Taking wife back to Australia

Hi. Iam looking for advice both general and specific. I have lived in Japan for a few years and last year married a Japanese girl. We would now like to live in my native Australia. What do we do about applying for a spouse visa for my wife? I'm assuming she would enter on a tourist visa and then apply. Secondly, we were married in Japan and I understand this is legally recognised in Australia - but how do we show we are married? Perhaps someone who has been through this could give me their thoughts. Thanks.

That would be a spouse visa, surely, if you are married.

Can't give Aussie info, but deffo a spouse visa.

(unless you're hedging bets with a tourist visa, thinking of sending her home if she doesn't behave...:-)_

http://www.immi.gov.au/migrants/

http://www.australia.or.jp/visa/immigration/migration.php

You'll have to check with the Australian authorities about the visa application procedures. You should also check with the Australian Embassy in Tokyo to find out how the Japan-based marriage can be recorded in your country :)

I think the visa is sublcass 309. You should check on that though.

I went through all the procedures last year. Your wife can enter on a tourist visa then apply for the spouse visa once there, but this isn't really looked upon favourably as your intention when holding a tourist visa is to be a tourist, and not change visas.
All the information is on the Australian Department of Immigration website (http://www.immi.gov.au). There are quite a few forms to fill out, and your wife must get a police check and health check.
Everything you hand in must be in English so if you have any Japanese documents (such as your marriage registration, etc. a certified translation along with the original must be handed in).
I recommend ringing or visiting the embassy to find out exactly what forms you need. Once you got these forms, you can start gathering all the relevant information (proof of your relationship) you need.
It is quite expensive to apply for, and can take up to 2-3 months. We were lucky and got it exactly two weeks after handing in the forms. I think this was because we handed in so much evidence such as photos, old emails, old birthday and Christmas cards, etc. You don't want to be in the situation where you have not handed in enough and are asked to hand in more, as this can really prolong the process.

Good luck.

The embassy people are the experts on this and also the people who can start the process for you, so they should be your main source of information. You show that you are legally married by getting the marriage certificate from your ward/city office if you haven't already, then getting a notarised translation into English, which is another thing the embassy can help you with.