A sponsor letter is a detailed, official letter that explains your living situation, relationship status, financial ability, your intent with your girlfriend and an official invitation for her to come with you to Australia. The sponsorship letter is the cover letter for your visa application and sets the tone for the whole application so the experienced team at Key Visa can help you to ensure that you include all the necessary information.

Your letter must contain the following:

Personal details [1st paragraph]

• Your profiles, DOB, family, marital status, family background.
• Your current address and details of the property owner
• Has the property enough bedrooms for her to stay? Explain how many rooms.
• Include photos

Relationship [2nd paragraph]

• Where and when you first met with full explanation
• How long have you been together
• How often do you visit Thailand
• How you keep in contact
• How the relationship developed with each other
• State about your plan for marriage
• Explain about your plans for the future
• And what is her reason to apply for this visa

Financial Status [3rd paragraph]

• Provide and explain your assets in Australia
• What is your current job, how long have you worked for this company? How much is your salary or annual income?
• Explain the current status of your financial account
• Show responsibility for all expenses

The Australian embassy wants to be satisfied about the legitimacy of your relationship before issuing any relationship-based visas. One very important and easy to obtain supporting document is a timeline of messages between your partner and yourself. If you’re in a legitimate relationship you should have this already: Emails, texts, letters, facebook posts – no modern relationship exists without them. Save them! If you don’t have these already you now have six months to collect them. Don’t worry too much about generating these messages as most Thai ladies create enough electronic correspondence for several relationships, but do be diligent in collecting them.

One of the important factors the Australian immigration authority considers when deciding whether or not to grant a fiancee, marriage or other long-term visa is if you can indeed support your lady or if she even needs your support. The Thai government wants to know she isn’t fleeing Thailand and has something to come back to. Both of those mean showing you have enough money. The requirements change from time to time, so check with your embassy or just call us. We’re happy to advise you.

Available funds can be money in an account (a Thai account, in her case), income or a combination of the two.

If your girlfriend doesn’t have a bank account, opening one is simple. Give her the necessary funds in cash or a check or arrange with the teller or customer service representative for a transfer of funds from your account to her new one. She will need ID and a signature and that’s it.

It should go without saying, but: she will obviously need a passport, and it will have to be up to date. Detailing the entire procedure and all the requirements for obtaining a passport is beyond the scope of this article, but here are some of the basics from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website:

• Apply during the work week between 8:00 -15:30.
• Apply, in person, at the Department of Consular Affairs, Chaengwattana Rd. or
• At the 3 Temporary Passport Offices in Bangkok
  • Bangna
  • Pinklao
  • Thailand’s Overseas Employment Service Center

• Outside Bangkok, she can apply at the nearest Temporary Passport Office:
  • Khon Kaen
  • Chiang Mai
  • Songkla
  • Ubon Ratchathani
  • Surat Thani
  • Nakhon Ratchasima
  • Yala

• The passport services in the locations outside Bangkok are open until 16:30

You will need visa photos. You can get them any photography shop – and there are many, many of them – or even at a bus stop photobooth. Have fun!

Travel insurance is not necessary for every type of visa but the Australian embassy does consider it to be important. Holiday insurance costs vary widely depending upon date and length of travel, any special planned activities, such as skiing or cruising, that you wish to cover and the age, nationalities and medical conditions of everyone you want to insure. Obviously, insuring the both of you will cost more than just insuring her.

Thai insurance companies will have the most experience with insuring Thai nationals, especially for visa compliance, so it isn’t a bad idea to go with one of them if you don’t have a specific preference. Besides being able to interview your partner in her native language and knowing which medical conditions are common to Thai physiology, Thai insurance companies have the right price. AXA’s Travel Smart plans, for example, will insure several million baht worth of misfortune for under ฿3000 for an entire year.

Make sure whichever insurance company you choose has a stipulation for a refund of your premium in case your visa is denied or wait until you have visa approval before buying travel insurance.

You have to provide proof to the immigration authority that you have suitable accommodation for you and your girlfriend. This proof can come in many forms, and depends upon the type of accommodation you have arranged. So, first step is picking where you’ll stay and second step is proving you’ve got it sorted. Here are your choices.

1. You’ve got your own place already.
   • Prove it with a rental / lease agreement or title. Further proof can be bills to that location in your name.
2. You’ll be staying with friends or family.
   • Prove it with a letter of invitation from the owner of the house.
3. You’ll be renting specifically for the purpose of the visit.
   • Again, prove it with the rental / lease agreement. Make certain that the agreement is in effect before your girlfriend intends to travel and lasts at least as long as her planned stay.
4. You’ll be staying in a hotel.
   • Proof of booking is required and proof of a deposit isn’t a bad idea. Show your credit card bill, booking confirmation and maybe a receipt from the hotel itself.