Australia Visitor Visa Tourist Stream? (class 600)

[sleepycat]

I know getting documents certified is a common thing here in OZ, but will she even know what 'certified' means in Ukraine?

There is no way I will ask her to leave her child behind just so she can come to visit me. If the tourist visa application get knocked back then I'll go back to visit her instead...

[I/O]

We've been throwing out the red carpet to anyone from UA (rightly or wrongly) recently so I won't be surprised if you're OK - will be interesting. BTW, yep, they know more about certifying documents than we do - irony is, it's the people most often who require 'certification'  .

[supraman]

If it makes you feel better , my wife came with her daughter on a tourist visa -  on her second trip .
    Good luck , I hope it goes your way .

[southernX]

sleepy,

your lady will need to go to a '' notary '' in her city ,
there usually not hard to find and dont charge bugger all compared to the same here , id reccomend she also get the certification translated into english at the same time , was about 60 grivnas in ukraine , russia not sure .,  , but with the currencys in both places losing value ,   now it will be more

IMMI are as I/O said , very particular about the certifications of docs, if not done they will usually reject them straight up ime

if the child is under 18 , they will have their own named  e visa /label in their passport etc but the visa no is  usually  the same as the parents visa , so only one charge from memory for both ,
supraman , may recall if that was same for his wife on her tourist visa ?

SX

[sleepycat]

I just logged into the lady's immi account and saw that she had uploaded a file of her passport, passport photo and the birth certificate of her young son. Hopefully these along with the letter of support I have attached will be enough to pass the test.

The lady was successful in getting a 10 year open US visa only 6 months ago, so I assumed she used copies of the same supporting documents this time round. But I will ask her whether she has uploaded the translated and notarized versions of those documents.

[Isthmus]

I wonder if I am missing something ... isn't a certified document one that is translated into English and the translator certified their  credentials as a translator?

So where do 'notarized' documents fit it?

My lady uploaded an employer's letter in English,  letter from her bank in dual English/Russian, passport particulars page plus previous visas abroad and her photo which can be used for electronic visas. No translations were required from what I can gather.

I wonder if we have missed anything ... ?? (PS - my material in support is quite extensive and airline e-tickets and medical insurance confirmation have been uploaded too).

[supraman]

Re - certified .. any teacher , real estate agent , government employee ...  there is a big list of people who can "certify" .   This is simply some one official stating "this is a true and correct copy of the original document " and then sign their name and usually a number they have .     
 Noterised  is done by an official body - for want of a better word . Normally you pay for this one ,and it gets an official stamp .. Naati is an organisation that will translate and noterise with an official stamp ( from here in OZ  about $70-80 a page , but they are the main one in OZ  ) .   But copies of it , must be "certified'"      if that makes sense ? 
  Noterising will be needed if she has been married before- they "officially translate the document as not all translation services are "recognised by official bodies " . We had to do this with her papers only ,, none of mine .

[supraman]

Sorry double post ,,   but what SouthernX says is correct, as far as I know too ..

[southernX]

I know getting documents certified is a common thing here in OZ,

''certified 'is what we would call  the due  legal recognition of a legal document here in australia by a person /agent or authority who is authorised /licenced to do so as a true and correct legal document
whether that document needs to be translated or not

ie for IMMI use your australian birth certificate willl need to be ''certified '' as will a divorce certificate , etc

but will she even know what 'certified' means in Ukraine?

in ukraine , they know ''certified ''  as being notarised , using a notary for stamping /recognising /signing official documents , again whether translated into english or not there ,

however for australian IMMI USE  your ladys certified/notarised birth certificate for example will be useless unless it is translated into english and again notarised in ukriaine by a notary  ,

you could get the translation and certifying done here in australia of say her birth certificate, but it will cost a lot more , as supra says here in oz it is about $80 per page , in ukraine it  was around 60 grivnas per page, a few years ago ,

so when needing alot of her docs translated /certified/notarised  it is much better to do them in ukraine imo

SX 

[Isthmus]

@ Sleepy,  not sure if you got my message (the messaging system here is not quite user friendly, lol).

I did take out insurance and used Australian Unity.

http://www.australianunity.com.au/health-insurance/overseas-visitor-cover

All done online in a few minutes. Confirmation letter sent immediately via email and another follows via post a few days letter.

[sleepycat]

Thanks mate, I got your PM.

I'll look into it when & if her visitor visa gets approved.

[Isthmus]

I uploaded the insurance letters as part of the application,  to add more weight to the application.

I also went to see a migration lawyer. I figure that if I am going to go down this path I will do it properly and leave as little as possible to chance.

[sleepycat]

At the moment because of her job situation, she is not sure if she can get leave to come to Aus to visit me.
So probably no point in spending money on travel/medical insurance until she is sure she can make the trip.
If she can't make it then I'll just go back to Kharkiv to see her again in March, no big deal...

If we do go down the fiancée visa path then I'll shell out money for an immigration agent.
Any idea how much an immigration agent here in Aus will charge to handle the PMV process?

[Isthmus]

The chap I spoke to quoted me around $7K.

$4K for professional fees and a bit over $3K for the DIBC visa fee.

9 to 12 month time frame to get the visa. Then you have 9 months to get married once the visa is granted. Of course you can have parallel visitors visas whilst waiting for the PMV and that will add to the overall costs of the process.

[supraman]

After having used an agent for the tourist visas and the prospective spouse visa -- and now we are filing our partners visa ourselves .. It may seem daunting at the start of it all . but I would now suggest doing your self .
   If you go with a Pros spouse visa , be ready as we are finding now , you will have to fill in all the same documents again and then a few more when you go for the partner visa -. Hell my side of the paper work even asks "me "  my wifes ex's birthday when their relationship started and when it finished .. Also his full name -- all this from the sponsor ---- How the hell would I know that -- obviously I simply asked her ,, but we are waiting to find a question as to what colour undies we wear on Tuesday .. The worst part is , we have answered and supplied all of this to get the 300 class . Surely someone can open our file and see all of this ??   
   Oh and be prepared to notorise and certify every document again for the partners visa (((
    Ps $7000 sounds way too rich , considering they get you to gather all the documents . We only paid about $700 for the agent in Moscow , the visa was $4000 ( going to immi )  approx. with a child under 18 -- rough numbers on the visa as the Mrs has lots of numbers in her head , but we are both certain as to the agent fees  . So be careful who you choose to use . )
 Oh   it was also about 2-$300 for them to "middleman "  the tourist visas .

[Isthmus]

The main advantage of using a registered migration agent (or lawyer) is that being MARA accredited and having a MARN number, they are accredited by the Australian Government and your application is dealt with more promptly and if there are hiccups they are more likely to be sorted out and you won't become a victim of bureaucratic inertia.

Anyways, that is the main argument for using one. You won't get any of those advantages if you use an overseas based one. A couple willing to spring for a reputable,  registered practitioner already has some instant credibility with the case officer. So the theory goes.

[southernX]

The main advantage of using a registered migration agent (or lawyer) is that being MARA accredited and having a MARN number, they are accredited by the Australian Government and your application is dealt with more promptly and if there are hiccups they are more likely to be sorted out and you won't become a victim of bureaucratic inertia.

Anyways, that is the main argument for using one. You won't get any of those advantages if you use an overseas based one. A couple willing to spring for a reputable,  registered practitioner already has some instant credibility with the case officer. So the theory goes.

id agree with you totally ithmus

of course the average bloke unless he is a fool can do the IMMI aplication , however when we did our sub 300 application i used an agent ,

we had enough on our plate as it was at the time , and it was paramount to me to get my K here in australia with me asap , sub 300 being the first visa applied for i knew it was also vital it went well and was approved ,  my K  was much to important to me to try to save a a few dollars on that stage of things

our agent was fantastic , made some very savvy reccomendations etc along the way ,

we got the first visa without much trouble,

then the second two applications we did ourselves without much trouble ,

i would advise anyone who applies for a sub 300 to keep a full hard copy on file of your aplication as well as on your computer , as you will need all this information again and have to update some of it for the temporary partner visa and the permanent partner visa , this process takes a few years, so be aware to keep it all as a reference of fact each time

you dont want to submit any conflictiing info in following aplications because you simply forgot dates or other key data  etc

so keep a file , right from when you first meet up , keep everything in it as it is all  adititonal supporting relationship material you may need to use later
SX

[Isthmus]

Southern X, a good friend of mine has been through this process over the last few years and he successfully got a PMV visa in under 9 months and had no hiccups or delays along the way (his wife is not from the FSU but S.E. Asia but similar considerations are at play).

He used a registered agent/lawyer and was methodical in documenting his relationship and it entailed numerous visits for him abroad and she had a visit to Australia before the PMV subclass 300 Application went in.

They encountered no major snags nor time delays and he believed that using a registered agent with a MARN number contributed to that even if he found himself doing the document drafting in essence.

[Isthmus]

It has been 19 days since my lady lodged her online visitors visa (subclass 600) application. I just checked her account and it is 'still in progress' stage. Should I be concerned given that it is planned for her to arrive here just before Christmas?

Am I entitled to call/email anyone to check on the progress or would that be detrimental?

[southernX]

ithmus,

others may differ, but i have phoned IMMI   often if i had queries , it never seemed to have any negative outcomes for us even with the australian embassy in moscow back then

it is a few years ago now, but our pmv was granted in 7 months , using the agent ,
 
our temporary residency visa that i did  was granted in 4 hours same day of their recieval f it at IMMI

the permanent residency visa was granted in 3 months from application
info below of what i did at the time , it may be a usefull guide to others in the future
SX

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partner permanent residence application for australia

 ok update for any one who may come along later from australia  and read this thread on what is required for the final application on permanent partner visa to australian dept of immigration and citizenship ,
 here is what we did !!!
 our final application was sent yesterday by express registered mail to the permanent partner visa processing centre level 23 IMMI in melbourne ,

 we sent it by express registered mail so we can track in online
 there was no fee with this final application , it has already been paid in the first application at the partner temporary residence visa application stage , two years earlier

 what was required from memory of the checklist is below in order of file index [yes i did an index for them ] i found it helps to have your docs in the order they ask for ,and supply an index with docs in book form , i also labbled our application file , front , back and spine with our permit id and application id , just so they cant lose it easily , !!lol
 -----------------------------------------------
 application file contents

 IMMI aknowlegment card , for them to contact us on recipet of all our documents

 IMMI letter of contact to us , with file id and attached checklist

 applicants[wifes ] signed & witnessed statutory declaration and appendix document consisting of 8 pages of supporting answers to their questions in the stat dec

 sponsors [husbands /mine ] signed & witnessed statutory declaration and appendix document consisting of 12 pages of supporting answers to their questions in the stat dec
 -----------------------------------------------------------------
 applicants original national police certificate
 sponsors original national police certificate
 dependants [k s child  ] original national police certificate
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 applicants certified copy of passport information page and visa grant page
 sponsors certified copy of passport information page
 dependants certified copy of passport information page & visa grant page
 --------------------------------------------------------------------------
 3 x independent signed and witnessed statutory declarations from family /friends
 [they only ask for two but we gave them 3 ] along with full,names and address .contact phone details for IMMI to call them if they require as it states IMMI may wish to call them personally ?

 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 supplementary evidence section of a true and ongoing relationship [we supplied the items below ]

 certified copy of our marriage certificate
 copys of our mortgage documents in joint names
 copys of our last 3 months bank account statements in joint names
 copys of each of our bank visa debit cards , [face only with some of the card numbers removed ]
 copys of each of our drivers licences , with photo and address etc
 original recent invoices of electricty accounts in joint names
 original invoices of  [phone /internet ] accounts in joint names
 copys of car registrations for both cars
 copys of insurances for both cars in joint names
 copys of insurances for property and house contents in joint names
 copys of all our recent travel documents for the last 3 years [ plane tickets , travel itinarys , trips interstate,within australia , accomodation reciepts , hire car receipts , tickets to all and any social events , such as circus , cinema , ballet , museums , tourist attractions etc, gift & flower purchase reciepts,
 [lots of these all above with dates and card reciepts

 lots of copys of emails over the last 2 years , in regards to any emailed correspondence that related to myself &K as a couple, including , work medicals , resumes , interviews , invitations to social events ,family events , school events etc

 i also added in copys of our sons school enrolments, school fees , school awards he has won , copys of his school reports etc,

 as well i added in about 35 random family pictures taken over the last 3.5 years of us all at various locations & times , differing social events , xmas, new year, birthdays etc

 copys of xmas & birthday cards between ourselves and family over the last 2 years

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 i take the view it is better to send more , than less , with all our visa applications to date this has worked very succesfully , the last partner temporary residence visa application i sent in was approved within 4 hours of receival & the payment being cleared to IMMI

 , official time lines on processing dont help imho to gauge how long you will wait
 i firmly believe the better your application the quicker your response from IMMI in australia

[Isthmus]

Thanks for the advice/tips Southern, your approach validates what my mate said about his experiences and the initial consultation I had with a migration lawyer/agent recently.

I reckon if you are serious you should do this properly and not cut corners and not look to save a few bucks. A botched PMV can probably be rectified on appeal but the extra time, stress and money will be a real headache. Better to do things properly from the start like you did 

PS, my lady friend got her visitors visa yesterday. Just short of 3 weeks after lodgement and she will now be here for Christmas and New Year 

[southernX]

ITHMUS,  great news for you mate , 

now you have one visa granted , all going well the next one you apply for should follow suit if you give IMMI all they ask for ,

i wanted to make sure back then that our first application was successful , and not leave anything to chance due to my lack of due effort of expertise

as it becomes much harder to  get a visa grant once you have one knocked back ,

SX 

[JayH]

Thanks for the advice/tips Southern, your approach validates what my mate said about his experiences and the initial consultation I had with a migration lawyer/agent recently.

I reckon if you are serious you should do this properly and not cut corners and not look to save a few bucks. A botched PMV can probably be rectified on appeal but the extra time, stress and money will be a real headache. Better to do things properly from the start like you did 

PS, my lady friend got her visitors visa yesterday. Just short of 3 weeks after lodgement and she will now be here for Christmas and New Year 

Congratulations-- I really enjoy reading all the Aussies stories and progress ~   I am very happy for you.
Is visa for set time period ? Single or multiple entry?  Does your lady have a child coming too?( to lazy to read back to check and it seems quite a few of the Aussies here ladies have children)

[Isthmus]

Ta blokes! 

Thank you gentlemen. No she does not have any children. She is coming on a single entry tourist visa. Valid for 3 months after entry but will only be staying for 3 weeks (this time). You could say its our fourth 'trip' since May. She will get a good idea of what I am like in my native habitat

[sleepycat]

FOCK!!!

My Ukrainian lady friend had her tourist visa application to Aus knocked back...

Reason given was she had not attached employment letters to prove she will likely return home.

My lady friend said she can buy some fake employment letters and bank statements to try to apply for visa again. I am trying to talk her out of doing that as a second rejected tourist visa application will likely screw up the PMV application when the time comes.

Interesting, the rejection letter came from the Aussie embassy in Moscow, signed by a woman with a Russian sounding name. No doubt that b**ch was looking to get back at an Ukrainian woman.