Tourist Visa? Or do you need a Prospective Marriage Visa?

(Please note this is an updating of an older post)

At Down Under Visa we get partner visa assessment forms all the time from men who clearly have good, stable and committed relationships with their Filipina ladies, and they I get to the end and see they want to get a TOURIST visa for their fiancées. I shake my head in amazement in each and every time. When I brought my wife Mila to Australia, there was no way I was going to be sticking her on a plane again after three months!

Make no mistake about it. That is what you are looking at. Tourist visas are NOT short-cuts to partner visas. And this is common thinking. Tourist visa as an easier way to bring their fiancee to Australia and for her to remain, thus avoiding all the red tape. Bring her on a simple tourist visa….marry her….and she stays.

Or:

2. They’re thinking that maybe she needs to see Australia to see if she likes it or not.

In answer to the first issue, there’s no dodging the “red tape”. Australia guards its borders very carefully, and there are laws in place to prevent people “jumping the queue”. Applicants from countries like the Philippines (ie poor countries), will almost always have a Condition 8503 placed on tourist visas. This condition says “No Further Stay”, which means you can’t apply for another visa while the applicant is in Australia. So at the end of the trip, she goes back. Simple as that.

So basically, it won’t work. If she gets a tourist visa at all (which is no certainty), she will only end up going back anyway.

And in answer to the second question:

This is generally plain ol’ “cold feet”! Think about it, and you’ll realise I’m probably right. It’s a common condition in men. Fear of taking the plunge, so you dip your toe in the water. Getting a tourist visa is the migration version of dipping a toe in the water!

If she loves you, she will love Australia! She will love your home if she loves you! What kind of girl says “OK. You are the man of my dreams, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…….but I prefer Manila to Melbourne!”?? Is this really likely?

Chances are if you do this, about a week before you have to put her on the plane back to Manila, you’ll be kicking yourself for not applying for a fiancee visa (prospective marriage visa). It could have been well and truly being processed by this stage, and you’ll be bidding farewell to the woman you love instead. And if you want her to be with you permanently, you’ll have to start at the beginning.

Yes, there are times when a tourist visa is appropriate, ie.

• You’re not divorced yet

• You’re really genuinely not 100% sure yet, and you want to iron out some genuine concerns

In cases like that, yes of course it’s worth considering. But please be honest with yourselves about this. If she’s the one, then take the plunge! And we can help you!

So why not talk to us at Down Under Visa about a Fiancee Visa (Prospective Marriage Visa). Take our FREE ASSESSMENT of your case, and we can give you an honest assessment and tell you if your chances are good.