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  1. #1
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    Residency in Australia for Thai wife ?

    Thought this would be the best place to ask this question as I assume a lot of TD members are Aussies married to Thai ladies.
    My wife and I are legally married in Thailand and have a two year old son, born in Thailand.
    She has been to Australia twice, 2012 and 2014, both times on 3 month tourist visas.
    Last time she visited, with son who was one at the time, this woman from the Australian embassy rang me and asked about the application for tourist visas for wife and son. She said she would grant them this time but no more, if my wife wanted to come to Australia again she would need Australian residency and my son would have to have an Aussie passport, to which he is entitled.
    Have any of you guys been through this and what is the deal for obtaining Aussie residency for a Thai ?
    I had a look at the Australian government website and could make no sense of it.

  2. #2
    Excommunicated baldrick's Avatar
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    stickman gave this mob a plug in his last missive

    If you are applying for a visa to visit the USA, Australia or other country for your Thai girlfriend and you need assistance with the visa application process, Tanya, the principal of Bangkok Buddy, now offers such a service. Tanya has developed her business which grew out of the Jack Gold visa run company and offers visa assistance for foreigners in Thailand who have any visa issues. Tanya and her team can also help you or your Thai girlfriend get a visa to visit the West.
    you may find that it is worth the extra money to get things done correctly first time

    I have no experience with this sort of stuff , just mentioning it as an option

  3. #3
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    ^ that looks like a great website, could be very useful in the future Baldrick, thanks.

  4. #4
    better looking than Ned
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    I find it hard to believe they would tell you no more tourist visas for wife and kids ? WTF. my wife has had many Australian visas with out issue. She has just started the application for Australian resident visa as currently using a one year multi entry so she goes out of oz every 3 months at the moment.
    I know a thai girl living in Australia married to Aussies for the last 15 years and still haven't bothered doing the residence visa due to the 7000 AUD application form.
    Unsure what visa she is on but will get the wife to ask.
    We are using TSL & Associate Thailand CO Ltd
    130-132 Sindhorn Bldg T 1 Fl 2
    Wireless Rd Lumphini Pathuwan
    Bangkok, Thailand 10330
    66802324111
    Cost 60,000 baht for them to lodge the application.

  5. #5
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    My girl is here on a 309 defacto visa,no problems getting that being married you should have no problems.The aussie embassy will send you to
    VFS Global
    They do a pretty good job.

  6. #6
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    Been through it, all comes down to money and petty rules, same same, wife told no more tourist visas, married get a spouse visa.
    Meaning pay through the nose, did all the paper work myself, visa granted 3 weeks later, but that was through the embassy, these clowns at trendy house, the contractor for the Australian government are useless.
    Read daily moan about the application for the wife's return resident visa.

    Biggest problem is the time requirements, 1 year spouse visa, then apply for PR, 2 more years the go for citizenship, sounds easy, but we were living 1/2 the time in Thailand and permanently for the last 5 years.

    If you leave Australia for a set period of time, or live outside the country for more than allowed over a 5 year period, the clock starts again and you need new medicals, Australian and Thai police checks.

    We have 2 kids, born in Geelong, wife has PR, will never be granted citizenship unless we move permanently back to Australia, not going to happen.

    Now to our friends at VFS, trendy house. wife needs a resident return visa, fly down with kids birth certificates, Australian passports and certified copies of everything.

    They only took the application and the money for a 5 year RRV, not interested in anything else.
    4 weeks later RRV refused, haven't shown any tires to Australia, long story short, had to scan the documents and e mail them to the Embassy.
    A one year RRV was then granted, cost about 15,000 Baht, that is all she will ever get, unless we move back permanently, tourist visas are not allowed if you have PR.

    It's a system to generate revenue and stop people using cheap foreign passports, so the OP has to ask, is he throwing good money after bad, will his wife make the in country time requirements, or will she be on the continuous reapplying, start the clock again cycle.

  7. #7
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    jamescollister's Avatar
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    Just a PS, if the visa etc is not granted, or not granted in the time limit, you don't get a refund, money has gone.

    This happened to a friend of mine, married a Vietnamese girl, DFAT could not verify some of the details in Vietnam within the time period allowed, he ended up applying 3 times and paying 3 times, before the spouse visa was granted.

  8. #8
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    ^ paid $6700 made sure i had all my ducks in a line,bingo visa granted.
    I have heard plenty of horror stories,maybe i was lucky.

  9. #9
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    sorry, double post
    Last edited by Mickmac; 28-04-2016 at 07:05 AM.

  10. #10
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    The woman from the Embassy in Canberra (I suppose it was Canberra) that phoned me that day sounded like she had a Thai accent but spoke good English. She sounded like a real hard bitch and told me this was the last time my wife would be granted a tourist visa, I think it was because we were married and had a kid.
    I tried to explain to her that we had a house in Thailand and I sometimes worked in Australia and it would be nice if my wife and son could come to Australia to visit me while I am working there. Really did not need residency for my as we were not thinking of residing there permanently.
    But she said no, no more tourist visas to be issued.
    Wife spoke to a visa company in Chiang Mai and even they said it sounded wrong, she should be able to travel there again as a tourist.

    Thanks baldrick and others for the replies

  11. #11
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    Sounds like she was feeding you a line of crap mate.

  12. #12
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    Mick, as said they did this to us re tourist visas, the logic behind it is money, but the excuse is.

    From the OZ visa web sight.

    • remain in Australia for a longer period (for example, maintain ongoing residence in Australia on a series of visitor visas); or

    So not much you can do about it, they are saying your wife is not a tourist, but trying to be a part time resident.

    Which was true in our case, I was returning to work, she was travelling with me, not a real tourist, we got 3 visas before they refused any more.

    Don't know what you can do, but be careful with visa agencies, they take the money, but no guarantees.

  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mickmac
    Last time she visited, with son who was one at the time, this woman from the Australian embassy rang me and asked about the application for tourist visas for wife and son. She said she would grant them this time but no more, if my wife wanted to come to Australia again she would need Australian residency and my son would have to have an Aussie passport, to which he is entitled.
    Quote Originally Posted by Rigger
    I find it hard to believe they would tell you no more tourist visas for wife and kids ? WTF. my wife has had many Australian visas with out issue.
    Exacltly my thoughts too.

    My missus has been visiting once or twice a year for close to the last ten years on a tourist visa.

  14. #14
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    Quote Originally Posted by kingwilly
    Exacltly my thoughts too.

    My missus has been visiting once or twice a year for close to the last ten years on a tourist visa.
    But, are you working in Australia, or are you genuinely just visiting to see family, holidays etc.
    There is no restriction on tourist visas, if you are in fact a tourist, being a housewife, while your husband is working is not being a tourist, it's unpaid employment.

    Know one guy who took his wife over on a tourist visa to take care of his sick mother, trouble is there seems to be few options, tourist or permanent, spouse/PR and it's very hard to get the Government to change is mind, once they call it.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by jamescollister
    But, are you working in Australia, or are you genuinely just visiting to see family, holidays etc.
    Oh, I see.

    Yep, we dont work in Aus, visiting family etc only.

  16. #16
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by baldrick View Post
    stickman gave this mob a plug in his last missive

    If you are applying for a visa to visit the USA, Australia or other country for your Thai girlfriend and you need assistance with the visa application process, Tanya, the principal of Bangkok Buddy, now offers such a service. Tanya has developed her business which grew out of the Jack Gold visa run company and offers visa assistance for foreigners in Thailand who have any visa issues. Tanya and her team can also help you or your Thai girlfriend get a visa to visit the West.
    you may find that it is worth the extra money to get things done correctly first time

    I have no experience with this sort of stuff , just mentioning it as an option
    From that website ...

    "AUSTRALIAN VISAS Bangkok Buddy has local internal consular agents that can acquire tourist visas and/or partner visas (unmarried or married) for Australia
    Our agents greatly expedite the approval process as well as handle all the details on the client’s behalf in a streamlined & stress-free manner."






    Me reckons the Aussie Embassy would like to know more.
    Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago ...


  17. #17
    I'm in Jail

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    Quote Originally Posted by bobo746 View Post
    ^ paid $6700 made sure i had all my ducks in a line,bingo visa granted.
    I have heard plenty of horror stories,maybe i was lucky.
    paid a bit over $5000 Aussie 5 years ago that visa required her to go to oz to activate it, it's now coming up to expiry the Aussie embassy said I can extend it, but insist I do it online, as it saves them from actually having to get of there asses. Problem is I've been to the embassy 5 times now and the link they give me is horseshit, they only operate Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 to 12 and always fucking busy, I've got the documents now and am going to try to extend it non online, even it costs a bit more, the Lao bird behind the counter finally admitted she didn't know her ass from her elbow, she's a good looking sort who would give a jellyfish a boner,speaks good English, but just gave shit advice, it only took me 5 visits to figure that out so maybe I'm not that smart either, maybe I should of stopped looking at her tits and paid attention. Never mind looking forward to next embassy visity

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by kingwilly
    Yep, we dont work in Aus, visiting family etc only.
    And your story of just visiting family matches with your wife's story (all true of course), your length of stays match up, so it's no problem...

  19. #19
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    I've been through the process with Mrs sab, didn't use any visa agents. No need. We were living in HK at the time, but the application was handled by the Australian embassy in Bangkok. We were married in Australia, but she still had to leave Australia while the application was being processed- some honeymoon!
    It's laborious, but quite possible. Actually we ended up staying in Oz for three years, then moving to Thailand- thus my wife does not have current Australian residency, as we did not fulfil the five year minimum. May well go through the process again sometime, which is a bit irritating.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker
    she's a good looking sort who would give a jellyfish a boner,
    Quote Originally Posted by beerlaodrinker
    I should of stopped looking at her tits
    No wonder it took 5 trips to get it sorted.
    Thinking with the wrong head again mate.

  21. #21
    I'm in Jail

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    Absolutely. If they had of put a fugly one behind the counter could of had it done in 2 visits

  22. #22
    better looking than Ned
    Rigger's Avatar
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    Wife has lodged a spouse visa 3 months ago, just tried to get another 12 month tourist visa and they would only give her 3 months. Hoping the spouse visa comes back soon.
    would have cost atleast 15 grand now with the 6700 application fee, plus the 2 grand for the visa company. The rest would be flights and hotels.

  23. #23
    Thailand Expat VocalNeal's Avatar
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    Just a note.

    The best time to sort this stuff out is before one gets married.

    But hey...

  24. #24
    Thailand Expat David48atTD's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rigger View Post
    Wife has lodged a spouse visa 3 months ago, just tried to get another 12 month tourist visa and they would only give her 3 months. Hoping the spouse visa comes back soon.
    would have cost atleast 15 grand now with the 6700 application fee, plus the 2 grand for the visa company. The rest would be flights and hotels.
    Just a heads up ... there is no such beast, for a few years now, as a 'Spouse' Visa.

    There is the Temporary, 2 year Partner Visa or the Permanent Partner Visa.

    Partner visa (subclasses 820 and 801) Features

    This visa allows the spouse or de facto partner of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to live in Australia.

    Relevant link is here


    No need to use a Visa Agent, the application is straight forward enough, you just have be methodical.

    We applied 2 1/2 years ago, process took about 9 months.

    Issued 2 days before Christmas.

    Received the Permanent Partner Visa with the first application.


    Heaps of hoops to jump through ... happy to help anyone faced with the same application.


    Hey, my 500th post ... I like helping with Visas.

    .

  25. #25
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    ^

    Quote Originally Posted by David48atTD
    No need to use a Visa Agent, the application is straight forward enough, you just have be methodical.
    Correct,my missus is on a 309 visa(defacto) did it ourselves no agents made sure everything was in order,but the embassy still send you to vfs global to lodge the paperwork,they checked it all then sent it on no problems.

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