Undeniably, Thais are slowly getting enamored with the unique appeal of Australia as their new favored holiday destination. A visit to Australia to explore educational and employment prospects while checking the opera house in Sydney on the side or hopping with the kangaroos in Tasmania for the more adventurous ones or to meet with their Australian friends or boyfriends and relatives or simply to experience the Down Under side of life are some of the compelling reasons Thais love to go to Australia for a holiday.
However, it’s never easy to realize this plan especially in the case of ordinary Thais who need to undergo the visa application procedure to be able to enter Australia for a visit. Admittedly, the visa application is a complicated process especially for first-time applicants who are not familiar with the procedure.
Tourist Visa types
As Thais are precluded from applying Electronic Travel Authority, an Australian visitor visa equivalent that can be applied online or organized by travel agents and airlines, they are left with the option to do the tourist visa application the usual way. In particular, Thais are qualified to apply for a tourist visa under the following visitor visa subclasses: Tourist visa (subclass 676) – This is a temporary visa that allows you to stay in Australia for either three, six, or even a year. Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679) – This visa is for those who wish to visit their family or relatives in Australia for a maximum stay period of 12 months. This requires formal sponsorship from the Australian citizen or permanent resident visited.
Requirements
Just like when applying for tourist visas for other countries, the Australian tourist visa ordeal entails meeting particular requirements to be granted the visa. The Australian government would like to make sure that the visa applicant is coming back to his home country after his allowed visit to Australia so it’s necessary proving your strong ties with Thailand. Your ties with Thailand can be in the form of your stable employment, assets, and properties, savings accounts, and dependents. These ties need to be properly established and documented to be acknowledged by the embassy. Apart from these ties, the visa officer will also be looking at the applicant’s financial position. Are you financially capable of supporting yourself throughout your stay in Australia? Or if you are going there through the sponsorship of your Australian friend or relatives, are your sponsors financially stable to handle your expenses and provide you accommodation when you get there? For this requirement, you need to show savings account or income statement, bank statements, and other proofs of your financial capability. Your sponsor will also need to declare his desire to sponsor you by subjecting himself to financial check-up by the AUS government. This is part of his making the formal sponsorship process. Finally, it’s always good to include a copy of your itinerary in your application to show the officer your clear purpose of stay in the country.
Process
For the normal tourist visa otherwise known as subclass 676, the usual visa process applies. The visa applicant fills out the form and provides documentation in support of his or her application. The documentations include his itinerary, savings account, passbooks, and property title deeds, health insurance, among others. Once everything is ready and complete, he can go to the Australian embassy and lodge his visa application. A corresponding visa application fee is expected. The embassy takes 5-10 working days to process your visa application. Applicants under Sponsored Visitor Visa, on the other hand, follow a more detailed procedure for the visa application. It involves two steps as follows: Step 1 – The applicant fills out the application form and sends this along with relevant supporting documentation to his Australian sponsor. Step 2 – The sponsor fills out the sponsorship form and then submits this along with all visa application forms, documentation. The sponsor will also pay the visa application on behalf of the visa applicant being sponsored It should be noted that applications by sponsorship can be lodged at the nearest Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) office. Normally, visa applications are processed in the state or territory where the sponsor lives. It takes 6 weeks to process this visa type but can take longer depending on your circumstances.
Post Visa application
If your visa is approved, a visa label will be stamped on your passport containing visa details and conditions. You should be wary about these details and ask the officer if there’s a detail that isn’t clear to you. If your visa is not approved, the embassy will send you a refusal letter detailing the reasons for the refusal, your review rights, and the deadline for appealing (if applicable).
Summary
Frankly speaking, you can do the Australian Tourist Visa application process by yourself. However, if you are not confident that you are doing the right thing because you don’t understand the process and the requirements, it’s just prudent to enlist the services of a reputable visa agent to assist you. The visa agent shall be able to help with the proper way of doing it thereby increasing the chances of your visa application getting approved.