Well I am back in Australia and trying to reintegrate into society by finding work, looking for accommodation and buying a car. I'll continue this blog for a little bit - not because I love the sound of my own voice, or think that my life is so amazing that others have to know what I am doing. I'm actually getting a few hits on this site from people searching for immigration information, so basically I'll continue documenting the Australian spousal visa application process so that others going through the same thing know what to expect. Friends and family - thanks for reading and joining me in my travels, please be praying that Sylvia's visa is processed quickly and she can join me here in Australia soon!

Ok, so basically I have had to return to Australia after submitting Sylvia's application for a spousal visa (subclass 309) to the Australian High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa. The application was huge - some 200 pages. It took us around 1 month to gather and collate all of our personal and relational information to submit with our application. I received an acknowledgment of receipt from the embassy on the 9th Feb 2010. I'll track the process on this blog.

Firstly, I AM NOT A MIGRATION AGENT, OR QUALIFIED TO OFFER IMMIGRATION ADVICE - any information offerred on this site regarding immigration matters is simply informing the reader of how I approached the application process for an Australian spousal visa. It is not to be taken as immigration advice - any action taken by the reader based upon website content is taken at the reader's own risk.

As I found that it cost around $5000 AUD to hire a migration agent (money I simply didn't have), I thought we would handle the application ourselves. I have a friend or two with migration businesses, I received some unofficial guidance on what is important to include. Other than the usual identity, medical and police checks for both the applicant and the sponsor, an applicant must submit evidence that their relationship with their Australian spouse is genuine and continuing. I can't emphasize enough the importance of reading the Partner Migration Booklet from Aussie immigration, particularly pages 38 and 39. These pages cover the 4 criteria on which the marital relationship is assessed. It is very important to address each of these criteria. The criteria are : • financial aspects; • the nature of the household; • social context of the relationship; and • the nature of your commitment to each other.

Our application was as comprehensive as we could make it, and we organised it in a folder with coloured dividers separating each section to assist the case officer in assessing the evidence as much as possible.

As all African applications have to be lodged at VFS in South Africa, and paid for by bank cheque in South African Rand, I had to travel to SA to lodge the application in person as I could not purchase a bank cheque in Rand from any banks within Zambia. I lodged the application in VFS's Johannesburg office, and they couriered it to the High Commission in Pretoria.

2 days later I received an acknowledgement from the High Commission that they had received the application. With the receipt, usual processing times for visas were listed in the email. Unfortunately the average processing times for African countries (excluding South Africa) is 9 to 12 months. For South Africa it is 3 to 6 months. Needless to say this is a major blow as Sylvia and could be separated for up to a year. Our God is good however and I am hopeful in prayer that it can be processed earlier, as a year is a long time to be separated from your wife. Apparently, the embassy is busy from December to February and from May to July processing student visas, so lodging outside these dates I am hoping will be helpful.