Is there a tunisian community in aus?

[the big burp]

hi everyone
im an aussie and trying as hard as i can to get my hubby out here (far more challenging than first thought) and since he doesnt speak fluent english (we speak in german) i was wondering if there is a tunisian community in aus, maybe even in syd which may have some events or gatherings etc going on....all i found so far was a lebanese community, but would prefer a find a tunisian/north african community
thanks

[pej]

Hi and welcome to the forum. Sorry, I can't help you with your problem - but I'm from Sweden and it takes at least 6 months for us to get a visa it seems. I was wondering if you have similar problems? It's been just over 4 months since my husband applied, and last week I got confirmation from Immigration that they have received the papers...

[the big burp]

i dont know with what immigration system youre dealing or what your situation is....but the aussie immigration system is really awful as the tunisians need to go through the embassy in cairo, its so expensive and the rules are so hard and tough its almost impossible to prove a real relationship without living together for while...but anyway lets hope it works out otherwise ill be in tunisia and will probably never go back to aus.

if your talking about the tunisian system, well i never had a problem with a visa in tunisia, at the airport i require a visa to enter the country and the only problem i have is that they only accept tunisian dinars and it takes like 1.5 hrs to get the visa when in any western country it would take like 10 mins...tunisian service
never had a problem with any other bureaucratic procedures in tunisia e.g. marriage and getting all these docs etc, pretty fast really..but this was in a smaller town ...the only trouble was when my hubby changed the address of his business and it took over 6 mths to do (but this was from tunis to his home town so it was dealing with a big city...maybe big cities just have bad service coz theyre under resourced or sth, who knows) and only happened when we both hounded the govt officials for mths to get the correct doc for the aussie visa...

[pej]

Oh I was just thinking about if it usually takes a long time to get visa to Australia. I have never stayed long enough in Tunisia to need visa, I would love to stay more than 3 months but for now not possible. I do hope things work our for the best for you, and indeed it's enough hassle and cost trying to get a visa from within Tunisia without having to go to Cairo!

[the big burp]

ok its good that you dont need a visa to visit tunisia...i have to say its a pain getting one each time i go stupid australian passport

yeah its taking a long time for the visa, its getting towards 3 mths now since we applied and still we dont know how much longer it will take...they said about 6-9mths to get the spouse visa which is a long time...esp. when i see others from canada and uk getting theirs accepted within days or weeks not months...

[pej]

Yes, I have many friends in the UK and they can indeed get their spouses with them a lot quicker. The cost is ridicolous though plus another huge fee for leave to remain after the 2 year visa expires. Also, if they don't get the visa the first time they can appeal but again at a huge cost. Have you been married long?

[the big burp]

yes the cost is ridiculous...$1350 (same in dinar) just to apply and if its rejected you lose all that not to mention travel costs to cairo, translations, airfare etc....its crazy. and yes he will only get a temp. visa for 2 years...we applied for immigration to canada but unfortunately because theyre so slow we had no choice but to apply for aus. weve been married since 2005 and hope that we will be together again soon...australians make life so hard sometimes

[pej]

Oh dear, I do hope things work out for you soon! Just as in Australia and the UK, the visa for Sweden is for 2 years initially. But, the application cost is only TD100. Just like I wonder why decisions take so long, I wonder why fees often are so high? The UK recently raised their application fees a great deal, saying that "tax payers shouldn't pay for applications". Well, since people in many countries make less than we do in the Western world, you will probably find a British tax payer - the spouse/fiance of the applicant - paying for the application, travel and all else.

[the big burp]

pej, i know what you mean..im so annoyed about not being european (my mum holds a european passport but unfortunately due to rules in that country i cant get citizenship because my parents were married when i was born and my dad is not a national of that country!) i must say i hate the australian mentality sometimes and this is a perfect example...they make it so hard and so expensive to get your partner into the country its crazy. i dont even want to think about the next lot of fees ill be paying for the visa application after the 2 yr period or the appeal if they reject the application... you just cant win sometimes.
btw. i heard its about $1400 to appeal (read it somewhere online), not sure if its true but it wouldnt surprise me. *sigh*

[B_o_G_A]

Hi there,
Im of Tunisian origin born and raised in Australia. There isnt a huge tunisian community in Australia. I would have recommended you get in touch with the tunisian consulate which was in Edge Cliff (sydney) but unfortunately they closed it down a few months ago!

anyway as far as i know most tunisians and a whole heap of algerians a situated around the lakemba , bankstown area. There isnt an organisation per se, that i know off.