There are various visa options open to you if you are a Thai looking to visit or immigrate to Australia. Read on to know more about the various Australian visas that Thais can apply for.
There are many reasons why one might want to travel to Australia. Whether going to the ‘Land Down Under’ for holidaying, business or moving there permanently, there are various types of Australian visas that Thais can apply for. Here are some of the options that are open to you if you are a Thai looking to travel to Australia:
Australian Tourist Visa Subclass 600
This visa is the only way you can go on holiday in Australia as a Thai national. The visa is given for three different durations namely 3 months, 6 months and 12 months. They can also be single entry (meaning that you can only enter Australia once in the period covered by the visa) or can be multiple entries (meaning that in the duration covered by the visa, you can come and go without needing to renew your visa).
The decision as to whether your visa will be multiple or single entry is solely determined by the visa officer and entirely up to his discretion. Thai citizens who are travelling to Australia for the first time and who are not frequent travelers are advised to seek the three month visa first before seeking other longer duration type of visas. In many ways, the first three-month visa acts as a simple test to gauge if the visa holder will violate any terms of his or her visa.
Prospective Marriage Visa Subclass 309
This visa is popularly known as the fiancée visa although its official name is actually the Prospective Marriage Visa. This is usually taken when the Australian partner is unable to travel to Thailand to get married to his or her Thai fiancée or the couple believes that they are better off living in Australia. Regardless of the reasons, the purpose of the visa is to enable the Thai partner to travel to Australia to get married to his or her Australian partner.
The visa is issued for a period of 9 months during which the marriage is to take place after which the Thai partner is issued with a temporary or permanent residence visa. After the residence visa is issued, you and your Australian partner will then be required to go for an interview to confirm the viability of the relationship and that you are not a burden in any way to the Australian government.
During this period, it is immensely useful to get a job in Australia and pay taxes so as to show you are adding value to Australia in more ways than one. This will make it easier to move from the temporary residence visa to the permanent residence visa.
Partner Visa Subclass 309
Commonly known as a marriage visa, it is issued to an Australian/Thai couple that got married in Thailand and now wishes to live in Australia. The visa is open-ended (does not have a time limit to it) and allows you, as a Thai, to work in Australia.
It is important to get a job and pay taxes when you are living in Australia with your spouse and even more important to ensure that you are paying taxes and complying with the law. Just as in the temporary residence visa, you and your Australian partner will be requested by the Australian Immigration Authorities to attend an interview within two years for the authorities to ascertain that the marriage is genuine (it was not done just for the purpose of obtaining a visa) and that everything else if going ok.
Because the application for this visa has to be made in Thailand and is conducted in English and Thai, it is much easier to do this application from Thailand rather than from Australia. Application and interview training is also much easier to conduct in Thailand than in Australia. Also, when it is done in Thailand, the rules do not require the presence of the Australian partner in Thailand cutting down on time and financial expenses.
Civil Partner Visa
This is a visa that is specific for people in same-sex relationships seeking to settle in Australia. This visa gives a same sex couple the same rights and privileges as a Marriage or partner visa that we have looked at in the previous paragraph. When applying for this visa, it is important to visit Australia for a short period of time to help you understand Australian culture and lifestyle but also to show Australian immigration authorities that you have visited your fiancé parents and home. This helps to add weight to the visa application and also shows the authorities that you have complied with Australian law.
All in all, these are the different types of visas that are open to Thais looking to visit or immigrate to Australia. Remember that at Key Visa, we charge no fees until you get your visa meaning, that there is no financial risk to you.
Talk to us today for expert advice on how to visit or immigrate to Australia as a Thai citizen!