How to obtain a Thai Police Certificate. Once you have registered you marriage in Thailand and are now applying for an Australian spouse visa you will need to ensure that your Thai wife also gets a police clearance certificate which is issued by Bangkok special Branch police in Thailand. It takes a while to receive the certificate so ensure that you apply for the clearance certificate early or speak to an attorney to do this for you.
Thai Police Certificate for Visa
The Police Clearance Service Center in Bangkok issues these certificates and they are applicable to all visa applicants be it Australian, British or American. Your Thai wife will require the following documents for the police clearance to begin:
- – Copy of your wife’s Thai passport;
- – Copy of your Thai wife’s National ID card;
- – Copy of your Thai wife’s name/surname change certificate;*
- – Copy of your Thai wife’s House registration certificate (Tabian Baan);
- – Copy of your Thai wife’s marriage/divorce certificate;**
- – Copy of your Thai wife’s Military certificate if she was in the military.
These are the documents that are needed by the police to start the process. Note (*) that a few years ago Thai women had been allowed to apply for an ID card in their maiden surnames in Thailand. If you Thai wife had changed her surname during a previous marriage then they would have given her an A4 sized name change certificate at the district office where the ID card was issued.
She will have to provide that with the divorce decree either from court or the district office where she got divorced. If she does not have the ‘name change certificate’ then she will have to apply for one before going to the police for clearance. The process does take time so factor this into the visa application process.
Medical Certificate
For the medical exam she will need to bring with any previous medical notes such as her vaccination certificates, old x-rays from an accident and any other medical treatment she has had before such as surgery or long term illnesses which have now been cured such as TB.
Your Thai wife will also have to make the appointment with the needed referral letter. She will also have to take her passport, Thai ID card as well as 2 passport photos. Normally what is checked for is the medical history, physical examination as well as a chest x-ray. Urinalysis, CXR and HIV check. The process should not take longer than 4 hours to complete.
It is best if you spoke to an attorney beforehand as this is normally where most of the ‘denial letters’ would originate from. You wife might have TB and note known however after successful treatment she should be able to start the process again.
Note that the dependent children will also require a medical exam however what they check for will depend on the age of the child. Again take proper legal advice as the cost upfront is much cheaper than trying to fix these types of problems later after a visa refusal.
