Aussie Partner Processing Wait times

[rws85]

Just received conformation of a valid application from the Embassy today. Is this normal after reading so many post here I was not expecting any thing for a while

Just acknowledging receipt of application, Oz Border Control website indicates anticipated processing times for partner visa applications.

https://www.border.gov.au/about/access-accountability/service-standards/family-visa-processing-times

So I take it Thai partners would be seen as high risk and likely be 12months waiting time?

[simple1]

Just received conformation of a valid application from the Embassy today. Is this normal after reading so many post here I was not expecting any thing for a while

Just acknowledging receipt of application, Oz Border Control website indicates anticipated processing times for partner visa applications.

https://www.border.gov.au/about/access-accountability/service-standards/family-visa-processing-times

So I take it Thai partners would be seen as high risk and likely be 12months waiting time?

The terms 'Low risk' and 'High risk' show whether passport holders are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).

https://www.border.gov.au/about/access-accountability/service-standards/family-visa-processing-times

Edited January 15, 2016 by simple1

[rws85]

The terms 'Low risk' and 'High risk' show whether passport holders are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA).

Yes and it seems Thai's aren't eligible to apply for an ETA.

Has anyone recently got a partner visa and are able to tell me how long the process took them?

[machans88]

we lodged our application yesterday at vfs in Bangkok 14 jan 2016,the nice lady(ladyboy) was very helpful,

said it would take 12months or more for visa to come through

we did all our translations and certifications at an office here in hua hin cost 3900bht

application fee for visa was 185630Bht.($7300 Australian)

filled out the forms ourselves,reasonably straight forward.emailed doc 888 to friends and family in oz to fillout for stat dec to prove our relationship,they were witnessed by a local jp,(they said a jp is in their local shopping centre every week)then they posted it back to us

our background

defacto thai partner

5years together

living now 6 years in Thailand

sold our house in hua hin,so have cash to bring back

have business interests in Australia for income

2young children(citizens by descent)

travelled once to Australia on tourist visa for a month last year

let the count down begin

Edited January 15, 2016 by machans88

[rws85]

Wow, 12 months is a long time to wait, especially when young children are involved and wanting to head back to Aus to work.

Sad news really. Really feel the Australian government is taking the piss, charging $7k and taking 12months to process.

[steve0367]

Yes the fees are over the top my cost was $8585.00 because it includes her daughter. I paid direct to immi here in Australia to avoid the exchange rate losses. With the application fees so high you would hope that they see only genuine people apply and speed up the whole process.

My history btw

Just married, we have been together since mid 2012

Her 3 x 3 months in Oz on tourist visa

Me 13 odd visits to Thailand

One 8 year child hers only

[Bootsnugget]

Hi all, interesting to see a few mew applications go in in the last few days, now the waiting game...

My question is regarding the filling in of the 888 stat dec form.

Where it says the person declaring must show a cerified copy of their ID (passport for instance) how is this certified in Bangkok? Is the photocopy of my friends passport to be taken to the Australian embassy for a stamp of some sort or how does this work?

Cheers again for the think tank.

Garry

[rws85]

I got an Australian lawyer that I know in Thailand to sign one my 888 forms, I also had someone in Australia fill one out for me get it signed and certified and then scan an email it to me. I also plan on getting a few more people from Aus to do the same and also have one more Australian here in Thailand to fill one out for me, but also am not 100% sure who can witness and certify.

[steve0367]

Hi all, interesting to see a few mew applications go in in the last few days, now the waiting game...

My question is regarding the filling in of the 888 stat dec form.

Where it says the person declaring must show a cerified copy of their ID (passport for instance) how is this certified in Bangkok? Is the photocopy of my friends passport to be taken to the Australian embassy for a stamp of some sort or how does this work?

Cheers again for the think tank.

Garry

They must have their passport copy certified as a true copy in Australia if there and if they are in Thailand they must do it at the embassy. This must be done by the passport holder not you.

[Gopro]

https://smartraveller.gov.au/services/legalising-documents/overseas.html

or use can use an oz registered migration agent

[Gopro]

And looks like VFS is now certifying docs. http://thailand.embassy.gov.au/bkok/DIAC_Certify_documents.html

Last time I used the embassy in BKK and it was expensive and they only accepted cash. VFS website doesn't say how much they charge though. Best to call first.

[Will27]

I got an Australian lawyer that I know in Thailand to sign one my 888 forms, I also had someone in Australia fill one out for me get it signed and certified and then scan an email it to me. I also plan on getting a few more people from Aus to do the same and also have one more Australian here in Thailand to fill one out for me, but also am not 100% sure who can witness and certify.

I wouldn't worry about getting anymore 888 forms. Two are only required and to be honest, they're only

a tick and flick exercise for Immigration.

IMO, they're futile really, just some more unwarranted paper work required.

[Bootsnugget]

Thanks for the prompt replies everyone.

So my next one is a grey area question.

For the defacto partner 309/100.

The application states you must show evidence of relationship for entire 12 months prior to application.

We have been together for 3 yrs, me in Thailand for two, then me in oz for 3 months without her, then her in Oz for 3 months (tourist visa) then her back to Thai for 3 months Then me visiting her for 3 months in Thailand.

So out of 3 a yr relationship we have been directly together for 2 yrs 6 months and together long distance for two periods totalling 6 months.

Does this qualify for being "in a relationship for the entire 12 months?" Prior to lodgement?

Cheers again everyone.

[Gopro]

Yes :-)

[steve0367]

And looks like VFS is now certifying docs. http://thailand.embassy.gov.au/bkok/DIAC_Certify_documents.html

Last time I used the embassy in BKK and it was expensive and they only accepted cash. VFS website doesn't say how much they charge though. Best to call first.

vfs signed off on my wife's documents as being "original sighted" at a cost of 50bht per document

[rws85]

Has anyone else lodge an application where their partner has not been able to provide a copy of their birth certificate?

On the application it states if unable to provide a certified copy of the applicants birth certificate you must provide a stat dec detailing their date and place of birth and full names of their parents.

I am wonder what is the procedure for a Thai person to fill out a stat dec? Is it needed to be done at the Australian Embassy? Is she able to do it locally here where we live?

Thanks to anyone that provide me with some help on this matter.

[steve0367]

Has anyone else lodge an application where their partner has not been able to provide a copy of their birth certificate?

On the application it states if unable to provide a certified copy of the applicants birth certificate you must provide a stat dec detailing their date and place of birth and full names of their parents.

I am wonder what is the procedure for a Thai person to fill out a stat dec? Is it needed to be done at the Australian Embassy? Is she able to do it locally here where we live?

Thanks to anyone that provide me with some help on this matter.

I am not sure if it is the same thing but my wife had to have documents stating she was the only person responsible for her daughter she had a statement from her amphur office signed and witnessed from two people one was her mother the other was a neighbor. Vfs said this was ok but have not heard from the embassy as yet.

[rws85]

Lodge our application in Bangkok yesterday, let the wait begin.

[redfish44]

Has anyone else lodge an application where their partner has not been able to provide a copy of their birth certificate?

On the application it states if unable to provide a certified copy of the applicants birth certificate you must provide a stat dec detailing their date and place of birth and full names of their parents.

I am wonder what is the procedure for a Thai person to fill out a stat dec? Is it needed to be done at the Australian Embassy? Is she able to do it locally here where we live?

Thanks to anyone that provide me with some help on this matter.

Hi rsw85

You probably have it sorted now, but in case anyone else reads this:

My husband (Thai) only had his birth certificate discovered after a coconut tree fell on his mum's house and a box of docs wa found in the rubble - this was 1 year before we applied for spouse visa.

When we submitted it to VFS they took one look at it and said "not original, no good" and after much arguing from me I got them to write something in Thai that we had to take to the amphur (very small town nearby his village) to request the original.

So he had to go down there in person.

When he went in the amphur looked at the birth certificate and said "this is the original". They just put a bunch of stamps and signatures on it.

Then he took that back to VFS and they accepted it.

have known plenty of Thais with no birth ertificates. All required a trip to the amphur and/or police with the tabien baan to get some letter/stat dec I think.

[redfish44]

Been looking for this thread for ages - asking to pin it please!

We applied 28 June 2015 at VFS Bangkok (it was a Friday)

Australian wife

Thai husband

Together since 2007

Married 2010

Child 2011 - Thaisie (dual national)

Applied for tourist visa on the Monday (I forgot the letter I had to write)

Only granted for 3 month stays multiple entry.

Moved back to Aus 1 October.

Hubby came with me on tourist visa.

Emails back and forth to Aus embassy with no replies until spoke with local member here on my dad's insistence - got one that arvo.

Advised "have necessary documentation to make a decision".

Had been asking when interviews would be as I would only be in Bkk for a short holiday Dec-Jan.

Returned to Thailand xmas day 2015 as a family unit.

I returned to Aus 11 Jan with child, he returned to Aus next day, and been here since.

Got email last week saying "no decision will be made on application until he returns to Thailand, and then should take 2-3 months" (no direct quote).

Losing my mind as he could have been back in Thailand the last 3 months working....

Our kid (4 years) is not coping with the fact that daddy is going back to Thailand and she is not (she wants to go back every single day still).

Still have not got work here (teacher - been through a thousand red tape hoops, and now am eligible to work is last 2 weeks of term and kid is sick - of course). Aus red tape makes Thai red tape seems like a fun walk in the park. Wishing I had got a job at Woolworths when we returned instead of chasing a career...

Freaking out though.

Have blown a lot of our savings since returning and our kid's medicare card counts for squat now that is linked to Centrelink - still trying to get that sorted, but terrified will screw up his visa application as no govt official willing to say it won't.

Hubby going back this Sat, we will visit in late April school hols for 2 weeks & come back without him. he will wait there until this waiting is over.

Hoping this time next year all will be better.

[redfish44]

just spent the day re-reading this whole thred. Seems I went a but "luba"... have calmed down now thanks to reading over those bits.

We actually submitted 26th June, which is 9 months and 11 days ago.... or 285 days.... gees I hope it comes through soon!

Last email we had was late March:

"...When applicant is in Australia, the decision will not be made. Thus, in order to make a decision for a partner visa, applicant must be outside of Australia. It is likely that the application will be finalised so soon in the next 2-3 months. We will keep you informed once the decision is made to your application."

although earlier we had

"The application is in queue for the final decision. It means that no need to submit any further documents as all were satisfied to make a decision on your application. Thus, at this stage, you can wait for the final decision"

and

"Please be informed that Mr Superdad has been granted of a visitor visa on [July] with multiple entries allowed. He can travel to Australia while waiting for his partner visa application to be approved. He is able to stay in Australia up to 3 months for each visit. His visitor visa will be valid till [July 2016]. Please note that this will not affect his partner visa application. "

.... so I thought he would be fine to wait here, but from the latest email that seems not to be the case

The lady that emails us seems quite pleasant though. No idea who our case officer was (is?). She said one would be assigned but never heard anything there.

Let's hope it all comes through when he heads back next week... although will be Songkran so am guessing the staff are all on holiday already... this time of year is a Thai public holiday festival for a few months so not holding my breath

Edited April 6, 2016 by redfish44

[woody087]

I had a friend who was told the same thing, ie return to thailand so decision can be made,may take up to 3 months.They ended up getting it within a week of returning

So you may have it soon

[manfredtillmann]

I guess I should just be happy my wife has the opportunity to live in Australia with all the bonuses that come with that , and eventually have the opportunity to become an oz citizen, and not have to report to immigration every 90 days like we have to do in Thailand.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

what bonuses are there attached to becoming an oz citizen, mate?

unless you are a complete bum the australian government gives you f.a., no matter how much taxes you have paid in your lifetime.

[woody087]

I guess I should just be happy my wife has the opportunity to live in Australia with all the bonuses that come with that , and eventually have the opportunity to become an oz citizen, and not have to report to immigration every 90 days like we have to do in Thailand.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

what bonuses are there attached to becoming an oz citizen, mate?

unless you are a complete bum the australian government gives you f.a., no matter how much taxes you have paid in your lifetime.

decent healthcare system,decent education system,unemployment benefits,family tax benifits ,medicare.My wife and i think living in Australia is far better than living in some shitty village in Thailand

[manfredtillmann]

I guess I should just be happy my wife has the opportunity to live in Australia with all the bonuses that come with that , and eventually have the opportunity to become an oz citizen, and not have to report to immigration every 90 days like we have to do in Thailand.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

what bonuses are there attached to becoming an oz citizen, mate?

unless you are a complete bum the australian government gives you f.a., no matter how much taxes you have paid in your lifetime.

decent healthcare system,decent education system,unemployment benefits,family tax benifits ,medicare.My wife and i think living in Australia is far better than living in some shitty village in Thailand

can't agree on all points, having been employed / self employed since i migrated to oz in '81.

self funded immigration, never got a cent of benefits. paid over $2 million in tax since, but. medicare is cool unless you are sick. i prefer living in my shitty village.

[Gopro]

redfish, having been through it, just hang on, i think we all go a bit loopy with the process. Best just email them when you go between oz and LOS. Keep them informed, when decision is ready to be made they will send you an email if your not in the right place at right time. I had a friend that got his granted an hour after his wife's plane left australia. He did inform them previous, and they did email him that decision was about to be made, time to leave.

[jamesbrock]

I guess I should just be happy my wife has the opportunity to live in Australia with all the bonuses that come with that , and eventually have the opportunity to become an oz citizen, and not have to report to immigration every 90 days like we have to do in Thailand.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

what bonuses are there attached to becoming an oz citizen, mate?

unless you are a complete bum the australian government gives you f.a., no matter how much taxes you have paid in your lifetime.

decent healthcare system,decent education system,unemployment benefits,family tax benifits ,medicare.My wife and i think living in Australia is far better than living in some shitty village in Thailand

can't agree on all points, having been employed / self employed since i migrated to oz in '81.

self funded immigration, never got a cent of benefits. paid over $2 million in tax since, but. medicare is cool unless you are sick. i prefer living in my shitty village.

My wife is seven months away from being eligible for citizenship; for us, citizenship has absolutely nothing to do with what the Oz government may or may not give us (her). When we decided to stay in Australia—we arrived for an 18 day holiday, and discovered that she didn't have the 8503 condition on her visa the third day here; despite me never wanting to return to Australia, nor my wife ever wanting to migrate here, the decision to stay was an easy one for us—the prize was an Aussie passport, and ease at which we Aussies can go pretty much anywhere on the planet - not least being able to travel back and forth between Thailand and Australia at any time for any reason without having to jump through visitor visa hoops.

The bonuses for us staying here have turned out be more than 'just' a passport, but none of which specifically require citizenship.

[redfish44]

We got it!

Woody087 & Gopro you were right!

The afternoon before myself and our daughter flew back here to LOS to visit daddy, I got 2 emails to say that these had been granted:

Notification of grant of a Partner (Provisional) (class UF) Partner (Provisional) (subclass 309) visa

Notification of grant of a Partner (Migrant) (class BC) Partner (subclass 100) visa

309 is temporary? 10 is permanent? right?

I wonder if also had to do with contact with staff of federal member for parliament in Aus I went to school with (again).

Apparently 3 days after my hubby flew out my godmother ran into our federal member on the street and he asked her if she had any concerns (election looming), and she said "why did my god-daughter's husband have to leave Australia again, it is ridiculous" (love her) and apparently he told her to get me to go see him. I contacted his staff and the guy there wouldn't get me an appointment, but called Immigration and spoke with Bangkok, and 3 days later we had 2 grant notices in our inbox.

Also coincidental that last year after talking to his staff on insistence of my dad, the staff called immigration etc and that evening we got an email from Bangkok to say all documents were accepted and was under final review... coincidental? twice?

Yes I would agree with all that you go crazy just before it arrives...

I wonder if they wait for us to post on this forum or the thai wife version before granting - the final hurdle maybe"

"hmmm... all the paperwork is here, I see they have not been ranting on public visa forums,,, let's wait a bit longer... there they are... they've lost the plot... let's put 'em out of misery and go for the next one"

[redfish44]

* and of note, date of emails/grants was 19 April, so seems someone did not take a really long Songkran holiday, as I had expected

[machans88]

we lodged our application yesterday at vfs in Bangkok 14 jan 2016,the nice lady(ladyboy) was very helpful,

said it would take 12months or more for visa to come through

we did all our translations and certifications at an office here in hua hin cost 3900bht

application fee for visa was 185630Bht.($7300 Australian)

filled out the forms ourselves,reasonably straight forward.emailed doc 888 to friends and family in oz to fillout for stat dec to prove our relationship,they were witnessed by a local jp,(they said a jp is in their local shopping centre every week)then they posted it back to us

our background

defacto thai partner

5years together

living now 6 years in Thailand

sold our house in hua hin,so have cash to bring back

have business interests in Australia for income

2young children(citizens by descent)

travelled once to Australia on tourist visa for a month last year

let the count down begin

We had our first contact email yesterday, almost exactly 4 calendar months to date of submitting application.

They require the police check for her, medical exam which can all be done in Bangkok, they also want to see proof of relationship, which I thought I already submitted and applicants single certificate(translated in to English) does any body know what a single certificate is?