Last September 2017 my fiancé and I went on an epic 13 day Australian-New Zealand Trip which was so fun and memorable. It was our first long-haul flight and we learned so much in traveling especially in a first world country which was totally out of our comfort zone.
In this blog post, I will share my experience in getting an Australian (soon to post, New Zealand visa!) Tourist Visa ONLINE and for Filipinos (because you can apply in 3 ways--walk in, via courier, and via online). It's actually super easy because you can do everything literally online but I must admit, filling up the requirements can be very nakakapraning (paranoid) because you want everything to be perfect so.
Here are 4 major steps in applying for Tourist Visa Online (w/ Screenshots):
1) Go to the VFS Global Website (Australia's global partner agency) and create an ImmiAccount. Answer the serious of questions and information you need to fill up to set-up your account.
Provide a valid email address to create your ImmiAccount and make sure that you regularly check your email because this is the only way that the embassy will be communicating with you. Once email is confirmed, proceed with your application.
Click on "New Application" and select the visa you need. In this case, select "Visitor" and under that option, click "Visitor Visa (600)" as the type of visa. Then, proceed answering the questions based on your personal information and intent.
Once you have your ImmiAccount, you can always create, update, or save your application until you are ready for submission and payment.
2) Prepare your requirements and supporting documents
The usual documents such as Passports, Personal IDs (e.g. Company ID, TIN ID, Driver's License, NSO Birth Certificate), Travel history evidence (e.g. Grant visa from other countries, passport stamps), Financial capacity (e.g. bank statement, bank certificate, ITR, Credit Card Statement for the past 3 months), Work experience (e.g. Certificate of Employment, pay slip for the past 3 months, etc.) are needed for uploading. You don't need to submit airline tickets and hotel confirmation before applying a tourist visa for Australia.
This part is quite long and tedious because you need to SCAN all supporting documents and save via PDF.
The Australian Embassy has a limit of 30 files for Tourist Visa application per applicant and files should not exceed more than 5MB that's why it is highly recommended to save via PDF and NOT Word Docs or worse, Power Point! I also suggest that you label/ rename your files so it's organized (see sample below).
These are the requirements I've submitted.
3) Submit your application and pay the visa fees
Once you submit your application, wait for an acknowledgement via email almost instantly--I received mine within one day.
Cost per application and per applicant for Visitor Visa (600) is AUD 135 plus surcharge if paid via Credit Card which is roughly Php 5,000++. You can pay via manager's check payable to Australian Embassy. It may be from any Philippine Banks except for Rural Banks. You can also pay using credit/ debit card online which I did because it's less hassle.
4) Wait for the results
According to the Australian website, application process can last up to a month so it is highly recommended to apply a month before your intended travel date but, based on my experience, it only took me a week to receive my grant Australian tourist visa and I received it online.
If you have a granted visa, you need to print the PDF and ALWAYS bring it with you when you travel to Australia. Note that Australia will NOT have a stamped visa on your passport (same goes for New Zealand visa).
The photo below is my grant visa notice. I only applied for a single pass. I believe you need cover letter and other proof/ supporting documents if you wish to have multiple pass tourist visa. Not sure though if it will entail additional cost.
My single entry is valid for 6 months (July 2017 to January 2018) but once I enter Australia, I'm only permitted to stay for 3 months which is not bad because most visas like in Japan, China, and Taiwan, usually just give you 14 days stay period, for Korea, 59 days for single pass and 30 for multiple visa.
TIMELINE:
JUNE 28- Submitted Complete Application Form, Paid via Credit Card, and received IMMI acknowledgement of application received via online
JULY 4- Received notification that I have a grant tourist visa
So, there you go! Easy breezy right? I love how efficient Australian embassy is when it comes to processing visas. I hope that other countries will have the same system for hassle free application. Anyway, we're now in the digital age right?
Disclaimer: This is an old post from my Blogspot account dated October 27, 2017.
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