Sporting Dog

Oz embassy would accept any local bank cashiers cheque. Not on overseas bank as takes about 30 days to clear. however, why not pay cash? Yes, there is a bank about 5/10 minutes walk from the embassy, would be same opening hours as all bank's in Thailand.

I don't think the Oz embassy will take cash - they didn't when I went there in Feb04. Went to the bank over the road, no problems. (except having to go back out through security etc etc)

Not having a go at the OP...But I for one hope that getting a new passport, and then getting in/out of a country isn't as easy as some are suggesting. I mean what is the point of any security system if you can just change your name and in effect, wipe your past.

If this is true, then I guess we'll just have to accept a few hijackings/bombings (like the one at the Oz embassy TODAY) every few months.

not in thailand - no ice blocks

I didn't have any problems with the Embassy staff. Tourist visa took a while, more like 3 hours, not half an hour. But we didn't get any grief.

I reckon I'd get a bit tetchy if I had to deal with some of the people I saw there. Some people seem to think that you should be able walk up, pay the money, get the visa, and be out in 15 minutes. And all based on their word alone - no background checks, no conditions, just "she's with me and I'm an aussie so everything is sweeeet, maaaaaate."

Maybe some of the Thai staff are on bit of a power trip but thats probably because the Aussie staff don't HAVE to stand at the counter in the (shit) firing line.

bugger me, Kafka on the forum board!! Getting a bit highbrow, this is.

I was a member at ajarn for a little while - only saw it get hacked 3 times!! - and I'm pretty disappointed that it has come to an end.

I have a thai gf and am in the process of moving to Thailand...and I found it very useful (as is this site).

Sure there was a lot of crap but everyday I wade thru piles of crap without having the choice of just turning it off. But it was also informative, funny and interesting.

I just hope that the saying "what goes around, comes around" is true and the hacker/s have a long and interesting life.

Thanks to all those who (used to ) make it happen - it REALLY helped.

3. Stop them eating a meal just before you go out to a restaurant for

a meal.

I tried to do that once

She - "I MUST eat now"

Me - "But we're going to eat out soon"

She (looking at me as if I had just made the most ridiculous statement in the history of mankind) - "I cannot do anything until I eat, I MUST EAT NOW!!"

Maybe it's because there's not much of them so they can't run for long on their reserves....whereas I could run for a couple of days on the 'latent muscle' around my waist.

She doesn't do any of the other things tho'

Well thats good news.

Thanks for the info!!!

Actually my fiance is in Thailand.

Is there really a good chance I could get a non-imm 'O'?

If yes, what would I need to show the consulate here?

(we've been engaged since Nov 03, she's been here to Perth for 2.5 months, my family can vouch for her - do these things count for anything?)

Should I really push it and ask for a multi entry non-imm 'O'?

Your advice is GREATLY appreciated.

I am thinking of applying for a 60 day double entry tourist visa to Thailand. I am in Australia at the mo'.

- how difficult is this to get?

- can I get one thru the consulate in Perth or do I have to apply thru the embassy?

- what is a good enough reason to get one?

Anyone ever done this in Perth?

At this stage i want the visa for tourist purposes only - this may change after I have been in Thailand for a while but I will do whatever is necessary visa-wise if that occurs. I intend to always stay legit.

Thanks for the help....

When m gf applied and received a 3month tourist visa in Feb 2004 she didn't have a ticket or insurance, just a set of dates. They didn't seem too bothered when she left for Oz or returned so as long as she fulfilled the visa requirements.

After she got the visa we went and bought the air ticket. I wanted to buy insurance in BKK but couldn't do it in the end. I asked a travel agent who gave me a mobile phone # of 'a friend'. I asked at Thai Airlines head office if they could point me in the right direction - after much discussion they said 'no problem, you can get it at the airport as you're leaving.' Of course at the airport everyone I asked looked at me like I was an idiot.

So my gf didn't have insurance while she was in Oz which was a bit of a worry cos it doesn't take much contact with the health system to ruin you financially when you have to pay full price. I had to take her to the hospital once in Geraldton WA....2hrs waiting, 10 mins with the doc = AUD120.00.

So get the insurance - I'm sure you can in BKK somewhere, we just ran out of time. (I even tried to organise some for her here in Oz but was told that insurance companies won't insure overseas customers).

I did give an undertaking to pick up all the costs for her while in Oz when we put in the visa application. (signed by me, copies witnessed by JP).

esyay, ormallyay enwhay mIay eryvay issedpay!!!

My gf stayed with me for 2.5 months from March this year. She had no real problems at all tho she does speak passable english.

We found the local buddhist temple - the one in ?Nollamara seems to be mainly for Thai people and they were really friendly and welcoming.

We ate out a few times - in her view the Thai restaurants were just OK but all the restaurants were WAY too expensive - she preferred to cook herself and was able to get all the necessary ingredients.

We had a bit of a look around the countryside - she liked M.River area (loved the caves near Augusta). Whenever we were out in the bush she would point out plants and stuff and ask "why don't people eat this" or " in Thailand we would eat that." She couldn't understand why people had lawn around their houses when they could be growing vegetables or raising animals. (she may live in BKK but you can't take the Issan out of her)

Did a bit of swimming. Yes she did swim, unusal for a thai girl - even taught her how to bodysurf and she learnt to never turn your back on the sea and how embarrassing it is to lose your bikini at a packed beach and that waves can deposit sand in EVERY part of your body.

She's a pretty homely type and didn't want to go nightclubbing, partying etc. She was happy to run the house, do the cooking (her choice, not mine) and get to know the rest of the family.

I got her a phone card (SHOUT Card 18c/min to mobiles) so whenever she needed to blather away in her native tongue she could ring friends and family in Thailand.

All in all she loved it and would come back tomorrow if she could....you may have a few problems with boredom, food etc., (maybe even a few of the ozzie racists might give you a bit of angst) but they will pale into insignificance because you will be RAPT that your gf is with you.............the worst thing will be when it comes time for her to leave!!

I think SQ are the best and (usually) cheapest from West Oz - the stopover at Changi is OK - TG stops at Phuket on the way to BKK so takes as long as SQ.

SQ is usually cheaper and the planes are much better than TG's. Also you can earn TG FF points on them.

Never fly QANTAS unless there is no alternative - service is rubbish, planes are old, tickets always too expensive, FF club is a joke ( nearly impossible to actually use the miles ) and staff in Oz mostly surly and unhelpful (.........but other than that they are perfect).

She should be able to get a tourist visa - the form asks whether the applicant expects to need medical treatment for a number of medical conditions and Hep B is one of them. If she is OK now I guess you wouldn't EXPECT to be incurring any costs for medical treatment...I would just tick the NO box.

see page 6 at http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/48.pdf

Don't know about the situation for immigration tho'.

good luck

I had to look at at the various options when my fiance applied for a visa at the beginning of the year so maybe things have changed now. (and I certainly aren't trying to naysay any of the above)

I was under the impression that you couldn't sponsor your fiance for a Tourist visa.(form 1149 - Who cannot Sponsor? - there are no provisions for fiances, partners of the same sex etc......).

It does say on Form 983i that you that you can be asked to supply evidence of support for other visa classes.

I guess stu_$ could try for a fiance immigration temporary visa but I think you are then meant to marry her in Australia within 9 months (or something like that period). But that seems a bit drastic for such a short relationship.

Having no income is a big problem, maybe you need to have a few more holidays in LOS, and establish evidence of a long-term relationship and then try for a 3 month tourist visa - 9 months for the first visit is a long time for anyone to visit anywhere.

Anyway good luck - if your relationship is what you say it is you will get through the times apart and stand a good chance of getting your girlfriend to Oz.

(and the joke continues)

so he rolled over, farted, and went back to sleep.

I have current thai girlfriend of 9 months,photos,phone receipts,money transfers etc.

Problem is D has no work,D has 2 young children,basically husband split and left her.

What are the chances of a 3 month visit.

I have the means to support her stay.

Is the fact D has 2 children enough to statisfy immigration her return to thailand

neverburi

My first post here and I can only speak from my own experience with the embassy, maybe we were just lucky.

My girl got a 3 month visa in Feb '04, her circumstances were almost the same as yours except she had been my fiance for 2 months. She was unemployed at the time and only had a little bit of money in her bank account (approx 50,000bht).

We made a big effort when we went to apply at the embassy.We took every bit of paperwork we could find, phone records, letters, money transfers, hotel bills, her house rent book, mother/fathers/childrens ID records etc. I took copies of my payslips (signed by a JP), an invitation to visit from myself and one from my mum (that way they knew the fiance bit wasn't something known only to my girl and me)

We dressed formally, pants, shoes, jackets etc, and felt a bit of a tit going to the embassy as most of the other people there were dressed casually - some looked like they'd just got out of bed.

We were EXCRUCIATINGLY polite to everyone we dealt with. One thing to do is make sure you know your girls phone number - the woman behind the counter looked at the phone records and asked me to tell her what it was - luckily I could do it without hesitation (one of the benefits of spending $ 00's on phone calls).

We got the visa after an anxious 4 hours at the embassy. The staff didn't make any unreasonable demands of us but then again we tried to cover every possible problem/query in advance. Nothing succeeds like excess and that is particularly true when it comes to paperwork in a bureaucracy.

So I'd say if you do a bit of preparation you must have a reasonable chance of getting a visa.

Good luck!!