paulineburden
Hi Pauline
No probs. Just DO check with the POPC fairly soon whether it will be OK to have your meds done in Australia, and DO make sure you are willing to go to wherever is closest for a "holiday" at fairly short notice, so that the visa can be granted and evidenced whilst you are offshore.
Based on our own experience, for the tourist visa I recommend that you make a paper application for a standard sub-clbutt 676 visa. The cost would be $70 AU each. You will have to fill out Form 48R and post it to London along with your pbuttports. The usefulness of the paper & post application is that you can send a covering letter with it, explaining that you have applied for a CP 143 visa and quoting the reference number and lodgement date. Tell them you want 12 unbroken months in Australia, because the POPC is now taking longer than they used to with CP visas. 8 months in Oz is perfect for Mum but I think it might be too short for you.
Basically, our experience has been that if you are a CP applicant, DIMA in London will roll out the red carpet for you. It is a good-quality carpet and all!
Cheers
Gill
