This has become an increasingly popular option for Australian Thai couples in recent years, since the Condition 8503 (No Further Stay) on tourist visa grants from Bangkok became a rarity and since they evened up the cost of onshore and offshore partner visas. In years gone by it was virtually impossible for an Australian Thai couple to make an onshore partner visa application, but times change. This method is popular and has become the main choice for for Australian Thai couples to migrate to Australia.
What we’re talking about is lodging an onshore partner visa application whilst the visa applicant from Thailand is inside Australia normally on a tourist visa, where the Thai visa applicant is granted a Bridging Visa which is valid during the processing time of the partner visa application. Effectively, the Thai lady doesn’t need to return to Thailand and may remain in Australia with her Australian husband. Being together in Australia during the processing instead of the Thai applicant remaining in Thailand for sometimes a long time, and this has a very obvious appeal.
We are happy processing applications either way. Believe me we really don’t mind, nor do we have opinions on what is “better” or worse. All we insist on is that the application be prepared and managed within the rules of Migration Law and within the realms of practicality. Trying to do a rush-job partner visa application during a three month tourist visa stay is rarely practical, and this becomes more so when you plan to marry your Thai lady during the same time period. The end result is usually running out of time, and maybe lodging a poor-quality partner visa application which is a very bad idea.
If you do wish to do this, we need you to contact us early, ie. long before the visa applicant has left for Australia from Thailand.
Be aware too that yes you may legally marry inside Australia whilst on a tourist visa. This is perfectly within the Immigration rules, as long as the primary reason you went to Australia in the first place was to spend time together as a couple and to enhance your relationship. And this is another sound reason to get professional help with your visa application.
The following is some discussion on the pros and cons of onshore partner visa applications on a tourist visa versus offshore partner visa applications from Philippines to Australia.
Back in the good ol’ days we had very little difficulty in dealing with visa refusals. Clients would come to us after having a try-and-fail tourist visa refusal from an application they did by themselves. We would use our expertise and re-apply for them and usually get a tourist visa grant for them!
Well…..things have changed over the last year or so. Nowadays it’s extremely difficult and sometimes apparently impossible to get a tourist visa grant after a visa application is refused! If you put together a moderately detailed application and it was refused? Very unlikely that even experienced professionals like us to make them change their minds about you!
It’s now very hard to get a tourist visa grant after a tourist visa refusal. Please read CLICK HERE.
Strongest suggestion? If the outcome of this application matters, and you don’t want to be stuck apart for the near and the distant future? Use the experts to manage your tourist visa application professionally, as we do hundreds of times every year.
DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this page is of a general nature. Informative, yes, but not a formula for preparing visa applications and should not be relied on as such. The devil is in the detail, rest assured. Australian migration law is complicated and Departmental decisions are inflexible and often final. Readers and future visa applicants and sponsors are advised to rely on professionals to ensure a happy outcome.
No problems. Marriages in Thailand are considered legal in Australia.
Now, over to you the client (or potential client)! We value our clients opinions, and we believe in keeping all well-informed. What would YOU like to ask about onshore partner visas? What do YOU think needs a bit more explanation? Ask below, and Jeff Harvie RMA will answer your question for you and for others wondering the same thing.
Partner Visa Onshore? Or Partner Visa Offshore? Or Prospective Marriage Visa?
Get the pros and cons of each visa type so you can COMPARE, and make an informed decision based on expert advice!
Our job is to help you, and we will do so to the best of our abilities and always within the law! But realise we are not “Yes-men” and will always tell you the truth especially about practical matters. But if you do wish to marry whilst in Australia on a tourist visa, and if you are able to apply for a partner visa in Australia, yes we can manage your application for you in the same way we manage applications here in Bangkok. But be aware that we cannot ethically handle visa applications that are poorly prepared and not planned properly which will result in a visa refusal.
So yes, we can help you with applications lodged in AUSTRALIA or in Bangkok, Thailand.
So if you definitely want to marry and apply in Australia, let us know now! And if you start the process with us now rather than later, you will be organised and ready for us to lodge the application once you’ve married.
DON’T LEAVE IT UNTIL AFTER SHE’S IN AUSTRALIA WITH YOU!
Want to read more about Australian Onshore Partner Visas from the Philippines? Check out some of our partner visa BLOG posts below.
No More Bare-Bones Partner Visa Applications
Australian Onshore Partner Visas and Overstaying
“I highly recommend Jeff and Mila Harvie of DownUnderVisas. It was so great to have an Aussie agent who is married to a Filipina and lives in Manila. He understands both Aussie ang Pinoy cultures and is very professional and ethical visa agent. It was also good for Virgie to speak to Mila in Tagalog whenever she needed clarification or information.
Jeff was very helpful throughout the whole visa application process. He always told me the truth in a concise manner, but without being abrupt. He advise always made sense and he would help me to understand things whenever I got confused or impatient.
Jeff was always so prompt in replying to my email enquiries and I that really impressed me. Jeff’s experience, knowledge and service shows that he is a true professional and is truly believe that you can not do any better than Down Under Visa.
My wife is now here and we are so happy Well done Jeff and Mila (And we wrote this after getting the visa!).”
Regards from,
“TO DOWN UNDER VISA
Thank you very much.I appreciate your effort and I must say you’ve done me a favor.You’ve all been very nice and accomodating to me since day 1. And I commend you all for that.I’m really glad it didnt took long ‘coz I though it would be long process and might take you nine months or more just like what I’ve heard of others applying for Australian Visa. Its a good decision on my part that I choose your agency. Finally me and Rod could spend to the rest of our lives together, and its all because of you guys.
To Mila and Jeff Harvie and the company,please accept my heartful thank to all of you. God bless!!!!”
Respectfully yours,
What I’m saying here is that an onshore application is the more stressful option. Of course it can be done, and we are delighted to help. But you need to understand you will be under pressure, and can’t leave it all to the last minute. And this is especially the case if you have a wedding to organize, as well as a job to go to, shopping to do and lawns to mow. If you are prepared for this and are a fairly well-organised person? No problems. Talk to us about it.
But if you are not especially a fan of stress and pressure and would rather take your time, and especially if you want to have a well-organised wedding rather than a speedy one at the Registry Office, then the offshore visa options could well be your best choice. They are being processed faster these days anyway, so unlikely you will have too long to wait.
Bottom line for us? We like our clients to be well-informed and to make informed choices, and we are happy to help you to do what will make you happy. Hope to hear from you soon.
If you’re really not in a hurry (and some couples are fairly patient), and wish to get a tourist visa for now? We’re happy to help you. But if you’re hoping she can simply stay on a tourist visa, then sorry but you’re heading for disappointment and an emotional rollercoaster.
We’ve discussed the mistake in thinking you can put a partner visa together late in the tourist visa stay in Australia in a few of our BLOG articles. Partner visas take months of work, and the Department are very unforgiving about poorly prepared applications which result from last-minute rush jobs. Yes, we can help with onshore partner visa applications, but you need the time to do them properly.
But spending all your savings and earnings on airline tickets instead of on saving for a partner visa application, this will just make it harder on you. You would be better off just biting the bullet and saving your money. Work overtime. Get some part-time work. Live a lean existence. Do that until you have a downpayment on a partner visa, which is probably less than the costs of a 3 month visit anyway. Then continue to live frugally over the following few months whilst preparing the partner visa application. They do normally take that length of time.
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NOTE: Jeff Harvie and main administrative staff are mostly in the Philippines office. Please do not (a) send documents or (b) attend the AUSTRALIAN office looking for assistance without a previous appointment.
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Offshore Partner Visas and Prospective Marriage Visas
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