Oz Spouse Visa Entry Date?

[gburns57au]

Ok, the only issue we have now that my wife has not changed her surname to mine yet, but we would like to apply for the visa ASAP. Speaking to the VFS staff on the phone today and they said that we could apply and then she could change her surname any time later, but she would just need to translated the new doccuments containing her new name. Is this true, can we apply and then change her surname?

All of the doccuments we will get translated and her passport all have the same thai surname, and we dont have time to go to her home amphue to get new ID and so on, so we would perfer to change her name after we apply because it would be a lot less headache for us.

Also, the small pre-nup written in Thai on the back of the amphurs marriage proof doccument says that " the fe-male will change her last name to her husbands last name " so the embassy will see this when we give them the translations. Do you think they will care that she hasnt changed her last name yet, even though it say on the pre nup that she intends to?

The only reason for not doing so is because we have not had time to visit her home town since marrying and we paln to do it after new year, which is when we will be in her home and have time? We plan to apply some time before christmas and it will be impossible for us to change her name before we apply, but im under the impression that she can change it later........................

Apply with the name that is in the passport....Once she is in Oz she can use her Thai name, a dual name or your name...it is upto her...

I wouldnt change anything after the application is lodged...

Not sure about the pre nup....first I have heard of it

She can change it all at a much later date.....

[Pink Mist]

why the pre-nup, was it your idea?

we never had anything like that.

[Jamnjam]

Thats not the way it worked for us, our application was lodged in November, we were given an interview in March, the Visa was approved in one week and Wife was given untill November to enter Oz in the letter from embassy.

Bronco, when was the medical and police clearance done? If they were down around the time of application then yes the visa should have had an entry date as you say.

[Jamnjam]

Thanks Jamnjam and others.

Does it make a difference if you lodge you visa at the VFS center or at the Embassy?

I guess it wouldn't, but are there any advantages of lodging at either place?

Also, are the case officers who handel the cases Aussies or Thai's?

The VFS centre provides easier access for questions and they help out a lot more with the paperwork. However, they are just a third party and must hand on your application to an embassy case officer. Also the VHS is much more busier than the embassy.

If your totally confident that you've everything needed for a complete application then I'd go straight to the embassy and meet the case officer yourself. Remember you must book in at the embassy in advance. Make sure you have the medical test receipts. My wife's medical hadn't come but her twin boy's medical results had arrived. The receipt proved useful. A quick walk to the BNH hospital, and free lunch, and we found out that the hospital had internally messed up. Her results were waiting for the boy's results to be finished but those results had already been sent. The embassy these days is ghostly quiet.

If your not totally confident then the VFS centre will help you out to make sure you lodge a complete application.

Good luck!

By the way, we checked out a few translation businesses in the area. Most were charging 450 Baht for ID cards and were very unfriendly. 300 baht per document isn't bad (more for written statements).

[aussiestyle1983]

why the pre-nup, was it your idea?

we never had anything like that.

Ok, I dont think it is a pre-nup but that translation lady said it is........................

My wife and i never asked for a pre-nup at the Amphur so maybe it isnt, ill try to explain what im talking about.

From the amphur we got 2 doccuments after getting married, one was the fancy/ decorative marriage certificate with the flowers and hearts around it, which comprised of 2 halves joined together. The other doccument i am refering two is the one one a normal peice of paper, which has all the amphurs details and lots of signatures on it. At the top on the back of it, it has about 5 statements which look like conditions. They say stuff like, " both parties are free to marry " " both parties were present at the time of marriage " " both parties were willing to marry " " neither party wishes to list property " and then it says " the fe-male wishes to change her surname to the males surname "

All of this is fine and what we said, but we just think the case officer might hassel us for not of already changed her name.?

But several different people at the embassy on the phone said we can change her name any time after we apply, as long as all the new name change doccuments and id card is translated again once she changes her name. It all sounded to easy? I was just wanting some one who knows if this is true, we can change her surname after we apply for this visa to confirm it. If not, we will just take the people we spoke too's word and apply using her thai surname and change it later. Im guessing they will just change her name in the system and issue a new visa lable if need be.

[gburns57au]

A lot of difference between will and wishes....

Dont sweat on it...as long as the passport name matches the visa name.

[aussiestyle1983]

Afew more Q's..................

1- In Bangkok, will they accept forms 40sp & 47sp if they are filled out online and printed out, which is available from Dima's website, or do they only acept hand written forms in Bangkok?

2- The statements by the applicant and sponsor detailing the history of our relationship, can these statements be typed and printed out, or do they need to be hand written?

3- In regards to form 888, stat dec's, we have more than 2 done correctly with ID, but we have afew extra that have been sent to us with out copies of ID or they have mixed up the applicants and sponsors details. I know this sounds silly, but so far 3 ppeople have mixed up our details and have not sent ID copies, should we submit these stat decs or will they not be accepted anyway? Also is a State Issued drivers liscence enough proof od ID t ogive with a stat dec.

[Pink Mist]

Thats not the way it worked for us, our application was lodged in November, we were given an interview in March, the Visa was approved in one week and Wife was given untill November to enter Oz in the letter from embassy.

Bronco, when was the medical and police clearance done? If they were down around the time of application then yes the visa should have had an entry date as you say.

was a while ago now but from memory, we had our initial interview of sorts in November, we were informed of the need for police check and medical at that time.

we started the police check that day and from memory my wife had her medical soon after January I think, we also had to organise medicals for her 2 sons ( who werent travelling with her at that stage ), but had to be included on application.

[aussiestyle1983]

Afew more Q's..................

1- In Bangkok, will they accept forms 40sp & 47sp if they are filled out online and printed out, which is available from Dima's website, or do they only acept hand written forms in Bangkok?

2- The statements by the applicant and sponsor detailing the history of our relationship, can these statements be typed and printed out, or do they need to be hand written?

3- In regards to form 888, stat dec's, we have more than 2 done correctly with ID, but we have afew extra that have been sent to us with out copies of ID or they have mixed up the applicants and sponsors details. I know this sounds silly, but so far 3 ppeople have mixed up our details and have not sent ID copies, should we submit these stat decs or will they not be accepted anyway? Also is a State Issued drivers liscence enough proof od ID t ogive with a stat dec.

I forgot to add.

Do we need to complete form 886, settlement details?

[aussiestyle1983]

Afew more Q's..................

1- In Bangkok, will they accept forms 40sp & 47sp if they are filled out online and printed out, which is available from Dima's website, or do they only acept hand written forms in Bangkok?

2- The statements by the applicant and sponsor detailing the history of our relationship, can these statements be typed and printed out, or do they need to be hand written?

3- In regards to form 888, stat dec's, we have more than 2 done correctly with ID, but we have afew extra that have been sent to us with out copies of ID or they have mixed up the applicants and sponsors details. I know this sounds silly, but so far 3 ppeople have mixed up our details and have not sent ID copies, should we submit these stat decs or will they not be accepted anyway? Also is a State Issued drivers liscence enough proof od ID t ogive with a stat dec.

I forgot to add.

Do we need to complete form 886, settlement details?

And...............................

I know, sorry for all the questions, but its almost time to apply and i wanna make sure we get it right.

What is the easiest hospital in BKK to use to get the medical tests?

I know there are afew on the list, but we would like to get everythnig, including x-rays done all at once if possible. Any recomendations

[Jamnjam]

Aussiestyle,

It's best not to rush things. Make sure everything is right, especially names. If you want to change your missus surname then it is straightforward. The passport is an amendment and this takes 2 hours. The ID should be changed at her local ampur office. I think she may have to wait for a new ID card.

Try to get as many statements as possible. Make sure whoever writes one for you that you give them the spelling of the applicant's full name. We also included statements from two close British colleagues. A certified birth certificate would also be good to have with the certified copy of the drivers license.

Type out your own personal statements. Your wife should do hers in Thai unless she is quite good at English. Then translate it. I covered my statement under several headings and used lettered bullets. These are the headings I included in my statement:

1. The following states how, when and where I first met <wife's name>.

2. The following states how our relationship developed into a long term relationship.

3. The following states significant events in our lives together.

4. The following states how <name> and I share our domestic responsibilities.

5. The following states how <name> and I share our finances.

6. The following states how <name> and I socialise.

7. The following states our emotionally support to each other.

8. The following states our plans for the future.

If you don't own your own house in Oz then you also must write out a statement outlining how you will fulfil your sponsorship obligations. Things like where she'll be living and will you be living with her. We are moving back into my parents home to begin with. They'll be travelling around Oz anyway. So I got my Dad to write a supporting statement too about staying at his house.

About the 40SP and 47SP. Best you ring the VFS and ask. We tried to do the Internet forms but they have errors in them and we couldn't amend them. Check out this email I got from immi:

Mr James ******

Dear Mr ******

Thank you for your email to the DIMA FAmily Mailbox on 13 October 2006

regarding the difficulties you experienced filling out the electronic

form 40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australa. Your enquiry

has been referred to the Family Section for response.

Details of all previous sponsorships, including unsuccessful

applications to sponsor, should be included in responses to Q17,

regardless of whether a previous unsuccessful application to sponsor

related to your current partner.

Immigration officers are not permitted to direct applicants in how to

fill out application forms, however based on your previous advice that

your application to sponsor your current partner four years ago was

unsuccessful, and that you would now like to lodge another application

to sponsor the same partner, you would therefore answer YES to the

question ‘Have you previously sponsored/nominated a spouse (including de

facto), prospective spouse (fiancé(e)) or interdependent partner?’

In response to the question ‘Date relationship ended’, you could

annotate the form to indicate the relationship had not ended.

As indicated on the 40SP form you are also able to provide any

information relevant to Q17 on an additional sheet of paper which can be

attached to your application.

I hope this information has been of assistance.

Yours sincerely

<name>

And second reply to more of my questioning.

Mr James ******

Dear Mr ******

Thank you for your email to the Global Feedback Unit on 3 October 2006

regarding the difficulties you experienced filling out the electronic form

40SP Sponsorship for a partner to migrate to Australa. Your enquiry has

been referred to the Family Section for response.

We are currently seeking to address errors contained in the electronic 40SP

form, including the anomaly you raised in your email.

In the meantime, you are still able to print and complete the electronic

form 40SP by hand for lodgement by mail to the Australian Visa Application

Centre (AVAC) operated by VFS (Thailand) Ltd. VFS will charge a fee for

this service. This fee is in addition to the scheduled fee charged by the

Australian Embassy for all visa applications. For more information about

VFS including fees charged, contact details, office locations, office hours

and lodgement procedures see www.vfs-au.net .

Completing the form by hand will enable you to annotate the form to ensure

your circumstances are fully understood by the case officer.

Yours sincerely

<name>

I understand what you're going through. Just remember it's a waiting game so it's better to wait for a successful visa then an unsuccessful one. That is, make sure you have plenty of evidence that covers the spectrum of a relationship as stated by the immi officials before submitting an application. So if you're worried about things like your missus surname, then I'd spend the few days it will take to have her name changed before you submit the application. Your the one that has to sleep at night. And i agree, it does look better if she has already changed her surname.

Good luck Aussiestyle.

Cheers,

James.

Edited November 20, 2006 by Jamnjam

[Jamnjam]

What is the easiest hospital in BKK to use to get the medical tests?

I know there are afew on the list, but we would like to get everythnig, including x-rays done all at once if possible. Any recomendations

I forgot,

BNH hospital is great. It's 500m from the embassy (towards Sathorn ferry station and opposite side from embassy). They have a great lounge to sit and wait with free food and coffee. It's a nice relaxing stop. Much better then the government hospitals. The tests cost 3000 baht but it's a full check up which is always a good thing to do once in a while. Make sure she brings her passport and get a letter from the VFS office first. If she is going to change her surname then you must change her name in the passport first. The passport office is not far from the Pinkloa Bus Station (Eastern Bus terminal).

James

[gburns57au]

List of hospitals....

http://www.austembassy.or.th/bkok/DIMA07.html