# Australian Embassy Investigates



## FrankSS (May 29, 2010)

My wife just told me this morning that a friend of hers in Nanning China got a visit from Australian consulate authorities yesterday to basically check her out. Is this a practice that anyone has heard of? After all we go through to apply for the visa, proving relationship etc, to be visited in this way seems a bit over the top. The only reason I can think of is if they they think this person is "less than genuine"? But has anyone here heard of these sorts of visits or is this a sign of a new change in methods by the Australian government on visa's?


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

FrankSS said:


> My wife just told me this morning that a friend of hers in Nanning China got a visit from Australian consulate authorities yesterday to basically check her out. Is this a practice that anyone has heard of? After all we go through to apply for the visa, proving relationship etc, to be visited in this way seems a bit over the top. The only reason I can think of is if they they think this person is "less than genuine"? But has anyone here heard of these sorts of visits or is this a sign of a new change in methods by the Australian government on visa's?


I think it was you yourself Frank in another post who used the words marriage of convenience and despite all documentation that people need in showing a relationship exists, it is not just partner visas that I would expect checks are made on.

There are regulations in relation to all forms of immigration and immigration people are charged with ensuring to best of their ability that all is well.
Any system where there is some benefit to be obtained is going to be tested and you can clearly see that in other areas of immigration and if any system is sloppily managed and full of holes, the testing and rorting becomes easier.

I appreciate that may be tough to accept on a personal front but I am sure that as an Australian, the last thing you would want to see would be the system being rorted.


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## FrankSS (May 29, 2010)

I don't want to see the system rorted, for sure. When my wife made her application some 10 weeks ago now the consulate told her that "Many women from your area/city are trying to get into Australia with the wrong motives, etc" And my wife came back from that experience in tears. It was like they were judging her because of what others were doing around her, and this has been our worry ever since.

I have no problem if they investigate us and I welcome it, but it should always be on a case by case basis, not on what other people around her are doing. I know for a fact that women from this city often use "marriage brokers" for example who are a shadowy behind the scenes group or individuals who pretend to be the woman, speak great english etc to hook in a foriegn husband, then extort large sums of money out of the husband via the woman.

This has not happened in our case. I was aware of all of this stuff before I ever entered into my relationship with my wife and I tested her over and over. She has never demanded money from me, she has a caring loving heart and her command of english is actually quite good when compared to many of these "other women". We have always communicated directly and openly from the start. 

Like them she had the choice to go for a rich older foriegn man, instead she went for love and someone close to her age (I'm 38, she is 32). I am not poor, but I am not rich, just normal middle class I guess. Many of her friends scolded her for getting involved with me, but love is love.

I can sleep well at night knowing our relationship is genuine, I'm not so stupid to not know the difference. We spent weeks putting together all our evidence and emails etc, only to be told "all the women in your area are shonky". It was very upsetting. All I am saying is our government needs to take each case separately, and not discriminate like this.


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## Wanderer (Jun 16, 2007)

FrankSS said:


> I don't want to see the system rorted, for sure. When my wife made her application some 10 weeks ago now the consulate told her that "Many women from your area/city are trying to get into Australia with the wrong motives, etc" And my wife came back from that experience in tears. It was like they were judging her because of what others were doing around her, and this has been our worry ever since.
> 
> I have no problem if they investigate us and I welcome it, but it should always be on a case by case basis, not on what other people around her are doing. I know for a fact that women from this city often use "marriage brokers" for example who are a shadowy behind the scenes group or individuals who pretend to be the woman, speak great english etc to hook in a foriegn husband, then extort large sums of money out of the husband via the woman.
> 
> ...


All immigration applications are decided on a case by case situation Frank, assessed against requirements on their merit and bonafide applicants should get through OK though I can understand that if applications are found wanting they will be rejected.

The advice your wife has been given may be just what the situation is locally and as you yourself attest to but that does not mean they have made a judgement of your wife's application and another way you could look at it is forewarned is forearmed so she can have back-up information prepared and be well prepared for any further interviewing.

I saw a report on Immi figures of a few years ago and something like 160,000 immigration applications p.a.were being rejected, so that is some indication that many are found wanting in one regard or another.

So whilst you may feel it seems like discrimination, it is not really for all applicants of a particular category have to make the same application and some will be examined more closely given Immi have HR and LR countries, there being additional security checks involved for some and where local experience is that there is a history of issues, you would only expect that is also taken into account.


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## FrankSS (May 29, 2010)

Well, I'm happy to report some new developments in our case. Two case workers came to my wife's apartment last night just as I was talking with her online, so we were both interviewed extensively and at the end of it the case workers were very pleased with everything and can now see first hand that we are indeed a "genuine" marriage.

I couldn't be happier (except when we get the visa of course), and we got a chance to clear the air on the big issue in that area from both sides. Apparently in this and other parts of China there are what they call "marriage brokers" who are criminals who charge 30,000 rmb or more to women and then basically misrepresent the woman (who usually has no command of the english language and is poor) to attract a foreign husband.

I knew all this long before I met my wife and was very cautious in how I approached our relationship. The main characteristic of these shonky relationships is that from the start the woman starts demanding money, and in large sums, so she can pay her mafia friends off. My wife never did this with me and always talked directly to me online, something which these other arrangements did not do. 

The Australian government could see our relationship up front and pronounced us as genuine, which we always were, and assured us that genuine couples get a better preference than non genuine. So we have had our "day in court" I guess you could call it, and it feels great to get everything on the table.

It lifted a massive weight off our shoulders and I think last night was our first night of unworried sleep for a long time. Worrying that we were being judged by all the relationships around us was taking its toll, so that is finished now. It is sad that criminals exist to take advantage of poor women, but at least now the dept of immigration can see this is definitely not the case with us. So for us, it is just a waiting game now, and while still not nice, at least we don't have to be thinking the worst every day. We don't know when our Visa is coming, but at least now we know it is coming, and this is exactly what I was saying in other threads- the goverment should make their judgement on the visa as early as they can, inform the couple of yes or no, and at least take that worry away from them.

Waiting is the hard part, but not knowing is even harder. At least now we know our position in regards to the Visa, and it is all positive


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