Raychelsb

Hi Janine, Yes i felt the same. Sat waiting I felt like I do when I go to the dentist or the doctors when I know I have something wrong with me! This time I knew we had nothing to worry about but it is only natural to be nervous about being poked and prodded and all sorts of tests because 'you never know'. But, you really have nothing to worry about, it is done with so quickly, and just think, this time next week you should be all done and meds uploaded, and you never know, maybe a visa grant?! xx

Hi Kirsty, My husband and I are going through the visa application for 189 too. We are using an agent, and are pretty much in the same stage of the process as you - we have had the invite, had our medicals last week, sent off for police checks yesterday, hubbys skills assessment and IELTs done. We were allocated a Case office last Friday which was about 3 weeks after we lodged the visa application. They have asked for evidence of our relationship even though we have been married for 8 years. I am supplying mortgage details, holiday receipts, life insurance details, and 10 photos scanning from 1999 to the present day. Our photos dont have dates either but because we have been together so long you can see us ageing through the pics!! In the email from the case officer it says evidence of relationship only needed to be photocopies. Only our marriage cert, birth certs etc had to be certified. If you have 12 months worth (that is the timings we were given) of proof you have lived together and share finances etc, I would have thought this would be good enough, but maybe others on here may be able to help too Good Luck! Raychel

Hi Ali We are applying for a 189 visa. x

Thanks everyone, I'm slightly worried about why they have asked (hence I am up and wide awake at 3am!) , I find it strange, it's not like we have gotten married in the last 12 months.... will start gathering everything this weekend. Hope it's just another tick in the box for them and that's all.

Yay, we have been allocated a Case Officer today! They've asked for proof of our 'Continuing and geniune relationship' - they want loads of info such as statements from us, friends and family, photos of us throughout the years. we have been together 15 years and married for 8, so surprised we are having to do this! Find it quite funny, especially as we have to supply 10 photos and both of us hate having our picture taken so this is going to be a challenge haha! Anyone else had to do this? Our migration agent has said he hasn't had anyone have to do this before.

So I don't have to choose who's house I have Christmas dinner at every year! (You can NEVER please either set of parents on this one!)

We are in the same boat in some respects. We NEED to sell the house to free up some equity to take out with us, but we WANT to keep it so that it can be rented and be out little pension pot as we will be mortgage free on it before we are 50. However, not selling would mean taking very little out with us, so not having start up money to buy a car, rental bond etc plus money to tide us over. Our plan B is for my husband to go out first and stay with friends, find work, save up some cash, me move to my parents and rent the house out and again save some money before I go out. That way we could pay cash for shipping our furniture, rental bond, car, or renting a car etc....We haven;t decided which plan to go with yet, we have decided to wait until the visa is actually granted and then take it from there. I am sure some people will think we are mad even contemplating going without a chunk of money, but I do know it can work, my friends did it last year and are 16 months in and ok! I look forward to hearing from others who have done the same! Good Luck Debs, keep us posted xx

Well, had our meds done today at Bridgewater and agree with the comments here, great service. We arrived half an hour earlier than our appointment but got taken straight in. They are very efficient and friendly and we were in an out in an hour. (£520 for the both of us for an hour, I am in the wrong job! ) The only thing I wasn't expecting, so a heads up for all you ladies out there, you have to strip to your undies, get a full check over (which is not uncomfortable as the doctor was very professional and quick) but it was the bend over and touch your toes that got me blushing!! Hopefully xrays and bloods get the all clear tomorrow and then documents will be uploaded on Wednesday!

Hi there, yeah I was hoping for either a weekend or evening appointment too as I have no holidays left until March, luckily work have allowed me the day off unpaid. When I rang up, they did say it was 8am-3pm, I think the hospital because it is private is open 7 days, but not the medmigration part. I only booked last week, and they were offering me appointments within days, just wasn't the times I had hoped for. On the plus side, we have booked to stay in Manchester overnight on the Sunday so will enjoy the Xmas markets and a nice meal. Our migration agent completed the medical questionnaire, then you get a HAP number, if you quote that over the phone when you phone Bridgewater, your details come up and they print everything off for you. All they have asked me to take is passport and any health letters from our doctors for any serious conditions we suffer from. Hppe you get sorted tomorrow xx

We are going to Bridgewater on Monday, but when I phoned for appointment thet told me they are only in Monday to Friday 8am to 3pm. I wanted an 8am appointment if possible so I could go back in to work, but ended up only being able to get a midday one.

Hi JP, Just for your ref, my husband and I have just lodged our visa app 2 weeks ago and are awaiting a case officer to be allocated. My husband is is also a carpenter, passed his IELTS in July with 10 points, passed his skills assessment paper based in August with VETASSESS, had a technical interview and passed in September. We then lodged our EOI in October and on the second round of invites go our invite, so only had to wait 2 weeks, and we only had the minimum of 60 points. So just so you know, in case you wanted to try without state sponsorship. We have been told it takes about 8 - 9 weeks for case officer to be allocated and it is up to us if we want to have medicals and pc's before we are asked. Good luck with it all Raychel.

Hi There I'm really sorry i can't advise on that one, we have not applied for sponsorship, our visa app is for a 189 PR visa. I am sure someone else may help... All the best

Really hope all ok, I have been following your progress on the quarantine process. Sending hugs and get well vibes xx

Hi Coldplay, that is how I understand it yes, you have to provide evidence. Which is why I was confused earlier because we also had work experience relvant to the occupation but we were told that because we had only 8 years proven on our skills assessment, we could only claim 8 years worth of points on our EOI. So although all my husbands employment is listed back 15 years on the EOI and it is all in the same field relating to his skilled visa occupation, our agent put NO to the question of 'Is this employment related to the nominated occupation' because we were not providing evidence of that whole period. It is a minefield this whole process which is why I am using an agent All I can tell you is what we did, I appreciate everyone has different scenarios. Good luck with it all.

Ok well let's see what the OP replies, as I have re-read and it still looks to me like he is asking if he can claims point for job history that he has not listed in his skills assessment. Our agent, as in the quote says you can only claim points for that which you have provided evidence for. If this isn't the case, how would you prove that the job history is true? Apologies if I have mislead, as all posters on here, I was merely trying to help.

HI There We were advised by our Migration Agent when they lodged our EOI that you can only claim points for the work experience you have received a skills assessment for. So for my husband (a carpenter) he has 15 years work experience but his skills assessment was based on the last 8 years so that was all we claimed for. Here is the email advice they sent us: Under your work experience-the system automatically awards points based on any employment that we have stated “yes” to the question“Is this employment related to thenominated occupation?” Although your previous employment is also relevant, as we are not providing evidence of this we need to answer “no”. The score stated in the invitation to apply for the visa will be based on the EOI - so if it transpires upon the submission of documentation and assessment by the DIAC case officer that the points claimed in the EOI were too high the visa application will be refused. Therefore I have listed the whole period of your employment but only answered “yes” to the period we wish to claim points for. Hope this helps Raychel

Hi Janine Well, we are hoping that the visa will be granted by end of january. The plan is that my hubby will probably go out first in March/April time, and then me follow with the dog around June. But who knows. If the house sells fast, we may just go out together (I have 3 months notice to work though). We also have our beloved Boxer dog to think of. He will be 12 next March and although he is fit for his age, I do worry so much about the trip for him. He has had the rabies jab and blood work done so he is good to go, but that is a big worry for me. So all I say for sure is that we will go next year but who knows when is still a bit up in the air! We are hoping to be SOR around Rockingham, what about you guys? Raychel x

I believe you have 28 days to prove you have booked your medicals, but you don;t have to actually have them within the 28 days. Here is the quote from our email form our migration agent: 'You are likely to be allocated a case officer in around 8-9 weeks. If you wait for the case officer to request the medicals and police checks they will give you 28 days to show evidence of booking the medicals and applying for the police checks. You should be able to get a medical appointment relatively quickly and can always call up your nearest clinic to check this.'

We too lodged our visa last week, and since then I have been feeling quite emotional about everything. I am trying to enjoy the bits about the UK that i will miss the most, but this has made me even worse! I cannot wait to move to Perth, but I am dreading the emotional rollercoaster of that goodbye and plane journey out there. My family are not coming to terms with it at all, and I have felt comfort reading this post with the lovely advice on how it is important to do what you need to do for your own family unit so thankyou.

Yay! We got the invite today so only had to go through 2 rounds! We are sooo happy! Hope you are in the same place soon!

Great news! Good luck with the EOI and visa, we lodged our EOI last Friday, so its just a waiting game now. Cheers

So after months of planning, collating paperwork, taking tests, emailing back and forth, the time came on Friday to finally lodge our EOI (for 189 permanent visa - hubby is a carpenter with 60 points). So we waited with fingers crossed for news this morning from the first round of invites we would be included on.....not this time. So...we have to wait another 2 weeks, and possibly another....and another....It is going to drive me crazy! Up until now I could keep busy and look forward to an email with news, but now it's 2 weeks of nothing! So, how did all of you out there who got that invite cope?! How long did you have to wait? Thanks all!!

Hubby did his carptentry one last month and we waited for 8 days for an email, then I remembered we had a log in for the vetassess website, and the results were on there (successful). We reckon they had probably been on there a while too because 2 days after we checked we received the certificate. Good luck.

When we visited Perth earlier this year, whilst we loved some places slightly NOR such as Sorrento, Trigg, Hilary's, we actually preferred places SOR. Coogee beach and Woodman Point are lovely and we fell in love with Rockingham and the area around - Safety Bay and Shoalwater. The water at Rockingham was completely flat and you could walk out a fair bit just paddling, we loved it. In fact when we move over we will be looking to rent in the Rockingham area. The beach at Secret Harbour was almost deserted but lovely. Have fun checking all the beaches out! Can;t wait to do the same!

Congrats! We are at the EOI stage now after hubby passed his carpentry vetassess last week. Where abouts are you settling? Good luck with the job search, keep us updated!