Our family loves to travel but we prefer a visa-free country to save money because we all know that visa application is not cheap. And if ever we apply, there is no guarantee that our visas will be granted because it will always depend on our documents and who will review our applications. All we can do is pray and hope that our documents are enough to prove that we are genuine tourists and we have strong ties in our country.
As of this writing, Australia is the third visa country that we applied for as a family. My husband has other business visas but for our own family trip, we only experienced
Japan Visa and
Schengen Visa.
When my husband purchased our Manila - Sydney- Manila flight during the Great Mabuhay Miles Getaway Promotion, I started reading blogs and articles regarding the Australian Visa Tourist Application. In my mind, everything is easy because I can do it online but I spoke too soon because…
1. I was surprised when I needed to answer 20 pages.
2. We are applying as a family but we need individual applications. I can only create a group to inform them that this is a group process.
Is this application being lodged as part of group applications?
Group ID:
Group Name:
Group Type: Family
3. Biometric and Health Assessments are needed. Good thing that we only need biometrics.
4. I need to scan all the entry/exit stamps of our expired and current passports plus visa documentation. Sa ibang countries kasi, current passport lang ang need.
And because of this, it took me two days to finish our application forms, including the scanning, uploading, and attaching of documents. It was kinda stressful because I only had limited time. We need to submit our applications and schedule our biometrics before my husband’s business trip. I am just thankful that we don’t need to submit our passports.
Despite the stress that I experienced, I can still say that applying for an Australian Tourist Visa is not hard as long as you are not in a hurry.
How to Apply for an Australian Tourist Visa (Visitor Visa 600)
Visitor Visa (subclass 600) is a tourist visa stream that allows you to visit Australia as a tourist, go on a cruise, or visit your family or friends. They can grant you a stay of 3, 6, or 12 months. Tourist needs to be outside Australia when applying for this type of visa.
Just like our Schengen Visa application, I only create one online account and use it for all our applications. For Australia, you need to create an Immi Account, it is where I fill out forms, attach documents, pay the visa fee, and check the status of our applications.
2 . Click “New Application” and fill in the Application Form
You need to fill in 20 pages but there is no time limit so you can take your time in answering don’t forget to save the form if you are not ready to submit it yet.
3. Upload and Attach Supporting Documents
You can attach up to 60 documents for each person. The site accepts .jpg, .png, .pdf and other type of files. Just make sure that the file is not encrypted or secured PDF files. Also, the file should not be over 5 MB.
Dito ako nastress sa 5MB kasi nascan ko na lahat ng passports ni hubby, ending I can’t attach it because the file is over 5MB so I have to repeat it again. I reduced the pixels and I scanned per passport na lang.
Documents may vary depending if you are employed, unemployed, a student etc. You can see the required and recommended documents after you fill out the form. We just submitted the documents that we have.
Documents that we submitted: (Employed, Housewife, and Student)
Required Documents
Travel Document
Passport Profile Page
Evidence of Previous Travel
Entry and exit of expired passport
Entry and exit of current passport
Visa documentation
Supporting Evidence for Traveling Children
Birth Certificate
Passport
Photo ID of Parent’s showing signature
Recommended Documents
Family Register + Composition
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Evidence of Planned Tourism Activities
Itinerary
Flight Ticket
Certificate of Enrollment (Dito ko na lang nilagay sa may others)
Evidence of Financial Status and Funding
Bank Certificate
Bank Statement (3 months)
Title Deed
Latest Credit Card Statement
Travel Insurance
Income Tax Return
Payslip
Evidence of Current Employment/Self-employment
Payslip
Certificate of Employment
Evidence of Leave
I uploaded JPG and PDF files only. The site knows if you attach encrypted files or secured files, I experienced this when I attached our travel insurance, nag-error yung file so I had to print and scan our travel insurance so I could attach it.
The “Other Documents” option will appear after you paid your visa. So just in case there are documents you want to add or if they are requesting more documents, you can attach them here.
Note: It is not advisable to purchase your plane ticket and travel insurance before applying for your visa. Actually, first time namin itong ginawa, we just took a risk kasi sayang ang sale. Pero ayaw ko na ulitin kasi super worry naman ako habang naghihintay ng decision, natatakot ako na masayang ang pera kung hindi granted.
4. Pay Application Fee
You can pay per application or group application. I chose the latter so I paid AUD570 + AUD7.98 = AUD577.98. The amount may vary depending on the foreign exchange, PHP21,982.54 is the amount posted on our credit card.
Visitor Visa (600) - AUD190 + Tax (per person)
After payment, we received our receipt and instructions about biometrics.
To schedule your biometric, visit the VFS Global site. I am glad that I can book a group appointment. You only have two weeks to finish your biometric.
Don’t forget to bring:
1. Electronic or printed copy of the appointment letter as proof of your appointment date.
2. Passport
3. Electronic or printed copy of the Biometric letter issued by the Department of Home Affairs, Australia showing your personal details and a Visa Lodgement Number (VLN) to enable enrolment of your Biometric.
4. Biometric Service fee
Service fee
Biometric Collection fee: PHP 892 (per person)
Modes of payment: Cash
Business Hours
Cebu Monday to Friday 07:00 - 16:00
Manila Monday to Friday 07:00 - 21:00
VFS - Australian Biometric Collection Centre
Mezzanine Floor, Ecoplaza Building,
2305,
Don Chino Roces Ave Extension,
Makati City 1231,
Manila, Philippines
The schedule that we got is already evening. Once you arrive at the VFS office, the staff will check your appointment and will give you a number. If I remember it right, there are seven booths so mabilis naman and natapos kami in 40 minutes.
After Biometric, I clicked the “I confirmed I have provided information as requested” and our application changed to “Further Assessment” status.
Australian Visa Processing Times
The global processing time for Australian Tourist Visa (600) is about a month and according to their website, you need to apply at least 4 months before your intended travel date. So it is better to apply as early as possible because you cannot predict how early or late they will finalize your visa applications.
Processing Time
25% of applications: 3 Days
50% of applications: 7 Days
75% of applications: 13 Days
90% of applications: 22 Days
Some people are lucky that they got their visa, minutes or hours after their biometrics but based on our experience, we got our visas on Day 13. Fortunately, we all received the visa grants email on the same day at a few-minute intervals. Some people even though they applied as a group, they received the visa decisions at different times.
We did not apply for multiple entry but we got multiple entry for one year with 3 months stay per visit. Yey!
Day 1 (Friday)- Submit/Lodge the Application Form
Pay the Visa Fee
Book Biometric Appointment
Day 4 (Monday) - Biometric Appointment
Day 13 (Thursday) - Visa Granted - Multiple Entry for 1 year - 3 Months Stay
Update: August 2024
It was only last year when we applied for an Australian Tourist Visa so I was surprised when I learned about the few changes so I decided to update this blog post based on our experience this year. The step-by-step guide is the same.
1. Create an ImmiAccount
2. Click “New Application” and fill in the Application Form
3. Upload and Attach Supporting Documents
Since this is our second time applying for an Australian Tourist Visa, I noticed that the Evidence of Previous Travel is not part of the Required Document so it saved me time because I no longer need to scan the following.
Entry and exit of expired passport
Entry and exit of current passport
Visa documentation
Documents that we submitted: (Employed, Housewife, and Student)
Required Documents
Travel Document
Passport Profile Page
National ID
Photo of National ID
Supporting Evidence for Traveling Children
Birth Certificate
Passport
Photo ID of Parent’s showing signature
Recommended Documents
Family Register + Composition
Form 54
Birth Certificate
Marriage Certificate
Evidence of Planned Tourism Activities
Itinerary
Flight Ticket
Evidence of Financial Status and Funding
Bank Certificate
Bank Statement (3 months)
Title Deed
Latest Credit Card Statement
Travel Insurance
Income Tax Return
Payslip
Evidence of Current Employment/Self-employment
Payslip
Certificate of Employment
Evidence of Leave
Last year, I added my son's Certificate of Enrollment on Evidence of Planned Tourism Activities. Wala kasi ito sa option. It is not part of the required or recommended documents, but I always include this on our visa application for home ties.
I lodged our visa application this year, paid the visa fee, and scheduled our Biometric. Then I went back to the Attach Documents and looked for the “Other Documents” field and I attached these documents before our Biometric Schedule.
Other Documents
School ID
School Registration Form + Enrollment Receipt
Certificate of Enrollment
4. Pay the Application Fee
Visitor Visa (600) - AUD195 + Tax (per person)
May price increase na agad, we paid AUD593.19 or PHP23,183.95 for 3 persons.
5. Schedule your Biometric Appointment at VFS Global
Itong VFS ang marami changes, as in nagulat ako kasi last year kahit gabi pwede kami magpaschedule so no need na mag-absent sa school or magVL pa ni hubby but this year nagbago yung office hours nila, 7:30 to 3PM na lang. Pwede magwalk-in for additional PHP1,000. Pwede din magpaschedule outside working hours pero PHP2,350 ang rate. In addition, new office address na rin.
Business Hours
Cebu/Manila/Davao - Monday to Friday | 07:30AM - 3:00PM
Service Fees:
Biometric collection service fee: PHP 557
Online visa form lodgement assistance fee (30 mins appointment): PHP 198
Online visa form lodgement assistance fee (each additional 15 mins extension): PHP 97
Online visa fee payment assistance fee: PHP 49
Modes of payment:
At the Centre, in PHP, via Cash
Walk-in Service fee –in addition to the applicable service fees: PHP1,000
Prime Time Service Fee - PHP2,350
Australian Biometric Collection Centre
6th floor, Makati Circuit Corporate Center Tower Two,
AP Reyes St. Brgy. Carmona,
Theater Drive Circuit Makati,
Makati City, 1207 Philippines
We can book our Biometric the following day pero dahil nagtitipid ako, doon lang kami sa working hours so medyo natagalan kami sa Biometric kasi naghintay pa ko ng half day schedule ng anak ko.
Don’t forget to bring:
1. Electronic or printed copy of the appointment letter as proof of your appointment date.
2. Passport
3. Electronic or printed copy of the Biometric letter issued by the Department of Home Affairs, Australia showing your personal details and a Visa Lodgement Number (VLN) to enable enrolment of your Biometric.
4. Biometric Service fee
On the day of our appointment, the staff checked our appointment letter, passport, and Biometric letter then she handed our documents to one of the staff and hinatid na kami ng staff diretso sa booth. Mas malaki office ngayon compared sa Ecoplaza and mas marami booths, I think mga 20.
Our appointment was at 2PM and we arrived at 1:31PM and were finished after 20 minutes. Nagkataon na walang pila nung dumating kami. We also received an email notification that our Biometrics have been completed.
Australian Visa Processing Times
Last year we got our visas on the same day but this year, even though we applied as a group, we received our visa grants on different days so kinabahan ako ng slight dito.
Day 1- Submit/Lodge the Application Form | Pay the Visa Fee | Book Biometric Appointment
Day 5 - Biometric Appointment
Day 6 - Visa Granted (Husband)
Day 12 - Visa Granted (Me and Son)
