Showing posts with label australian visa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label australian visa. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
A common question people (with brand new visas) do is...
How do I know where is my visa number?
How do I read the information in it?
Let’s see if I can dissipate as many doubts as I can =D
First, here is an Australian visa...
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| yup, I know you might have seen it before... |
And here is an Australian visa with numbers and legend (thanks to 'Visa HQ' to publish the info)
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| Our 'prreciouss' visa (Gollum voice) |
1. Australia visa category as defined by Australian embassy. Expose the number of times you can travel in and out Australia.
2. Australia visa validity. Grant date.
4. Name of Australian visa holder. That would be you (if you have one, of course).
14. Australian visa number. Pretty much self explanatory.
16. Date of Australian visa expiration. Maximum allowed date for you to arrive to Australia otherwise your visa is cancelled.
18. Purpose of entry to Australia. Why are you visiting of coming to Australia.
19. Forget this one... Applies to business visa only.
If that isn't enough description... I also found the image below...
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| Click on the image to get it in better resolution. |
Hope this is useful.
Comments are well received.
Cheers
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
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This post is part of a bigger compilation of thoughts and thus, it might have no sense or lead to miss information. If you want to fully read it, start from here, otherwise continue reading.
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As you probably already know, my visa was granted on March, 19th and since then, all despair, excitement, sadness, joy, wrath and stress have been taking a new meaning. Picture it as your entire world is wipeout and you just have to put it all together again. That should be the exact feeling.
So, what to do? What to do? Obviously finishing work, find more information of our new place, enjoy family (this one got to me several times… “You got to enjoy your family to the fullest, because you are going to miss them”).
All of the sudden, everything reminds you what you just have in front of you. The land that watched you grow, become from baby to kid, from kid to teenager and from teen to man, giving to some nostalgia for what you haven’t lost yet. All of the sudden the problems and issues are dimmed by those good moments that defines you (then some biker yells at you, someone press the horn or start fighting and that moment is gone) and you can’t stop asking yourself, what if… everything change? What if everything would it be different… would I make the same choices? The truth is, I am totally in love of Australia at the moment and everything here (Venezuela) seems to be so full of chaos that the only way to secure a more stable and peaceful future is moving somewhere else.
As the days goes by, you start moving again, thinking in the future and start planning everything for this moment we (my wife and I) have been dreaming for more than 3 years now.
The next big step is resigning the job, gathering everything to move and enjoy the last days.
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Yesterday we got back ours passport with the Australian Visa stamped. It was awesome to receive the envelope from DHL and find inside a smaller postcard sized white envelope, with ours names handwritten with the passport inside.
Here is a picture of it.
Australian visa sample
Moving to meaningful subjects, how to send the passports to the Australian Embassy. Well, for us in Venezuela is kind of messy because isn’t allowed to send personal documents (as credit cards, passports, identifications or registrations) in any post office. We had to go to the main office located in “La Californía” (full address at the bottom of the post), then pay for the fees and everything else and include a polite request with the passport’s number, grant number and full passport holder names.
The content of the request letter was something like:
Australian Embassy.
Santiago de Chile.
In the present letter we, [you names in here which should be first applicant names and rest of the family members], [your nationality here], holders of the passports [first applicant passport number, same order as names passport numbers], formally request to you the permanent visa ext 175 stamped in each of our passports as specified in the grant letter attached to this document. Once stamped, we would like you to send it to [full address here] to be charged on destination.
In addition to the information provided here, you can find at the bottom our phone numbers and email addresses to communicate on any event, issue or update.
With nothing else to say and waiting cheerfully our documents back we salute you.
Best regards.
Rod & Kat.
[Passport numbers]
[Phone numbers]
[Email Addresses]
Finally, the passports round trip took 7 days but we couldn't pick it up till this Friday.
Till next time
Monday, April 6, 2009
Couple of days later the grant, I found myself thinking about the trauma involved in the migratory process and its aftermath. For me it was (seriously) easiest and less traumatic than many in my surroundings and I can’t held to make a comparison of the process when I took the challenge against those with this process ahead and the conclusion is somehow disappointing.
Why or How disappointing?
Let’s begin with the current “filter” applied by DIAC to new applicants. At the moment those within CSL (Critical Skilled List), regional / family / work sponsorship has the upright, as a move to contain the collision of world financial crisis on Australia… How? Avoiding unemployment and unnecessary exchange of expensive local workers with incoming cheap labor hands proceeding from people overseas.
Next higher English requirements, to improve your chances of success in your new life.
Then rocket high airfare prices which consumes many of our resources to move to Australia, direct consequence of the unbalanced price of petrol (at the moment a shadow of what it was, but the prices didn’t came back to earth).
Finally (and this one applies only to those in Venezuela) our monetary exchange control, which forbid us to freely exchange our savings into American’s or Australian’s dollars, making us apply for disfavoring monetary arrangements losing two thirds of our saving in the process.
So what?
Well, if you want to apply for a visa (or is your dream to move to Australia) one thing is for sure… You got to have hell of an assessment and planning in order to make it come true; get ready for its financial implications and long term processing. And don’t take the English for granted (if isn’t your language or birth) if you are planning to move down under you got to be native on its use.
Leave comments.
Cheers and till the next post.
Sunday, March 22, 2009
More than a year ago, my visa application was submitted to consideration; so I can be able to live, grow and work in Australia, the Thursday morning I receive a call from my case manager saying:
“Hi Rod… are you there? I am calling you because there has been some update in your case… Pretty good news, your visa has been granted!”
This video is the more accurate description of how do you feel the following minute and seconds after receiving the grant letter. Or at least, it was for me.
Ode to Joy...
Putting words to those wacky images… Didn’t know how to feel, finally the closure of this stage of the process has come, I can move on now, prepare the upcoming changes, send our stuff to Sydney, arrange the wire transfers… But at the same time, couldn’t avoid a pain in the chest; give a thought or two on your family, how to tell’em?
My first reaction was to stay put, call my wife, talk to co-workers and continue with my duties (even though I was so out of focus)... being unstable between long times unexpressed happiness / joy, euphoria, and sadness... All at once; just as Will Smith in “Pursuit of happiness” ending scene.
Even though I tried to call my mom for the last two days, and talk to her about it... Couldn’t communicate with her (thanks god, didn’t had the courage to tell her I am leaving any time soon) but today... after the standard “hi, how are you? How’s everything?” and a short period of time (5 long seconds of silence) the words came out of my mouth
Me: “Mom, I have the Australian visa...”
As reflect she said “Oh my god, good for you...” (Shocked tone of voice) “When are you leaving?”
Me: “Dunno mah, June, July... whenever fare is cheapest”.
Nothing else came out from us, said goodbye and hang the phone out.
What’s next?
- Digest a bit.
- Finish up a couple of things in home.
- Pack everything up.
- Send over some boxes.
- Read 15 booklets, sent with the grant letter.
- Enjoy my family for the time being.
- Prepare future posts...
- Finish off activities with my customers.
Thanks for reading, till next time.
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