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Tips for phoning the Immigration helpline 131881
For all those people thinking about calling 131 881 to speak to someone in a DIBP call centre here are some tips:
PHONE CALL 1
1. Always ask the operator what their name is. They may only give you a first name.
2. Always as them what their position number is. They must tell you their position number.
3. Make sure you write their name and position number down.
4. Make sure you write the time of your call.
5. Write down the information that you are being told.
5. Double-check the information that you have been provided by making a second phone call.
PHONE CALL 2
Repeat the steps in PHONE CALL 1 again and check that the operator provides you with exactly the same information as you received in PHONE CALL 1.
If you do not receive the same information both times, assume that the information you are being provided by 131 881 is flawed or inconsistent.
REMEDY IF YOU ARE GETTING DIFFERENT ANSWERS EACH TIME YOU PHONE 131 881
Find then phone or email a Registered Migration Agent. Registered Migration Agents have proven sound knowledge and insurance for the advice they provide.
You can find a Registered Migration Agent using the search function on this website, or by visiting the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority on www.mara.gov.au
THE VISA APPLICATION ITSELF
It is your life and your visa application to Australia, so make sure you get it right the first time around.
WHY DID WE WRITE THIS?
To protect the consumer and give the consumer (visa applicant) every opportunity to help protect themselves. People on the 131 881 helpline are not interested in the outcomes of Australian visa applications and are not involved in the decision-making on Australian visa applications. They are not insured for the advice they provide and have no expert knowledge in Australian immigration law.
INTERESTING WEIRD FACT
The 131 881 call centre staff don't refer callers to the Office of the MARA so that callers /consumers can speak to a properly trained professional about their case.
Perhaps it is because 131 881 call centre staff don't want their advice second-guessed or proven plain wrong. It is not understood why the 131 881 call centre staff don't refer callers / consumers to the government website where callers / consumers can find registered professionals who offer proper advice and assistance.
Test the 131 881 number yourself and you will see what we are talking about!
Comments
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Wednesday, 29 April 2015Tell them to look their name up on the internal staff directory called EasySAP. Their position number can be found on that screen.
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Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Thanks so much!
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Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Is someone in the call centre a DIBP delegate or do the DIBP outsource to a call centre and these people are not actually delegates? Does anyone know who their employment contract is with?
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Wednesday, 29 April 2015
Call the DIBP call centre at 8:30:00 AM sharp to avoid long waiting time!
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Friday, 08 June 2018
The call centre has changed it's opening hours to 9am to 5pm
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Thursday, 30 April 2015
I just called them twice. Both times they told me different answers. Is there a better number to call to get proper information?
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Tuesday, 09 June 2015
I have rung 131881 twice recently and was told by one person that she did not have a position number and she only gave me a first name. The second time the person said they do not have to give out their position number and only gave me a first name.
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Tuesday, 18 October 2016
what if u need to contact DIBP from oversea, which number can we call? Because sending emails without getting any responses, can be super frustrating
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Thursday, 12 January 2017
I applied for a tourist visa last November and my application have been assessed and approved by a delegated decision maker, with which he advised that the application my visa has been approved. But my visa is now scheduled to be issued in May/June 2017. Please i am confused i dont know how to contact them to be sure of my visa condition, please advice me what to do. Thanks
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Tuesday, 24 January 2017
we have been trying to contact immigration for 2 +years but keep getting same answer go to web site . which we have and tried every form etc and get nowhere .my wife has been in Australia now on partner visa sub class 309 for 4 years and we have tried to get permanent resident but as information on web site says they will call us for part 2 of prossess but no calls and we even went to immigration in Perth but got turned away saying go to web site several times and we email but same answer and tried to get appointment but cant find right no to call as always get told to call 131881 and get nowhere .please can anyone help ?
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Monday, 24 July 2017
Hi Andrew,
I'm not sure if you have got any suggestions for your wife situation yet, I just want to offer some suggestions because I went through this same process,
I came on a Prospective marriage visa subclass 300 ( offshore ) and after I arrived in Australia I got married and applied for temporary visa subclass 820, After 2 years on this visa I was eligible to apply for the Permanent Resident visa subclass 801, so I did and I got it...
All the information about which visa and all the requirements your wife needs to apply for in order to get her permanent residency are on the immigration department of border protection website.
Every visa type is different, so please make sure that you link up the previous visa of your wife to the next step visa and find out what is the next visa she eligible for,
Good luck I hope this will help if you haven't found any other advice yet,
Cheers, -
Monday, 12 February 2018
Hi Tana,
How long was the waiting time after you submitted your application and got your visa. My wife submitted her application later September and she is till not received any information/feed back from the immigration department.
Nick -
Thursday, 15 November 2018
Hi Nick,
I don't know if you've heard anything yet, but in case you haven't...
Current Global processing times are listed on the website: https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-processing-times/global-visa-processing-times
It also should say on your application when you log in to your ImmiAccount.
We lodged my fiancé's Prospective Marriage Visa in October 2017 and have only just now heard anything from them. It takes a long time to get to the top of the waiting list, but things should move fast once you get there.
We hired a Migration Lawyer who has been super helpful. It's not cheap to do so - our "mates rates" deal where we did everything ourselves but could ask all the questions we wanted, still cost us about $1700. But we figured it's too important to get wrong, so it was worth it to us.
We were advised not to bother with getting the Health or Police checks done until Immigration asked us for them as they're only valid for 12 months. We've just now been asked for the Health and Police checks - 13 months after submitting the application - but once we supply those, we're hoping that approval of the application should come through in the next few weeks.
I hope that helps.
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Thursday, 23 February 2017
how do i dial 131881 from India?
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Friday, 08 June 2018
Home Affairs have opened a new service centre called the global service centre that's apparently managed by Datacom that you can call from anywhere in the world 9am -5pm (local time in the country youre calling from) its number is +61 2 61960196, but you wont be able to get position numbers from staff
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Thursday, 02 March 2017
Call this +61 02 6264 1111.
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Wednesday, 07 February 2018
I used this number in past but it is not working anymore. My NSW 190 application is in Assessment status from close to 9 months now. Is there anyway I can contact them and get some clarity.
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Friday, 08 June 2018
They've got a new global call centre number that you can apparently call from anywhere in the world 9am -5pm (local time in the country you're calling from) on +61 2 61960196. Aussie based callers can still ring the 131881 number but they've changed their opening hours to 9am-5pm. Id try either of those numbers. Apparently it's cut the queue times down by lots...I got through in like 30 secs!
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Wednesday, 07 June 2017
But very long queue.... how to avoid it? Any phone number for Hobart, Tasmania DIBP center...
Regards
Immigration blog
What should be done if a call centre worker claims they don't have a position number? This happened one of the last times I called.