What does "free to marry" mean?
To apply for an Australian prospective marriage visa, both parties need to be "free to marry", ie. you must both be legally able to marry each other.
Why?
Because there are laws in most countries, including Australia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Southeast Asia, against bigamy! You cannot be married to two people at the same time. The penalty in the Philippines, I think, is 10 years hard labour! And yes, marriages from one country are recognises in another country. Don't think you can sweep it under the carpet.
Being free to marry also means:
- Neither party is under-age, ie. not under 18
- You may not be close relatives
- You may not be of the same sex. Same-sex marriages are not (as of 09/04/2014) legal in Australia. Therefore you are not free to marry each other.
- And neither of you may be forced into the marriage
- Annulments: This is a lengthy and complicated process by which it needs to be established to the court that one or both parties of the marriage was psychologically incapable of understanding the commitment they were making at the time of the marriage.
- Sharia divorces: Muslim Filipinos may divorce through the Sharia courts in the Philippines if they are actually Muslims.
- Legal separation: This is NOT a way of ending a marriage. The couple are still married. They've merely legally separated their affairs.
For those not aware, the Philippines has:
No-fault-divorce, as exists in Australia? No, sorry. Doesn't exist. Be aware of this!
China, Thailand and Vietnam
Yes, they have divorce in their legal systems
Who are Down Under Visa? Who is Jeff Harvie?
Jeff Harvie and the Down Under Visa team have been doing this for a lot of years! Down Under Visa have brought thousands of couples to Australia from South East Asia over the years. Mostly from the Philippines, but we help increasing numbers of couples where the visa applicant is from China, Thailand, Vietnam or Cambodia. And what this means is we see a lot of success....and we also see failures when people go it alone after talking to their mate, or their relative, or that minimal-care-no-responsibility Facebook group run by Steve and Maribeth based on their own visa application! One application, and they feel qualified to advise others! It's not even LEGAL to do that!
Want to bring your sweetheart to Australia from The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia or Southeast Asia? Get a FREE VISA ASSESSMENT today! It will take you five minutes.
