myauq

I may be laughed down for suggesting this, but we were kind of hoping that the Embassy could give us special consideration to expedite the visa processing if we mentioned (quite truthfully by the way) that the child's primary care-giver (my fiance's mother) has suffered a major stroke.  Seeing as her Grandmother died two years ago, and if my fiance's mum's health gets worse then the child will have to move across the country where we cannot keep in touch with her or send money for school fees.  This will be a major set-back, and is certainly not in the immediate or long term best interests of the child.

Any chances of getting special consideration?

Hi again,

Just another quick update....

We've been contacting the embassy in regards to required documents, and they said that an affidavit from her and her mum explaining the situation surrounding her daughter's birth should be OK.  That's helpful .

Last week we sent over AU$1000 for the family to get the Family Certificate which is required ID for the Australian Embassy.  But unfortunately the office in Burma wanted my fiance (as the biological mother) to be there in person for issuing the certificate, so that ended up being a complete waste of money (most of it on travel to the remote office in the country).  I asked the Embassy if we could provide all the other documents (i.e. birth certificate, school registration) instead.  Haven't heard back from them yet.  I explained about the difficultly of getting the Family Certificate (i.e. the cost and time) - do you think they will be understanding?

It also seems that she will need this Family Certificate to get her daughter the Burmese passport.  So I said that my fiance would be prepared to drop everything in Australia and travel back to Burma, go to the office in the country, front up the money again and get this dam_n Family Certificate herself.  And I asked the Embassy if they could make a decision on the visa first (i.e. based on evidence of maternal relationship, ability to support, best interests of the child, correspondences, health check, DNA tests, etc), so that we don't waste time waiting for it in Burma.  Does that also sound reasonable?

But if her daughter cannot get a passport then I think it's going to be very difficult to get her out of the country right now.  As far as the Family Court goes - do you think we could obtain custody, and put her on my (Australian) passport?  I'm guessing that'll be unlikely.  I don't suppose the DIAC would grant my fiance an Australian passport (not being a citizen yet) either so that she could add her daughter.  They wouldn't do that would they?

It's tricky but hopefully we'll get some free legal advice next week, and email a couple of politicians for good measure.

guest care hotel and sweet hotel ... excellent staff, and nice rooms with breakfast.  a couple of kms from the city centre (taxi's about $2-3 to the cbd), with shops and markets around.  it's in sanchaun.

g'day all,

thanks for all your replies, and for the very useful pm's bridge .

we're getting some legal help at the moment, but also got an email from the yangon embassy saying that they'd accept some stat decs from my fiance and her family.

will keep you posted on the progress...

g'day crowsnet,

been there done that.  it's a very tricky situation, and the best my fiance and i discovered was to go to australia and do it here.

basically, you can't do it legally in burma.  if you're in thailand you can go to an office in silom.  they will say they're a legit thai business, but i know they are all burmese and well connected, so there is also a danger aspect for your fiance - they will ask for lots of information about her family back in burma and check on her status in thailand.  on top of the month long waiting time (at best), and having to send your fiance's family all the way to the goat-fuc_ked naypyidaw capital, they will ask you for about 50,000 baht for the certificate.  that will just give you the piece of paper that you can use to allow her stay with you in thailand (providing you've got a work visa/ permit to stay).  you can also provide that as evidence of your marriage for the oz visa, but there's really no point because the embassy are more interested in finding evidence of your ongoing commitment to each other (not just a tatty piece of over-sized government issued recycled paper from burma).

i would advise getting the visa for australia asap, and forget marrying elsewhere.  that way you know where your money is going, she can meet your friends and family, and of course you both get married legally.   in thailand you need a letter stating your freedom to marry from both embassies.  oz embassy is not a problem, of course.  but the when your fiance tells the burmese embassy your name and nationality, they won't give her the letter - hence the scam set-up in silom.

you've also got the question of taxes.  as soon as you leave the country your fiance will have to pay a monthly tax to the burmese embassy in whichever country she's in.  in thailand it's about 500 baht per month, and until you've paid it all they won't let her renew the passport.  and bear in mind the passport is only valid for 3 years.  but when you're married in australia, they waive some of the tax, and let her renew provided you show them your marriage certificate and give them a $850 deposit which they will keep until she hands back her burmese passport (after getting citizenship).

now does that sound pretty fuc_ked up or what?

anyway - i hope that helps, but pm me if you need any more information.

m.