I’d like to share my story, in the hope that it offers some useful guidance to other applicants bringing a spouse and children.
Around 2022, our family decided to move to Australia. But given that we were no longer young, we consulted a number of agencies and looked into all sorts of options, and they all told us the risks were considerable. In the end, with the help of William at Newstarsec, we were referred to the experienced Faye. After discussing it through, we worked out a plan in which my husband would study a postgraduate degree while my child and I accompanied him on dependent visas. Once that was settled, they began handling the relevant process for us.
At the end of 2022, Faye applied to the University of Wollongong’s postgraduate programme on our behalf and even secured a 30% scholarship reducing the tuition fees, for which we are truly grateful — after all, having graduated many years ago, suddenly returning to student life to prepare for exams took some getting used to. Fortunately my husband had a solid foundation; after three months of intensive English study he scored 5.5 in IELTS, met the requirement, and smoothly obtained his COE. We then prepared the visa-related documents as the team instructed and provided all sorts of materials, and Faye also arranged for an experienced documentation specialist, Maggie, to refine and polish the materials we supplied. We formally lodged the application in mid-May 2023, and during this time they also helped us apply for our child’s place at a primary school in Australia and arrange the purchase of insurance, among many other things — attending to every detail with genuine care.
The day after we lodged, we received the health-examination letter. Half a month later they asked us to supply one further document, and after we submitted it the visa still hadn’t been granted. Our whole family was very anxious, watching the clock as our child’s school start date of 17 July drew near. So in early July, Faye chased up the application for us for the first time, and the day after that we received a phone interview call. The team carefully went through the content of the interview with us afterwards, and after analysing it they reassured us to wait calmly and not to worry. Because of the timing, they also arranged a deferral of our child’s school start for us. Finally, in the third week after the phone interview, we received notification from Faye that all three of us had been granted our visas!
From first planning to go overseas to receiving the visa took a year — good things take time — and we have now set off on our Australian journey. Personally, I believe the most important thing is to settle on the right direction and choose a reliable, professional agency; it saves a great deal of worry. I sincerely thank the Newstarsec team here, and thank both William and Faye.
