Getting Visa Invitation

Last updated on October 31st, 2019

Once the EOI application was submitted, there were more important steps to do. Since I secured 60 points and I had applied for the Skilled Independent visa, I was fairly confident that I will get an invite (Yes, back then you used to get an invite for just 60 points, what a time!). It was only a question of when.

Different sources gave me different answers based on their personal experiences. A few people said it takes average 2-3 months while some others were not so positive and held the opinion that it may take well over 6-8 months. Whoa! Please God, not that long. I hoped for an early positive outcome before anxiety got the best of me. In the meanwhile, I decided to focus my attention on gathering missing documents.

Where Is My Birth Certificate?

I had already secured most of the documents and got them notarized for the ACS submission. After adding our daughter’s passport and birth certificate scans to the list, the list looked almost complete. Almost because when I checked the documents checklist for 189 visa application on the immigration department website, one document caught me off guard – the birth certificate.

I had a birth certificate, but it was in a dreadful state. It was just a piece of cardboard which was torn at different places due to neglect over the years. More badly, it was in a regional language – Gujarati since my birthplace is Baroda. It was anything but useful. Some people told me that SSC scorecard can work as a substitute as a proof of date of birth. However, since it was not listed on the official site, relying on hearsay was a risky business.

(Certified) Born again

I had only one option and that was to get a fresh copy of the birth certificate.

There were two problems to that – one, my birthplace was in a state different than where I was living. The second problem was that getting a copy of birth certificate after more than 30 years was going to be challenging, given the state of affairs at Indian government facilities.

But I was in luck again (Haven’t I told you, I am lucky!). One of my uncles was working in Municipal Corporation at Baroda. Though he had retired, he still had his “connections” there. I requested him to help me in this case and he happily agreed. I don’t know what wheels he spun in there, but within a month, I had a fresh new English version of my birth certificate in my hand. Unbelievable! I thanked him profusely for getting it so quickly by cutting through the red tape. I got the birth certificate photocopied and notarised, ready for visa application.

Wait Is Over

While all this was keeping me occupied, I was making rounds on the Immigration website to check for next rounds of invitations, checking Expatforum site for who got an invite and what are the things they are doing next. As the days progressed into weeks, I was getting restless. Sometimes I would get up in the morning 5’0 clock to check my mail for an invite. My friends who had gone through this phase assured me to wait for at least a couple of months before getting ready for the invite, but that seemed like a long time. You will know what I mean if you have been through it.

Then this happened! One early morning while checking my emails, I saw this. Here is the screenshot:

Have you seen anything more beautiful than this?

After waiting for more than a month (remember I filed EOI on 14th July), I was ready to move on to the next step.

Oh my God! Was this really happening? I got the invite, which meant I had nearly cleared every obstacle in my way to Australia.

Suddenly the thing that was just an ambitious dream turned into reality. One simple idea which was conceived just 8 months ago was soon going to be a life-changing event.

That whole day I was just floating in the air (picture me like Saif Ali Khan in the song “Kuch to hua hai”), being extra kind to everyone and smiling without a reason. No, actually there was a reason, Australia was calling me and I couldn’t wait to lodge my visa application.

Moving To Australia Series

1. Moving To Australia – The Idea
2. 10 Reasons Why I Chose Australia
3. Which Work Visa Is Right For You?
4. Should I Go With Migration Agent?
5. Introduction To Skilled Visa Points System
6. How To Prepare For Skills Assessment – Part 1
7. How To Prepare For Skills Assessment – Part 2
8. How To Clear IELTS In First Attempt – Part 1
9. How To Clear IELTS In First Attempt – Part 2
10. How To Clear IELTS In First Attempt – Part 3
11. EOI – Express Your Desire To Migrate
12. Getting Visa Invitation
13. Lodging Visa Application And Making Visa Payment
14. Getting Evidence of Functional English
15. Undergoing Health Examination – The Whole Story
16. Getting Indian PCC And The Road Ahead