How I got my Australian Tourist Visa

Browsing through the Australian Immigration website, I was a bit intimidated to try and get a tourist visa on my own.  There was so much information to absorb and clicking on a link would lead to so many other links that it was pretty confusing.  Still, the visa fee alone was so expensive that I decided to give it a try instead of having a travel agency do it for me.

Here's what I did:

1.  Identified the type of visa to apply for using Visa Finder.  For Filipino tourists, the correct visa type is the Visitor Subclass 600.

2.  Registered an account with ImmiAccount.  Only one account is needed if you are applying for a family or as a group.  Create a group under "Manage Groups" and you would only need to input the group code for your other family members' applications.

3.  Filled up the online application form.  This could be a long process especially if you're applying for several people.  There were so many questions.  Some of the questions were a bit confusing too, like:

• Does the applicant have a national ID?  We don't have that in the Philippines so I answered "no".
• Has the applicant been known under a previous name?  If you changed your surname because of marriage, this should be "yes" and provide the reason as marriage.  You will need to support this with a marriage certificate from NSO.  
  
• Does the applicant have any members of their family unit not traveling to Australia who are not Australian citizens or Australian permanent residents?  If your entire family is going with you to Australia, choose "no".  Otherwise, if someone in the family is not going and he/she is not Australian, choose "yes".  By "family unit" it means immediate family.

In the Authorized Recipient Section, choose "no" since you are applying for a visa for yourself and not authorizing anybody else to do so.  Do not check the box "The applicant does not agree to electronic communication."  Leave it blank.  Checking this box would mean you don't want to receive email messages regarding your application status and you won't get notified if your visa is granted.

For minors, put the school I.D. number under the Other Identity Documents section.

4. Attached scanned documents to my application.

There is a limit of 5 MB or 60 files that can be submitted so it's important to keep the file size low.  For pictures in JPEG format and PDF files, the required resolution is 96 dpi.  Other file types are accepted.  Check them out here.

When naming your files, do not put space.  Guidelines on attaching documents can be found here.

The documents I scanned and submitted are the following:

• Colored photocopy of current and expired passport bio page with notarization as "certified true copy".  You don't need to include the expired passport if it has no visas from other countries or arrival/departure stamps.
• Colored photocopy of all passport pages with arrival/departure stamps and visas with notarization as "certified true copy".  I photocopied them myself and got them notarized for 10 pesos a page.
• Original affidavit of support for children.  I attached this under "Assets" on my child's application.
• Latest credit card statement
• Original bank certificate
• Original certification of enrollment from school for child
• Original school I.D. for child
• Original NSO birth certificate
• Original NSO marriage certificate
• Letter of invitation from relatives which they emailed to me
• Relatives' citizenship certificate which they scanned emailed to me
• Relatives' passport which they scanned and emailed emailed to me
• Land title
• Original latest income tax return
• Original latest business permit for proof of business ownership
• Original business registration for proof of business ownership

You can include other documents like car registration, stock certificates, contract to sell under Assets, etc.

If you are employed, you have to submit evidence of employment instead like a certificate of employment, payslips, letter from your employer indicating your intention to return, etc.

For minors, attach parent's bank certificate as evidence of financial capability.

A 45 x 35 mm picture was listed as a requirement but there was nowhere to attach this to in my application so I did not submit this anymore.

Don't worry if you don't have all the requirements yet.  You can save your application and go back within 30 days.  Your application won't be final until you've submitted everything.

5. Paid for my application online for AU$ 135 plus credit card surcharge of AU$1.32.  Other payment options include using debit card and Paypal.

That's it for the application process.  It took only one day for my visa to be granted and that was indeed a pleasant surprise since I thought it would take 30 days as indicated on their website.  No appearance was needed either.  I don't know if that is the case for everybody.  I just know I prayed about it and I got it the next day =).