“Surely they will see/understand……..?”

An alternative title could be “Don’t shoot the messenger……please!!”

We at Down Under Visa get days where all we seem to do is to upset people. We've had a few days like that this week. Australian visa clients present us with problems. We explain honestly and directly what they need to do. And sometimes they don’t like what they hear.

And we DO understand. Some of these things are hard for all involved to comprehend, and can involve serious stress and legwork. We’re not oblivious to this.

• Why do you need medical examinations for kids who are not included in the application?
• Why does such an effort need to be made to correct government documents with wrong spellings and dates?
• Why does such an effort need to be put into proving who the applicant is when the birth was registered late?
• Why do we need so much proof of your relationship being genuine?

Bluntly? You just do! Whether you agree, or we agree, this is the way it is. These things are written into Law, and they are written into Departmental policy manuals. And the Case Officers at the Australian Embassy or DIBP in Australia will stick to those laws and policies. That’s their job.

We know the law, and we know the policy. And we lodge hundreds of applications every year, and we know what is successful and we know what isn’t! Whether you or I think these requirements are reasonable or not? It doesn’t even come into it! It is how it is! And what’s our job? Our job is to get you a visa. And we would be letting you down very badly and failing in our duties if we didn’t tell it like it is!

So please take a few deep breaths, and please don’t say “Surely they will see…….?” Or “Surely they will understand……..?” or “Surely that’s enough…..?” If they would see and understand, you wouldn’t hear a peep out of us. We would spend more time relaxing and less time persuading, I can assure you! Putting the feet up and sipping on something cool and refreshing……..much better!