I’m going to Australia too!

It’s been a fantastic year of travel for me this year with New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, Romania, Turkey, Hong Kong so far… did not expect Australia will be in the pipeline as well, but it is.

The last time I applied for Australian Visa was through VFS Global, a third party agency that handles visa application for Australia and other countries. While the experience was swift and positive, this time I’m going to apply for my Australian Visa directly at the Australian Government Home Affairs website.

The thing is I did not know I can apply directly online because VFS was top of the search result (of course they paid for google-ads. Hopefully you are reading this before starting your own visa application process.

By applying directly with the Australian Government you will SAVE on the following:

  1. Money – VFS Global Service Fee of 659 pesos
  2. Time – to schedule to submit your Application Form and Supporting Documents
  3. Trees – by not having to print Application Form and Supporting Documents
  4. Time & Money again – buying Managers Check from the Bank to pay for visa fee

Can Filipinos Apply Australian Visa Online?

Yes. Philippine Passport Holders can apply for Australian visa ONLINE –> follow this link

Simply create an IMMI Account, fill up the online form, and attach the requirements.

australian immi account

REQUIREMENTS AND SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS

Here are the list of requirement and supporting document you will need to prepare. The best thing about applying online is that you will be submitting them in soft format. Save the Planet by printing less!

Required Documents

  1. Photo – passport size, light background, follow this specification for file size and photo ratio.
  2. Travel Document (Passport) – scan pages with personal information; don’t forget signature on page 3 (new passport)
  3. Evidence of Current Employment or Self Employment – certificate of employment stating your approved Leave of absence
  4. Evidence of financial status and funding for visits – Scanned pages of my passbooks; I didn’t send these but it can help: bank certificate and credit card statement showing credit limit
  5. Evidence of the Applicant’s previous travel (beside Australia) – I scanned all the pages of my current passport since I have some visas and travel stamps
  6. Evidence of planned tourism activities in Australia – I made Visit Australia Itinerary

Supporting Documents – these are not explicitly requested, but it can help establish your identity, intention, and ability to finance yourself

  1. Other Financial Document – Credit card billing statement, ITR
  2. Self Employed – business permit, SEC or DTI registration, Annual ITR
Australia Visa Check Required

There are more options as supporting document, so just choose those applicable to you. For myself, the above “Received” are list of what I submitted.

HOW MUCH IS AUSTRALIAN VISA FEE?

AUSTRALIAN Visa Free is AUD 140 payable via Credit Card or Paypal plus AUD1.85 fee. With the poor credit card exchange rate, I was charged a total of Php 5,843.85. They just increased price on July 1, 2018, d*mn it! I don’t know why they can’t be free like New Zealand Visa

AUSTRALIAN VISA PROCESSING TIME

My Australian visa processing time took 7 days in total or 5 working days. According to the website, the processing time may take up to a STUNNING 19-24 days! My friends’ average is about 2 weeks or 10 working days.

My Visa & Application Timeline

Jul 25 (wed) – Submitted my application form online
Aug 1 (wed) – Visa Approved

australia visa grant

I was granted multiple entry visa valid for 1 years from August 1, 2018. I can stay in Australia for 3 months per entry. No label on passport but this notice should be printed for airline staff upon check-in. The last time I got single entry visa, 6 months validity, 3 months duration.

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