Australian permanent visa for Thai lady

[lukejp1]

Hello there,

im an Australian guy in a long term relationship with a beautiful Thai lady and now want to take this to the next level and apply for residency for her here in Australia. 

She has been to Australia twice on tourist visas which were easy to apply for and no dramas or problems whilst I have travelled to Thailand many times to be with her. 

I am resigned to the fact I will be paying the Australian government $6800 for the visa but my question to the forum is,

do I get married to her when I'm in Bangkok in a few months and have the marriage certificate witnessed by the Australian embassy or do I apply for the fiancé visa and marry her in Australia ?

would love to get feedback from you guys as to which way is going to be the easiest, and quickest 

we already have plenty of proof of relationship from previous tourist visas. 

Also does the Australian government need to see a certain amount of money or assets as proof of support or is this not required?

thanks in advance for any replies 

[snooze]

Hi

This is a tough one because they both have pros and cons. Either way the fee is going to be the same.

Essentially the work and what you need to prepare for both visas are going to be the same - you have to show the genuine relationship, Medicals, complete the same forms and pay the same fees.

The real question is what do you want to do? Does your girlfriend want to marry in Thailand with her family or do you want to marry in Australia?

You could do the common law monk ceremony and still be eligible for a prospective marriage visa. Or you could just get married here at the ampur office (i think?) and get that translated into English for the visa. Or you don't even need to be married you are probably still eligible for a partner visa as defacto spouses meaning you don't even have to get married. Defacto you need to be in a genuine and exclusive relationship with your partner for 12 months.

In regards to support the department will only ask for an assurance of support (which is called an "unbonded assurance" in Centrelink language) if immigration believe that the sponsor may not be able to help the visa applicant settle satisfactorily in Australia. It is essentially a bond to ensure that the visa applicant does not access welfare services for two years after arrival (the dole, study allowances etc). The bond is lodged through Centrelink in the form of a fixed deposit at the commonwealth bank for 2 and a half years. At the end of two and a half years the bond is released with interest minus any welfare payments to the assurer.

The amount of bond varies from visa to visa but ranges from $1500 to $20000 per visa applicant. As your girlfriends/fiancé sponsor you do not have to be her assurer you can find someone else to lodge a bond.

You don't need to worry about that only if the department asks for an assurance of support.

Good luck


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[lukejp1]

27 minutes ago, snooze said:

The real question is what do you want to do? Does your girlfriend want to marry in Thailand with her family or do you want to marry in Australia?

Honestly the visa is the most important.thing so we can be together , I'm not concerned either way as I have already had a traditional Australian marriage. 

Once the visa is sorted I'm more than happy to have a traditional Thai wedding in her home town ( probs even invite some of my own family) 

just need to know which way will be more efficient 

go to the office in Bangkok then return home while she applies for residents or apply for prospective marriage visa and marry in Australia within the 9 months allowed 

both will probably take around a year right ?

 

[snooze]

In that case the most efficient would be to go straight onto a partner visa. Prospective marriage allows your girlfriend to enter Australia for the purpose of marrying you. She will be granted a visa valid only for 9 months - in that 9 month period you need to marry - once you are married you will then need to apply for a partner visa (there is no extra fees here).

The prospective marriage visa pathway essentially means you will apply for a partner visa twice - it would be much more efficient to get the partner visa straight off.

You are correct they both take about 12 months (sometimes shorter sometimes longer - each case is different)


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[lukejp1]

Any advise or past experiences would be greatly appreciated