phew!

I had a massive pout the other night while applying for a job. I was complaining to Hugh through the entire application process. I was just frustrated that I'd applied for countless jobs in the last six and a half months and been rejected for all of them, without so much as an interview. I didn't have much hope for this one, but I knew I needed to apply for it. I'd wanted to go to bed early that night, but I ended up working on the application until about 11:30pm, so then I was really grumpy. And after I submitted it, I realised there had been an error and it said that my current visa expired this past January. I was soooooo grumpy. I went to bed with a horrendously sour face and Hugh asked me what was wrong, then told me to just email them explaining the error. He is a wise man.

Eight days later, on Monday, I received an email inviting me to interview for that job. And the next day, yesterday, I got another invitation to interview for a different job. Two in two days, after six and a half months of nothing! Further evidence that I need to quit being a Negative Nancy and just keep chugging along. One step at a time.

In other news, I suspect my visa application may be inching forward. In order to travel to the US (or rather, in order to get back into Australia after going to the US), I had to apply (and pay for) a special travel visa. I'm on a Bridging Visa A while waiting for my Partner Visa to be approved, but you need a Bridging Visa B in order to travel. They processed that application last week, and sent me an email to say it was approved. But also included in the email was a letter requesting I get my health exam for my Partner Visa. I have to get tested for HIV and TB, among other things. So I think that's a good sign, right? I think it means they've started processing the application. Anyway, I get poked and prodded tomorrow. Wish me luck! Hopefully, I won't faint when they take blood.

Submitted!

Well, it is done...kinda. After weeks of stressing and worrying about a plethora of minor details, I submitted my de facto partner visa application this morning. I arrived at the Department of Immigration and Citizenship half an hour after they opened. It was a good decision, because it was nearly empty and I hardly had to wait at all. I was really nervous last night and this morning, because I still haven't received statutory declarations from three people. I'm supposed to have at least two from Australian citizens, but I've only received one from Hugh's sister's boyfriend, and one from Becky and John (who are obviously not Australian citizens). But my visa expires today, so I had to submit it.

As before, the people on reception were really friendly and helpful. The guy told me it wouldn't be a problem that I didn't have the stat decs, as long as I had my application forms. Oh man, I had way more paperwork than just the application forms! I meant to take a picture of my stack, but I forgot. In the end, it wasn't as massive as I'd expected, but it's still substantial.

The agent who processed my application (and relieved me of $3975), confirmed that I could just mail in the stat decs when they arrive, but she said someone "in my circumstances" didn't even really need stat decs because I'm on a valid visa and applying from within the country. That would have been nice to know before I harangued Hugh to harangue his friends and family every three days! But it's always better to over perform than to under perform, isn't it?

Anyway, now I wait. Approximately 13-18 months. But I really think my application is solid (I hope), so I'm not too concerned about the outcome. What matters is that I can breathe again, and start looking for jobs again.

I'm left with a feeling that I really should start smiling more in public. And if I really want to fit in in Australia, I need to learn to chill out. Today marks my one-year anniversary of leading a charmed life in this lucky country. Yay :-D

(In celebration, I bought a giant arancini ball. Yum!)

Certified Copies

Filling out the application for my de facto partner visa is not a completely straightforward task. There are a lot of ambiguities and questions, and for each of these, there are five different answers to be found online. For example, today I am wondering if photocopies of cards, letters, bank statements, etc need to be certified by someone to say they are copies of originals (i.e. you take the original document and the photocopy to someone like a pharmacist and they certify that they are copies of the same document).

The answers found online are:

No, you only need to certify identification documents (passport, birth certificate)
Yes, you need to certify everything
Yes and no, certify bank statements but not cards and letters

So I called Immigration. Actually, that's a bit misleading. I called Immigration, then searched the web in the 15 minutes of hold time before an operator was able to answer my call.

She said to certify anything that has been photocopied. So there you have it, from the horse's mouth, in 2013, get everything certified. This is my stack of photocopied letters from family members. This doesn't include any of the bills or bank statements or life insurance policies, etc, that I'll need to include. In other words, this is just a fraction of the paperwork that will need to be signed (and yes, they have to stamp and sign every page). My local pharmacist is going to HATE me!

Getting organised (and crafty!)

There are lots of bits involved in the de facto partner visa application, and I've been feeling a bit disorganised. I've been keeping all my paperwork, photocopies, and photographs in one protective plastic case that I've had since university, but it's not helping me keep separate applications straight. There's the visa application (which includes 3 application booklets), two applications to register our relationship (state and city), the application for an FBI background check, and the application for a UK background check. Each of these has different bits that need to go with it, so today, I grabbed some file folders to keep it all separate. I couldn't pass up an opportunity to get a little creative, though!