Permanent visa

Towards the end of the working day today, I received an email from the Immigration Department, which was short and to the point - our permanent visa had been granted! There was an attached letter with more details about how to get our passports stamped with this new visa, which lasts for the next 5 years before it needs to be renewed (or we can apply for citizenship after the next 2 years).

So it's been just over 7 weeks since I first submitted the application file (and since October when I originally started the process by applying for sponsorship from the NSW Government). I had to submit further paperwork for verification several weeks ago, but getting this confirmation now is a great relief - at least we can determine our own future rather than be on a set timetable. I was having some concerns during the recent process and, if there had been a problem with the application, the last 3 1/2 years would have been a very expensive holiday!

However, we can now relax a bit more and plan our future with some more certainty.