Reminders when Applying for an Australian Tourist Visa 2017

I have plans to visit the land down under so we went to VFS at Ecoplaza Building in Makati to submit our documents to apply for an Australian Tourist Visa (Subclass 600).

Aside from checking directly on their site the documents required for this application: http://www.vfsglobal.com/australia/philippines/, there are also a ton of blog posts where you can read about the requirements. I've listed below what I recently submitted & what to take note of:

Required Documents

➥Form 1419 

1. Make sure to use black pen or if you are not keen on writing anymore, you can just edit the PDF file & print like what a normal, lazy and millennial person would do.
2. Paste 1 passport-size photo
3. No need to enter N/A for blank fields

➥Subclass 600 Checklist form

Same with Form 1419 except no need to paste or attach a passport-size photo

➥Xerox copy of my NSO-certified Birth Certificate

See my post about the different ways of getting your NSO-certified birth certificate.

➥Manager's Check

1. Most preferably from either BPI or BDO but you can get it from any bank as long as its a commercial & not a rural bank. You need to have an existing/active account with the bank before you can request one.
2. As of this writing, payable amount should be Php 5,300. Note that amount indicated on the check must be in PHP
3. The Pay to the order of value should be addressed to Australian Embassy. They will not accept your check if it states otherwise.
4. Depends on the bank, but BDO charges Php 50 per check. You have the option to either pay it in cash or debit it from your account.

➥Xerox copy of my Passport pages

1. Make sure to xerox the front, back and all pages with stamps and visas on it.
2. If you have an older passport with stamps and visa, xerox copy that as well even if it's already expired. 

➥Xerox copy of ITR

➥Xerox/Printed copy of Payslip (1 month)

➥Bank Certificate

There is no recommended amount but remember that they ask for this information so they can be assured you can sustain yourself financially while you are traveling to their country. So depends on how long your stay will be, make sure your bank account - at least for the visa application - is enough for your day to day activity in Australia.

➥Latest copy of my credit card statement 

Make sure it indicates the current credit limit

➥Invitation letter & other supporting documents from your contact in Australia

1. My friend provided us with a Statutory Declaration (which serves as an Invitation letter) stating that she will be responsible for our stay/accommodation in Australia. 
2. Statutory Declaration form can be downloaded here. 
3. Additional documents provided was a xerox copy of passport, copy of visa grant, school IDs, receipts, etc. 

Basically for Visa Application, you just need to prove that 1. you have the financial capacity to visit their country during your travel dates and 2. you have no intention of overstaying & will definitely be back to your home country. So any other documents you can provide to help you on this will help.

Submitting Documents

Note: We applied & submitted via the VFS office and not directly to the Australian Embassy. It usually speeds up the process but you still have the option to apply directly or to the AU Embassy.

1. You can have the option of either scheduling an appointment via their site or go there directly and queue as walk-in. 
2. Upon entering the VFS office, there are specific lanes for each country of visa application, for Australia, it's the first lane on the left after the entrance.
3. After logging in and taking a queue number, you will be asked to enter another room (just beside the first counter) and wait for your number to be called. If you scheduled an appointment, you can go directly to counter 1 or 2.
4. Aside from the xerox copies that you will submit, its best to bring the original documents as well just in case they have questions. For us, they didn't even bother to check our original documents or passport.
5. On the manager's check, they will ask you to write down your name & passport number at the back. 
6. You need to pay a  processing fee of Php 637.00 (additional cost if you opt to subscribe to their SMS update).
7. Wait for the receipt & make sure to check if the name & email address to where they can send the VISA is correct.

The actual result is expected to arrive in a month but there instances when it can only take 3 days or 2 weeks to receive the result. Mine took 2 weeks and happy to say that it was approved :) Australia issues a label-free visa so you'd have to constantly check your email with the visa grant notice attachment. Make sure to print the visa grant or have a soft copy on your phone as you will need to show this at immigration.