BananaGuy Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 My Thai partner has a so-far-unused 3 year tourist visa for Australia. Her passport has expired and she's had it renewed, no problem there. To update the Australian IMMI system she needs to obtain good quality scan of passport cover page and the photo page ... this is clear to her but she's having difficulty with the concept of getting those two items certified as 'true copies'. Nothing needs translation - simply stamped or signed in English as being 'true copies'. We've had much to and fro-ing about the difficulty finding a lawyer to stamp and sign them, x thousand baht required etc. This stuff is easy-peasy in Australia - official documents like this can be witnessed by a wide range of people - JP, doctor, post officer etc etc ... and usually for free. Her village is near Uttaradit and she'll be visiting Bangkok soon to stay with family in the Bang Na area. Any clues who can help her near either area? Anyone got a list (preferably in Thai) of officials who are acceptable to Australian IMMI that i can pass on to her? Alternatively, an example of somebody's 'true copy' stamp' would be nice. Australian IMMI (uncharacteristically ha ha) not being too helpful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbra Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) I recently needed a verified copy of my Australian passport, l googled "public notary", found one close by, 500 thb. He also supplied very supportive credentials of his registration Edited June 20, 2022 by norbra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbra Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 (edited) 53 minutes ago, norbra said: I recently needed a verified copy of my Australian passport, l googled "public notary", found one close by, 500 thb. He also supplied very supportive credentials of his registration Edited June 20, 2022 by norbra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark5335 Posted June 20, 2022 Share Posted June 20, 2022 2 hours ago, BananaGuy said: To update the Australian IMMI system she needs to obtain good quality scan of passport cover page and the photo page ... this is clear to her but she's having difficulty with the concept of getting those two items certified as 'true copies'. Nothing needs translation - simply stamped or signed in English as being 'true copies'. I had to do this for my wife 4 years ago. Back then the IMMI system accepted "Self Certified True Copies" so getting a copy notarised was not necessary. After uploading the scanned copies into the system she subsequently received an email from DFAT confirming that the validity of the 3 years visa had been transferred to her new Thai PP. We travelled to Australia a couple of months later under her new PP and there were no problems. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will27 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 If she still has her expired passport, just travel with both and they will add the visa to her new passport at the airport in Australia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaGuy Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 7:48 PM, norbra said: Excellent. Thank you norbra! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaGuy Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 9 hours ago, Will27 said: If she still has her expired passport, just travel with both and they will add the visa to her new passport at the airport in Australia. No they won’t. Australia dropped physical visa stamps a while ago. Visa is recorded on IMMI computer, not in passport at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaGuy Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 8:24 PM, mark5335 said: I had to do this for my wife 4 years ago. Back then the IMMI system accepted "Self Certified True Copies" so getting a copy notarised was not necessary. After uploading the scanned copies into the system she subsequently received an email from DFAT confirming that the validity of the 3 years visa had been transferred to her new Thai PP. We travelled to Australia a couple of months later under her new PP and there were no problems. Believe things have changed, no mention of ‘self-certified’ nowadays … IMMI apparently need certified copy from immigration lawyer or equivalent to JP … but there is no obvious equivalent to a JP in Thailand … Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will27 Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 32 minutes ago, BananaGuy said: No they won’t. Australia dropped physical visa stamps a while ago. Visa is recorded on IMMI computer, not in passport at all. Yes they will. The visa is electronically linked to the old passport when that is scanned. Having a paper visa makes no difference My friends girlfriend did exactly that two weeks ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norbra Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, BananaGuy said: Believe things have changed, no mention of ‘self-certified’ nowadays … IMMI apparently need certified copy from immigration lawyer or equivalent to JP … but there is no obvious equivalent to a JP in Thailand … Thai Public Notary equivalent to Australian JP Edited June 21, 2022 by norbra 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaGuy Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 7 hours ago, norbra said: Thai Public Notary equivalent to Australian JP 'Notary Public' are the magic words ... thanks again norbra and the Bang Na reference especially appreciated! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BananaGuy Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 8 hours ago, Will27 said: Yes they will. The visa is electronically linked to the old passport when that is scanned. Having a paper visa makes no difference My friends girlfriend did exactly that two weeks ago. So she travelled with a visa associated with an expired passport? Presumably she entered Australia on her new passport - which was not associated with a visa on arrival? Sounds risky/lucky. Congratulations to your friend's girlfriend on her success - maybe she should buy a lottery ticket while she's here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Will27 Posted June 22, 2022 Share Posted June 22, 2022 4 hours ago, BananaGuy said: So she travelled with a visa associated with an expired passport? Presumably she entered Australia on her new passport - which was not associated with a visa on arrival? Sounds risky/lucky. Congratulations to your friend's girlfriend on her success - maybe she should buy a lottery ticket while she's here! It has nothing to do with luck, it happens all of the time. It's pretty much standard practice. You give the entry officer both passports and tell them the visa is linked to the expired one. He scans the old one and then calls Immigration who then link the visa to the new passport. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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