Is This Correct? Australia

[sikishrory]

im planning to marry my girlfriend when she comes over to australia in a few months on a tourist visa.

i was just trawling the web to find out if that is even legal (her being a tourist after all). but i came across this (the best answer im talking about) on yahoo answers: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AhyEyfpA4KJmatPmcQw8wHUjzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20071023010614AAE4ZlD

the question is can this man marry his south american gf on her tourist visa in australia then apply for permanent residency and live happily ever after...

the answer....

"Yes you can.

You actually don't need to even marry if you can prove a de facto relationship, but that is a real pain and I wouldn't recommend it.

As soon as you are married, go to DIMIAs office and lodge an application. Under your circumstances the staff will probably do their best to put you off. Ignore this. It costs around $2,000 to lodge the application.

DIMIA will then immediately issue your wife a Bridging Visa allowing her indefinite stay and the right of return (although she will have to notify DIMIA if she plans to leave and come back, I don't recommend she leaves) until DIMIA approve or reject her application.

It is VITAL to the success of her application that you do the following:

1) Document the relationship photos, emails.

2) They will look for proof of shared financial arrangements. Mortgages, Bank Accounts, Assets in Common

3) You will need to maintain the same address

4) You will need to prove you can support your wife (about $30k salary) or have a sponsor who will guarantee to meet any welfare payments she recieves (illegally) for 2 years.

5) She will need to pass a health check and a background check (criminal record). If her healthcare costs are assessed as being over a certain amount (stuff like Diabetes) she will have big problems and need ministerial approval.

It really will help to have a good migration lawyer too, and for a simple case it should cost only around a couple of thousand bucks.

I know this all sounds a bit daunting, but in practice if your relationship is genuine, the agency is very supportive (especially if you have a good case manager) and a good lawyer will really help smooth things through.

I have been through this process myself and won through. Applying from inside Australia is a lot easier than outside.

The very best of luck to you."

i know this is 4 years old but is there any truth to this? also my girlfriend being from a high risk country (thailand) might be relevant.

[bridge]

You have touched on a multitude of issue:

1. Whilst there is no impediment to marrying in Australia on a tourist visa, a tourist visa applicant would not want to state that as their reason (intention) for wanting to visit Australia, that is, to marry their Australian partner. Any tourist visa application must clearly evidence that the applicant is intending to visit Australia as a genuine visitor only and that they have adequate funds or access to adequate fund to support themselves for the purpose and duration of their proposed stay in Australia. A genuine visitor is someone whose intention is to visit Australia for tourist purposes only, and will depart Australia prior to their tourist visa expiring.

2. To be eligible for a partner visa you and your partner must be legally married or in a de-facto relationship. A de-facto relationship requires that you have lived together for at least 12 months without any significant period of separation. Whether married or de-facto it is essential that the genuineness of the relationship is evident. There are many factors that are taken into consideration in determining genuineness (See Regulation 1.15A of the Migration Regulations 1994). Dont fall into the trap that marriage in itself is an immediate gateway to Australian permanent residency. Establishing that the relationship is genuine and continuing is paramount to the success of a partner visa application.

3. To sponsor your Thai partner you must assessed as an eligible sponsor. Again, there are many factors taken into consideration, but in short you must be able to demonstrate that you have the ability to provide for and support your partner for the first two years of settlement.

4. Now for the bomb. Considering you and your partner satisfy ALL of the requirements for a partner visa, on either married or de-facto grounds, she will only be able to apply for a partner visa in Australia if she has a substantive visa, such as a tourist visa, without the no further stay condition attached (Condition 8503). Unfortunately most Thai nationals have this condition attached to their tourist visa. The effect of this condition is that is prevents a visa holder from applying for any other visa whilst they remain in Australia. They therefore must depart Australia to apply for any other visa, which includes a partner visa for example.

5. Current standard processing times for a partner visa application lodged in Bangkok is 10 months +/- from date of application.

Hope this has helped a little.

Bridge

[sikishrory]

"she will only be able to apply for a partner visa in Australia if she has a substantive visa, such as a tourist visa, without the no further stay condition attached"

knew it was to good to be true

[Thai Visa Express]

With 8503 attached no chance.

[gamini]

They might check your GF background . unfortunately a number of Aussies have been known to bring in thier GFs (bar girls) and then sell them to brothels.

[lesdunbar]

Well, I was very lucky. We were living in Bangkok and we travelled back to Australia for my medical reasons. I got my Thai wife a 12 month multiple entry tourist visa. It took 3 applications and was granted on our third try... I thought that my third application (2 previous apps,2 different ladies about 15 years before.)Would put a kibosh on any other application for residency.

We fronted DIMA and recieved a bridging visa because of severe medical problems concerning myself.

On jan. 2007 we applied for my wifes residency, paid the fee of approx $2300-00 . We were told it could take up to three months to be decided.

We got called in only after 13 days for an interview. About 8 days later we recieved her residency.

Been back to Thailand for holidays but are well settled in Victoria.

My hat is off to the DIMA person who was our case officer, A couple of trips down to Melbourne, An interview that was straight forward and what we considered easy.,Some photos of us travelling to the Philippines/Hong Kong/ Singapore , Perth WA and around Thailand. No phone records as we lived together in Bangkok for 2 years previously.

Simple and easy.

Took a short while for my wife to learn proppa engerish.

We now have a loving/careing happy life.

Cheers,

Les and Kesorn

[sikishrory]

They might check your GF background . unfortunately a number of Aussies have been known to bring in thier GFs (bar girls) and then sell them to brothels.

i always wondered about how those girls get over here in the first place. its a shame that happens. i wonder if this is about the whole reason that thailand is considered a "high risk country".

it sort of worries me as well as my girlfriend cant provide any paperwork to show the jobs shes had in the past so i imagine there alarm bells will be ringing

[gburns57au]

They might check your GF background . unfortunately a number of Aussies have been known to bring in thier GFs (bar girls) and then sell them to brothels.

Stereotypical BS.

Would you care to provide proof to support this claim.

[gburns57au]

i always wondered about how those girls get over here in the first place. its a shame that happens. i wonder if this is about the whole reason that thailand is considered a "high risk country".

it sort of worries me as well as my girlfriend cant provide any paperwork to show the jobs shes had in the past so i imagine there alarm bells will be ringing

History of overstays, Thailand being third world etc... Many reasons combined as to why Thailand is considered high risk.

Stop worrying about things so much....the Embassy is well aware that a lot of the "tourists" supported by Oz men are BG's, They are only concerned that the person who comes to Oz can support themselves or be supported and that they go home.

[bridge]

They might check your GF background . unfortunately a number of Aussies have been known to bring in thier GFs (bar girls) and then sell them to brothels.

Stereotypical BS.

Would you care to provide proof to support this claim.

Agreed - complete hyperbole.

[ozsamurai]

I believe also not mentioned here the cost of 'in country' processing for the spouse visa is substantially higher than if applied for in Thailand. Oz

[bridge]

I believe also not mentioned here the cost of 'in country' processing for the spouse visa is substantially higher than if applied for in Thailand. Oz

Onshore partner (subclass 820 & 801) AUD$2960

Offshore partner (subclass 309 & 1000) AUD$1995 / THB66150

Effective 01/07/2011.

[roadking96cube]

I,m in Bangkok now was going to get my Thai wife (married in Australia) a tourist visa she has been to Australia twice before with me.While there I was going to start procceedings for a partner one.So I,m I to understand because of the bit of yellow paper she gets with tourist visa stating she cannot have any extra time we cannot now apply for the partner one or for the second part of it we would have to return to Thailand to do. Also if we done the lot here in Thailand how long does it take to get her passport stamped to allow her to stay in Australia awaiting outcome of the second part.Hope i haven't confused anyone.All answers much appreciated as we want to start all this straight away.Thanks in advance

[sikishrory]

i always wondered about how those girls get over here in the first place. its a shame that happens. i wonder if this is about the whole reason that thailand is considered a "high risk country".

it sort of worries me as well as my girlfriend cant provide any paperwork to show the jobs shes had in the past so i imagine there alarm bells will be ringing

History of overstays, Thailand being third world etc... Many reasons combined as to why Thailand is considered high risk.

Stop worrying about things so much....the Embassy is well aware that a lot of the "tourists" supported by Oz men are BG's, They are only concerned that the person who comes to Oz can support themselves or be supported and that they go home.

yea i do worry a lot your right. your also right that i should stop worrying so much to i guess. well its up to her now anyway. we just spoke on the phone and i told her if you dont sell your land (about 500,000baht worth) then with that document and my savings/income we should be able to get a tourist visa easy in the next month or 2. but shes having problems. her mum wants her to sell it so she can take the money from the sale to pay off her debts... leaving my gf with nothing basically. my gf hates it but she is loyal to her family and i think it also has something to do with buddhism and being nice to your mum or something as well.

i told her that after 1 year of waiting and hrs of research into visas and stuff that i am 100% ready to apply now. i basically gave her a month to think about what she wants to do and if she chooses to sell up and give her only asset to her mother that we might not have much of a future together and that our relationship will probably be finished. i hope she chooses whats best for us and her (and in the long term her family) and not her bloodsucking mother but i'd say shes gonna stay loyal to her mum even though she hates what she is doing to her and cries to me telling me she wants to leave the family never to return.

if she sells her land the only thing that i can supporting our application on her behalf is that she holds a job at a large hotel as a cashier earning a crappy 4000baht per month. they won't put her job on hold for her while she comes here on her tourist visa for 3 months and will only give her a document to say that she has been employed there if she works one year for them... and that mightn't add much weight to our application anyway. the only good thing it seems to be giving her that is benificial is monthly payslips.

the ball is in her court now but i think i already know how this will end up.

anyway i am 100% on this end so i can rest knowing i did all that i possibly could for us. its up to her know... maybe i will keep ya's posted

[gburns57au]

yea i do worry a lot your right. your also right that i should stop worrying so much to i guess. well its up to her now anyway. we just spoke on the phone and i told her if you dont sell your land (about 500,000baht worth) then with that document and my savings/income we should be able to get a tourist visa easy in the next month or 2. but shes having problems. her mum wants her to sell it so she can take the money from the sale to pay off her debts... leaving my gf with nothing basically. my gf hates it but she is loyal to her family and i think it also has something to do with buddhism and being nice to your mum or something as well.

i told her that after 1 year of waiting and hrs of research into visas and stuff that i am 100% ready to apply now. i basically gave her a month to think about what she wants to do and if she chooses to sell up and give her only asset to her mother that we might not have much of a future together and that our relationship will probably be finished. i hope she chooses whats best for us and her (and in the long term her family) and not her bloodsucking mother but i'd say shes gonna stay loyal to her mum even though she hates what she is doing to her and cries to me telling me she wants to leave the family never to return.

if she sells her land the only thing that i can supporting our application on her behalf is that she holds a job at a large hotel as a cashier earning a crappy 4000baht per month. they won't put her job on hold for her while she comes here on her tourist visa for 3 months and will only give her a document to say that she has been employed there if she works one year for them... and that mightn't add much weight to our application anyway. the only good thing it seems to be giving her that is benificial is monthly payslips.

the ball is in her court now but i think i already know how this will end up.

anyway i am 100% on this end so i can rest knowing i did all that i possibly could for us. its up to her know... maybe i will keep ya's posted

Make sure she puts your details at question 33 and 34 on the 48R application and send some payslips to her plus a letter of support.....that should counter some of your concerns

[sikishrory]

yea i do worry a lot your right. your also right that i should stop worrying so much to i guess. well its up to her now anyway. we just spoke on the phone and i told her if you dont sell your land (about 500,000baht worth) then with that document and my savings/income we should be able to get a tourist visa easy in the next month or 2. but shes having problems. her mum wants her to sell it so she can take the money from the sale to pay off her debts... leaving my gf with nothing basically. my gf hates it but she is loyal to her family and i think it also has something to do with buddhism and being nice to your mum or something as well.

i told her that after 1 year of waiting and hrs of research into visas and stuff that i am 100% ready to apply now. i basically gave her a month to think about what she wants to do and if she chooses to sell up and give her only asset to her mother that we might not have much of a future together and that our relationship will probably be finished. i hope she chooses whats best for us and her (and in the long term her family) and not her bloodsucking mother but i'd say shes gonna stay loyal to her mum even though she hates what she is doing to her and cries to me telling me she wants to leave the family never to return.

if she sells her land the only thing that i can supporting our application on her behalf is that she holds a job at a large hotel as a cashier earning a crappy 4000baht per month. they won't put her job on hold for her while she comes here on her tourist visa for 3 months and will only give her a document to say that she has been employed there if she works one year for them... and that mightn't add much weight to our application anyway. the only good thing it seems to be giving her that is benificial is monthly payslips.

the ball is in her court now but i think i already know how this will end up.

anyway i am 100% on this end so i can rest knowing i did all that i possibly could for us. its up to her know... maybe i will keep ya's posted

Make sure she puts your details at question 33 and 34 on the 48R application and send some payslips to her plus a letter of support.....that should counter some of your concerns

ok thanks heaps.

im gonna download this from and take a good look at it i think.

im not gonna worry about it anymore as you said but if she sells her land maybe i'll give it a last shot and apply anyway if it doesnt jeopardize our future applications.

i was hoping to put in a strong application but i guess i should give it a last shot anyway.

i would have done that anyway. i was gonna give them everything i had in terms of evidence of funds etc. as i understand it, you have to anyway if your going to sponser them financially throughout their stay.

im planning on having about $5000AUD in my account purely for the purpose of sponsoring her after all the airfares, insurance, fees, etc.... shes just gonna be chillin with me livin life not going travelling around the continent or anything.

[gburns57au]

ok thanks heaps.

im gonna download this from and take a good look at it i think.

im not gonna worry about it anymore as you said but if she sells her land maybe i'll give it a last shot and apply anyway if it doesnt jeopardize our future applications.

i was hoping to put in a strong application but i guess i should give it a last shot anyway.

i would have done that anyway. i was gonna give them everything i had in terms of evidence of funds etc. as i understand it, you have to anyway if your going to sponser them financially throughout their stay.

im planning on having about $5000AUD in my account purely for the purpose of sponsoring her after all the airfares, insurance, fees, etc.... shes just gonna be chillin with me livin life not going travelling around the continent or anything.

They arent concerned about what you have in the bank.....you could have 1 million in the bank, without income they wont look at it. Show proof of your income.

[bridge]

ok thanks heaps.

im gonna download this from and take a good look at it i think.

im not gonna worry about it anymore as you said but if she sells her land maybe i'll give it a last shot and apply anyway if it doesnt jeopardize our future applications.

i was hoping to put in a strong application but i guess i should give it a last shot anyway.

i would have done that anyway. i was gonna give them everything i had in terms of evidence of funds etc. as i understand it, you have to anyway if your going to sponser them financially throughout their stay.

im planning on having about $5000AUD in my account purely for the purpose of sponsoring her after all the airfares, insurance, fees, etc.... shes just gonna be chillin with me livin life not going travelling around the continent or anything.

They arent concerned about what you have in the bank.....you could have 1 million in the bank, without income they wont look at it. Show proof of your income.

You don't sponsor her - you support her stay in Australia which is evidenced by a letter of support which is submitted with her application. Read my previous post to you weeks ago on what should be included in a well prepared letter of support (post # 10):