in a pet hotel) Hope this information helps anyone in the same situation. AND....pet agents are a complete rip off. you can do it yourself with a bit of research on the internet.

I'm sorry to hear about your frustration with the visa application process. I have read this thread from when it first started and got some good information from it. It seems a lot of visa applications are handled differently with different time frames. I don't know the reason for it. Maybe it depends on the strength of a visa application, the workload of the case officer receiving one's application or other factors I'm not aware of. After reading this thread I have noticed that some applicants were notified to do the health and police checks after a few days or after several months. That alone doesn't appear to influence how long it will take before a visa application is approved. 

[Dodgydownunder]

Thanks Northpoint. at this stage all I can do is shrug my shoulders and hope that it comes through in the end. Reallistically we won't be able to make a move until at least October anyway. One things for sure..... I can't wait to get out of this sh....hole!

Edited February 9, 2017 by Dodgydownunder

[Northpoint]

3 hours ago, Dodgydownunder said:

Thanks Northpoint. at this stage all I can do is shrug my shoulders and hope that it comes through in the end. Reallistically we won't be able to make a move until at least October anyway. One things for sure..... I can't wait to get out of this sh....hole!

17 years is a long time. I have been living here for the last 12 years with the missus and going back to Oz with her on 3 months holidays for the last 6 years. She loves Australia and so do I. Time to make a permanent move back home. We can always come back to Thailand on short visits, should we be inclined to do so. I hope all works out well for all of us. I think it will. Cheers mate

[simple1]

From my experience & knowing a number of Thai females in Oz, they all prefer to live in Oz & visit families in Thailand say once a year.

[Dodgydownunder]

Just a little worried about my wife missing her Thai food too much. She's very fussy and is not sold on western food. Must be the only Thai female that doesn't like pizza, KFC or McDonlads. Still. I believe a lot of Asian groceries have sprung up in the time I've been away from home. Coming from Melbourne helps as there as many Asians there.

[simple1]

8 hours ago, Dodgydownunder said:

Just a little worried about my wife missing her Thai food too much. She's very fussy and is not sold on western food. Must be the only Thai female that doesn't like pizza, KFC or McDonlads. Still. I believe a lot of Asian groceries have sprung up in the time I've been away from home. Coming from Melbourne helps as there as many Asians there.

Don't worry, plenty of places to buy Thai food ingredients / vegetables in MLB. Go to a Thai temple & they will point your wife in the right direction or try to get to Springfield

[SaintLouisBlues]

1 hour ago, simple1 said:

Don't worry, plenty of places to buy Thai food ingredients / vegetables in MLB. Go to a Thai temple & they will point your wife in the right direction or try to get to Springfield

Or Footscray