DGT said:
Hi Rob. I know that the UK has a higher rejection rate. This is particularly due to the stricter financial considerations for couples. New laws for the UK mean that a prospective spouse can't come to the UK without a job offer that pays over £26K a year, or double that in personal savings. They also receive a very high amount of fraudulent applications (my Uncle is the Head of the Visa section for the UKBA in Nigeria. Lot's of fraud to deal with there!).
I hate the UK's approach though. If my wife and I had applied after these laws took hold, we couldn't have been together in the UK. We've never really made a lot of money, but neither of us have ever claimed any sort of benefit from the government of either Canada or the UK. It makes me grateful that Canada has such a reasonable system for spouses, and the common sense to allow it's citizens to essentially write a contract of support for their spouse, something that the UK government doesn't trust it's citizens to do.
I also know that Australian immigration policy is based more on what the applicant can pay for the processing fees which are very high, and turn a profit for the Federal government there. The best man at my wedding married an Aussie and paid $14000 dollars in total for his visa there. I imagine they have less refusals based on the fact that less ineligible people apply due to the extortionate nature of the program (though I don't have any specific details).
It now costs $4000 to apply for spousal immigration into Australia. They also have the
temporary residential status" until the 2 year period of being together after applying.
Both Canada and Australia process around the same number of Visa applications: 60,000 (Aus was 60,0185 in the 2011-2012 period, and Canda projected 59,800-69,000 for 2012)
Both processes are long, however I think the Australian process has more up-to-date online status updates. Canada's unfortunately falls behind the times a bit.
Speaking from experience an Irish friend of mine who is now a PR in Australia said that she was choosing between Australia and Canada to live... and actually wanted to live in Canada more, however their VISA processing time was too darn long, whereas her Australian Visa was processes within a matter of months. This was for a skilled working Visa mind you, not family class- but it's interesting to compare.
Both countries offer the right of appeal, so even if there is a rejection, you have a chance to justify your case.
I would imagine the rate of approval and denial would be quite similar in both countries - as with the waiting times. Australia's is far more expensive, and they have the technology to keep you up to date. The immigration officers when you call thenm aer just as helpful or unhelpful though!