Any Aus citizens successfully left thailand just to live as tourist for 3+ months?

[Firetruckred]

I am hoping to pack up in Australia and move to Thailand with my Thai wife and our 3 kids. I understand a lot of the process but i am struggling to find any successful stories of Aus citizens getting permission from the Aus government to leave. Is there some “compelling evidence that it is essential travel” if i am just hoping to get some Thai family time into my kids before they reach Aus school age? How strict are they being? Do i really need to have everything packed and paid for before i even apply?

[HungDonger]

Under current arrangements you will need to prove to the Aus Govt. that you are 'normally' a resident of Thailand.

If not it is very likely your application will be rejected. Your Thai wife and (maybe) the kids have a chance . One friend has been approved after 4 applications over 4 months. He has previously been a Thai resident for many years . Another has reapplied after 2 rejections. Good Luck.

[Firetruckred]

7 minutes ago, HungDonger said:

Under current arrangements you will need to prove to the Aus Govt. that you are 'normally' a resident of Thailand.

If not it is very likely your application will be rejected. Your Thai wife and (maybe) the kids have a chance . One friend has been approved after 4 applications over 4 months. He has previously been a Thai resident for many years . Another has reapplied after 2 rejections. Good Luck.

I am not, have never been a resident. Is there any  known differences between success and failure? 

[HungDonger]

Eventual success if you can prove you a long-term resident of Thailand. Failure if are not.                                           The Aus Govt. is very strict on this point currently.

Hopefully the situation eases soon.

 

[bkk6060]

Does not sound like "essential travel".  Give it a try good luck.

But, talk about a government that controls peoples lives.

If you meet Thailand's requirements then why not?   Cannot leave follow our rules Sheepies?  Just a ridiculous, draconian, terrible rule. 

 

[Firetruckred]

17 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Does not sound like "essential travel".  Give it a try good luck.

But, talk about a government that controls peoples lives.

If you meet Thailand's requirements then why not?   Cannot leave follow our rules Sheepies?  Just a ridiculous, draconian, terrible rule. 

 

I am in Victoria and when we were in the hard lockdown, moving house was considered an essential reason to leave the house. Moving to be with family is essential at a State level but not a Federal level? It is ridiculous. This country has lost me. 

[Olmate]

2 minutes ago, Firetruckred said:

I am in Victoria and when we were in the hard lockdown, moving house was considered an essential reason to leave the house. Moving to be with family is essential at a State level but not a Federal level? It is ridiculous. This country has lost me. 

Have you got an old tennis racquet or two? That seems to work!

[HungDonger]

Even if you were successful, putting your young family though 2 x 14 day quarantines could prove troublesome .

[MikeN]

45 minutes ago, bkk6060 said:

Does not sound like "essential travel".  Give it a try good luck.

But, talk about a government that controls peoples lives.

If you meet Thailand's requirements then why not?   Cannot leave follow our rules Sheepies?  Just a ridiculous, draconian, terrible rule. 

 

Because there are limits to how many returning Australians they can fit into the quarantine facilities, so they don’t want people traveling overseas unless it is essential. So if the OP tells them he is going as a tourist and will want to come back in 3 months as the title suggests I think the answer would be no. But, if he could show that it was for good, ie he has sold his house, car, etc, and he was not going to be coming back....that might change things ?

[HungDonger]

2 hours ago, MikeN said:

Because there are limits to how many returning Australians they can fit into the quarantine facilities, so they don’t want people traveling overseas unless it is essential. So if the OP tells them he is going as a tourist and will want to come back in 3 months as the title suggests I think the answer would be no. But, if he could show that it was for good, ie he has sold his house, car, etc, and he was not going to be coming back....that might change things ?

Agree with you .....but he only wants to come for a short time.

 

[Firetruckred]

4 hours ago, HungDonger said:

Agree with you .....but he only wants to come for a short time.

 

No, i want to stay for at least 12 months, but the conditions on the Aus side of things says that you have to leave for +3 months and my first visa would likely be a tourist visa as i would rather organise the next one when already there. We are married in Aus but not in Thailand. We are trying to figure out what makes for the most compelling reason to leave. We want to find out if its even possible before i resign and sell a lot of our possessions and put the rest in storage. 

[Firetruckred]

7 hours ago, HungDonger said:

Even if you were successful, putting your young family though 2 x 14 day quarantines could prove troublesome .

Hopefully we won’t need to do it twice. Not planning to come back until this virus things forgotten. Melbourne is dead. 

[collingwood]

Mine was approved straight away, just ticked the box that says greater than three months and commented that I understood that if I returned that If I returned that I would have to pay for the Quaratine.

[Will27]

14 hours ago, MikeN said:

Because there are limits to how many returning Australians they can fit into the quarantine facilities, so they don’t want people traveling overseas unless it is essential. So if the OP tells them he is going as a tourist and will want to come back in 3 months as the title suggests I think the answer would be no. But, if he could show that it was for good, ie he has sold his house, car, etc, and he was not going to be coming back....that might change things ?

As long as they understand the consequences, people should still be giving the option of going IMO.

[Firetruckred]

1 hour ago, collingwood said:

Mine was approved straight away, just ticked the box that says greater than three months and commented that I understood that if I returned that If I returned that I would have to pay for the Quaratine.

Great! Can i ask what your “compelling evidence”or circumstances were? 

[mserror]

You cannot get travel insurance now, so you must arrange health insurance in Thailand.

[4MyEgo]

18 hours ago, Firetruckred said:

I am not, have never been a resident. Is there any  known differences between success and failure? 

 

I would think you have Buckley's as a mate back In Sydney who is married to a Thai who has dual citizenships, wasn't allowed to return to see her sick father who was admitted into hospital with the family advising her that he didn't have much longer.

 

She was rejected twice, father passed away tragically before she could even get an application approved, which she couldn't.

 

This is an absolute disgrace on those who put the lockdowns in place, to me this would have been simply compassionate grounds, but there is nothing companionate about the Oz government as seen in this instance, and in my opinion are just plan control freaks.

[G Rex]

I had same experience as Collingwood.  I applied online , and was approved within 1 hour!  Maybe Australia could not wait to get rid of me!

I simply stated the truth - That I no longer wanted to live in Australia. I also said that I had sold my house , left my employment, & that I had a place to stay in Thailand. I added that I was aware that if circumstances in the future arose that required me to return to Australia - that I understood that I would be responsible for all quarantine & travel costs.

I was approved under the 'leaving for more than 3 months banner'.

I left last October - thankfully I have not had to endure any more of Dictator Dans' ridiculous scaremongering, control & hysteria!!   

Good luck

Edited February 22, 2021 by G Rex

[natway09]

I would be inclined to put your plans on a 12 month backburner unless things change sooner.

Thake all the stress out of it.

Packing up with a family for a 12 month extended holiday has enough trials without adding 

the Australian Immigration mix, then Thai Immigration, 15 days quarantine (& the related cost)

See you for Christamas for a beer

[RachaRob]

Just the quarrantine hotel in Thailand would be around 100,000 Baht for a family of four!

[Tony125]

13 hours ago, Firetruckred said:

No, i want to stay for at least 12 months, but the conditions on the Aus side of things says that you have to leave for +3 months and my first visa would likely be a tourist visa as i would rather organise the next one when already there. We are married in Aus but not in Thailand. We are trying to figure out what makes for the most compelling reason to leave. We want to find out if its even possible before i resign and sell a lot of our possessions and put the rest in storage. 

If your  married in Aus  it's a legal marriage anywhere in the world. Do you think if you went to the US or France and left your wife and tried to get married you could?  Even in Thailand to marry a Thai you would have to go to your embassy and sign an affidavit  of "Freedom to Marry" stating that you are single and are either diviorced (with papers) or swear to never having been married. You can get all your marriage paperwork and go to the Thai consulate in Aus and register or simply bring all of that with you and go to the local Amphur here and register the marriage. Also make sure to get  your kids dual citizen ship/passports. Bring their Aus birth certificates.

Edited February 22, 2021 by Tony125
spelling

[BEVUP]

7 hours ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

I would think you have Buckley's as a mate back In Sydney who is married to a Thai who has dual citizenships, wasn't allowed to return to see her sick father who was admitted into hospital with the family advising her that he didn't have much longer.

 

She was rejected twice, father passed away tragically before she could even get an application approved, which she couldn't.

 

This is an absolute disgrace on those who put the lockdowns in place, to me this would have been simply compassionate grounds, but there is nothing companionate about the Oz government as seen in this instance, and in my opinion are just plan control freaks.

Absolutely agree

& all this rubbish about lack of quarantine 

If that idiotic "potato head " did his job (organising quarantine ) it wouldn't of been left to the other incompetent's that run the states all looking after themselves looking for glory 

There worried about it will increase numbers on quarantine - WELL I would say that's minor as they say that 3000 + Aussies come back each week 

SO WHY are there still 1000's upon 1000's still left stranded 

I put visas application 1 yr ago & they recon it's still being reviewed - probably filed it under B (for bin )

[4MyEgo]

35 minutes ago, BEVUP said:

Absolutely agree

& all this rubbish about lack of quarantine 

If that idiotic "potato head " did his job (organising quarantine ) it wouldn't of been left to the other incompetent's that run the states all looking after themselves looking for glory 

There worried about it will increase numbers on quarantine - WELL I would say that's minor as they say that 3000 + Aussies come back each week 

SO WHY are there still 1000's upon 1000's still left stranded 

I put visas application 1 yr ago & they recon it's still being reviewed - probably filed it under B (for bin )

 

When dealing with government employees this is what you get unfortunately, I went through a similar process many years ago, and was literally banging my head against the wall, that said, I wrote a scathing letter to the Minister in charge of that particular department and received a letter within a week offering an apology for the delay, and that the matter was now approved and that the officer handling the matter was under review with policies being put in place to address the situation so that it didn't occur again.

 

The above said, maybe try sending a letter to the Minister, it worked for me, but it was about a different matter, that said, there should be a deadline and you not having to wait indefinitely for an answer.

[SiSePuede419]

You're living in Australia.  Your Thai wife is living in Australia.  You have three kids.  So your kids live in Australia.  I assume you have a job in Australia.

 

So, what's the deal with just up and moving to Thailand?  No job in Thailand.  Why on earth would you want to move there? 

 

Your whole life is Australia.

[Ralf001]

1 hour ago, BEVUP said:

Absolutely agree

& all this rubbish about lack of quarantine 

If that idiotic "potato head " did his job (organising quarantine ) it wouldn't of been left to the other incompetent's that run the states all looking after themselves looking for glory 

There worried about it will increase numbers on quarantine - WELL I would say that's minor as they say that 3000 + Aussies come back each week 

SO WHY are there still 1000's upon 1000's still left stranded 

I put visas application 1 yr ago & they recon it's still being reviewed - probably filed it under B (for bin )

as there is weekly incoming limits in place, that 3000 is that from Thailand or the world as a whole?

[G Rex]

2 hours ago, Ralf001 said:

as there is weekly incoming limits in place, that 3000 is that from Thailand or the world as a whole?

The 3000 returnees to Australia per month , is from the whole world. It is supposed to be due to the capacity of the quarantine system.  It is estimated there are over 38k aussies wanting to return home - & low numbers of available international flights, greatly reduced seating capacity of these planes added to quarantine caps are making this an unwelcome problem to would-be returnees & politicians alike.

[Firetruckred]

3 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

You're living in Australia.  Your Thai wife is living in Australia.  You have three kids.  So your kids live in Australia.  I assume you have a job in Australia.

 

So, what's the deal with just up and moving to Thailand?  No job in Thailand.  Why on earth would you want to move there? 

 

Your whole life is Australia.

Family and life experience. My job has gone to <deleted> due to covid. Melbourne is lifeless. I don’t want to waste ayear of my kids lives being locked up and isolated. We have family and a place to live in Thailand. In Aus we just earn and spend and never “get” anywhere now. Its too expensive to live here. Plenty of reasons to leave. 

[SiSePuede419]

On 2/22/2021 at 10:05 AM, Firetruckred said:

In Aus we just earn and spend and never “get” anywhere now

So you're moving to a country where you can't legally work.

 

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

 

On the other hand, but if your income in Australia is zero, and you're spending your savings, it will give you  more time in Thailand before you exhaust your savings, as it is cheaper there.

 

However, I find it hard to believe that the Australian government isn't giving you money. 

 

Even in America, I got a few thousand in Covid relief money and $450/week unemployment (which will run out in a couple of weeks, unless they renew it).

 

But if you can collect Aussie unemployment benefits while chilling in Thailand, I say go for it.

 

Just so you know, you can't legally, permanently live in Thailand, because you're not a citizen like your wife and kids. 

 

You're only a guest.

[Firetruckred]

16 hours ago, SiSePuede419 said:

So you're moving to a country where you can't legally work.

 

Yeah, that doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

 

On the other hand, but if your income in Australia is zero, and you're spending your savings, it will give you  more time in Thailand before you exhaust your savings, as it is cheaper there.

 

However, I find it hard to believe that the Australian government isn't giving you money. 

 

Even in America, I got a few thousand in Covid relief money and $450/week unemployment (which will run out in a couple of weeks, unless they renew it).

 

But if you can collect Aussie unemployment benefits while chilling in Thailand, I say go for it.

 

Just so you know, you can't legally, permanently live in Thailand, because you're not a citizen like your wife and kids. 

 

You're only a guest.

Im not wanting to move to work, i have a full time job but my OT is gone and the work i prefer is all on hold. Its for a gap year. We have a place to stay and enough savings to live frugally for years but thats not the plan. I want my kids to be around family (none here). We can return to get their education in Aus. Theres always work here but i need a break! Being a guest in Thailand would be fantastic. I don’t have my handout to our government, and i really don’t feel like paying off their stupid debts of which i have recieved zero benefit, in fact it has gone the other way and damaged me financially. 

[SiSePuede419]

11 hours ago, Firetruckred said:

Im not wanting to move to work, i have a full time job but my OT is gone and the work i prefer is all on hold. Its for a gap year. We have a place to stay and enough savings to live frugally for years but thats not the plan. I want my kids to be around family (none here). We can return to get their education in Aus. Theres always work here but i need a break! Being a guest in Thailand would be fantastic. I don’t have my handout to our government, and i really don’t feel like paying off their stupid debts of which i have recieved zero benefit, in fact it has gone the other way and damaged me financially. 

OK, so you have a job in Australia, but you're going to quit and move to Thailand with no income and spend your savings.

 

Sounds about right.  You'll fit right in with other Farangs who aren't the sharpest financial geniuses.  Carry on, Mate. ????