Australian visa for your Vietnamese wife.

Being married makes very little difference. They will be looking at her employment status, bank account and what she has to return to in VN.

Thanks for your quick response.
Well, bank balances aren't going to be impressive, hers or mine! The thing is that I only want to return to Australia for a one month visit then return to Vietnam to live as I have been since the 4th of January.
I'm receiving the Age pension while I live in Vietnam but the thing is that once we get married the Australian Government (Centrelink) will cut my pension by $232 a fortnight. Don't ask me their reasoning behind that but that's what they will do. And that is if she's not working! If they find out that she's receiving an income they'll cut my pension even more! Australian Government! As****es!
She is a school teacher in Bac Giang (her home town) and has been teaching for 13 years. Once we're married she wants to move to  Da Nang to live with me.
Maybe the only thing that may help is if she can continue working as a school teacher here in Da Nang.
Hmm! Food for thought! Thanks again,
Wayne

Waynesinoz wrote:

As an Australian is it easier to get a visa for my Vietnamese wife as a tourist to enter Australia because we a married? I would like to take her to Australia for a one month holiday.

Waynesinoz wrote:

I'm receiving the Age pension while I live in Vietnam but the thing is that once we get married the Australian Government (Centrelink) will cut my pension by $232 a fortnight.

Bold is mine for clarification.  Wayne, are you or are you not currently married?  Two sequential posts above seem to conflict.

Why get married and lose that much money...explain to your soon to be wife that you will lose $60,000 over 10 years before any interest just for a ring...

Are there any benefits to actually being married ?

If you are serious though you may be able to marry her and then try and marry her in Australia,. I think there is a special visa for this. Then the both of you can come and go as you please.

panda7 wrote:

Why get married and lose that much money...explain to your soon to be wife that you will lose $60,000 over 10 years before any interest just for a ring...

Are there any benefits to actually being married ?

If you are serious though you may be able to marry her and then try and marry her in Australia,. I think there is a special visa for this. Then the both of you can come and go as you please.

Even if you marry in Australia it doesnt give you the right to go in and out of the country. Things are getting harder each year, Viets doing the boogaloo doesnt help the legitimate Viets who do everything by the book.

colinoscapee wrote:

panda7 wrote:

Why get married and lose that much money...explain to your soon to be wife that you will lose $60,000 over 10 years before any interest just for a ring...

Are there any benefits to actually being married ?

If you are serious though you may be able to marry her and then try and marry her in Australia,. I think there is a special visa for this. Then the both of you can come and go as you please.

Even if you marry in Australia it doesnt give you the right to go in and out of the country. Things are getting harder each year, Viets doing the boogaloo doesnt help the legitimate Viets who do everything by the book.

I mean with valid visas...I'm just saying if his wife became an Australian citizen it will be easier for her to come and go to both countries. I'm not sure though if she would have to rescind her Vietnamese passport ?

panda7 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

panda7 wrote:

Why get married and lose that much money...explain to your soon to be wife that you will lose $60,000 over 10 years before any interest just for a ring...

Are there any benefits to actually being married ?

If you are serious though you may be able to marry her and then try and marry her in Australia,. I think there is a special visa for this. Then the both of you can come and go as you please.

Even if you marry in Australia it doesnt give you the right to go in and out of the country. Things are getting harder each year, Viets doing the boogaloo doesnt help the legitimate Viets who do everything by the book.

I mean with valid visas...I'm just saying if his wife became an Australian citizen it will be easier for her to come and go to both countries. I'm not sure though if she would have to rescind her Vietnamese passport ?

Agree. Have you seen the system related to getting her a residency card. Its not easy, and you have to prove that you are in a long-term relationship and that you have been cohabitating. This may happen after a few years of marriage, but not now.

Yes, we would lose 87 million vnd per year by the cut in my pension.
As for the different posts re: how to marry and how to get a visa for a Vietnamese wife. Obviously we've sorted out the first one because we're only waiting on one document (any day now) and then we can legally be married in Vietnam.
The second post is looking down the track a little because I want to show her some of Australia and to meet the family and friends. I would like to return to Australia with my wife once a year for a month to visit family and friends before returning to Vietnam.
Firstly let me say that we both want to be married but I realise the financial consequences. At present I have to leave the country every 3 months to renew my visa. I've been doing this by catching the "Visa Bus" to Laos (Lao Bao) but I heard recently that they may be making it more difficult to do this soon.
When we are married I can get a 3 year Temporary Residence Card which means no more visas for 3 years and I thought it would be easier for her to get a tourist visa for Australia as my wife. I can also have my Australian Drivers License converted to a Vietnamese license for 3 years.
I intend to spend the rest of my life in Vietnam with my wife, only returning to Australia for yearly visits.

I wonder if it's worthwhile the two of us making an appointment with the Australian Embassy so that they could point us in the right direction.

Waynesinoz wrote:

I wonder if it's worthwhile the two of us making an appointment with the Australian Embassy so that they could point us in the right direction.

Not really, they dont handle the visas anymore. Its a seperate entity called VFS. To get a visa you have to meet certain criteria, if you dont meet this they wont allow her to enter.

Does she have a good job.
Will her employer give her time off.
Does she have money in the bank.
Does she own any property.
How will you finance the trip.
Where will you reside while visting Australia and so on.

Its not like getting a visa to visit Viet Nam. Do a search on Google, there is a lot of info in relation to visas. I do my wifes visa online, but you must supply a lot of information plus a schedule of your visit.

Yes its very difficult to get the visa to Australia and after all the time and effort (for eg you need to have every document professionally translated and stamped) plus the cost it can be a real let down when it gets rejected. If you do try I would suggest going through an agent that can put a submission together for you as they know what the people are looking for also just try for a short visa the first time like 2 weeks. It also helps if you can put together a photo album of your time together.

panda7 wrote:

Yes its very difficult to get the visa to Australia and after all the time and effort (for eg you need to have every document professionally translated and stamped) plus the cost it can be a real let down when it gets rejected. If you do try I would suggest going through an agent that can put a submission together for you as they know what the people are looking for also just try for a short visa the first time like 2 weeks. It also helps if you can put together a photo album of your time together.

You dont need pictures for a tourist visa. You need pics for the spousal visa if she wants to live in Australia.

perhaps but it never hurts to stack the deck in your favour especially when they probably reject over 80% of applicants...

panda7 wrote:

perhaps but it never hurts to stack the deck in your favour especially when they probably reject over 80% of applicants...

I did my wifes visa on the Australian visa portal. There was no request for pics or anywhere you could add pics of you as a couple. They are more concerned with the VN partner returning to Viet Nam. Ive just done my wifes second visa and its fairly straightforward.

Thanks for your advice. My wife-to-be has no desire to be an Australian citizen or live in Australia. I know that even if she did, that's another rabbit hole that I would not take her down.
Cheers

If I were you, I would not get legally married.  I would do the engagement and religious wedding ceremonies and be done with it.  I have no use for a legal marriage and they are meaningless, except for the legal rights. 

Based on your posts, it looks like you want the legal marriage so you don't have to do visa runs?  Is that worth losing a material amount of finances for the rest of your lives?  You also need to consider whether she has any legal rights that would require a legal marriage or can you accomplish the same with a Will and Beneficiary designations?

She's working as a school teacher in Bac Giang (near Hanoi) and has done for 17 years. Quite frankly she'd like to give the teaching away. She often has 40+ 5 year old students in her class and starts at 7am with a 1 hour break for lunch then finishes at 5pm. A long day in anyone's opinion but, then she has to spend time in the evening preparing the curriculum for the following day's work. We talked about the move to Da Nang and we both think it might be a good idea for her to continue teaching in Da Nang for a little while. At least until we can secure a tourist visa for her. Hopefully the second year when we apply for another tourist visa it won't be as difficult and we'll have been together for nearly 2 years and married for more than one year.

Hi. Sure, not having to do visa runs would be an advantage but we do both want to get married. Also with a Temporary Residence Card I can have my driver's license transferred to a Vietnamese license for the duration (I believe 3 years). As far as legal rights for her, I'm not too sure. We haven't really looked that far ahead. I'd like to buy a house perhaps in the new year and if possible, in both our names. Married or unmarried could make a difference with that. Either way, there is more than 25 years age gap between us and some way down the track when I've passed on, I'd like to know that she has the house in her name to keep.

Waynesinoz wrote:

Hi. Sure, not having to do visa runs would be an advantage but we do both want to get married. Also with a Temporary Residence Card I can have my driver's license transferred to a Vietnamese license for the duration (I believe 3 years). As far as legal rights for her, I'm not too sure. We haven't really looked that far ahead. I'd like to buy a house perhaps in the new year and if possible, in both our names. Married or unmarried could make a difference with that. Either way, there is more than 25 years age gap between us and some way down the track when I've passed on, I'd like to know that she has the house in her name to keep.

Please do not take this the wrong way, but based on your post above, I would not do the government marriage license until you figure out and understand what you and her really need.  Why the rush to get a government marriage license when you have not even looked into or understand whether you and her need such a license?  Do understand that you and your fiance can get married in VN without a government marriage license?  There are 2 parties, an engagement party and the wedding party, have you had those yet?  Once you have those 2 parties, that is what is important to your fiance and her family as they then consider you and her to be married.

You don't need to worry about the house in VN.  My understanding, when you die, it will be hers whether you have a government marriage license or not because her name or a VN person is required to be on the title.

I don't understand the rush to get a government marriage license.  Sorry, but to me, it appears there are some red flags here.

Points taken! I wasn't aware of the "engagement party" and "wedding party" procedure.
There are a lot of things to take into consideration. Government marriage or not, when we decide to visit Australia and apply for a visa for her that will throw up a red flag for Centrelink and as far as they're concerned, legally married or in a defacto relationship they consider it as married and cut my pension and no doubt ask me to repay the excess from the point that we claimed to have started our relationship.

There is an agency whose lawyer said that he has has a very good success rate for obtaining visas for Vietnamese and especially when he  can establish a long term relationship is in place. His fee is around $750. No doubt that is paid whether he is successful or not !
Again, establishing a  long term relationship gets the attention of Centrelink and we're back to the problem of them cutting deeply into my pension.

Waynesinoz wrote:

Points taken! I wasn't aware of the "engagement party" and "wedding party" procedure.

I am now worried for you mate, seriously.  That is a huge red flag.  I am speechless.   

Yogi - I think this is where you step in for a dose of reality for our good friend here.

The thing is , I've found it very hard to get the required information. No one seems to know all the answers and so I all too often feel like I'm walking around in the dark.
At this point I can't see a problem with said department as she is living in the north with her family and I am living in Da Nang alone.
I'm certainly prepared to put the brakes on until things are a little clearer.

Waynesinoz wrote:

Points taken! I wasn't aware of the "engagement party" and "wedding party" procedure.

There are several long threads in this forum with detailed descriptions on wedding procedures.  The traditional marriage ceremonies are much more important to Vietnamese than the marriage license.  The license is a legal proof while the ceremonies are THE social approval.

I'd put in some solid time actually living together before making big decisions like getting married...i'm talking like 2 years. there's no rush and you'll be $115 a week better off.

the motorbike license you just need a 3 month visa and an agent to do the forms for you...

panda7 wrote:

the motorbike license you just need a 3 month visa and an agent to do the forms for you...

Why do think the OP would need the motorbike license for his situation, panda?

Ciambella wrote:

panda7 wrote:

the motorbike license you just need a 3 month visa and an agent to do the forms for you...

Why do think the OP would need the motorbike license for his situation, panda?

OP was ticking that off as one of the side benefits of getting married on one of the earlier posts since he can get a motorbike license for the duration of the TRC after he is married.  It's a stretch as a benefit, but he called it out.

Had panda7 quoted the post he was replying to it would have been more clear to everyone.

Waynesinoz wrote:

The thing is , I've found it very hard to get the required information. No one seems to know all the answers and so I all too often feel like I'm walking around in the dark.
At this point I can't see a problem with said department as she is living in the north with her family and I am living in Da Nang alone.
I'm certainly prepared to put the brakes on until things are a little clearer.

One of the problems you will encounter is exactly what has happened. Every town/provence has its own interpretation of the law.

I did only a mental health check(complete joke), yet in the city where we live you have to do a full physical. The distance between where we live and where my wife is registered is just 50 klms, but completely different rules.

Waynesinoz wrote:

Hi. Sure, not having to do visa runs would be an advantage but we do both want to get married. Also with a Temporary Residence Card I can have my driver's license transferred to a Vietnamese license for the duration (I believe 3 years). As far as legal rights for her, I'm not too sure. We haven't really looked that far ahead. I'd like to buy a house perhaps in the new year and if possible, in both our names. Married or unmarried could make a difference with that. Either way, there is more than 25 years age gap between us and some way down the track when I've passed on, I'd like to know that she has the house in her name to keep.

You are going to have to make a choice between the marriage you want, and the loss of income from Australia.

Waynesinoz wrote:

There is an agency whose lawyer said that he has has a very good success rate for obtaining visas for Vietnamese and especially when he  can establish a long term relationship is in place. His fee is around $750. No doubt that is paid whether he is successful or not !
Again, establishing a  long term relationship gets the attention of Centrelink and we're back to the problem of them cutting deeply into my pension.

That would be 750 usd down the drain. Beware of agents, they are not there to help, only to line their pockets. Why dont you go onto the visa site and see exactly whats required. You just need to register under her name, there are 22 pages to fill out.

colinoscapee wrote:

Waynesinoz wrote:

There is an agency whose lawyer said that he has has a very good success rate for obtaining visas for Vietnamese and especially when he  can establish a long term relationship is in place. His fee is around $750. No doubt that is paid whether he is successful or not !
Again, establishing a  long term relationship gets the attention of Centrelink and we're back to the problem of them cutting deeply into my pension.

That would be 750 usd down the drain. Beware of agents, they are not there to help, only to line their pockets. Why dont you go onto the visa site and see exactly whats required. You just need to register under her name, there are 22 pages to fill out.

how do you submit your account balance ? do you have to provide bank details or a scanned copy of your balance ?

panda7 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

Waynesinoz wrote:

There is an agency whose lawyer said that he has has a very good success rate for obtaining visas for Vietnamese and especially when he  can establish a long term relationship is in place. His fee is around $750. No doubt that is paid whether he is successful or not !
Again, establishing a  long term relationship gets the attention of Centrelink and we're back to the problem of them cutting deeply into my pension.

That would be 750 usd down the drain. Beware of agents, they are not there to help, only to line their pockets. Why dont you go onto the visa site and see exactly whats required. You just need to register under her name, there are 22 pages to fill out.

how do you submit your account balance ? do you have to provide bank details or a scanned copy of your balance ?

There is a tab for you to submit all documents. Just scan and keep in a file, then attach them to your visa application. Its quite easy.

Australian visa site

Waynesinoz wrote:

The thing is , I've found it very hard to get the required information. No one seems to know all the answers and so I all too often feel like I'm walking around in the dark.
At this point I can't see a problem with said department as she is living in the north with her family and I am living in Da Nang alone.
I'm certainly prepared to put the brakes on until things are a little clearer.

You can register your lady on here.

Australian visa site

colinoscapee wrote:

panda7 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

That would be 750 usd down the drain. Beware of agents, they are not there to help, only to line their pockets. Why dont you go onto the visa site and see exactly whats required. You just need to register under her name, there are 22 pages to fill out.

how do you submit your account balance ? do you have to provide bank details or a scanned copy of your balance ?

There is a tab for you to submit all documents. Just scan and keep in a file, then attach them to your visa application. Its quite easy.

Australian visa site

so submitting a few photos / timeline is possible at that stage ? maybe not required / requested but it cant hurt.

panda7 wrote:

colinoscapee wrote:

panda7 wrote:

how do you submit your account balance ? do you have to provide bank details or a scanned copy of your balance ?

There is a tab for you to submit all documents. Just scan and keep in a file, then attach them to your visa application. Its quite easy.

Australian visa site

so submitting a few photos / timeline is possible at that stage ? maybe not required / requested but it cant hurt.

Not for a tourist visa. If the person wants to emigrate....yes.

Thank you for your advice. I think we might look at doing something more in the Traditional way before we go down the legal track. We both need to discuss this together and with her family.
Cheers 👍🏼

From experience and the experience of a lot of people I know, I would suggest applying for a 1 month tourist Visa only.

Don't try for a 3 or 6 month tourist visa

Suggest against mentioning the fact you are engaged or " getting married" as this will compound things and often makes it more difficult to get the tourist Visa.

Best of luck