All Posts in Category: Thursday Answers
Speeding Up Your Partner Visa Application Processing Time
Speeding Up Your Partner Visa Application Processing Time
Dear readers,
I’ve been going through a lot of partner visa application reviews lately and the number 1 problem that I’ve noticed in an increasing amount of applications is:
Not presenting the information properly!
This can lead to:
- Invalid visa applications
- Delays in visa processing
- Possible visa refusal
- Requests for further information
- Investigations by the Department
Read More
Medicare and Partner Visas – Can I Get It?
Medicare and Partner Visas – Can I Get It?
Last updated: 31 October 2023
So I’ve been getting a lot of questions around this: “can partner visa apply for medicare?” and similarly “can partner visa get Centrelink?”
Today I’ll deal with whether a partner visa applicant can get Medicare and shortly I’ll have a separate post on whether a partner visa applicant get Centrelink.
Let’s begin with a brief summary of what Medicare does: it’s the public healthcare system that provides a lot of the essential yet basic services such as going to the doctors, seeing specialists, getting x-rays or tests, getting medicines, going to hospital and mental healthcare plans. Of course, there are limitations but basically it’s what Australians know and come to enjoy as ‘free or universal healthcare’.
At any time that you see a doctor that’s ‘bulk billed’ you know it’s covered by Medicare. This means the government pays the cost directly to the doctor. Similarly for medicines that you might get from the pharmacy on prescription – some, not all are covered by Medicare.
Medicare is funded through all working Australian’s income taxes. You will see this in your tax returns every year asking a few questions that calculate your Medicare levy.
For a more detailed explanation of how Medicare works, you can visit their site here: https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/medicare
How much does an Australian partner visa cost? All the expected (and unexpected) fees
How much does an Australian partner visa cost?
Last updated: 17 August 2023
Warning: this is a long read because I’ll be going through how much an Australian partner visa application costs – breaking down the expected and unexpected fees.
The usual suspects include the partner visa application fee itself but what about all the other costs for collecting and gathering the evidence that you’ll need? This post will give you an estimate so that you can budget accordingly because we all know that getting it wrong could cost you a fortune.
Thursday Answers – Sponsorship ban and special circumstances
Last updated: 17 December 2023
Thursday Answers are a response to questions submitted by readers on our regular Ask Mondays posts.
Every Monday I ask people to send in their questions and concerns and I select one to answer. In doing this, I hope you will see that a) you’re not alone in this, b) there are no stupid questions and c) we’re all here to help!
Thursday Answers – Overstaying a visa and what that means for you
Last updated: 11 December 2023
Overstaying an expired visa and how that affects your application
Thursday Answers are a response to questions submitted by readers on our regular Ask Mondays posts.
Every Monday I ask people to send in their questions and concerns and I select one to answer. In doing this, I hope you will see that a) you’re not alone in this, b) there are no stupid questions and c) we’re all here to help!
Thursday Answers – Temporary visas to apply onshore for a partner visa in Australia
Last updated: 18 September 2022
Thursday Answers are a response to questions submitted by readers on our regular Ask Mondays posts.
Every Monday I ask people to send in their questions and concerns and I select one to answer. In doing this, I hope you will see that a) you’re not alone in this, b) there are no stupid questions and c) we’re all here to help!
Thursday Answers – Defacto or Marriage: which is better for me?
Last updated: 18 September 2022
Thursday Answers are a response to questions submitted by readers on our regular Ask Mondays posts.
Every Monday I ask people to send in their questions and concerns and I select one to answer. In doing this, I hope you will see that a) you’re not alone in this, b) there are no stupid questions and c) we’re all here to help!
Partner Visa Changes in June/July 2019 – Sponsorship requirements and approval
Changes to Partner Visa Sponsorship Requirements in June 2019
In yet another example of how inexperienced (and even the most experienced) migration agents have bungled the interpretation of the law (remember some migration agents are not lawyers) are the proposed changes to the Partner Visas coming in June 2019.
Every migration agency under the sun is heralding a change that supposedly would require the Australian sponsor to be approved before the visa application. They’ve all variously said that the approval process is a separate process and may take anywhere up to 12-15 months (where they got this number from I’m not sure but they were probably projecting from past numbers). They’ve all claimed that because of this splitting of the process, that everyone should run to them immediately so that their migration agents can help you get your applications in before then (and charge you a mint for it!). They’ve erroneously concluded that if the sponsorship needs to be approved first, then the visa applicant can’t make a visa application until then and there may not be a bridging visa for the visa applicant (if they’re onshore).
This is wrong. Just downright, blatantly wrong.