Australian Tourist Visa: How To Apply Online

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Australian tourist visa is one of the easiest visas that we can get if you are holding a Philippine passport like me.
You can also opt to submit your visa application via VFS Global Malaysia or VFS Global Philippines However, online application is more hassle-free as you can submit your application without getting out from your house.

First, you need to determine what kind of visa you need. If you are applying for tourist visa then you need to choose Visitor Visa (Subclass 600). This mainly for people traveling to Australia for a holiday, recreation or to visit family and friends and for other purposes not related to business or medical treatment. You can actually use the Visa Finder to see what options are available for you. I’m currently residing in Malaysia so my application has been submitted to Australian Embassy located in Kuala Lumpur Malaysia.

1. Lodge your application online

To begin with your application you will need to access to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection. If you do not have an ImmiAccount you will be prompted to create one.
This will be your primary contact point any update about your application will be sent to this email including the acknowledgment of receipt of your application and the actual visa grant.
So you need to ensure that you type in your email address correctly and check this email regularly.

Application Form

Once you have created an ImmiAccount, you can start filling up your application Form 1419, even if you have not completed compiling your documents yet. You need to provide all the information required to complete your visa application. This includes your relevant details such as personal information, plan travel dates, financial capabilities, etc.
It is advisable to fill in all the information and add in as much as possible before you submit your application. Applications with missing information might take longer to finalize.
You need to ensure that the information you have given or declared in your application form will match the supporting documents that you are submitting.
You can save each page of your application as you go along and come back to it if you want to check and make changes at a later stage when you have more time.

Once you are ready to submit your application and upload your supporting documents, just click on Submit.

Here is the list of the documents that you need to submit. Remember that this varies depending on your circumstances. You’re not required to submit all of these, but it is advisable that you submit as much of supporting documents as you can to prove how you are going to fund your travel to Australia and you have a strong reason to come back to your home country.

Personal Documents:
Original passport
2 original passport size photographs
Certified copy of Birth Certificate
Photocopy of the personal details page of both old and new passport

Financial Documents
Bank Certificate 
Bank book history or Bank statement (3 months) 
Copy of last 3 months payslip
Latest Income Tax Return (BIR Form 2316)
Copy of credit card statements (preferably last 3 months)

Other supporting documents
Certificate of Employment issued by your employer
Support for approved leave 
Car registration (if you have any)
Other supporting documents to show that you have an incentive and authority to return to your home country

Trip documents
Flight information (if you already had it booked)
Hotel/accommodation information (if booked)
Travel insurance (if any) If you have a sponsor in Australia (either Australian citizen or permanent resident), their invitation letter for you

Supporting documents of your sponsor such as Copy of his or her passport, Land tittle (if any), certificate of employment, contact address, phone no.
A travel itinerary during your visit (ideally showing when, where and what you will be visiting).
Previous passport along with the pages detailing your travel history.
Any bookings or travel inquiries you have made in relation to your trip.
Evidence showing your relationship with your sponsor (such as birth certificate, photos for example and giving a brief caption to it).

2. Upload the required documents
You will be asked for a scanned copy of all your documents to upload.

3. Pay
Once the documents have been uploaded online, I suggest to double check your application form and uploaded documents then only proceed to payment.
An online application can only pay using the credit card. The cost will vary depending on the visa that you are seeking and the exchange rate for the day, a surcharge will apply to the credit card too.

You are done! Once you have submitted your application, you should receive an Acknowledgment Receipt of your application in your email. You should get a decision on your visa within 3 weeks. I got mine in 4 days.

Below is the Australian Electronic Visa looks like that you will receive thru email. You just need to print it out and bring a copy and show to the Immigration Officer during your airport clearance.

If you have more questions or something to add to this post, please comment on the section below. Good luck to those who are applying soon!

 

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