Visa for Australia

Yeah! We have received our visa to enter Australia!

A visa 189, for skilled migrants: a permanent visa allowing us to travel to Australia per direct and to stay there forever....

Australia, here we come!

Visa timeline

Here is a brief timeline of the milestones marking the road to our visa.

----------- 2011 -----------

End of 2011

We first start seriously considering moving to Australia.

----------- 2012 -----------

09/02/2012

I send skill assesment request to Australian Compurt Society (ACS) for Software Engineer

09/03/2012

I receive the ACS skills assesment (positive)

10/03/2012

I take IELTS (General): Band score 7.5

July 2012:  

Holiday in Australia with the family. We decide to really go!

13/08/2012:

We submit EOI for visa 189, 75 points, vis SkillSelect website

01/09/2012:

We are invited to apply

02/09/2012:

We apply for visa via SkillSelect (no immigration agent)

04/09/2012:

We receive request for health examination. X-ray/medicals for me and my wife, medicals for our son and daughter.

19/09/2012:

A case officer is assigned

21/09/2012:

Disaster! 

I have incorrectly indicated that I meet "Australian study requirement" on EOI! I cannot prove the points I claimed and on the basis of which I was invited to apply. Our case officer requests that I wait pending decision from Canberra.

09/10/2012:

We submit a new (correct) EOI pending decision with 65 points.

13/10/2012:

My wife takes IELTS (Academic): Band score 7

14/10/2012:

We are invited to apply for visa a second time! We cannot complete (yet) due to pending application.

22/10/2012:

We receive x-ray request for my son who is about to turn 12 (duh, why was this not requested the first time?)

04/11/2012:

Case Officer advises that a (negative) decision is emminent.

04/11/2012:

We withdraw our application and request a refund (honest mistake). Chances of refund seem slim.

12/11/2012:

We apply for visa 189 again.

05/12/2012:

The refund for first visa application is approved (yeah)

05/12/2012:

We are assigned a new case officer

20/12/2012:

My son's x-rays are sent by post as health request not in eHealth system. The x-rays are lost in the mail (in this time and day?)

----------- 2013 -----------

30/01/2013:

 My son's x-ray is sent digitally and finalised (last required documentation)

10/02/2013:

Party! 

The visa application is finalised. We receive the grant notification (yeah again)

17/02/2013:

We receive the refund for the first withdrawn visa (triple yeah)