Visa agency on Samui?

[chefseph]

Hi all,

Need a visitor visa for my Thai wife for Australia. I would like to know if there is anyone on Samui offering this service to avoid going to bangkok or applying by mail. i normally would do everything myself but am too wrapped up with work commitments at the moment and i simply do not have the time.

we will be going to visit my wife's sister and her family who live in Australia. We already have a signed and verified formal invitation by them, all their passport copies etc etc etc which they sent.

i need a reputable agent who would ask me for all documents and forms required and take care of everything at a fee and i cannot seem to find any on Samui.

Anyone have any ideas?

cheers for the input

[PoorSucker]

Moved to Samui forum with link in original forum for local knowledge.

[Rooo]

Good starting point is the Aus Consulate in BKK web page, might be able to find some answers there. I am pretty surethat she has to make an appointment for interview. From memory it is done in the same location, same outfit that handles visas for UK & Canada.

http://thailand.embassy.gov.au/bkok/visiting_australia.html

[Larz2013]

Hi all,

Need a visitor visa for my Thai wife for Australia. I would like to know if there is anyone on Samui offering this service to avoid going to bangkok or applying by mail. i normally would do everything myself but am too wrapped up with work commitments at the moment and i simply do not have the time.

we will be going to visit my wife's sister and her family who live in Australia. We already have a signed and verified formal invitation by them, all their passport copies etc etc etc which they sent.

i need a reputable agent who would ask me for all documents and forms required and take care of everything at a fee and i cannot seem to find any on Samui.

Anyone have any ideas?

cheers for the input

The guy near orgasmic restaurant before big buddha pier (who does legal translations for visas) is also a visa agent.

[7by7]

Before deciding on an agent, I recommend reading the pinned topic on visa agents.

[chefseph]

thanks for all replies! i will check out the guy near orgasmic.

i just got a quotation from a visa agent in bangkok who want to charge 14500 service fees on top of the 4000 application fee. almost as much as the plane ticket <deleted>!

i'm eligible for an e visa and i applied yesterday at 11am. one hour later i received confirmation that the visa is granted and all for free!

[evadgib]

Isn't an onsite digital mugshot required these days?

Edited October 1, 2015 by evadgib

[Bsd]

Have a look on the Australian Immigration website some visa sub-categories (including visitor visas) can now be applied for online.

Otherwise you best bet would probably be a trip to the main postoffice in Surat Thani, they will check your documents and application form, take the payment for the visa and send everything to VFS for you. I did this for the MIL last month and it took about 15 minutes (plus the trip to and from Surat).

Going to the post office there is no mug shot or interview (but be careful printing out the forms from the immigration website, the write so close to the margin that most printers cut off half of the top line and VFS complained that they didn't know which question the answer was to).

[chefseph]

Have a look on the Australian Immigration website some visa sub-categories (including visitor visas) can now be applied for online.

Otherwise you best bet would probably be a trip to the main postoffice in Surat Thani, they will check your documents and application form, take the payment for the visa and send everything to VFS for you. I did this for the MIL last month and it took about 15 minutes (plus the trip to and from Surat).

Going to the post office there is no mug shot or interview (but be careful printing out the forms from the immigration website, the write so close to the margin that most printers cut off half of the top line and VFS complained that they didn't know which question the answer was to).

thanks for that - very helpful and good to know!

The post office seems to be a great option! Did you need to send the actual passport? how long did it take for the visa to be approved? do they send everything back by EMS?

Sorry for the questions and many thanks for taking the time to reply!

[Bsd]

Have a look on the Australian Immigration website some visa sub-categories (including visitor visas) can now be applied for online.

Otherwise you best bet would probably be a trip to the main postoffice in Surat Thani, they will check your documents and application form, take the payment for the visa and send everything to VFS for you. I did this for the MIL last month and it took about 15 minutes (plus the trip to and from Surat).

Going to the post office there is no mug shot or interview (but be careful printing out the forms from the immigration website, the write so close to the margin that most printers cut off half of the top line and VFS complained that they didn't know which question the answer was to).

thanks for that - very helpful and good to know!

The post office seems to be a great option! Did you need to send the actual passport? how long did it take for the visa to be approved? do they send everything back by EMS?

Sorry for the questions and many thanks for taking the time to reply!

Didn't need to send the passport, but did need take it with us to the post office. I think it was 2-3 weeks for everything to be processed and to get the confirmation (but we did have the delay because of the printer).

All that was sent to VFS was photocopies of all the required documents so there was nothing to be sent back other than the confirmation. When the post office sends the application for you they include an EMS envelope for the confirmation and give you the tracking number for both the application and the confirmation.

Edited October 2, 2015 by Bsd

[chefseph]

Many thanks mate! i'll give it a go!

[chefseph]

Just a quick update maybe will help others in the future.

Tip: Do it yourself and save some money.

I decided to do everything myself so spent a couple of hours filling applications - seems pretty daunting for someone like me (paperwork isn't my strong point) but once you get into it it's all pretty straightforward.

i downloaded two forms:

956 which enables me as an exempt person to offer immigration assistance to my wife as she wouldn't have a clue where to start.

1419 - application for a visitor visa - tourist stream

i also included spent a good 30 mins collecting the following:

a letter of introduction explaining our situation and why we want to visit australia (visit wife's sister family)

copies of:

both our passports

marriage certificate

my work permit

my salary certificate

my bank book

my bank statements

car and motorbike ownership papers

house rental agreement

certified letter of invitation from her sister in australia

sister's husband bank statement

their marriage certificate

collected everything in a neat stack and went to Surat Thani Post office (mainland) to office number 4. basically you have to walk around the building and enter from the rear entrance. no queue nothing.

A very helpful and polite young man, went through all documents and said that all seemed. paid 4850 which included the VFS fee, postage charges and visa fee to Australian embassy. in and out in 15 minutes.

now we have to wait 10 working days (sat and sun not included) and we'll see what happens!

All in all, i thought it would be much more of a hassle but if the visa is granted well worth the time and effort to do it yourselves as you will be charged much more by visa agents.

Hope this post helps

Fingers crossed!