Australian Tourist Visa

[ahitchy]

Hi all, long time reader first time poster, love the site.

First of all a bit of background, i have a thai girlfriend who's 26, i'm 25.

• We met in Thailand - March 2009, spent 4 days together.
  
• Maintained contact via internet, phone etc for 3 months.
  
• I returned to Thailand in June 2009 spent 2 weeks together visited her family, home town etc.
  
• Applied for Tourist Visa at the end of my trip (22 June) - Successful, granted 3 month stay
  
• She arrived in Australia 7 July, we had an amazing time and decided that we would try again for another Tourist visa
  

She returned to Thailand on 4 Oct, we applied for a second visa on the 5 Oct purely out of convenience because she was returning to her family which is 7 hours away, knowing the negativity around subsequent tourist visa we made the date she wanted to return to Australia on 5 Nov. Mistake? maybe.

I called the oz embassy at around 7:30 pm today to touch base and get a feel for how the application was proceeding, i was told everything was ok and that it would be finalised by the due date. About 15 mins later my girlfriend calls me to say that somebody from visa call her and we were only successful and obtaining a 3 months tourist visa.

I called the embassy back straight away and asked to speak with the case officer. his name was "Sarawut" and he was very good to talk to. We discussed the reasoning behind the decision BUT he told me that the visa had been finalised and there was nothing more he could do. Basically he explained to me that they could not grant a visa for any longer because of the short amount of time in our relationship. That i should see out this visa and that if all goes well i "shouldn't" have a problem in obtaining another, Sarawut offered for me to speak with the Team Leader "Sasigran" which i kind of regret doing.

She explained how lucky i was in getting this visa because i am continuing a relationship and so she doesn't fit the criteria for a tourist visa ????????? confused, frustrated yes!!!!!!!!!!

I tried my best a "politely" discussing the lack of sense and inconsistencies to which she said look we have been going around and around in circles and you have been on the phone for 20 mins that i should basically just shut up and piss off.

Ok let me get this straight - My girl comes to australia for another 3 months returns to thailand. - apply again for tourist visa DENIED. Then What??

I will marry my girlfriend dont get me wrong but why cant we do it when we want too not when we have no other option!

FYI, she doesn't fit the criteria for any other visa, so it's either a spouse visa or tourist visa.

Can anybody give me any reasoning or advice as to what to do next?

I feel like trying to dispute this but im not sure if its a waste of time and effort

cheers

[Will27]

Hi all, long time reader first time poster, love the site.

First of all a bit of background, i have a thai girlfriend who's 26, i'm 25.

• We met in Thailand - March 2009, spent 4 days together.
  
• Maintained contact via internet, phone etc for 3 months.
  
• I returned to Thailand in June 2009 spent 2 weeks together visited her family, home town etc.
  
• Applied for Tourist Visa at the end of my trip (22 June) - Successful, granted 3 month stay
  
• She arrived in Australia 7 July, we had an amazing time and decided that we would try again for another Tourist visa
  

She returned to Thailand on 4 Oct, we applied for a second visa on the 5 Oct purely out of convenience because she was returning to her family which is 7 hours away, knowing the negativity around subsequent tourist visa we made the date she wanted to return to Australia on 5 Nov. Mistake? maybe.

I called the oz embassy at around 7:30 pm today to touch base and get a feel for how the application was proceeding, i was told everything was ok and that it would be finalised by the due date. About 15 mins later my girlfriend calls me to say that somebody from visa call her and we were only successful and obtaining a 3 months tourist visa.

I called the embassy back straight away and asked to speak with the case officer. his name was "Sarawut" and he was very good to talk to. We discussed the reasoning behind the decision BUT he told me that the visa had been finalised and there was nothing more he could do. Basically he explained to me that they could not grant a visa for any longer because of the short amount of time in our relationship. That i should see out this visa and that if all goes well i "shouldn't" have a problem in obtaining another, Sarawut offered for me to speak with the Team Leader "Sasigran" which i kind of regret doing.

She explained how lucky i was in getting this visa because i am continuing a relationship and so she doesn't fit the criteria for a tourist visa ????????? confused, frustrated yes!!!!!!!!!!

I tried my best a "politely" discussing the lack of sense and inconsistencies to which she said look we have been going around and around in circles and you have been on the phone for 20 mins that i should basically just shut up and piss off.

Ok let me get this straight - My girl comes to australia for another 3 months returns to thailand. - apply again for tourist visa DENIED. Then What??

I will marry my girlfriend dont get me wrong but why cant we do it when we want too not when we have no other option!

FYI, she doesn't fit the criteria for any other visa, so it's either a spouse visa or tourist visa.

Can anybody give me any reasoning or advice as to what to do next?

I feel like trying to dispute this but im not sure if its a waste of time and effort

cheers

Hi mate,

Firstly I don't think you've got much to complain about.

I think you were lucky to get the visa in the first instance.

You were granted a visa after spending only 18 days with

her. A lot of applicaions have been denied for longer periods

than that.

Secondly, you've applied for and been granted 2 visa's

so there's not much to complain about.

Just enjoy your time together and don't keep worrying

about the "what if's".

Regards

Will

[bridge]

Hi all, long time reader first time poster, love the site.

First of all a bit of background, i have a thai girlfriend who's 26, i'm 25.

• We met in Thailand - March 2009, spent 4 days together.
  
• Maintained contact via internet, phone etc for 3 months.
  
• I returned to Thailand in June 2009 spent 2 weeks together visited her family, home town etc.
  
• Applied for Tourist Visa at the end of my trip (22 June) - Successful, granted 3 month stay
  
• She arrived in Australia 7 July, we had an amazing time and decided that we would try again for another Tourist visa
  

She returned to Thailand on 4 Oct, we applied for a second visa on the 5 Oct purely out of convenience because she was returning to her family which is 7 hours away, knowing the negativity around subsequent tourist visa we made the date she wanted to return to Australia on 5 Nov. Mistake? maybe.

I called the oz embassy at around 7:30 pm today to touch base and get a feel for how the application was proceeding, i was told everything was ok and that it would be finalised by the due date. About 15 mins later my girlfriend calls me to say that somebody from visa call her and we were only successful and obtaining a 3 months tourist visa.

I called the embassy back straight away and asked to speak with the case officer. his name was "Sarawut" and he was very good to talk to. We discussed the reasoning behind the decision BUT he told me that the visa had been finalised and there was nothing more he could do. Basically he explained to me that they could not grant a visa for any longer because of the short amount of time in our relationship. That i should see out this visa and that if all goes well i "shouldn't" have a problem in obtaining another, Sarawut offered for me to speak with the Team Leader "Sasigran" which i kind of regret doing.

She explained how lucky i was in getting this visa because i am continuing a relationship and so she doesn't fit the criteria for a tourist visa ????????? confused, frustrated yes!!!!!!!!!!

I tried my best a "politely" discussing the lack of sense and inconsistencies to which she said look we have been going around and around in circles and you have been on the phone for 20 mins that i should basically just shut up and piss off.

Ok let me get this straight - My girl comes to australia for another 3 months returns to thailand. - apply again for tourist visa DENIED. Then What??

I will marry my girlfriend dont get me wrong but why cant we do it when we want too not when we have no other option!

FYI, she doesn't fit the criteria for any other visa, so it's either a spouse visa or tourist visa.

Can anybody give me any reasoning or advice as to what to do next?

I feel like trying to dispute this but im not sure if its a waste of time and effort

cheers

Just a side issue here, but did she supply a chest x-ray with her subsequent application? If not, more than 3 months would have been out of the question.

Secondly, s/c 676 visas are not reviewable, and I don't really think you have anything to dispute in any event. From what you have stated I think your girlfriend was very lucky indeed to be granted a subsequent tourist visa in such short time. Well done.

Edited October 7, 2009 by bridge

[ahitchy]

Hi mate,

Firstly I don't think you've got much to complain about.

I think you were lucky to get the visa in the first instance.

You were granted a visa after spending only 18 days with

her. A lot of applicaions have been denied for longer periods

than that.

Secondly, you've applied for and been granted 2 visa's

so there's not much to complain about.

Just enjoy your time together and don't keep worrying

about the "what if's".

Regards

Will

Hi Will, thanks for the quick reply. I acknowledge that I was reasonably lucky being granted the 1st visa, although I do know that while I was only in Thailand with her for 18 days, the rest of the time in between we were communicating daily for extended periods of time (with call logs) which surely had to add weight to the application. Also I will enjoy the time we spend together on the next visa and I do appreciate that, but i do plan ahead and especially with something as important as this, I am highly doubting the possibility of being grant another tourist visa after only 6 months in Australia.

I dont like the fact that this means the next step is - Spouse/Partner Visa or Living in Thailand.

Anyway cheers for the reply, your post did add a bit more perspective

[dirk28]

Hi mate,

Firstly I don't think you've got much to complain about.

I think you were lucky to get the visa in the first instance.

You were granted a visa after spending only 18 days with

her. A lot of applicaions have been denied for longer periods

than that.

Secondly, you've applied for and been granted 2 visa's

so there's not much to complain about.

Just enjoy your time together and don't keep worrying

about the "what if's".

Regards

Will

Hi Will, thanks for the quick reply. I acknowledge that I was reasonably lucky being granted the 1st visa, although I do know that while I was only in Thailand with her for 18 days, the rest of the time in between we were communicating daily for extended periods of time (with call logs) which surely had to add weight to the application. Also I will enjoy the time we spend together on the next visa and I do appreciate that, but i do plan ahead and especially with something as important as this, I am highly doubting the possibility of being grant another tourist visa after only 6 months in Australia.

I dont like the fact that this means the next step is - Spouse/Partner Visa or Living in Thailand.

Anyway cheers for the reply, your post did add a bit more perspective

You can apply for a Fiance visa, That give you 9 months, but you have to show that you are going to marry in that time

[bridge]

Hi mate,

Firstly I don't think you've got much to complain about.

I think you were lucky to get the visa in the first instance.

You were granted a visa after spending only 18 days with

her. A lot of applicaions have been denied for longer periods

than that.

Secondly, you've applied for and been granted 2 visa's

so there's not much to complain about.

Just enjoy your time together and don't keep worrying

about the "what if's".

Regards

Will

Hi Will, thanks for the quick reply. I acknowledge that I was reasonably lucky being granted the 1st visa, although I do know that while I was only in Thailand with her for 18 days, the rest of the time in between we were communicating daily for extended periods of time (with call logs) which surely had to add weight to the application. Also I will enjoy the time we spend together on the next visa and I do appreciate that, but i do plan ahead and especially with something as important as this, I am highly doubting the possibility of being grant another tourist visa after only 6 months in Australia.

I dont like the fact that this means the next step is - Spouse/Partner Visa or Living in Thailand.

Anyway cheers for the reply, your post did add a bit more perspective

You can apply for a Fiance visa, That give you 9 months, but you have to show that you are going to marry in that time

,,, And the marriage must take place

[gburns57au]

The general rule is two tourist visas then thats it....there are exceptions.

Are you free to marry for instance,

A friend of mine was granted a third visa because she had met her soon to be husband on her second trip and hadnt had a reasonable time to form an ongoing relationship with him. He was also not divorced from his ex.

The covering letter addressed the first point along the lines of, as they had not had time to establish an ongoing relationship then a Spouse visa would ultimately fail. Obviously the second point clinched it.

There are no guarantees that this approach would succeed in your case and my friend was told that this would be the last one granted, that is now on her file.

[ahitchy]

You can apply for a Fiance visa, That give you 9 months, but you have to show that you are going to marry in that time

,,, And the marriage must take place

I was talking with a supervisor @ immigration in Australia and she shed some light on a couple of questions I had.

She said that if i wanted to attempt to get this reviewed and the duration increased that alterations can be made to tourist visa's by "higher level" staff at the embassy in Bangkok but are rarely granted.

I don't think I was as thorough as I could have been in the application and letter of invitation.

I took it for granted that next time around we wouldn't have a problem acquiring a 6 or 12 month tourist visa.

Now that we only have 3 months it raises some issues when my girlfriend returns to thailand in February.

Depending on who you talk it's generally only 2 tourist visa's and then you have no choice but to apply for a partner type visa.

We will have only known each for 11 months and be "out" of tourist visa's.

Im not sure if I want to push things this time around or just cross the next bridge when i come to it?

She also said that one of the requirements for the Prospective Marriage visa was that you had to have known each other for a minimum of 12 months. All I can find is this:

Relationship

You must have met (as adults) your intended spouse in person and know him or her personally. This must be the case even if:

• it is an arranged marriage
  
• you and your sponsor met as children and the marriage was arranged before you turned 18 years of age
  
• you met on the internet (exchanging photographs is not evidence of having met in person).
  

cheers

Edited October 12, 2009 by ahitchy

[PennyFarthing123]

I thought on a tourist visa you are only allowed 6 months in a 12 month period in Australia. I know when we used to visit there that was a requirement. When we made a short trip to New Zealand before returning to Australia they would only give us a 30 day visa as we had been in Australia for 5 months already that year.

[Condo]

I was in a similar situation and decided that everything went so well after the 1st 3 month visa we decided to go the fiancée Visa. I agree it would have been better to have had more time but this way it also enabled my wife to legally get a job, and when the time came we tied the knot.

We have some friends in Sydney who were successful in getting a 3 month, followed by a 6 month. They were then refused any more tourist visa's. They immediately applied for the fiancée visa and it was granted.

It could be to do with your letter and your plans. If you had said you planned to travel around Australia for 6 months it probably would have been granted. I’ve heard of people getting 12 month multiple entry visa’s which we would have loved to have received. I guess it depends on your plans and who processes you application on the day. I also know of a couple who some how got a 6 month extension on their 3 month visa by doing it online at the government website. Still don’t know how they did that either as her first 3 month visa stated no further stay????

No point stressing about it now, just enjoy yourselves

Cheers

Anthony

[rick75]

I think the issue with multiple visitor visa's would mainly be time spent in and out of the country, they see back to back visa's as dodging the system, I have known my girlfriend for nearly two years and in that time she has had two 3 month visitor visa's to Oz, she is now back in Thailand and I assumed we would do one more visitor visa and then look at something more permanent. I was looking at the prospective marrige visa at a cost of roughly $1700au if we marry and then we are go for a spousal visa do we then get slugged the application fee for this another $1700, or is it just rolled over? Bridge you might know the answer to the previous question.

Cheers Rick

[gburns57au]

I think the issue with multiple visitor visa's would mainly be time spent in and out of the country, they see back to back visa's as dodging the system, I have known my girlfriend for nearly two years and in that time she has had two 3 month visitor visa's to Oz, she is now back in Thailand and I assumed we would do one more visitor visa and then look at something more permanent. I was looking at the prospective marrige visa at a cost of roughly $1700au if we marry and then we are go for a spousal visa do we then get slugged the application fee for this another $1700, or is it just rolled over? Bridge you might know the answer to the previous question.

Cheers Rick

No.....the application fee for the prospective is 1705 bucks........after the marriage you apply again for the temp res visa....this will cost you $825

[rick75]

Thanks Mr Burns, so you don't apply for a spousal visa, why then if you are married don't you apply for a temp res visa, or is that what a spousal visa is?

Do they really frown on more than two visitor visas even if time spent in and out of the country is the same, ie 3monts Au 4 months Th, 3 months Au four months Th.?

I thought the government would be happy some of us don't rush in and get married the week after we meet our Ladies and treat the relationship like we would any other, take our time get to know them properly before making a life long commitment.

Edited October 13, 2009 by rick75

[Condo]

I think the issue with multiple visitor visa's would mainly be time spent in and out of the country, they see back to back visa's as dodging the system, I have known my girlfriend for nearly two years and in that time she has had two 3 month visitor visa's to Oz, she is now back in Thailand and I assumed we would do one more visitor visa and then look at something more permanent. I was looking at the prospective marrige visa at a cost of roughly $1700au if we marry and then we are go for a spousal visa do we then get slugged the application fee for this another $1700, or is it just rolled over? Bridge you might know the answer to the previous question.

Cheers Rick

No.....the application fee for the prospective is 1705 bucks........after the marriage you apply again for the temp res visa....this will cost you $825

Cant believe since we applyed its jumped about $300 for the prospective and $200 for the temp res visa since July 1st

[gburns57au]

Thanks Mr Burns, so you don't apply for a spousal visa, why then if you are married don't you apply for a temp res visa, or is that what a spousal visa is?

Do they really frown on more than two visitor visas even if time spent in and out of the country is the same, ie 3monts Au 4 months Th, 3 months Au four months Th.?

I thought the government would be happy some of us don't rush in and get married the week after we meet our Ladies and treat the relationship like we would any other, take our time get to know them properly before making a life long commitment.

You apply for a Prospective spouse or fiance, de facto spouse, spouse visa using the same form......for the de facto and spouse applications you will receive a Temporary Resident visa (309) and one year and 10 months after the grant the application for Permanant Resident visa (100) automatically starts at no further cost.

With the Prospective Spouse visa, Sub class 300 visa is granted and once married and before that visa expires, you have to apply for the Spouse visa, if successful your partner is then granted a Temporary Resident visa and again after about 1 year and 10 months the Permanant Visa application starts automatically at no further cost.

I wouldnt say that Immigration frowns on more than two tourist visas.....they reserve the right to limit the amount of visas issued to any one person. I suggest that they believe that the risk of overstay increases with the grant of each subsequent visa. In order to be granted more than two tourist visas it appears that you need to show why you should be granted further tourist visas and not apply for the spouse visa. This could be that you are not free to marry or that you have not known your partner long enough for a spouse visa to be successful.

I also believe that it is in how you word the applications....the 676 visa is for tourism OR visiting family and friends.....I think too many people approach their applications from the tourist point of view.

Edited October 13, 2009 by gburns57au

[patongster]

Apply to extend her tourist visa in Austrlaia, should get minimum 3 months extra.

[gburns57au]

Apply to extend her tourist visa in Austrlaia, should get minimum 3 months extra.

Unless it has the "No further stay" condition on it. which most of them do