Job Discussion Forums

[haller_79]

I did a year of teaching in Vietnam and during that time I had a Vietnamese girlfriend, after about 3 months she wanted to get married, I decided against it but we stayed together anyway. She was a good family girl but quite poor. I have since returned to Australia and after having a really hard time getting back on my feet have landed a job in a company that looks like it has a future so I don't see myself going back to Nam to teach anytime soon. Sometimes I email my girlfriend, I think she still wants to be with me and I'm wondering whether I made the right choice, so my question is are there any Australians on this board who have tried bringing a Vietnamese girl back home for the long haul, how much money are we talking (I'll have to take care of everything) and how much time will you need because I'm a bit light on money and free time at the moment. BTW I'm more interested in the practicalities of this than peoples opinions

[snollygoster]

Been there- done that- now I'm back in Vietnam.
First Viet woman was a user and when I joined her in Oz, she did the dirty, got herself all the government freebies, and saw me excluded from sponsoring another for about 3 years anyway. Still living well in Oz on the public purse- free English lessons, free TAFE study- pension, and no real intention of ever getting a real job- Oh, by the way, Housing commission house on a low interest loan from the government too. Done well for herself.

After returning to Vietnam, I met a country girl-she is truly dedicated to me, and we got married- her ambition is to be with me wherever I am- not going abroad-but to be with me even if I choose to go to Afganistan. Poor? Yes she is, but her contibution to my mental well-being is enormous.

Costs? The visa will cost you at least $1700, and unless your girl is completely truthful, there is no guarantee she will be successful.
Then theres the air fare- you may have to buy two, because its best to prove her trustworthness by having her come to Oz on a tourist visa first, which she must not overstay, and apply for spouse visa after that- Proves credibility. She MUST return to Vietnam to do this.
The cultural adjustments are enormous, but certainly doable- she will need your help a lot on this.

If she gets a spouse visa, she will be entitled to up to about 600 hours of ESL at a TAFE College, at no charge.

Personally, I will be going down the path a second time- My new wife is uncomplicated, and has simple needs, and I feel I have picked a winner this time.

If you want more info- PM me.

[flyingmonkey]

Another marriage horror story-
http://www.stickmanbangkok.com/Reader2006/reader2272.htm

[s10czar]

This is all great info. Especially the stickman posting. But let me take the other side of the coin on this one...

Met a California girl a few years ago. Fell in love, she got pregnant, proposed.

1 week after my son is born she bails on me and heads home to live with mommy and daddy. She claimed she had post-partum depression and needed mom's nurturing.

Daddy's black and I'm white - it's an issue.

Daddy's also an ex-cop. Make that a fully retired ex-cop with a multi-million dollar retirement package (and we wonder why the state of California is bankrupt?)

Anyway, things go south.

Within a few weeks I'm barred from ever seeing my son (by the family, not the court. The court basically doesn't give a damn one way or the other) and sued successfully for $650/mo in child support. Daddy's tax-supported multi-million dollar nest egg bank rolled the affair, of course.

Now I'm 40 yrs old, I have a son I haven't seen in 18 months and all of my discretionary income goes to pay for child-support. If I refuse to pay my wages will simply be garneshed. I live in a one bedroom appartment and I drive a Hyundai.

So what's my point???

Simply this...evil, cruel, remoresless women can be found the world over. Personally, the worst woman I could ever meet lives right here in California, just a few miles down the road.

I mean what do you think I'm doing here at Dave's? I'm bailing on this situation and I FEAR NOT the women in SE Asia.

Yes sir, I've seen the worst right here in the good ol' US of A.

Vietnam, here I come

[ajc19810]

Nice one Haller.

My wife's visa was approved in about 1 month. That was 3 years ago.

If you are short of cash they will ask you for someone to be your guarantor.

3 years ago they just wanted to make sure that I had made over the tax free threshold in the last financial year, which at that time was about $7000. They were happy for me to show my Oz earnings as well as my Viet earnings.

When we first started the process we were a bit overwhelmed but it all turned out to be pretty simple.

Pretty much they just dont want your partner bludging off the system. She will have access to medicare but not to centrelink, uni (HELP/HECS - still has to pay international fees until she comes off the 2 year temp visa)

She can work and pays the same tax as us. She cant get a loan from a bank. She can get her drivers license.

My wife and i share our time between Nam and Oz. Her biggest thing is that she misses her mother.

We did it under 3k and the best thing is my wife found a job after just 3 days in the country so there was no downtime.