A former Newcastle man stuck in Brazil waiting for his partner's visa to be approved has expressed frustration at the "lack of transparency" around the visa approval process.
Ryan Madden, 32, who is originally from Bolton Point but has lived in South America since 2016, says his partner applied for a 309 partner visa in April so they could start a life in Australia.
The pair are also now expecting a baby, who they plan to apply for Australian citizenship by descent for.
But after being asked for more information in relation to the partnership visa in October, which was supplied, Mr Madden said he had heard nothing.
"Other people I've spoken to responded to the request for additional information and three days later there's was approved," he said.
"Did they respond to us then push us to the side?
"It causes anxiety - you start wondering 'did we do something wrong', they're not saying anything so we don't know.
It causes anxiety - you start wondering 'did we do something wrong', they're not saying anything so we don't know.
Ryan Madden
"Some people applied in May and were approved in November.
"We applied in April and it's now December.
"We're not saying our visa deserves to be approved before anyone else's but there's no transparency."
Wait times for visas have ballooned due to the coronavirus, with 75 per cent of the 309 visas taking up to 17 months, while 90 per cent are being processed within 23 months. The Department of Home Affairs website says it is prioritising processing for travellers exempt from travel restrictions to help those who need urgent travel.
The Newcastle Herald contacted the department about the processing of visas, but it did not provide a response before deadline.
Mr Madden said he had contacted the embassy multiple times as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about the application, but had heard nothing back.
The lack of answers has made things difficult for the pair financially as Mr Madden's partner has just finished an internship and doesn't want to take up another 12 month contract if she is able to leave the country before then.
"We're just going to be on one salary until our visas are granted," he said. "We don't know, so we can't plan."
