Should I apply for a Partner Visa for my Thai girlfriend from Thailand or from Australia?

@Steve *******

cost now more like $11,000 plus it was about $10,000 for me recently but has gone up this financial year a lot .

@Steve *******

I did similar for my daughter's husband back in same price or near enough, can't remember how long they waited for their approval. You are correct it's doable, if I remember correctly we needed photo's of her and her husband together at different gatherings.

@Kev ********

I helped a friend and his Thai girlfriend apply for one a couple of years ago and it was granted in less than a month, so obviously there are variations in timescales.

@Wayne *******

Basically, yes. In Australia they have a term 'de facto' which unlike the UK 'common law', is a legal status, so you can apply for what is called a partner visa, even if you are not actually married, but are in a provable 'de facto' relationship. The United Kingdom does not recognise common law marriage. That said, the rules in the UK may have changed, I've been out of that loop for some years, but I do believe they have a legal partnership status now. There was certainly a point in time, back in the 90's, when if you were in a hetrosexual relationship and you could get married, i.e. you were not barred from doing so because you were already married, then to get residence status for your partner, you had to marry. I know that because it happened to me. The irony was that if you were already married, but not divorced, or you were in a same sex relationship, so in both cases you could not get married, then you could apply for residential status for your partner. This was before the The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act of 2013 came into force in the UK in March 2014.

@Wayne *******

most likely with our woke government

@Steve ******

well it's a pretty fragile relationship tk start with if it can't survive that.

@Sammi *****

this is all very easy to do without paying many thousands to an agent. Just did it myself recently and was surprised how easy it was just a lot of boring paperwork.

@Sammi *****

A Bridging Visa does not automatically grant the applicant permission to leave the country and most importantly is the permission to work. If the applicant departs, the entire application becomes invalid. Additionally, if the application is refused in accordance with the relevant subsection or section, the applicant must lodge a review application with the Tribunal. If the Tribunal upholds the minister delegate’s decision, the situation becomes more complicated, potentially requiring a Judicial Review or Ministerial Intervention. This process can take a very long time unless the applicant provides exceptionally strong supporting documentation.

You will find all the relevant information in this link, mate. I applied for my partner, and the process took almost two calendar years.

@Ali ***********

more

@Ali ***********

more

@Ali ***********

and the rest

@Ali ***********

about the same for the u.k. .!