[adamyona]

Hello everyone!

My wife is going to apply for a PR 801-100 class visa. I saw the check-list included with the application but it does not seem as though all the documents are needed for the initial application.

What documents do we need to attach with the initial application for it not to be refused? My wife is pregnant and so she cannot do an X-ray.

This is actually something which worries us- With a subclass 801 temporary visa my wife would be potentially eligible for a special benefit. We, however, have been married for just about 3 years and have a 2 year old son, which, according to the immigration website, would mean she would not need to have a 801 temporary visa first....which is not good for us, as she is pregnant and cannot have an X-ray done for the medical part of the application!

I am puzzled as to what should happen....most people would be happy to have the 801 temporary waived and be eligible for a 100 PR straight away...but if you have to have an x-ray done, and have to put this off till your child is born (she is 3 months pregnant....so.....that's a 6 month wait) and you need to apply for a special benefit (I am a full-time student on Youth Allowance) you cannot help but feel a little bit bewildered.

Does anybody know what we should do in such a situation? We were told she would most likely receive a bridging visa before 100 PR.....As far as I know, bridging visas do not allow you to apply for a Special Benefit!!!

Help!

 

[Guest]

You have been married long enough with a child that she shouldnt get the 801 instead going straight to the 100. You need to send evidence proving the whole of your relationship, dig out old bills, bank statements addressed to the same address, your marriage certificate of course, babies birth certificate, offical government documents that prove you lived at the same address such as welfare, tax documents, medical or driving licence.

You do not need to send medicals and police checks with the application, your CO will ask for them when they want them. They can allow her to do the xray after babs is born, being a NZ PR ie low risk they should be ok with that but if not she'll have to wait until babs is born for her visa to be issued and yes she would get a bridging visa where she would be entitled to nothing other than what the visa before entitled her to. But you can claim it! But regardless she is looking at 9 months to a year to get it issued anyway so babs should be born!

 

[adamyona]

You have been married long enough with a child that she shouldnt get the 801 instead going straight to the 100. You need to send evidence proving the whole of your relationship, dig out old bills, bank statements addressed to the same address, your marriage certificate of course, babies birth certificate, offical government documents that prove you lived at the same address such as welfare, tax documents, medical or driving licence.

You do not need to send medicals and police checks with the application, your CO will ask for them when they want them. They can allow her to do the xray after babs is born, being a NZ PR ie low risk they should be ok with that but if not she'll have to wait until babs is born for her visa to be issued and yes she would get a bridging visa where she would be entitled to nothing other than what the visa before entitled her to. But you can claim it! But regardless she is looking at 9 months to a year to get it issued anyway so babs should be born!

Thank you for your reply! The thing that kind of baffles me, is that a person who has not been married for very long can get an 801 temporary and be eligible for more welfare than someone who gets a bridging visa because they are instantly eligible for PR! As I am getting youth allowance, and study full time, and my wife is pregnant (and we have a 2 year old son) we really would need the parenting payment or something to go in place (i.e. special benefit). Maybe an application for special benefit would still get accepted on compassionate grounds? e.g. "had we not been married for so long/had a child, my wife would have first received an 801 visa making her eligible for the special benefit".

With an 801 temporary she could still apply for a special benefit as it says residency requirements can be waived if the partner is an Australian PR/Eligible NZ citizen. How is it possible that an 801 temporary can be better than going straight to a 100 PR but having to wait on a bridging visa?

 

[Guest]

For your current situation it might appear the temp is better than the bridging visa but believe me it's not. She couldnt get parenting payment on the 801 and although you seem to think special benefit is some kind of optional extra it's not.

Special benefit is complicated, it's not like the other benefits where if you meet x, y & z you get it. A whole lot of it is discretionary and not guaranteed regardless of visa or citizenship status. Nor is the amount you get if you get awarded it. You could in fact be refused if you have savings plus income from youth allowance as special benefit is meant as a last resort when one has no other income and is not entitled to anything else and you will have income as a family, they count all of your income not just hers. You might not get it or just get $10 every 2 weeks! Dont know what stuff you are talking with you to Oz or how you are paying your fees but special benefit is put the strictest income and assets test. Have you looked at the hardship rules and income and assets test? Hardship information

Most people who are PR get nothing for the first 104 weeks, not so for 100 visa holders. They can get a whole host of benefits not available to others such as parenting payment, even citizens cant get that if they've not lived in Oz for 104 weeks.

They dont do compassionate grounds at centrelink. The rules are the rules and bridging visas are what they are and give you the same rights as the visa you held before it no more because centrelink have no way of knowing or understanding that she would be eligible for any other visa if only this or that because otherwise they would be paying out to every idiot who wanted to rock up and claim such things.

Your problem now is holding off applying, the sooner you apply the sooner you get your visa and the sooner your financial situation gets better. Personally I'd have applied offshore ages ago as onshore takes much longer!