marriage visa & stuff

Brett

New Member
Jan 7, 2004
2
0
1
Hello all,
My name is Brett, I am an architect from Melbourne, Australia. The last couple of years I have been seeing an Indonesian girl named Mega. She has been working as an airline hostess in Saudi Arabia for the last year. Anyway recently we had hade enough of the whole long distance relationship thing and decided to make a commitment to each other a get married. Anyway when we looked at the time it took to process a marriage visa to Australia we were shocked (9-12 months) so we started applying for a student visa (as mega wanted to continue study in aust) but we found this to was going to be a waste of time as we did not have the required funds in the bank to support the application.
So where we are at now is that we will be getting married on the 16th of Jan in Bali. We will then be applying for a marriage visa and crossing our fingers.
The problem is Mega can not come to Australia until the visa is granted. So we have 2 options.. firstly I could continue living in Melbourne and visit for a long weekend every month. Or I could move to Bali until the visa is granted. Although I have enough money to just come to Bali and sit on my ass I do not believe this would be good for either of us. Ultimately I would love to get an architecture job in bali but i understand the chances of that are very slim (as I am only 25 years old) I have extensive knowledge in computer 3d modelling and web page design.. so this may also be an option.
I have been reading all of your posts in the last few weeks and was just wondering if anyone could give me some advise. I am definately willing to move to Bali, but I don't want to waste all my savings and just sit on my ass. I would appreciate any help anyone could give me

Thanks
Brett
 

Roy

Active Member
Nov 5, 2002
4,835
1
36
Ubud, Bali
First of all congratulations to you Brett and Mega, your bride to be! I have a good friend from Perth who is about midway through the OZ visa process for his wife, and you’re right. It’s a long and arduous process. Prior to getting married here, I think you would be wise to check in at the Australian Consulate office and find out exactly what paper work, etc. you might need to be sure your marriage, as performed on Bali, is recognized by your government.

As far as getting some work here in Bali, I have found that the best way is to network with as many other expats as you can. In the Ubud area, two excellent places to meet other expats are Naughty Nuri’s Warung, which is located directly across from the Neka Museum, and Puri Asri, which is just on the edge of Petulu. Nuri’s is particularly good on any given Thursday night, which is called tuna night. Nuri’s is also the base for the Ubud area Hash House Harriers, which have their runs every Saturday afternoon. The Hash is also an excellent way to network with other expats, as well as a great way to see areas of Bali one would normally never see. If you stop at Nuri’s ask to meet Brian and take it from there. Puri Asri is a famous Sunday brunch hangout for expats. If you go there, ask to meet Stefan. I can’t help you with other areas of Bali, but almost anywhere on Bali there will be a contingent of expats.

As a final note, if you are moving here, you’ll want to consider a visa for yourself. A social visa (good for 60 days, but renewable here for four additional months), would make the most sense for you. You’ll need Mega to sponsor you for this, but that should not be much of a problem. If you want a sample of a good Bahasa Indonesian sponsor letter, just e-mail me and I can send you the one I use.

OK, that’s all for now! Again, Selamat to you both!