I can't help with the medical issue, but in terms of the 139 stuff I would think that with form 40 (sponsorship form) you should probably do a check on what is different on the existing form vs the form from Jan 2005. DIMIA tends to update the forms a couple times a year, but many times the changes are superficial. One option, which I did myself when the form changed while I was in process of getting stuff together, is to simply have your sponsor send you a new copy of the signature page and you fill out all the other stuff on a new form yourself based on the old form. Typically the content of the new forms are not a whole lot different, only the layout.
Send migrants may face tougher visa testsOVERSEAS students seeking to remain in Australia as permanent residents may face strict new visa conditions as part of a government rethink of the send migration program. A discussion paper being circulated by Immigration Minister...
Also, 139 visas are fast-tracked in DIMIA, similar to MODL and 137 STNI visas, so you would be looking at less waiting than 136 non-MODL or 138 folks. The actual waiting times seem to be varying greatly based on which region you get buttigned to. buttuming you are in the UK your case could be buttigned to any of the regions as they are spreading UK apps around. This means the wait could be variable depending on where you end up. I would guess somewhere around 3-4 months to getting a CO would probably not be out of line, as the goal for 139 start to finish has been quoted by DIMIA (on other posts) as approximately 6 months.
Cheers, Brian
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