Australian Partner Visa $7000 - $8000

[BC]

this was just the beginning....

... and that's an understatement 

[krimster2]

but well worth it, for what was given in return ...

[southernX]

Geez Louise!
I’ve been married over 16 yr and have two kids to show for it, sorry if my comments offend you, like I said 7-8k is not even worthy of mention, if it’s an issue for you, you might be better off single...

good on you for being married for so long , well done !!
it is of no issue to me what so ever having been happily married for many years now also

 the visa costs what it costs, so for me or anyone else that is a part of the process , no issue with it at all  back then or now

>my wife has never had expectations that match your post
how wonderful for you, I know this may sound implausible, but did you ever think that we may come from different backgrounds and have different experiences in life, oh my!!!

exactly , glad to see you made that point clear , no one experience is the same in this process

my point was, marriage and raising a family can be expensive and visa expenses hardly even matter when you factor in purchasing a home, etc

correct, that clarification is important  to flesh that out for others who may be reading /starting off down this road , nicely done

however, your reaction speaks a lot more about your circumstances than it does about mine, sorry to step on your toes there fellas

lol again you are making more broad sweeping judgements that are incorrect off the back of what was posted ,

I’ve seen people on this board who ignored the more materialistic aspects of marriage and they’re single now, and I’m not. materialism may not be the “ideal”, but it most certainly is the most “real”, go ahead and dismiss it if you want and you can go and join the others on this board that did...

geez louise ??????? :
lol   where was it written to ignore ??  and dismiss ???  just dont bs & over exagerate it from one single experience , 25 k in dentistry reeks of that for mine



point is any bloke who goes after this , needs to know he will be responsible for all costs & they can be considerable over many years, but they should be given responsible realistic info , getting married and supporting a wife /kids etc is par for the course no matter where you may come from or find each other imho

SX

[krimster2]

> just dont bs & over exagerate it from one single experience , 25 k in dentistry reeks of that for mine

Nope, that is honestly what we've spent on my wife's dentistry. I don't know about your country, but here it's expensive, at least two bridges and two implants over the years + a lot of other work came to about $25,000, it is what it is, my wife's smile is gorgeous!

[southernX]

> just dont bs & over exagerate it from one single experience , 25 k in dentistry reeks of that for mine

Nope, that is honestly what we've spent on my wife's dentistry. I don't know about your country, but here it's expensive, at least two bridges and two implants over the years + a lot of other work came to about $25,000, it is what it is, my wife's smile is gorgeous!

;)KRIM , yes mate i honestly believe you well may have paid that ,

however id be guessing like me , not many blokes have had to spend that on their wives zoobs
 my wife had taken very good care of her health for many years so she was not a dentists basket case
& it is normal to spend whatever is required  regardless of your wife being from overseas etc
SX

[JayH]

Not sure what the $6865 would include but I see this....


http://www.liveinaustralia.com/spouse-visa/visa_descriptions_applicationcosts.asp

These charges [even as stated above] are nothing less than criminal.

Not sure where the numbers quoted above have come from-- I note some here who commented seem to think this is the cost of  the whole deal. The $ number referred to is the government lodging of the application fee. Not having looked at this for a while--it is now twice  what it was a few years ago!!!!!!!!!!  I agree that these charges are outrageous.
The site was easy to use  in the past--now it is more complicated!
Sit down while you read this!!
Price starts from AUD 6,865.00

This document is based on lodgement date on 18.02.2016 Australian Eastern Standard/Daylight Time.
For information about payment options, go to How to pay
How this price is calculated
Product   Quantity   Price
TO300 Prospective Marriage   1   6,865.00
GST      0.00
Total      AUD  6,865.00
http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Visa-1

[supraman]

 
 
    Also you were entitled to 1 year language course and child care if child involved .-- Used to, not sure these days ..?
      If she does the courses she can get documents  certified and translated for free through the school. Which were $80 a page normally  .
       She is able to claim medicare as soon as you are married .
     There are some things you can get back out of the system . My wife met with an "ädviser "at the local Tafe college , This was , and still is a good source of info and resource for us .
      Cheers ..
 
   

[krimster2]

>it is normal to spend whatever is required  regardless of your wife being from overseas etc
this is quite true!

however, it's pretty common from my experience based on a lot of foreign couples I've met over the past 15 years or so for a lot of FSU women to have dental and medical issues that need to be resolved when they move to their new country. My expenses were well above the norm, but guys just starting out should realize that these expenses just MIGHT be out there waiting for them in the future...
so all you new guys dating chicks in the FSU, check their teeth before you ask them to marry you 

[Chicagoguy]

I guess I am lucky - in a way. My newest Obamacare premium for wife was $ 7,700 a year. Had it much cheaper last year and the reimbursement  was about $ 50. So we are no longer paying. Maybe the fine for not joining. So what do we do ? It is less than $ 1000 round trip back home and then she visits all the Dr.s and dentists for about a month. Anywhere from $ 500 to $1000.

Of course if there is a big emergency here we could be in big trouble. My wife of 37 years died in 2007. Total bill was 1.2 million $.
I paid nothing then but there is no way that could happen again. Just a crap shoot. If wife was in serious condition we would probably move there.

[krimster2]

a few years ago my wife made the mistake of doing "medical tourism" dentistry when she was in Ukraine visiting, we just had to do it over again in the USA a few years later because of the bad quality, your mileage may vary ...
yeah medical care and health insurance is pretty expensive here!!!

[southernX]

a few years ago my wife made the mistake of doing "medical tourism" dentistry when she was in Ukraine visiting, we just had to do it over again in the USA a few years later because of the bad quality, your mileage may vary ...

again it depends on the individual & their experience
3 years ago i had to visit a dentist in ukraine due to an unforseen emergency ,so we went to my wifes familys reccommended dentist

 the dental lab was quite different to here in australia , my initial trepidation on entering their premises was quickly forgotten once they set to their task

the dentists there  all worked in a common open space , more like a  ladies hair salon , very open as they worked on each patient , me included

the service was exceptional and result was great , so much that i had additional work done over our stay far and away more than i ever intended to all with good results and good service ,
the dentist was open 6 days aweek from 8am until 9 pm even on saturday 
since that work was done in ukraine i had reason to visit the  local dentist here and so i asked him his opinion on the overseas work , he offered   that it was first class & good quality

the work i had done in ukraine has never given me any issues and was quite extensive
while my experience there was not medical tourism , it was a good service at good prices with good results , so it varys widely and for any  readers  they should be aware not all cases are the same

similar with the wives who needed dentistry , in our circle i dont know of any that needed extensive or expensive dental work upon arriving in australia
my wife and stepson had excellent dental health and over many years now have had min need to visit the dentist here
use your head and common sense when making your choices as it is a case by case basis ime

SX

[zooble]

Not sure where the numbers quoted above have come from

His quote comes from a non-government website that hasn't been updated in 5-6 years according to the footer. So prices have tripled since then.

I started this thread to give awareness. Since I was taken back by the increase having not checked it for ages, and old Australian threads on here list old prices. I'm sure others would have done the same, that is, investigate how much a visa costs and then never look at it again until you actually do the process.

@Krimster
Based on the numbers you provided, when your visa fees are about 20-25x less you are hardly in a position to give the impression that a $7000-$8000 visa is nothing/justified, especially when its cost increase is highly arbitrary. Your choice of using a lawyer was your own and if an Aussie decided to use one too, it would probably cost something similar, but importantly, that cost was optional for you, not mandatory. Also, of course, over here we'd still be paying other incidentals such as flights, etc, so that's not unique to a USA situation.

My RW has excellent dental health and they're even straighter than mine, since mine have relapsed after bracers. Dental health is correlated to socio-economic status and education so not all UW/RW need 25k dentistry work, and if people want to pursue those women that do, i.e. most likely to be the poorer ones(by Ukr/Rus standards), that's on them. "Buyer" beware. Same as the exorbitant visa fees.

[tfcrew]

Using all the prior links you don't really get an upfront cost.
Here you do....

http://www.visaaustralia.com.au/family-spouse-visas/partner-visa-application-fee-increase/

One Aussie $ = $.71 US [while it lasts]

[tfcrew]

      Went back to the above site's comments...
 

•  

     Jim Wants To Die   • 22 days ago       This fee increase makes me want to commit suicide. Sure am fucking depressed knowing that the Australian government wants to financially rape us (without warning) Australians with foreign partners.
Just. Want. To. Fucking. Die.
Never been more ashamed of being an "Australian" - just want to cut my passport up I'm so depressed, and ashamed. Be right back, going to start punching my worthless self in the head I'm just taking it up the backside for a greedy corrupt hateful country.
     

• [/l][/l]
     
  • 
     

[krimster2]

>...Dental health is correlated to socio-economic status...

some bloke wot lives inna formal penal colony makin’ comments ‘bout “social economic status”
bloody well had a good laugh at that one!  I mean his great-grand-dad got caught nickin’ wallets in Pickadilly, and his great-grand-ma, ... well you know....

Just FYI Mr Zooble, in Ukraine in the late 90‘s time period, average “chellovick” had an income of about $200/month from which to pay for food and housing, with nothing left over for dentistry.  Of course there are differences on an individual level, even from within the same family which would over-ride your “socio-economic” theory as the main determining factor to poor dental health. 

BTW Zooble, if you add up the “optional (which to you they may have been optional, to me, not)” costs, I paid about the same as what the Australian bloke was complaining about, and there were no tears from me.  The costs are whatever they are, and if you’re stressed about the up-front costs which are comparatively minor, how will you handle the later costs which are much more significant.  Maybe what Australia is doing is right, to weed out those who are unable to commit to such an adventure...

[ML]

I guess I am lucky - in a way. My newest Obamacare premium for wife was $ 7,700 a year. Had it much cheaper last year and the reimbursement  was about $ 50. So we are no longer paying. Maybe the fine for not joining.

What is this $50 reimbursement you mentioned.

Have you determined the amount of the penalty you will pay (I think it increases every year) for not having a health care plan for your spouse.

Isn't she eligible for Medicare as spouse of retired person . . . or maybe she is not old enough; don't know what the age requirement is for spouse.

[ML]

the service was exceptional and result was great , so much that i had additional work done over our stay far and away more than i ever intended to all with good results and good service ,
the dentist was open 6 days aweek from 8am until 9 pm even on saturday 
SX

Hi SX . . . would  you be so kind as to tell the name of this dental clinic and its location?  Or please send me a PM with the info if you would rather.

Spouse will be back  in Ukraine  this summer and needs some dental work.

Thanks, ML