G’day mate! Do you want to hear that cute Australian accent while exploring the iconic Sydney Opera House or road tripping along the Great Ocean Road? Then it’s time to get an Australian tourist visa. With budget airlines flying direct from Manila to Sydney and Melbourne, our dream of exploring the smallest continent in the world is within reach. In this article, I will show you a Do-It-Yourself guide to getting an Australian visa focusing on tourism as a purpose; enumerate the documents needed to support your application; the steps to take when applying as a group, and give you tips and warnings based on my personal experience from applying twice.
Australia offers a wide range of visas depending on the purpose of your visit. It can be visitor visas, studying and training visas, family and partner visas, working and skilled visas, refugee and humanitarian visas, and other types of visas. These types of visas are further subdivided into different categories depending on the specific purpose of your stay.
For a visitor visa, it is further subdivided into 6 different categories, namely:
Visitor visa (Subclass 600) is the visa for tourists, business visitors or to visit family with a duration of 3, 6 or 12 months. It is further subdivided into 3 streams, namely:
For purposes of this article, I will focus on the Visitor visa (Subclass 600) – Tourist Stream because this is the type of visa you need to apply if the purpose of your stay is for tourism or holiday and to visit family and friends.
For a complete list of different types of Australian visas, go to this link.
If you are not sure which kind of visa to apply for, you can use the visa finder which will show you visa options that suit your needs.
This visa stream lets you enter Australia to visit as a tourist, go on a cruise, or to see family and friends. You can also study or train for up to 3 months in total.
You must be a genuine tourist and have enough funds to support your stay.
Here are the documents you need to provide when applying under the Subclass 600 (Visitor Visa) – Tourism Stream:
If you apply online, this form is filled out online.
You can also submit evidence of your business license or registration (e.g. SEC or DTI Registration, Mayor’s Permit, BIR Registration) and any supporting documents to demonstrate your role.
You may also submit payslip or any evidence to demonstrate a consistent savings history and/or a regular income over time covering a three-month period. If another person will be supporting your stay in Australia, you will also need to submit the equivalent financial documents of the person supporting you.
Per instruction of the ImmiAccount, you are still required to submit evidence of your financial status even if a friend or relative is funding your trip as your financial status is one of the factors in assessing whether your personal circumstances would encourage you to return to the Philippines.
Please note that a travel permit from the DSWD does not constitute consent. Minor applicants are still required to provide the documents above.
In addition to the above, the following documents may also be submitted or attached to your application:
In my case, I submitted a family photo.
For this requirement, you may submit an itinerary detailing your holiday or recreation plans, visits to family and friends or if you are taking short courses (for up to 3 months only). A general list of places, dates, and activities will suffice. A sample itinerary may look like this.
For the record, I did not submit a cover letter when I applied for an Australian tourist visa. I thought it’s not necessary because it’s not in the checklist of requirements.
Moreover, I’m not sure if it will increase the chances of getting the visa as what the cover letter serves is only summarizing your travel plans and enumerating the documents to support your application. These information are already written/reflected in the application.
However, I also think there’s nothing wrong if an applicant desires to have a cover letter. More documents you submit, the better. Essentially and as in all visa applications, you need to prove you have the financial capacity to fund your trip and you have a strong reason to go back to the Philippines (and these are seen in the supporting documents you submit).
Should a cover letter be submitted, the applicant can attach the same in Additional documents (“other” documents”). For a sample cover letter intended for an Australian tourist visa application, you may check out this link or see the screenshot below.
The visa fee is 145 AUD or around PHP4,909 in today’s exchange rate.
There are two ways you can apply for an Australian tourist visa: Online application via ImmiAccount or paper-based application via third-party provider VFS Global.
Between the two options, online application via ImmiAccount is better. It is convenient as you only need a computer and Internet to submit your application, eliminating the need to visit the Australian Visa Application Centre. It is also easy to track your application in your ImmiAccount.
Per the Australian Embassy, online applications are processed two times faster than paper-based applications. Over 80% of the applicants for the Visitor visa lodged their application online.
However, for the benefit of those who prefer to apply using the traditional method, we’ll be discussing both the online and paper-based application procedures in detail.
ImmiAccount is the portal where you can lodge your application for a visa to Australia. You can use it if you, a family member or a friend would like to apply for a visa. Among other things, ImmiAccount is a convenient way to:
How to apply for an Australian tourist visa online via ImmiAccount:
1. Visit the ImmiAccount login page and click “Create an ImmiAccount”. It will ask you to provide your name, contact details, username, and password. Click Submit once the information is entered. An email will be sent to you to confirm your account.
2. Once you have the ImmiAccount, you can now log-in. Click “New application”.
It will then provide you with several types of visas you can apply for. Click “Visitor”. It will give you drop down options. Choose “Visitor Visa 600”.
There are 19 pages on the portal:
a. Page 1 is agreeing to the terms and conditions. Click agree and press “Next”
b. Page 2 is asking your current location. Click “Yes” and it will further ask you to provide details of the following:
-Your current location
-Your legal status in the current location (whether you are citizen, permanent visitor, etc.).
-The purpose of your stay whether under Business Visitor Stream, Sponsored Family Stream, or Tourist Stream (Given your purpose is for holiday – click “tourist stream”)
-Just click “No” on the Special category of entry.
c. Page 3 asks for your information.
d. Page 4 is confirming whether the information you entered is correct
e. Page 5 is asking whether there are other persons traveling with you to Australia (Click “no” if you are traveling alone, otherwise, click “yes”). If you are applying as a group, check the separate guide below.
f. Page 6 asks your contact details
g. Page 7 asks if you are authorizing another person to receive communication on your behalf. If you click “yes”, information of authorized recipient is required to be inputted, otherwise, click “no”.
h. Page 8 asks if there are family members not traveling with you on the trip. If you click “yes”, details of the family member will be inputted, otherwise, just click “no”
i. Page 9 asks the details of your entry to Australia
j. Page 10 to 11 ask your current employment status and employment details
k. Pages 12 to 14 ask your financial support (details of how you will fund your stay in Australia)
l. Page 15 asks about your health declarations. It is answerable by “yes” or “no”
m. Page 16 asks about your character declaration. It is answerable by “yes” or “no”
n. Pages 17 to 18 ask your visa history whether you’ve been granted or refused a visa from other countries
o. Page 19 is a declaration answerable by “yes” or “no”. Just click yes to any of the questions.
3. Once you have inputted all your answers, the next screen to appear is the review page showing the summary of all your answers. It will ask you to review whether the information is correct. Just confirm and click “next”.
4. On the next page, you will need to attach all the required and recommended documents. You can attach a maximum of 60 documents which must be scanned and up to 5MB in size with the following extensions: bmp, dcm, doc, docx, dot, gif, jpg, pdf, png, ppt, pptx, rtf, txt, xls, xlsx.
If you are not sure what type of document is required, click the question mark icon on the right side of each requirement. Basically, these are the documents discussed above.
5. After attaching all your supporting documents, click “next” for the payment of the visa fee.
As previously mentioned, the visa fee is 145 AUD or around PHP4,909 in today’s exchange rate. You can pay by credit card.
6. Once you’ve completed the application process, you can track your application in the ImmiAccount. You will be notified if your visa is granted.
There is no visa sticker or visa label attached to your passport. What will be given is a visa grant letter. This is the document you will bring in boarding your airline and what you will present with the Australian Immigration when you enter Australia. The letter looks like this:
VFS Global is the authorized third party that can accept your application for a visa to Australia. They have offices in Makati and Cebu.
How to apply for an Australian tourist visa manually through VFS Global:
1. Download the Visitor Visa – Tourist Stream – Subclass 600 Online Application Checklist Philippines. This will serve as your guide to ensure you have included all necessary documents and information to support your application. You also need to print and sign this checklist which will be submitted together with your application.
2. Fill-out Form 1419 (Application for Visitor Visa – Tourist Stream). The form has 42 questions divided into 11 parts. The questions are the same as when you are filling out the form online via ImmiAccount.
3. Gather all the supporting documents as mentioned in the checklist and as discussed above.
4. Obtain a Manager’s Cheque payable to “Australian Embassy” equivalent to AUD145 in Philippine Peso. This serves as the visa fee.
5. Schedule an appointment via VFS Online Appointment System to submit your application.
How to schedule an appointment with VFS Global:
Please note that it is important to have a prior appointment for the submission of your visa application. Walk-in is not allowed.
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6. Submit the fully filled-out and signed application form together with your supporting documents on the day of your appointment and in the place stated in the appointment letter.
7. Track your application here.
8. Once approved, you can either pick up your Visa Letter at the VFS Global office or have it delivered to your address via courier.
Kareen Lucero is a lawyer previously doing litigation before working for different agencies in the government and for a multinational corporation. She has traveled to 52+ countries including a 3-month solo backpacking in South East Asia and more than 1 year of solo traveling across four continents in the world. As part of giving back, she is passionate about sharing her knowledge of law and travel. She is currently doing consulting work for a government agency. For inquiries, you may reach her via Facebook Messenger (https://m.me/kareen.lucero.77) or email ([email protected]).
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