You will need to obtain a police clearance in Thailand for the Australian visa. One of the documents needed for an Australian visa application is a police clearance certificate. This could be for an Australian spouse visa or an Australian fiancée visa for your Thai fiancée or wife. This application needs to be done in Bangkok at the Special Branch police. Note below the documents required for the police certificate to be issued.
Police Clearance in Thailand
Note that the Thai Police Clearance Service Center located in Bangkok would issue these police clearance certificates and they are applicable to all Australian visa applicants. Your Thai wife or Thai fiancée will require the following documents for the police clearance process to begin:
- – Certified copy of her Thai passport;
- – Also a certified copy of her National ID card;
- – Certified copy of her name/surname change certificate;*
- – Certified copy of her House certificate (Tabian Baan);
- – Also a certified copy of her marriage/divorce certificate;**
- – Certified copy of her Military certificate if she was in the military.
Most times the Royal Thai Police will require a letter from the Embassy to provide the certificate. They would normally issue one to you or your lawyer in Bangkok and one to the Australian Embassy. This would be part of the visa application process and most tend to do it at the same time as the medical certificate for the Australian visa. Note that you have to apply for the visa first before you reach this stage of the process.
Police Clearance in Thailand
* The name change certificate is important as your wife or fiancée might have been married before and her surname changed. She could also have made use of the process a few years ago in Thailand where Thai woman had been allowed to maintain their maiden surname. This even after marriage. It was not uncommon in Thailand for woman to change back to their maiden surnames. Mainly when they had a ‘good surname’ in Thailand which might have been granted to the family by the Royal Family of Thailand.
This name change comes with a certificate which they normally laminate at the District Office or Amphurs office in Thailand. If she does not have the certificate then she will need to apply for the name change certificate again. It usually takes a few hours to get the name change certificate re-issued again.
** She will also need a copy of her divorce decree or marriage certificate if she had been married before. Much like the name change certificate this can be re-issued at the District Office or Amphurs Office in Thailand where it occurred. If you are taking minor children or dependents with to Australia then this might also be a good time to get the divorce agreement showing who has custody over the children.
The police clearance certificate is important as having a criminal record will make the application very difficult. They might however overlook a minor crime such as shoplifting when she was 16 years old. However you will need to take legal advice on this and how to approach the issue with the Embassy in Thailand. Like any immigration process you always need to seek proper qualified legal advice before you start such a long and complex process.