It's a good job we like it here ...

... because it doesn't look like we will be leaving for quite some time!

On March 15th our Visas expired.  At the end of December I met all the requirements for our next Visa, as due to rule changes last year we are still not eligible for permanent residency.  However, as we moved to Queensland, it took a while to get all the paperwork sorted out - add to that the new job, apprentices, a work experience kid and our business manager all keeping me on my toes (a couple of weeks ago, our business manager grabbed me towards the end of the day and said he'd like me to go to a site visit for a new project.  He said we'd take his vehicle.  When we got there he looked around at some of the other contractors that had been asked to tender, didn't introduce me to anyone including the primary project manager, handed me a wad of paperwork about an inch thick of schematics, work schedules and specifications and said to call him when I was done, and drove off!  Talk about being dropped in the deep end on a very large high end apartment and hotel complex on the water front, that is a massive rectification contract), you could say life has a way of keeping one step ahead of me.


Noëlle had got most of the paperwork ready for our Visas, and we were just waiting for my Australian Federal Police check to come back clear.  When I collected our post on the 10th March, there it was, so we had planned a final check through of everything that evening - unfortunately that day I ended up finishing work at 10.30pm.  So after an all nighter all too reminiscent of student days, by 4am we had finally submitted and printed all the forms on line (when printed this was again an inch worth of paperwork for our applications) - Then we had to scan and upload all the supporting documentation.  I rolled into bed just after 5am and my alarm went off about 45mins later.


On Friday 11th March, about 11am Noëlle sent me a text saying that our bridging Visas had been granted :D


However, it is not over yet.  It takes about 12 months to process our next visa, and we still have to fill some very complex background forms in covering exact dates of every different country we have been to in the last 10 years, every job I have had since leaving secondary school and dates, and every address we have lived in, as well as getting police checks complete in the UK and USA.


We will be eligible for our permanent residency Visas towards the end of this year (unless they change any more rules) so this Visa will probably never even get issued, but they have a 2-3 year processing time.


What does all this mean, well they will continue to extend our bridging visas indefinitely unless they find a reason we are no longer eligible.  Once we have a total combination of 4 years residency in Australia with at least 1 year on permanent residency Visas, we can and will apply for Citizenship.


The slight problem ... after all this work to be able to stay in the country, our current bridging Visa does not allow us to leave the country and re-enter.  So if we do want to leave we have to apply for a Visa that allows us to leave for a set period and re-enter.  The only easy justification for getting this kind of Visa granted is if someone dies, or it is required as part of Australian employment by an Australian employer.  It costs each time and any other reason has to be carefully justified and questioned unless it had already been booked before the bridging Visa was issued.


So basically don't expect to see us for the next few years unless you come to us.


On the plus side we love life here, even more so now we finally moved into our own place in Mackay a month ago :D