3 Months gone to quickly!

[Condo]

Hi Everyone,

This is my first post and just want you all to know its not all doom and gloom following your desires. I met my GF in November on a 2 week trip to Patong. After meeting each other on the 5th day she stayed with me for the final 9 days. We had a great time, a lot of laughs which was made all the easier because of her good English. I offered her a holiday in Australia if she was interested, giving her the opportunity of a lifetime to see another side of life. I asked about a Visa from Steve at the Aussie Bar and was told it would take 6 months of proof before a visa was granted. I met her on the 15th November and had her in Australia on the 8th February, Not bad just over 2 months. I actually flew back on January 19th where we flew to Bangkok and visit the embassy in person with all relevant paperwork. We stayed 2 nights and then had another week in Patong before I flew home. I was hoping to have her visa by the time it was time for me to leave but it got held up as they had failed to make contact via a phone call to ask their usual questions. I called them when we still had no news after 7 days. I told my girlfriend to call them and answer the questions. She had her passport back with 3 month visa 3 days later. I booked he on Airasia X to the Gold Coast for about $280 AUD a few days later.

We have both had the best time. She has learned how to use public transport while im at work. We do our weekly shopping at the Asian grocery store. We have worked out where all the green Paw Paw trees are located in our suburb and do a nightly raid as needed. The wok is fired up nightly and Pad See Eiw, Pad Gra Pow and what ever else we feel like. My balcony to my unit is full of Thai herbs, Holy Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Grass, Galangal and others.

The sad part is she flys home on Monday We will be spending her last weekend seeing the sights of Sydney. She loves watching Bondi Rescue on TV so I guess that will be one of our first stops.

At first I thought 3 months would be to long but time but it has flown. We plan on applying for a fiancée visa after she returns as this will give us another 9 months of getting to know each other and she will be also able to work. I have been paying her 4000 Baht per month so her girlfriends didn't rent out her room while she was gone, plus some money for her parents each week while she is here. I have told her if she wants to keep giving her parents money when she returns to Australia she would have to get a job and pay for it herself, which she is happy to do.

She also said that she will return to Ubon and live with her parents until the visa is or isnt approved. Of course I will have to put some money in her acccount weekly to keep her there. She asked how much I would give her so I started $100 AUD per week to which she replied $150 to which I agreed, as it was better than what I was expecting her to ask for )))))

I guess if she dosnt get the visa then it will all be over but with some great memories, for both of us. I don’t think the Visa will be a problem however as she has followed the requirements of he 3 month visa as requested.

Anyway I thought I would share this story with you as some of them do have happy endings.

Cheers

Anthony

[TanMan]

Great story.. thanks for the read. From what you wrote, I think you did/handled everything as well as you possibly could have.

Gook luck on the fiancee visa.

[Mav]

Yes.....looks like you have most bases covered.....Good luck with your project.

l always have a laugh thinking that the farang asks TG's over for "the 3 month holiday" "no strings"etc....may have different in your case......l bet 99% of the TG's see it as 3 months to "seal the deal "


.

[K2]

Originally Posted by Mav

Yes.....looks like you have most bases covered.....Good luck with your project.

l always have a laugh thinking that the farang asks TG's over for "the 3 month holiday" "no strings"etc....may have different in your case......l bet 99% of the TG's see it as 3 months to "seal the deal "


.

Good luck Condo and welcome to the board.

Note to Mav: Looks like she's the one with the RTG's! 555 (Post 1 - pic#3).

[Condo]

I guess she really sealed the deal the first day I got home from work. I jumped in the shower the next thing she handed me a ice cold can of beer. I can see the envy on Homer Simpson now!

[Mav]

Nice looking gal there Condo (Is that short for "U buy me condominium tillac?")

Lovely use of RTG's in the snaps as well

Cheques in the mail.


.

[dizbuster]

Originally Posted by Condo

...My balcony to my unit is full of Thai herbs, Holy Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Grass, Galangal and others...

I have a similar thing with my TGF growing all sorts of plants at my place.

Good to see things have worked out for you, good luck

[Nanook]

Nice story Condo. And welcome to the board.

[Minder]

Hi Condo, welcome and good luck.

We took the Fiancee visa route and I would advise against it - you say she can work here - correct - but she does not get the tax threshold and no medicare cover - IMHO the fiancee visa is expensive and complicated and you get nothing from it - you breezed thru the Tourist visa route - why not go that way again (and again)?

[SirDougless]

Originally Posted by Minder

Hi Condo, welcome and good luck.

We took the Fiancee visa route and I would advise against it - you say she can work here - correct - but she does not get the tax threshold and no medicare cover - IMHO the fiancee visa is expensive and complicated and you get nothing from it - you breezed thru the Tourist visa route - why not go that way again (and again)?

Not that simple unfortunately. Too many Tourist visa's in a short time means she is no longer a Tourist in the Dept of Imm's eyes. They will tell you to apply for the Permanent residency. Doing it as a Fiancee makes it a three stage process. Doing it as Married cuts it down to two.

She should get the tax threshold if she is a resident or domiciled in Aus for 6 months in the tax year. There maybe provisions that give her the threshold anyway (there are for overseas students).

The advantage of the permanent residency is that she can come and go as she likes.

[Condo]

First of all I dont think she would qualify for permanant residency. As they are after skilled workers, not BG's

The tourist visa is out because Im not that rich I would be able to support the two of us in an expensive apartment plus her family back in Thailand again.

So she really needs to work so she can support them at $200 per week. And what ever money she has left over she can do what she wants with. That would then leave me my left over pay to save for holidays and having a good time. Having her work would leave me with $400 per week after paying rent and bills and what ever she has left over would be a nice little kitty to play with. She speaks English well and is not afraid of work which is good. She really wants to get a job as she also knows this is the only way it will work between us.

If she dosn't get the Tourist Visa I guess it will be over, unless I could get a job in Thailand. I fix computers and configure business networks. In Australia I would have no problems getting job. But as much of my time is spent on the phone to Internet Service providers I know how important it would be to speak Thai. Plus I can imagine most peoples computers would all be set to the thai language, which would stuff me.

Thanks for the ideas though.

Condo

[SirDougless]

[quote=Condo;468580]First of all I dont think she would qualify for permanant residency. As they are after skilled workers, not BG's .../quote]

A genuine relationship between the both of you qualifys her for permanent residency. You just have to prove it to the Dept of Imm. A lot of paper work, but there is no such thing as a free lunch!

Once accepted she gets a 2 year temp residency visa. After the 2 years more paper work and they re-evaluate the relationship. Then she gets the permanent residency.

http://www.vfs-au.net/forms/Info_She...ish_July06.pdf

[Condo]

Thanks SirDougless,

I just read one of the requirements is

"Evidence that the relationship has existed for a minimum of 12 months before the lodgement date of the application, if applying as de facto spouse" or a INTERDEPENDENCY VISA

We have only known each other for 5 1/2 months so I guess this is no good for us.

How ever Prospective Marrige requirements are as follows


• You must travel to Australia before you marry.
• You must marry your sponsor within 9 months of
being granted the visa.
• You must meet relationship, age, health and
character requirements.

Regards

Condon

[nelsonone]

Good to hear you have had a great experience so far Condo.....but don't cross too many bridges before you get there...marriage is a big step...especially with someone from another country

[Minder]

Originally Posted by Condo

Thanks SirDougless,
I just read one of the requirements is
"Evidence that the relationship has existed for a minimum of 12 months before the lodgement date of the application, if applying as de facto spouse" or a INTERDEPENDENCY VISA

We have only known each other for 5 1/2 months so I guess this is no good for us.
How ever Prospective Marrige requirements are as follows

• You must travel to Australia before you marry.
• You must marry your sponsor within 9 months of
being granted the visa.
• You must meet relationship, age, health and
character requirements.

Regards

Condo

Hmnnn...well to quote SirDougless of this "Not that simple unfortunately".

We probably would have still gone that the Fiancée visa route but it would have been nice to know it was like going Brisbane to Sydney via Darwin beforehand. And even once all the paperwork is done is takes several months to get the Visa itself.

Not trying to rain on your parade - just trying to make you better informed than I was. I asked lots of people and did lots of research and still didn't see all the holes in the Fiancée visa route till we fell in them (no Medicare cover whilst on the Fiancée visa was a big one).

The health and character requirements - the police clearance, the medical(s) will see her traveling down to and having to run around Bangkok for a couple of days (at your expense) obtaining various documents - and speaking of expense check Partner Visa Charges as the Fiancée Visa route adds at least $A670 in fees - and another rainforests worth of paperwork.

(Big tip: keep a copy of everything you submit - the Spouse Visa and Perm Res paperwork - 2 years apart - are about 80% the same stuff all over again).

Even little things like the NOIM (Notice of Intention to Marry) can turn into a headache if the Marriage Celebrants - like the first two I approached - are poorly informed (one insisted we must have a letter from the Thai embassy stating the wife-to-be was not previously married). In the end we got married at the local Registry Office (another few hundred bucks of course).

Option B: you could get her out here on another Tourist visa -after she has been home a few months - and then if all is still good - marry her and apply for a spouse visa (she will have to return to Thailand though).

You have made a few comments in relations to your finances so you need to consider $$$ and "bang for your buck" - I'll mention another aspect you will need to consider if you progress to marriage - not just support for the family - currently you indicate that will be about 18,000 baht a month for now - she is a pretty young girl - the thorny issue of "sin sot" will also need to be sorted.

[SirDougless]

Originally Posted by Minder

...Option B: you could get her out here on another Tourist visa -after she has been home a few months - and then if all is still good - marry her and apply for a spouse visa (she will have to return to Thailand though)...

That is not my understanding. If she applies for the residency visa whilst in Australia she automatically gets a bridging visa until such time as they make a decision (no more than 4 months) on the residency. If you apply in Australia then you must be in Australia to get it. If you apply outside Australia the you must be outside to get it.

Not only have I read the forms and guides, I've also spoken to a Dept of Immigration supervisor. She said you can never give them too much information. For example, they request 2 stat decs from friends attesting to the relationship. Give them 4 or more.

I will hopefully be much more knowledgable on the subject in the next 6-8 months!

[Condo]

Thanks for the input, but im not jumping into this blindly. I have done my research.

She is unable to get a Working Visa because she didn't progress past high school, and you need to have done so to get a work visa so thats out, plus you can not work the full time you are here.

With the Fiancée Visa she is able to work so its like a work visa for 9 months. We dont have to get married if we dont want to. It just means she has to return to Thailand. by that time we will have know each other for at least 15 months and if things are not working out then so be it. Ive been married once and am no rush to enter another. lets just see how things go over the next 12 months it could be 3 months before she gets the visa plus 9 months in Australia. I guess we will have a good idea by then.

She cant apply for a bridging visa because her current visa stipulates she cannot apply for any other visa while in Austrailia. She must leave the country first. e.g. back to Thailand

Im not that short of cash so the fees involved are minor the Fiancée Visa is $1390 and is non refundable. Last time I flew back to Bangkok to make sure everything was done correctly and all information was submitted as required. Plus I had a a few friends from work running a muck in Patong and thought it would be good to join them. any excuse right?

As for supporting her and her family while we wait thats not a problem as long as she returns to Ubon and works with her Parents. If she dosnt get the Visa that will all cease as there will be no point in continuing a long distance relationship.

If she does get the visa she can get a job and look after her family herself, as that will be her only expense as I pay for everything else. I have explained this all to her, she understands and is more than happy for things to progress this way.

As for medicare I will just get her travel insurance like I did this time. it covered everything. and was 5900 Baht for 3 months through Thailand Car Health Travel Home Insurance »ÃСѹÀÑ »ÃСѹÀÑÂö¹µì ÍØºÑµÔ à赯 ¨Ò¡¡ÒÃà´Ô¹·Ò§ áÅÐ »ÃСѹÀѺéÒ¹

I appreciate all your info but I think im doing this the best way possible with what is available to me.

Cheers

Condo

[So-cal]

Originally Posted by Mav

Yes.....looks like you have most bases covered.....Good luck with your project.

l always have a laugh thinking that the farang asks TG's over for "the 3 month holiday" "no strings"etc....may have different in your case......l bet 99% of the TG's see it as 3 months to "seal the deal "


.

Are you gonna give this guy the stamp of approval Mav? I dont want to spoil the party but this is one good looking girl that might have more on the agenda then we think.

Maybe if it works out then shes happy and if it doesnt she gets a house. Im young and i have been listening to guys like you for a while and i have almost given up on the idea of a long term thai girl.

[eric-the-viking]

Originally Posted by nelsonone

Good to hear you have had a great experience so far Condo.....but don't cross too many bridges before you get there...marriage is a big step...especially with someone from another country

I second that,belive me you have not even started to see half of what will happen once you sign that piece of paper,Honestly give yourself and her more time at least a year.
Also if you go the Fiancée visa route im sure you have to be maaried by the end of the nine months.
what ever you do though best of luck to you.

[jay ozpom]

Originally Posted by Condo

I guess she really sealed the deal the first day I got home from work. I jumped in the shower the next thing she handed me a ice cold can of beer.

Now thats a civilised woman,.....wttb,hope it all goes well for you both.

[Ozskin]

Hi Condo, thanks for your story. While reading it i thought i was reading about myself. Everything was exactly the same except to substitute a different girl. You did say it was a happy ending, but really it is only the start of things.

My girls (2) tourist visa's out here were some of the happiet times for me, but problems started to creep in after marriage, with increasing demands from the girl and the family. Dont expect to see anything on the radar until after you are married.

I also think the girl is testing your limits and ability to give already. You offered $400 per month which is a reasonable amount, she counters with $600 and you agree without a fight. I feel this could be setting the scene to come, which i hope is not the case. I guess its easy to be blinded by love and feelings at the beginning, and in a way that is the great thing about it.

Im not trying to rain on your parade, just excercise some caution, from someone who has been through the wringer. So anyway best of luck mate, definately follow your heart in matters, but keep an ear out for any gut feelings.

Cheers
ozskin