Hi everybody welcome this evening to our friends here in Bangkok and to those tuning in from Australia. I appreciate it’s getting late there and you’re probably hungry and ready for dinner, so we’re going to jump right into our webinar this evening, Your Path to Australia, and we’re going to be discussing how to bring friends and family to Australia, either to immigrate or to visit your fine country.
So before we begin, let’s go to the next slide, Copter. We’re going to take Q&A, and in order to do that, last webinar I gave you bad instructions. This time, go ahead and click on the question mark icon, Q&A, and go ahead and type in your question. We’re going to address all of those at the end, and yeah, we’ll be happy to answer those.
The second thing is, don’t feel like you have to take copious notes, even though we may be going over some things quickly. We’re going to share the recording, and it will be up on our website within a few days of this webinar, and you can view it at your leisure. And then finally, for all you fine folks who have tuned in this evening and are participating today, We’re going to have a special bonus as a thank you for joining us.
So let’s dive right in. We’re going to do some quick introductions. My name is Mark Friedman. I’m the managing director of Baan Thai. I’m an American lawyer based in Bangkok. I’ve been a member of the California bar since 1987. And I lead Baan Thai is what we call the outbound team, which helps Thai nationals immigrate or visit abroad in countries like Australia, the UK.
EU, America, and Canada. We are also members of the Australia Chamber, not only because of the excellent information that they provide for businesses in our community, but also it’s a lot of fun to attend their events. Over. Hi, thank you, Mark, for that great introduction. So my name is Wilbert Briones, so I’m the one specializing for a strong immigration law for Baan Thai Immigration Solutions for several years.
Okay, so what we’ll be covering all throughout the session are the three following visas, and these are the Visitor Visa, Fiancée Visa, and the Spouse Visa.
All right, just to explain with you the application process. Actually, Mark, Australian immigration is starting these applications being done online, so there’s no need for any physical documents. So what normally starts, we fill out the application form online, and then we actually pay the visa, applicable visa fees for each type of visa.
And then after everything has been uploaded online, we are actually scheduling the appointment for our clients to submit their biometrics at the visa application center. Or VFS, because if there’s no biometric submission, the visa application will commence assessment. Okay. And then after that, it goes to home affairs for the review.
And after several weeks, depending on the type of visa application, we will be receiving an email either to the applicant or to us if the visa approved or denied. And just a couple of questions for process for my edification on our audience here. So the fee payment, can that be done by credit card? Or does that have to be done by bank transfer?
This is actually a very good question. So there are several payment options. So number 1, you can pay via PayPal or credit or debit card. Excellent. And then for the VFS facilitation, you actually have to go in, where in Bangkok is that located? It’s actually located in Rama 9. Okay. And you say appointments, how far in advance does it typically take to get an appointment at VFS?
Actually, it varies day per day, depends on the time of submission, but normally you can get an appointment as early as a week or two. Okay, so it’s not like the U.S. Embassy, which can be up to a couple of months. I know, it’s not like that. Much quicker. Yes. And is VFS a function of the Australian government?
No, it’s actually not. It’s a third party working on behalf of Australian Embassy or Home Affairs to accept the application or do some consular services for them. Okay. And then my final question, Will, on the process piece is the visa approval or denial, how is that provided to the applicant and does it contain reasons for the approval or denial?
Okay, that’s actually a very good question as well, Mark. Since everything is online, it will be sent to the nominated email address. Whether it’s going to be their authorized recipient or the applicant. And then when it comes to denial, yes, they actually provide several reasons why the visa is being denied.
For example, for a visitor visa, they will enumerate those. And if you want to resubmit, There’s a chance that as long as you address everything on it, there’s a greater chance that the visa will be approved. As a matter of fact, we have an applicant, like a couple of months ago, the visa was denied. And there are some instances that they’re missing the application.
But after we address everything, like after a week, it was approved. And they were very actually happy with the outcome of the application. Excellent. And just to calibrate with everybody, but the U.S. visitor visa is denied, and we’re going to get into the visitor visa in just a moment. The United States Embassy will not tell you any reasons whatsoever.
You can always reapply again, but you don’t know if you’re addressing their concerns. I think the Australian system, frankly, is much more humane. And listen, if you’ve missed something in an application the first time, and you can address it the second time, I think you can do it. Has good success. Yeah, exactly.
It’s that’s actually also similar to the UK visa application. Okay, so let’s give folks the bad news, at least when it comes to fees. Okay, so when it comes to the fees, you’re going to see there that the application for a visitor visa, it costs 195 Australian dollars, and they assess that between two to four weeks.
And then the fiancée visa, it’s actually being charged at 9,095 Australian dollars. Same goes with spouse visa for 9, 095 Australian dollars. And the assessment is approximately between 16 to 24 months, but that actually depends at the time of submission, which we can always check online. So there are times that it’s very, it’s actually reduced to 18 months.
So it depends on the influx of the app, of the application at the time of submission. Got it. So demand may spike and it could be a little longer if demand is weaker. And they have additional resources. It’ll be less exactly. And just to calibrate here for just a moment. I know that the fees for fiance and for spousal visa seem quite high in most immigration offices around the world.
The agencies are funded by dint of their fees. And essentially, if you’re knocking on the door and asking to be admitted to the club, that’s going to require that government to perform a great deal of due diligence, especially if you’re looking at permanent residency. And that tends to be a self funding exercise.
It’s the same thing in the United States. In fact, the United States just raised It’s U.S.C.I.S. fees. The U.K. fees are substantial. But essentially, the government is saying, if you want to join us, you have to pay to get in. So it is what it is at the end of the day, though, if you want to become a permanent resident and move and be treated in a way that allows you to work and so on.
These are the fees you’ll have. Yeah, that’s correct. And actually in addition to that, speaking of spouse visa, I was actually surprised that the latest submission that we had that we submitted the application last July of this year, and the visa was granted yesterday night, just right in time of our webinar.
It actually took less than eight months for them to get approved. That’s actually quite surprising. Let’s start with the visitor visa, the easiest to apply for but maybe the most difficult to obtain. I couldn’t agree more, yes. For visitor visa, so normally it’s for short term purposes and for tourism and for leisure and your intention should actually for to either with your family, to meet your parents and Anything that has something to do, has not something to do with employment or such.
Okay, so when it comes to eligibility, you need to meet the health requirements, character requirements, you need to possess sufficient funds, and a genuine visitor to Australia. So the health requirements, I would assume, would be about communicable diseases. Exactly. And is that self reporting, or do you need to get a health certificate right away?
It’s actually self reporting. Based on the answers that will be provided on the application form, it will be the decision of the Home Affairs if you will be subject for health requirements. Okay. Yes. And character, it’s got to, I’m sure, have something to do with a criminal background. Does it also have to do with overstays and other sort of government missteps?
Yes. Thanks. Okay, so that’s why we counsel people, try never to overstay a visa, even here in Thailand. It just, it’s something that you may have to report later and it just sticks with you. And when you say sufficient funds, is there a particular amount or is it sufficient to pay for your visa? Okay, actually there’s no particular amount that is prescribed as to how much would it be.
So your funds should be sufficient enough to cover the expenses. So that will vary depending on if you have a sponsor, if you don’t have a sponsor, if you have a prepaid accommodation, and so that’s why it’s very important to establish these facts before having, before the visa gets submitted. And when you talk about a sponsor, so you could either show funds in your Thai bank account, if it’s a Thai national, or why.
But if you have a sponsor, how does the sponsor represent to the Australian government that they’re going to pay for everything? That will be through a form of sponsorship letter and a bank statement. Okay, so both would then be required. Exactly. A commitment to pay and then actually showing the ability to pay.
That’s correct.
Okay, so let’s talk about the pros and cons of the visitor visa. So for visitor visa, you can stay up to three months. It can be single or multiple entry and may grant 12 months stay in certain circumstances. And for the cons, so it’s challenging to obtain. Okay, so we overcoming the presumption of intent to violate.
Overstay or work in Australia and you can’t stay in Australia longer by extending this visa. You must apply for another visa in Australia. So I would tell everybody that this is very similar to the UK. It’s very similar to the U. S. And based on a history of folks either overstaying or working on their tourist visa, governments are very sensitive for applicants from this part of the world applying.
You can overcome the presumption. We’ll talk about that. In just a moment, but of the three visa types we’re talking about today. Where, if you’re an Australian citizen, you have the right to bring your family to Australia. You don’t have a right to bring a visitor, and each application stands on its own.
And it’s entirely discretionary with the reviewing officer. Is that correct? That’s correct. Yeah. And then we talk about stay of different times. When is it that you’re likely to get a shorter stay and who gets these up to 12 month visas? It’s actually depending on a lot of factors to consider, but based on my experience, I got an experience wherein they got a validity of three years.
Wow, but they have been together for five or seven years. So I think having a longer relationship with the sponsor really matters when it comes to granting as to how long the visibility will be. And what about the status? For example, does it matter if they’re married? And they just want to get a visitor visa?
Yes, it’s actually also one of the factors that we are considering when it comes to granting a longer visibility. So if you have a Thai spouse, and you want to visit Australia, and it’s granted, it’s more likely to be granted for a longer stay. So you can visit family and stay a bit longer in Australia than a shorter stay.
Yes, that’s correct.
So how do we overcome the presumption that the applicant intends to violate the visa day one? Okay, so for overcoming the presumptions, history of honoring travel visas, for example, if you have traveled overseas and you have complied with the terms of your visa, especially if you have, let’s say, a Schengen visa, UK visa, and a US visa, these visas are very tough to obtain.
However, if you tend to violate those while you were staying there, chances are, even if you have been granted that visa, most likely you will be denied to enter Australia. Thank you So it’s important that you will comply with the terms and conditions of your visa. So basically what you’re telling the Australian government is I’m a trusted traveler overseas.
And with various other countries, you can trust me to come to Australia. That’s correct. Because there are questions in the form that you were asked, where did you overstay your visa? So if you’re not going to answer that correctly, we have means of checking that. So it’s more on deception. So you might be banned on entering Australia.
So we have to be as truthful as we are in answering the application for it. And then compelling reasons to return. I think we should address that a little bit. What would you rank in terms of the best assurance to, to convince the Australian government that you will be coming back to Thailand?
Okay, this is actually a good question. First one is having an employment or having a business. And then second, having family. For example, if you have children below 18 years old, and if you have a father and mother who are dependent on you, and then also property ownership, okay? And lastly, international tribal history.
These four factors, if you possess all of those, there’s A greater chance that your visa will be approved. And we’ve had a success on the U.S. side with DS 160, which is the form that you file with the U.S. Embassy, when we tell a cohesive story, and I think the same would be true for Australia. For example, if you’re telling, The Australian government, you’re coming back because of the job, having your employer say, look, there’s a two-week holiday coming now.
And there’s a cohesive story around the reason you’re going for this period and needing to come back. It really works out. We had another request. woman who applied, had a good history of travel to Japan, had enrolled her child in a prestigious school here, and coincided her application and her request to go with the child’s school holiday and got a letter from the school.
Really what you’re doing is you’re telling the reviewing officer a complete story about why you’re going, but why you need to come back when and tie all of that together. And I think that’s the best way to approach it. Yeah, that’s correct. And to add to add about it that it’s about facts and evidence.
These are the most important things we have to consider in visa application. The burden is on us to prove. What we have stated in the application for and for example, for property ownership title deed in the applicant’s name for business ownership, what they’ve done to capitalize and how much money they’re making from the business and paint a complete picture of that business or that process.
That is correct. So, let’s move on. You’ve moved on from the friend stage to the fiancée stage. And the headline here is that you’re much more certain to get an approval for this visa, but it’s going to require some time, some energy, and a bigger investment. So, let’s talk about who this is for. Okay, sure.
The next type of visa category we have is frenzy visa. So, with this particular visa, you must marry within nine to 15 months from the visa grant date or else the applicant has to go back to the country of where she resides. And then some of the requirements are genuine relationship with the sponsor and the applicant and health requirement and character requirements.
Again, with the health requirement, is, does this visa require? a medical certification by a doctor or does it depend on how they answer the questions? That’s actually the way they answer the questions in the questionnaire and that would only be issued by accredited hospitals in the country of application.
So, you just can’t go to a hospital of your choice. Home Affairs listed different accredited hospitals has been only go to. So, if the home office says we want a certification They will specify where to go. That’s correct. Yes. All right, and then the character requirement again in addition to I assume a criminal and they’re going to ask you to disclose any criminal convictions.
Is that correct? Yeah, that’s correct in most cases both the applicants and the sponsors are required to submit the Police check. Okay And then I think on the genuine relationship. This is again a common question for all countries that for where we represent clients on family based immigration matters.
What the government’s really trying to do is prevent fraud. That is people that claim to form a relationship, but only for the purpose of obtaining a visa. The longer you’re together. The more evidence you have of the genuineness of your relationship, that is pictures, cards, telephone records, the more fulsome you can paint a picture of your history together, the better chances you have.
And that’s really, I think, in my view, the focus of most fiancée and spousal visas in Western countries. Is this a real relationship? How long has it been going on? How many times has this couple met face to face? And how much time have they really spent together? And what’s the evidence, the documentation of that piece?
That’s correct. Okay. When it comes to eligibility, so not had the had a visa canceled or an application refused the outside Australia when you apply sponsored by a fiancée. Be the right age, have no debt to the Australian government, and sign the Australian Value Statement. And what is the Australian Value Statement?
Okay yeah, that’s correct. So, the Australian Value Statement is a form applicants sign to agree to respect and follow Australia’s core values like freedom, equality, respect, and the rule of law while they are living or visiting Australia. Excellent. And then I assume be the right age is age of minority.
Would that be over 18 or 20 or what’s the cut off? 18 years of age. Okay. And then when you say sponsored by the fiancée, is this a general agreement by the fiancée to take care of all expenses? Or is there an actual financial threshold like there is in the UK in the US? There’s none for Australia. None? Yes.
Okay. And because there’s none, co-sponsorship isn’t a thing with these as it is in the US. There’s none also co-sponsorship for Australian visa. And does the Australian government do any sort of diligence around the fiancée’s ability to support the incoming Thai national, they may be at the back end.
Okay. Yes. All right. That’s different than a lot of other countries. It’s a trust me. moment, but again, that makes it a little more human. Okay. All right. So, when it comes to pros and cons of this visa, you can, for pros, you can switch to a family visa and easier to obtain than a visitor visa. And you can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while you hold this particular visa.
And you can work and study in Australia, having this visa. For the cons, it’s more scrutiny of the relationship. As opposed to a visitor visa and reapply for a visa conversion after marriage and pay another visa fee. Let’s go to the pros for just a second. As I recall, you were saying they had to get married within 9 to 15 months.
And that’s 9 to 15 months of entry by the applicant into the country on the visa? Yes, that’s correct. And during that entire time, they could go to school and work lawfully in the country? Yes. Different than many other countries. Is there a benefit? To getting married sooner than waiting maybe for the whole 15 months.
Yes, so that you can prepare for the reapplication because for this particular visa, it’s only limited for a certain number of months. So, you don’t want to rush things. Okay. So, we actually suggest our clients that if they can get married as soon as possible, so that we can easily prepare the next application for adjustment of status in Australia.
And so, once they’re married, then you let the Home Affairs Office, is that the correct name? Yes, that’s correct. You let them know. You provide their certificate of marriage. You said there’s another fee to pay. How much is the fee to adjust this? It’s around 1,015 Australian dollars. Approximately that amount.
Okay, so it’s not another 9,000 Australian dollars, but there is an adjustment of status fee. Yeah, so to be exact, it’s 1,515. So just as you think about whether you want a spouse visa, which we’re going to talk about in a minute. Just know that on top of the 9,000 Australian dollars for the fiancée visa fee, there will be another 1,500 Australian dollars to get to permanent residence.
Okay. Alright, so the last visa category that we will discuss is the spouse visa. This is a temporary visa that leads to permanent residency for married and de facto partner. And same focus as fiancé when it comes to the legitimacy of the relationship of the applicant and the sponsor. They want to make sure this is a real marriage.
And not a marriage for purposes of, solely for purposes. of obtaining permanent residency in Australia, which again, around the world, this is going to be a focus of governments before they grant a spousal visa. That’s correct. And can this eventually lead to citizens, Australian citizenship? Yes. After obtaining the permanent residency.
And is there a time period? Do you know? It really varies. So I haven’t seen, I haven’t experienced in the past for citizenship. It was some are under permanent residency site yet. Okay.
So, we talked about this 1st bullet point not how to be canceled or an application refused if they had an application refused. For example, for a visitor visa, just because. They couldn’t overcome the presumption. Is that a bar to getting a spousal visa? Not necessarily because it depends on the reason of refusal.
If the reason of the refusal is not detrimental to the Australian government or such or similar to that, I don’t think so that they will not allow you to resubmit your application for such particular visa. Okay. Yep. And the visa cancellation means that you overstayed or worked or otherwise violated the terms of a spousal visa.
That’s correct. Okay. So, with this visa, you need to be outside Australia when you apply and sponsored by your spouse. Can I ask before we, there’s a lot of, so I just want to catch these one at a time. When you say be outside of Australia, if you’re a Thai national, does that mean you must apply in Thailand?
That’s correct. Are you a country of permanent residence? Got it. So, if you’re a Thai passport holder, it’s here, and then on Rama 9, you need to submit your biometric. That’s correct. Yes. All right. So going back, we have, you have to meet the relationship requirements, the health requirement, and then the character requirement, and have no debt to the Australian government, and sign the Australian value statement, FNC visa.
And because this is unusual, much different than the U. K. and U. S. and other Western countries, this sponsorship, there’s no particular income level or money in the bank that the spouse needs to show, just a commitment that they’re going to support the family. Is that correct? Yes, there’s not. All right. And the health requirements, again, self reporting.
The character requirements are self reporting. There is not a need to get a police clearance unless requested by the Home Affairs. Yes, that’s correct. All right.
All right, so for the pros and cons of this visa, so the pros is one time application, okay, and leave work and study in Australia while permanent residency is being processed, attend free language classes provided by the Adult Migrant English Program if eligible, And apply for access to Australia’s public health care scheme Medicare.
And the cons is temporary visa until permanent residency gets granted. While you’re on the temporary visa though, you can still do all of these things. You can work, you can go to school. You’re just waiting until there’s an official change of status. Is that correct? Yeah, that’s correct. Okay. And actually, I’m sorry.
Go ahead. No, go ahead. Okay. But actually had a client that I around drink over 2020. I was actually surprised that on the 1st application of the surplus 309 spouse visa, the automatically granted at the same time, the permanent residency. So that’s actually quite surprising, maybe because during COVID or they have been in a relationship for almost, I think that was more than a more five years.
Yes. Okay. And you say you can attend the free language class if eligible. What’s, do you know what the eligibility is for that? It really depends on the visa grant notice that they will be receiving. So, all the information will be provided there and they can also check on their online account as to what the eligibility is are.
And then as soon as they’re granted a spousal visa, they’re going to have access to Australian public health care, which is a huge benefit, right? That’s correct. All right. And then when you apply for that adjustment of status, about how long does that take? You’re granted the temporary visa until permanent residency is granted.
What’s the time frame? It’s between the 18 to 24 months time frame from the initial assessment of your spouse visa. Okay. Yes, and then once you’re granted permanent residency, you can start looking to citizenship. Yes, that’s correct. I just want to tell people will has done a good job of covering. The eligibility and the requirements.
If you have a Thai friend, or you have a Thai fiancée and spouse, I think it’s always good to do a little strategic planning, a little thinking, and even if you have a Thai friend that you think maybe someday might become a fiancée or spouse, it’s good to peek ahead. For a Thai national who’s never traveled overseas and it looks like it’s going to be hard to overcome the presumption, maybe apply for a Schengen visa in one of the easier countries or even a visa for Japan.
I know you can go visa exempt, but they’re, right? But establish a pattern and a history of being a trusted traveler and then apply. Which could be a lot of fun in the meantime, but do try to bolster your international travel history. And the other reason is to be thoughtful about how it is that you’re going to tell the story about your reason to return.
Could be bolstering bank account, it could be bolstering records around a business, a small business that you may be running. Or taking care of family members and why you need to be the one that’s doing that. And then for possible fiancée or marriage visas, think about keeping good records now. It’s not very romantic, right?
To make sure you’re taking pictures and keeping phone records and keeping records of all your text messages or your WhatsApp messages and so on. And it does require some fourth Foresight some thought about that, but it’s always a good idea. For example, if you’re traveling together, keep your plane tickets, keep your hotel receipts and do take lots and lots of pictures so that by the time you’re ready to apply for either a fiancée or marriage visa, you have this.
Documented history, and then you or your representative can call through that because you don’t want to dump a tome on the officers, but really show that over a period of time, six months, a year, two years. You were definitely together and this was a legitimate relationship. My advice to you is stay ahead of the process curve and just try to peek around those corners and create that history now.
Document that history. That’s correct, Art. Okay. The things that Wil talked about this evening, we have an Australia Visa Guide. Wil is striving to be a trusted voice for Australia and UK and Schengen Visas in the marketplace. It’s an excellent guide. It’s free to download. And you just go to this portion of our site, our resource guide, and feel free to download it.
But that’s not the bonus we alluded to at the beginning. The bonus we alluded to in the beginning is for anybody attending today. If you’d like to engage our help to file for a visitor visa or a fiancée or marriage visa, and you engage us before Santa has left your house by December 25th, we’ll discount his fee by 10 percent for you as a thank you for your being here.
Let’s go into some. Now, and Olivier has asked for the spouse visa. Is there a minimum number of days we have to stay in Australia per year for the visa to remain valid? And that’s an excellent question. Yeah, actually, we have to get back to you on that to be precise with the answer. But as far as I know, There is always a number of days so that your spouse visa will be valid, but for the concrete details, we’ll get back to you in your email for the answer.
Okay. And we have from Butchit, why do some people get two or three years visibility while others only get three months? That’s actually a very good question. So, if I am to connect that. So, what we were discussing earlier, it depends on how long you’ve been together as partners in order for them to grant you a long term visa validity.
But in most cases, for example, if you’ve been together for around five or six years, they are granting you like two or three years of visa validity based on my experience. We have a question. I was denied a fiancée visa ex-partner a year ago. If I apply for a new visa with my new partner, is it recommended that I apply for the same type of visa, or should they not go with the fiancée visa and get married and apply for a spouse?
Does that matter? It doesn’t matter, but we also have to base the documents that we will be presenting on the next application based on their use of denial of the initial visa. So, it’s really circumstantial. So, it’s best that we have to see first what’s the reason and then we will plan what’s the next course of action when submitting a new visa application with the new partner.
So, I think you raised two good points. First of all of this is general information. We can’t provide specific legal advice because everything depends on your particular circumstances. But the second thing I’d say to you is that generally when you’re applying for a spouse visa, You’re signaling to the Australian government, U.K., U.S. government that you’ve already committed to this relationship and you’re seeking immediate immigrant status. And therefore, if you have some problems in your history, you’re more likely to be granted a spousal visa than a non immigrant fiancé visa. So again, when you are thinking through this, and maybe you’ve spent Less time together.
There’s a big age difference. There might be something in the background that might call out more character. A spousal visa is more likely to be granted than a fiancée visa in those circumstances. Yes, that’s correct. And then we have a question here is there an expedited or expedite service for Australian visa application?
Sorry, but actually there’s none. Unlike for UK there is, but for Australia there’s not. We have to follow the time frame that’s published in the Home Affairs website. And there isn’t for the U. S. as well, unless there’s a humanitarian grounds, and that would have to be like an exigent medical circumstance.
Does Australia recognize requests on humanitarian grounds? I have not experienced similar thing in the past. I guess maybe or maybe not. Okay. Okay, we can look at that. Yes, that’s correct. And last question that we have here. Before we do that, I just think that. That the time frame that we’re talking about here.
It seems like a long time frame It’s very similar to the time frame that you’ll experience if you’re applying for a spousal visa in the U.S. Because you’re being granted permanent residency status And what that means is the government’s going to take its time And make sure it’s engaged in a thorough due diligence process.
It’s going to really You Kick the tires and make sure it’s a legitimate relationship. And there’s nothing in the background here that they’re allowing somebody to become a permanent resident that they’ll later regret. It’s hard to be patient, especially if you’re a young couple in love, you’ve just married and you want to be together as quickly as possible.
It’s. So it’s just part of the planning. You’re going to need to do to think that this is going to be about a 16 month process. And by the way, to apply for permanent residency here in Thailand, it’s 16 months to 2 years. So the timeline seems to be pretty consistent throughout the world. But that’s just because you’re seeking to become what I would call a member of the club without having been born into that club.
Okay. That’s correct. All right. So, we have a question here. Is there a way that I can stay longer than 90 days on Australia’s visa? So, the answer may be, or maybe not, but in most cases you can’t, because for example, if you were granted, let’s say one year validity. So, whenever you enter Australia, You are only allowed to stay 90 days and then when that expires you have to leave and come back again and you will get another 90 days for such.
But for example, let’s say during your 90th day you were hospitalized, and you can’t go and travel so I think they may be considerable enough to extend your stay longer than 90 days. And then if you have observed and honored the terms of your visa. And you go apply for another visitor visa. Is that helpful?
Yes, that’s correct. Okay, so create a good history. You’ll have to go through the process again. Having gone through it once, you can anticipate what questions, what documents you need, and so on. So, the application process will probably be easier. And by following those strictures, you’re more likely to be granted another visitor visa into Australia.
And if you want to visit the U. S. as a Thai national or the U. K., having that history in Australia will certainly be helpful. Do we have another question? Sure. If you sponsored someone previously, and they were accepted as an Australian citizen, but have now finished, if you I assume finish the relationship, but have another friend wanting to come on a tourist visa.
Will this be a problem? It’s a good question. Yeah, I don’t think it will be a problem for sponsoring a tourist visa. It’s just only for the purpose of tourism. And again, I, for a tourist visa, especially you’re talking about a limited timeframe and limited resources. And frankly, and it’s a little surprising to me that the Australian government doesn’t have a specific bar like they do in the UK.
And in the U. S. for how much you need to be showing in terms of income or assets. But we don’t think that would be a problem. Okay, do we have any other questions? There is a question here from Assistant Prof Anusha. There is a visa for those with special knowledge and experience. Are you able to? As of the moment, we are actually focusing on a family visas.
Okay But for special visa category that you were mentioning, we can try to check on that and get back to the details with you via email. Yeah. And so our firm at Bontai, which means. For the folks that are Thai already know this. It means Thai home. And so we do focus on family based immigration.
We don’t, for example, at the moment, do work based or education based visas overseas. It’s visitor visas, fiancé visas, and spousal visas is our area of specialty. However, we are members of the American Immigration Lawyers Association at AUSCHAM. And through that, and with our APAC membership, we actually have colleagues in Australia.
So if you ever need a referral for something that we don’t handle, we would be happy to refer you to Confident Council, with whom we interface regularly. They’re based in Australia. That’s correct. Okay. Any other questions? Great. I know it’s getting late in Australia. You’re probably quite hungry. It’s getting a little late here, although people tend to eat later here.
We want to thank you again for your participation. Two reminders. We’re going to have a recording of this webinar up on our website in a few days. The other thing is you can always reach out to or another member of our team for a free consultation. You can do that through our website. And you can book that directly through our system, and we’d be happy to have a chat with you.
It’s difficult to answer some questions just because circumstances change, or your particular circumstances may cause us to give you a different answer, but we’re always happy to engage and have that conversation with you. And again, there would be no charge for that initial consultation. So, thanks again.
Thank you, Will. Thank you, Mark. And thanks to our folks lurking here behind the screen, Copter and Champ, our Thai team here, and we look forward to seeing you during our next webinar. Have a nice evening. Take care.
