And, we waited. Anxiously waited for the results notification... or anything in the inbox sent from an Aussie domain... Our anxiety level went through the roof when we read about the tightening of immigration laws as a result of the global financial crisis. No thanks to the Freddie Macs and the AIGs.
After some intensive surveys, I found out that it may take 10 months to one year to get my application result, some yet even took longer.
About six months after I lodged my application, I sent a request to check on my status through 'GSM-post lodgement enquiry' online form. This is to check if my application had been assigned a case officer (CO) . The result came back negative.
On the eighth month, I logged in another request to check on my application status and was told that my application has been assigned to a case officer. Yippie! Some progress at last! Instead of waiting for the CO to request, we took the initiative to go for our medical checkup and police clearance certificate. This is to satisfy the remaining 3 documents required, as listed below:
Form 160EH - Radiologist report on chest x-ray
Form 26EH - Medical examination for an Australian visa
Form 26EH - Medical examination for an Australian visa
- both of the above must be issued by a local panel doctor, recognised by the Australian Government.
- fasting is only required for adults before the checkup. For details please confirm with your doctor.
- reports will be sent directly by the medical practitioner to the CO via registered mail.
Form 47P - Overseas penal clearance certificate (also known as police certificate, not required for persons under the age of 16)
- This can be scanned (in full colour) and submitted online
One week after our medical checkup , we received a letter from our CO requesting for these three documents. I checked with the hospital and was told that the reports were already on its way to Sydney. I conveyed the message to my CO.
Since then I religiously checked my application status online whenever I could. First thing in the morning and last thing before I go to bed. A month passed. One fine morning the status was no different from earlier ones but the surprise came in the afternoon when the visa approval email from my CO appeared in my inbox. We were ecstatic! Feels like striking lottery for the first time. We celebrated with a sumptuous dinner.
Our next step was getting our passport stamped with the visa and drawing out plans for our initial entry to Australia (as part of the requirements).
Our next step was getting our passport stamped with the visa and drawing out plans for our initial entry to Australia (as part of the requirements).
