This is a question that we are very often asked by clients who would like to bring their Thai girlfriend to Australia for a holiday. The short answer is yes, she can still be granted a tourist visa to Australia if she is unemployed. but a detailed explanation is necessary.
For Australian visa purposes, Thailand is unfortunately considered a high-risk country. Although you and your Thai girlfriend’s intention may be to visit Australia for a short 2-week holiday and then return to Thailand, it is in fact primarily an assessment of her personal circumstances that will be taken into consideration by the Department of Home Affairs. At Thai Visa Express we will only submit an application that has been thoroughly prepared by us and which meets the criteria for the grant a tourist visa. Those criteria can be found in the Migration Act and Regulations.
Although there is no actual requirement that a visitor to Australia must be employed to be granted a tourist visa, a person’s unemployment will be taken into consideration in the overall assessment of their tourist visa application in assessing whether they are intending a genuine temporary stay in Australia.
Ongoing employment in an applicant’s home country can be seen as an incentive to depart Australia prior to their tourist visa expiring. However just because a person is employed, this does not mean they will be automatically granted a tourist visa either. It is an overall assessment of an applicant’s personal circumstances which will determine whether they meet the criteria for the grant of a tourist visa or not. If a tourist visa application does not meet the criteria, then it must be refused. In assessing whether a person is intending a genuine temporary stay in Australia, the Department of Home Affairs will take into consideration many personal circumstances of the applicant, including, but not just limited to just ongoing employment. Other factors will also include the presence of close family members in their own county – that is, does the applicant have more close family members in their home country than in Australia.
When we prepare a tourist visa application for your girlfriend, we will firstly undertake a thorough and comprehensive assessment of all of her personal circumstances so that a tourist visa application with the strongest chances of success can be submitted to the Department of Home Affairs for favorable consideration. We will also ensure that the adequate means of support criteria are satisfied by preparing your sponsor’s letter of support, also known as an invitation.
Once your girlfriend’s tourist visa is submitted our support does not end there. As your girlfriend holds a Thai passport, she will also be required to provide biometrics (fingerprints and photographs) which can be done in either Chiang Mai or Bangkok. Depending upon her requested length of stay in Australia she may also be required to undertake a health assessment by an approved panel doctor in Thailand. We will make all the necessary appointments for her