I am a little bit calmer today, after receiving a very useful e-mail from the Australian embassy in London. It has helped clear up a lot of issues floating around my head regarding when to submit my application for a visa.
So,
It takes (on average) 5-6 months to process the visa application.
The police character check and medical check are both only valid for 12 months, so the date of first entry will always be before the shortest of the two clearances expire. Neither have to be submitted immediately with the original application, so this can be taken into account when planning timings, although they warn you that if you fail the health or police check after the application has been submitted then it is too late to get a refund, (but this should not be a problem as I have no criminal record and I don't have TB!)
Finally the date of entry they set is just that. It is the date by which I have to enter Australia to activate the visa, once activated I can come and go as much as I like, so if worse comes to the worse and our emigration plans are delayed, all I have to do is plan a quick holiday!
This has decided it for me, I will be applying for my visa as soon as possible (before they decide to put the fee up!) and will just take a last minute trip to Australia if needed. It's a hard life!
So all that remains to be done now is get a few statements from people to validate our relationship, preferably from Australians, but any one who feels up to writing one for us will be more than welcome.
Adam
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