# Medical and police check before submitting 820/801 partner visa?



## Renny (May 18, 2012)

Hi,

Just a quick question, would it be better and I guess quicker to get a partner visa approved if we get the police check and medical examination done before we submit the paper work?

are there any downsides to doing it before we submit?

Cheers


----------



## kttykat (Oct 30, 2012)

Renny said:


> Hi,
> 
> Just a quick question, would it be better and I guess quicker to get a partner visa approved if we get the police check and medical examination done before we submit the paper work?
> 
> ...


It is called front loading or having a decision ready application, if you can do it and write in the cover letter that it is decision ready then there is a chance of having it rapidly processed, weeks rather than months or years.

Kttykat


----------



## abby603 (Nov 9, 2012)

In my personal case I did not front load the medicals/police check as I was advised by DIAC not to do it. This is what they said:

"In response to your e-mail inquiry, it is recommended that you wait until your Partner Migration application has been assessed and you are advised by your case officer to complete the medicals. If you choose to complete your medicals prior to submitting your application, this decision will be at your discretion, as the costs of medicals are not refunded if your application is refused. 

Another factor to consider is that health assessments and police clearances are only valid for 12 months, and should a visa be granted, you will be required to enter Australia before either of the clearances expires. If you have a planned entry date, you should take the timing of the clearances into account. "

I guess it's up to your discretion and it also has a lot to do with your specific circumstances. Me, being from a high risk country, decided to wait until I was requested to send them (which hasn't happened yet).

Good luck!


----------



## jamesbrock (Jan 11, 2013)

abby603 said:


> In my personal case I did not front load the medicals/police check as I was advised by DIAC not to do it. This is what they said:
> 
> "In response to your e-mail inquiry, it is recommended that you wait until your Partner Migration application has been assessed and you are advised by your case officer to complete the medicals. If you choose to complete your medicals prior to submitting your application, this decision will be at your discretion, as the costs of medicals are not refunded if your application is refused.
> 
> ...


Same with my wife's application.

For example, my wife is Thai, her processing time has been quoted by DIAC as 13 months, whereas the medical test results are generally valid for one year. Police checks, too, are valid only for 12 months from the date of issue, so in her case there's a high likelihood that we'd have to have a second one of these done also. Furthermore, DIAC's own publication (Character Requirements - How to obtain police certificates, August 2012) states that Thai citizens are required to provide "a written request for the certificate from the DIAC office processing your application." I spoke to DIAC about this and they advised that this request would be issued by our CO, when appointed.


----------



## Nelly87 (Jul 3, 2011)

It's also a personal preference thing. There is no guarantee that you won't be waiting a year or more even if you do front load, and there is no guarantee that you won't need to redo your medicals or police check, but in cases that are very clean cut it seems to help speed things up.

We decided to front-load either way. Even if we get rejected we will not regret it because we did everything we possibly could have either way. If we have to redo either we are happy to. So we figured - why not, get it over with, instead of waiting for them to ask for it, which you know they will anyway. 

No guarantees, but I don't think it particularly hurts, it's just a "risk". And for us, compared to the magnitude of the whole event (sending in one application that will hugely influence whether we will have to fight to be together for much longer, or not anymore at all) the few hundred dollars we spent on the front loading for a bit of extra confidence was really nothing. But it also depends on your situation - we counted on front loading when we started saving for the visa so the money was already there.


----------



## jamesbrock (Jan 11, 2013)

I agree completely, it certainly depends on your situation.

Ours was an onshore application, so, for us, any possible delay in processing the first stage isn't going to be a big concern. Again, for us, the high likelihood of both checks becoming invalid during the first stage processing was enough to deter us from stressing over doing them in the incredibly short timeframe that we had.


----------



## lipsmackingkiss (Jan 16, 2013)

Renny said:


> Hi,
> 
> Just a quick question, would it be better and I guess quicker to get a partner visa approved if we get the police check and medical examination done before we submit the paper work?
> 
> ...


As a partner visa you should read the booklet and if it states to get your medical and police checks after application than you should do it that way. Honestly doing it before or after unless otherwise stated for when it must be done. Will not make a time difference in acceptance. It will only be delayed if you take any longer than a month to put in your med and police check in. Once you have done those checks they are informed by Australia that the medical is clear and police they check themselves.


----------



## rowlandm (Sep 27, 2013)

*I don't know how you can frontload anymore*

Because you have to get an ID from DIAC you need to go through Medibank:

The Department of Immigration and Border Protection only accepts visa medical assessments conducted by Medibank Health Solutions.

and for that you need:

Department of Immigration and Border Protection reference or documentation
For bookings at eMedical enabled clinics:
Bring your Department of Immigration and Border Protection Referral Letter or HAP ID number.

So did it change just recently or is there a way to still frontload the medical check?

Any information or experience would be greatly appreciated!


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

rowlandm said:


> Because you have to get an ID from DIAC you need to go through Medibank:
> 
> The Department of Immigration and Border Protection only accepts visa medical assessments conducted by Medibank Health Solutions.
> 
> ...


Are you applying for an 820? I definitely would not be front-loading a medical for an 820 given that processing times can be as high as 18 months right now. Medicals are only good for one year.


----------



## rowlandm (Sep 27, 2013)

CollegeGirl said:


> Are you applying for an 820? I definitely would not be front-loading a medical for an 820 given that processing times can be as high as 18 months right now. Medicals are only good for one year.


Thanks CollegeGirl - Yes - we are applying for a 820. Money isn't the issue - doing the medical twice isn't an issue - but I don't think it's actually possible to do. Is it actually possible? From the documentation it seems that you can't do it even if you wanted to.


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

I actually am not sure. From what you described it doesn't sound like it is, but I didn't apply onshore, so I don't know for certain.


----------



## rowlandm (Sep 27, 2013)

CollegeGirl said:


> I actually am not sure. From what you described it doesn't sound like it is, but I didn't apply onshore, so I don't know for certain.


Thanks CollegeGirl - hopefully someone might be able to clarify


----------



## Kindred (Jul 18, 2013)

rowlandm said:


> Thanks CollegeGirl - Yes - we are applying for a 820. Money isn't the issue - doing the medical twice isn't an issue - but I don't think it's actually possible to do. Is it actually possible? From the documentation it seems that you can't do it even if you wanted to.


Hi to all!

Am new here in the forum.

But is there any advice on those applying for visa 189?

How long does it take for a visa to be approved? Is fontloading possible and advisable?

Thanks in advance for any reply.


----------



## Ozz777 (Feb 23, 2013)

rowlandm said:


> Thanks CollegeGirl - hopefully someone might be able to clarify


You need your client id or case # when you go in for the medical at medibank, if memory serves. Which means you'd have already filed for the visa.


----------



## danegirl (Sep 15, 2013)

You can do them before lodgement: here is the link to the fact sheet.


----------



## rowlandm (Sep 27, 2013)

Thanks very much!


----------



## ozzy (Jun 8, 2013)

If you do decide to do a decision ready you need to make sure you have all documentation required also. They cant ask for additional documents if u have put its DR.
They can make a decision then and there.


----------



## Oz4Pom (Apr 30, 2013)

We front loaded our 820 and had it approved in 6 weeks 

ETA - Also we sent it with a cover letter saying it was decision ready, they still requested one small further piece of info and still processed it quickly. I know we were lucky but its not impossible!


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

Oz4Pom said:


> We front loaded our 820 and had it approved in 6 weeks
> 
> ETA - Also we sent it with a cover letter saying it was decision ready, they still requested one small further piece of info and still processed it quickly. I know we were lucky but its not impossible!


You weren't just lucky, you were winning-the-lotto lucky. Most people's chances are probably better for winning the lotto than for seeing that kind of timeframe when they aren't applying from a PMV. lol.

I'm not trying to take away your joy! I'm so happy for you that you got processed that quickly. But I don't want people to see this and think "Oh, that could happen to me!" when there's a 99.999% chance that it won't. Onshore processing times for the 820 (when not from PMV) are 13-18 months right now, and people need to expect THAT turnaround time and be pleasantly surprised if it's anything less. Thinking they may get to your level of luck and your quick timeframe will only make waiting harder.

Not trying to be a buzzkill. Sorry.  Just want to help manage people's expectations...


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

ozzy said:


> If you do decide to do a decision ready you need to make sure you have all documentation required also. They cant ask for additional documents if u have put its DR.
> They can make a decision then and there.


"Decision ready" is meaningless with partner visas these days. So many people applied that way that they now don't take it into account because it would disadvantage people who didn't apply that way too substantially.

And they can ALWAYS ask for more information.. not sure where you got the idea that they couldn't?


----------



## ozzy (Jun 8, 2013)

If they need to ask for more info then it wont be decision ready! Clearly read that on this forum when i first signed up


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

That may have previously been the case, but "decision ready" has meant absolutely nothing for months now, unfortunately. DIAC issued a statement to migration agents stating that that a migration agent on this forum (I think Mark?) shared with us.


----------



## CollegeGirl (Nov 10, 2012)

This isn't what I originally saw, but it's a great summary by another registered migration agent on the "decision ready" situation. It's dated back in January - so it's been at least that long that they've done away with "decision ready" priority processing.

Partner Visa Processing 2013 Expect Delays


----------



## rowlandm (Sep 27, 2013)

Thanks College Girl - this was the article I came across before and it was very helpful.


----------

