One Thai Lady's Experience Entering Australia

I recently helped my TG to get a tourist visa for Australia. It was approved and she visited Australia for 4 weeks. Due to the circumstances she needed to travel to Australia alone. This is the experience that my Thai lady had entering Australia.

Before I left Thailand I gave her a letter for her to show immigration that stated that she was coming to Australia to visit me and that I would be paying all her expenses. I also sent her a partially filled out arrivals card. Prior to her coming I had told her what she might encounter when she arrived. At first she dismissed what I was telling her might happen.

I had booked her on a direct Bangkok to Perth flight. She arrived on time at about 7:30am and I was at the airport to pick her up. She later told me that there were very few Thai people on the flight. While I was waiting for her I only seen a few Thai people and they appeared to be Thai couples on package holidays.

She arrived at immigration and showed her passport. There are no questions here and her passport was stamped and she was allowed through. At this point she was thinking that it was easy and everything I have told her was a incorrect. She hadn’t taken more than 5 steps before she was pounced on by an immigration officer. She was asked many questions at this point and the list below covers most of them:

Why you come to Australia?
How long you stay?
Where you stay?
What you do while you are here?
Who you see while here?
How you pay your expenses?
Will you work while you are here?
What you do in Thailand?
Do you have a job?
What is the name of the place where you work?

Once it was established that she was here to see me there were more specific questions like:

How long she had known me?
How many times I had seen her in Thailand?
Where did I live?
What I did for work?
How old was I?
Did I fill out the arrival card for her?
Since I had filled in the card for her they asked if she understood the questions on the card

I am sure there were other questions but she probably forgot some or I have. I think those listed covers most of what was asked.

OK, she passed that hurdle with little problem and she was allowed to collect her bag. While she waited at the carousel for her bag the immigration guy stood behind her. At this stage she was thinking ‘O’ my Buddha, maybe I hab ploblem!!’

I had told her once she had her bag to head for the nothing to declare exit. The immigration guy said that she had to go down the red channel. Here they were met by another guy (I can only assume that he was with customs) and the same questions were again asked. This guy was a lot more serious than the immigration guy and scared her a little. While the interrogation was taking place they went through all of her belongings. Some of the questions were asked a little different and obviously intended to expose any lies that she had previously told.

At two points in the events her details were taken away. I think the immigration guy took her arrival card away at the first contact and then the customs guy took the letter away that I had given her. I am going to make assumptions here and they may be wrong. I believe that when the arrivals card was taken away the guy was comparing what she had told him with what was on her visa application. Since my contact details and passport number were on the letter that I gave her I assume the guy was checking my details.

I think she did really well. She kept her cool and joked a little with the immigration guy who did the same with her. She said he was funny. Despite the special attention she got she was with me in good time. In fact if she had of gone through the green channel I suspect it would have taken longer.

Now these are my thoughts on her experience. I believe that she was treated fairly and with respect by both of the guys. These people have a job to do and I have no problem with that. I do however believe that she was pre-selected for special treatment. She was a single TG and no doubt she stuck out like dogs balls on the passenger list.

I have spoken to others who arrived in Australia with their TGs and their experience entering Australia was much easier.

Anyway she got through and we had a great time together for the 4 weeks that she was in Australia.

Now here is the bit that did surprise me. I spoke to her just after she arrived back in Thailand. She told me that she was asked a similar list of questions (but not about me) when she left. I can only assume that it was to verify what she had said on the way into the country.