Filling out an application for a visa to Australia
We go to the website via the link https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/visitor-600/tourist-stream-overseas Click the Apply This should appear like this:
I used arrows to show what to poke first and what to poke next. If you are filling out a form for the first time, you need to register on the site: the login is your email, the password must include capital letters and numbers.
After registering and creating question-and-answer hints, if you forgot your password (the most difficult thing, since the questions offered are stupid), we proceed to filling out the questionnaire.
For those who stopped filling out the questionnaire halfway, you can exit and re-enter the same page where you finished filling out. To do this, click the link https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login and enter your username and password.
First page of the questionnaire:
In my case, it looks like this: the dates for visiting Australia and what we are doing there during this trip are indicated. Your case is your case and it is up to you to provide your travel details.
The rest is not so difficult - on the page with passport details I indicated my second international passport, internal passport and marriage certificate - Ikrinka and I are traveling together.
Funding of stay page. I wrote: “cards, cash and prepaid bookings.” That is, I have the means (money) to stay in Australia: cash, on a card and prepaid reservations (hotels, cars).
At the end of the questionnaire there is a page where you need to tick No , and then a page where you need to tick Yes .
This is what it looks like:
Do Russians need a visa to Australia in 2021?
People visit Australia not only for tourism purposes. Russians can resolve business issues with partners in this country, get an education, work, or come to visit relatives or a future spouse to start a family. A visa is required in any case, regardless of the purpose of the trip and the period of stay in the country. There are no exceptions.
Sydney, Australia
Documents to support your Australia visa application
Here you probably need a decryption of where to upload what. But first, some general information:
- In total, you can upload 60 files
- The file weight should not be more than 5 megabytes
- after downloading the file, you need to click the Apps button as if about to download the next file, then the button for downloading the next file “Upload” will become active:
My hypothesis about where to upload what (if anyone has other ideas on this matter, go for it):
- Travel document, Passport - uploaded a scan of the first page of the international passport with which I am traveling to Australia.
- Travel history - uploaded several scans of pages with stamps from one passport and scans of pages with valid US and UK visas from another passport. I didn't scan all the pages with stamps - I have a lot of them.
- Temporary Stay, Evidence of Itinerary - uploaded scans of air tickets from Singapore to Australia, from Australia to Singapore (air tickets are an optional document), a one-night reservation at Perth airport (booking), a jeep reservation in Broome and another screenshot of the Internet bank, where you can see how much I have accounts and how much money is in these accounts.
- Business Ownership, Evidence of Overseas Business Registration - uploaded here a scan of the certificate of registration of me as an individual entrepreneur and a monthly statement from the account of my individual entrepreneur.
- Assets - Personal, Evidence of Other (specify) - uploaded a scan of the certificate of ownership of the apartment here.
After that, I pressed another button and all this canoe, which I spent 1 hour of time on, went to Australia. Now all that remains is to wait for the signal that the visa has been issued.
Where to contact
You can apply for a visa to Australia either independently or with the help of specialized agencies that offer a huge number of their services to potential migrants. It should be remembered that in the second case, registration costs may double or even triple. Obtaining a visa without outside help is a completely feasible task, provided that the established rules for processing documentation are strictly followed and all procedural measures are completed.
Issues regarding the provision of Australian visas are the responsibility of the consular department of the country's mission. In addition, today it is possible to apply for a visa via the Internet: a special service - an online visa center - allows you to complete your application without leaving your home.
Translation of documents into English
You can translate a bank statement, a certificate of ownership of an apartment, or a certificate of registration of you as an individual entrepreneur, or a certificate from work into English. Translate it yourself, using Google Translator, if you don’t know English. And attach a scan of the original along with the translation. There is no need to certify the translation! This is in line with the Australian Border Protection Department's recommendations:
All documents that are not in English must be translated into English. The Australian Department is moving towards a global visa processing model. This means that any application can be considered in another office, not only in Moscow. Therefore, it is very important that all documents are translated into English. Certification of translations is not required, but translations must be of high quality, as this will help speed up the processing of your application. Make sure that in addition to the translation, you also provide a copy of the original document. Failure to provide an English translation may extend the processing time for your application.
I admit to my laziness: I didn’t translate anything. Perhaps that is why my application was considered close to the maximum period - 3 weeks.
Australian visa for a child
A pressing question is how to get a visa to Australia for children.
If the child is under 6 years old, he goes to the mainland with his parents; to obtain a visa, they provide a copy of the birth certificate (it is translated into English and notarized).
When leaving with one parent or accompanying persons, the father and mother give a written agreement for the child to leave.
Paying Australia Visa Fee
After I uploaded all the scans and clicked the “Next” button, I was taken to the visa fee payment page: 140 Australian dollars.
You can pay the fee by credit card or Paypal. Depending on the card or type of payment, a commission is charged:
As I wrote in my previous article about obtaining an Australian visa :
- To check in for a flight to Australia at the airport, you need to show a printout that is sent to your email after your visa is approved.
- in Australia itself you don’t need to show anything - the visa is electronic, and the border guard sees your case on the computer without any paperwork.
Vinsky Forum, section Australian visa: discussion, comments, solutions
How much does a visa to Australia cost in 2021?
A visa application is subject to consideration by Embassy employees only if the consular fee has been paid.
The monetary amount depends on the type of entry permit requested. Payment is made in Australian dollars (AUD).
The cost of the visa fee for a tourist visa will be 140 AUD, a work visa - from 280 AUD, a student visa - 560, for brides (grooms) - 7000 AUD. Registration of a transit visa is free.
You must pay by credit card.
If the application is submitted on paper, you must attach a signed authorization form for payment by bank card to the package of papers.
Useful links for traveling to Australia
What you need to know before traveling to Australia: instructions for tourists Air tickets to Australia - air travel designer. If you have a lot of time and little money, it is better to fly through Southeast Asia or China. Renting a car in Australia - a car is essential in Australia. There are no trains or buses in Australia. If you are only interested in Sydney, then it is better to go to any Europe - it is more beautiful there. Booking hotels and motels in Australia - being homeless in Australia is bad. In addition, hotel reservations may be asked at passport control in Australia. Travel insurance for your trip to Australia . — It’s better to have one, although this is not a mandatory condition of the trip. No vaccinations are required to visit Australia.
Additional documents for obtaining a visa to Australia
Reference Information:
Purpose of visit: visiting relatives or friends
- An invitation (original) from a relative/friend in free form, indicating the nature of your relationship, as well as the purpose and timing of the trip. In the case of a trip to close relatives - documentary evidence of kinship (birth certificate, marriage certificate, etc.) specifying what kind of support the inviter provides (for example, payment for air tickets, accommodation, financial support). The address and telephone number of the inviter must be indicated.
- If the inviter provides financial support, it is necessary to provide documentary evidence of the financial solvency of the inviting party (salary receipts, bank statements).
- A copy of the inviting person’s passport/residence permit.
- The invitation must be accompanied by the envelope in which it was sent.
Purpose of visit: tourism
- Detailed trip plan by day in English.
- Hotel booking confirmation. If hotels are planned to be selected locally, confirmation of the first night's reservation must be provided. In some cases, the Australian Embassy may request hotel reservations for the entire duration of your stay.
Submission of biometrics for a visa to Australia from 11/19/2018
From November 19, 2021, when applying for a visa, applicants located in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan will receive a letter instructing them to submit biometrics. Within 14 days from the date of application at one of the six Australian Biometric Collection Centers (ABCC), located in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don and Almaty.
Delay in providing biometric data will cause a delay in processing your visa application. If the visa applicant does not submit biometrics, the visa may be refused.
You can find out the biometric data collection center closest to you on the website https://www.vfsglobal.com/Australia/Russia/
How to get a visa to Australia yourself
There is no outsourcing company in the Russian Federation that has the exclusive right to serve Australian visa applicants.
Therefore, in order to obtain a visa yourself, you need to contact the Australian Embassy in Russia.
First you need to decide what type of visa you need and submit your documents using one of the suggested methods.
Important! It is not necessary to provide the original passport to the Embassy. Australians have abolished the visa sticker.
The approved entry permit is assigned to the passport number and sent to the applicant in electronic or paper form. Visa availability at the border is also checked using the travel document number. In the meantime, it is recommended that you print out the information letter with your visa details and take it with you on your trip.
Methods of submitting documents for a visa to the Embassy
- Electronically online;
- By mail, courier service in paper form;
- Bring it to the diplomatic mission in person.
Submitting a visa application electronically involves registering in the ImmiAccount system on the website of the Ministry of Immigration of the Commonwealth of Australia, selecting the correct type of visa, and filling out all required sections of the online application form. The final steps of the process are attaching supporting documents and paying the consular fee.
When sending a package of papers by mail or courier service, please note that the diplomatic office does not accept documents sent from abroad by a courier company.
For those who find it more convenient to bring documents in person, the embassy has installed a drop-off box - a special box where the applicant must place a sealed envelope with documents. To do this, you do not need to pre-register or wait in line for an appointment.
Experience of four transit visas to Australia.
Since there were four of us traveling around the world, we applied for transit visas with identical data. And what’s most interesting is that although everyone had the same result (everyone had their visas approved), the process was very different:
Evgeniy was given a visa two weeks after submitting the documents without any clarification.
I was asked for additional information about my work:
Which I provided in a response letter and my visa was approved.
Arina and talked to her for 20 minutes, finding out her travel plans. They asked, among other things, why transit through Australia, what the budget for the round-the-world trip was, who was going, and stuff like that.
But Alina’s visa was delayed so much that she received it right at the airport before departure. At first we did not notice the letter requesting additional information, and then the consulate delayed responding. As a result, the airline representative called the consulate, apparently hurrying them up, and the visa arrived by email half an hour before boarding for the plane to Sydney closed.
Transit visa to Australia - free and easy!
When planning the route for my second trip around the world, I was very surprised to learn that you can fly to Australia from Indonesia for 4,500 rubles to the city of Perth, and for 6,500 to Melbourne. But I wanted to go to Sydney. After which I found a flight for this purpose: from Bali to Sydney for 14,000 rubles... yes, it’s expensive, but flying on Virgin Australia, and as a fan of Richard Branson, I couldn’t miss this.
It's time to apply for a transit card. I downloaded all the documents from the official website, printed them out, filled them out, attached airline tickets, hotel reservations, account statements and proof of employment. It is worth noting here that an important condition for obtaining a transit visa is a logically constructed route, where a continent such as Australia actually acts as a transit. That is, it will not be possible to buy tickets for a flight from Bali to Sydney, and from Sydney to Singapore and obtain a transit visa.
