Oz Dad, Thai Mum, Child of couple - Visa Discussion

[Cruiser Elite]

Re: Passport changes

I would never have contemplated not sitting with my wife and children and moreso when they were infants/toddlers.

You hadn't noticed that JohnnyK marches to a different beat lto?

 

[JohnK]

Re: Passport changes

I would never have contemplated not sitting with my wife and children and moreso when they were infants/toddlers.

I didn't realise it was compulsory to sit next to each other. Bassinet aisle on QF A330 the bassinet is in my face. Sit there or sit 2 seats away in exit row window and assist throughtout the flight. Or should I have been a good little doggy and sit in middle seat next to her in bassinet?

You hadn't noticed that JohnnyK marches to a different beat lto?

Not one of your better criticisms Cruiser. I wasn't born to obey. Not this lifetime anyway.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Re: Passport changes

I didn't realise it was compulsory to sit next to each other. Bassinet aisle on QF A330 the bassinet is in my face. Sit there or sit 2 seats away in exit row window and assist throughtout the flight. Or should I have been a good little doggy and sit in middle seat next to her in bassinet?

Well - if you don't sit next to your wife, someone else may have to if it's a full flight. Also consider that in the event of an emergency you will almost certainly be a hindrance to other passengers by not sitting next to your wife and child. Rather than leave the aircraft you will either try and force yourself against the flow of passengers to find your wife and child, or you will try and wait for them at the exit.

 

[Cruiser Elite]

Re: Passport changes

Not one of your better criticisms Cruiser. I wasn't born to obey. Not this lifetime anyway.

I would never criticise one of my cobbers Johnny - you know me better than that. I do take every opp to give them a short jab to the ribs though - after all what are friends for?

 

[JohnK]

Re: Passport changes

The reason I raised the question is because of this advice from the Australian Government site: https://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Citi/Curr/Citizenship-through-travel

The advice I was given in Thailand was that daughter has to have Australian passport when she enters Australia again after first visit. She does not need Australian passport to exit Australia this week as she has Thai passport. Confirmed by Brisbabe GPO yesterday. Don't know how Border Force will see it on Saturday but think I didn't need to pay priority service fee.

When I lodged passport application on Saturday I was advised that the Thai translation to English for daughter's birth certificate obtained in Thailand will not be recognised by DFAT in Australia even though it is recognised by DFAT in Thailand. And because I panicked I spent another $116.50 I did not need to spend as DFAT accepted the Thai translated to English that we obtained in Thailand.

Close to $300 that could have been avoided had I done the passport application in December and not leaving to last minute and panicking. Wait and see if passport arrives by Friday. Brisbane GPO doesn't think I'll have passport by Friday.

 

[ozmille]

Re: Passport changes

we did our sons passport application with express procedure due to imminent travel and delayed birth certificate, the timelines given to us by the post office were as follows,
day one: lodge at post office
day two: application arrives at passport office and the 2 day express period starts
day three: processing and postage
day four: hopefully you get your passport otherwise see day five
day five: get the passport if you haven't gotten it on day four

we applied on a Saturday and got it in the mail on the Thursday, so 2 day express is a bit longer in my experience. Could be quicker if you apply at a passport office I think

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Re: Passport changes

I didn't realise it was compulsory to sit next to each other.

No it is not compulsory. Neither is fatherhood or indeed marriage.

Parenthood however often involves doing what is best for your child, than what is best for oneself. Or at least that is my take on things.

Bassinet aisle on QF A330 the bassinet is in my face.

Yes ease of access is normally considered a plus.

Sit there or sit 2 seats away in exit row window and assist throughout the flight. Or should I have been a good little doggy

Well that is one take on the joys of fatherhood....

and sit in middle seat next to her in bassinet?.

So you think it better that a stranger sits near your child than yourself?

Yes sitting next to means that you can better care for the baby. Babies love being held normally and it increases the parental bond. Having two parents together better enables that plus makes feeding, care, enterataining the baby etc all easier.

One's wife/partner might actually want to sleep, have some "her" time reading a book etc, and so being right there enables that to better happen.

And yes we flew a lot together in Y when they were babies/infants including to the USA and back.

Lastly, I actually enjoyed playing with, being with, my three babies. Not that some times were not testing, but sharing the load lessens the stress on all.


PS: I also think sitting together creates lest negative impact on other passengers in the cabin. There have been a number of threads on the forum about poor passenger behaviour, crying kids etc. So one needs to practice what one preaches???

 

[JohnK]

Re: Passport changes

we applied on a Saturday and got it in the mail on the Thursday, so 2 day express is a bit longer in my experience. Could be quicker if you apply at a passport office I think

That's an excellent turnaround. I know it is 2 days express service to process but in my experience Australia Post can be inconsistent with delivery.

The NAATI translation of birth certificate I requested on Saturday was at home in Sydney this morning via Express Post.

 

[drron]

Re: Passport changes

The Romans could deliver urgent mail a distance of 170 miles in 24 hours.About the distance Sydney-Canberra.Gone backwards.

 

[greenfish]

Re: Passport changes

A possibly useful data point. My son was born in July 2007 in Sydney - in August we moved to the UK - open ended but for at least 5 months. We applied for a British passport for him but didn't bother with the Australian passport.

Had no trouble checking in. We were taken to one side when we passed through immigration and were questioned why my son was leaving Australia on a British passport. We explained, and we were advised that we could exit, but he HAD to have an Australian passport when we returned - which of course we made sure we had, 5 months later.

 

[JohnK]

Re: Passport changes

Daughter's passport ready on Thursday and brother collected passport on Friday.

Asked the question at airport on Saturday. "Would my daughter have been able to exit on her Thai passport?" The answer was no but after further discussion she said "It is preferable that she exit on an Australian passport".

They would not have stopped my daughter from leaving if the passport was not ready.

 

[JohnK]

Wife's Partner visa granted on 30th January for 5 years. Unlimited entries back and forth. Only took 16 months and that was more to do with us getting information to them slowly.

Now to decide when to apply for residency. Will require some thought and discussion.

 

[theblank]

Wife's Partner visa granted on 30th January for 5 years. Unlimited entries back and forth. Only took 16 months and that was more to do with us getting information to them slowly.

thats unbeleivable, and cost circa $8000 right?

crazy. my missus cost me buggar all, i cant remember the amount, but it was 25 years ago and I was broke then, so probably like $200-300. I couldnt imagine having paid any more becuase I didnt have it. and Only took about 3 months and that included a flat rejection at first try.

 

[JohnK]

thats unbeleivable, and cost circa $8000 right?

Roughly but there were additional costs such as police checks in both countries, health checks etc.

We could have got the approval sooner if we had rushed through the checklist quicker.