Before I start, let me tell you that Indians can obtain an Australian tourist visa without going via VFS or any other travel agency. All you need is a computer, internet, and a scanner. Of course, you need a passport and other supporting documents!!
While planning the trip to Australia, I started looking at the information available on the internet to get a visa. Srinidhi’s posts (here and here) provided good details to start. It looked like I had to go via VFS like many other Schengen countries to get a tourist visa. While browsing the Australian official visa site for the documentation required, I saw the “Apply now” button. I first thought it was available only for some western countries, but India was also on the list!! Upon further check, I found that it was a recent change of policy from Australia. The rest of the post explains the process to get the visa.
The first step is to create an account with the Australian Government Department of home affairs. Their website is https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/. It asks for basic information like name, email, and phone number. Once you create the account, you can start applying for the visa. The good part is that you can also apply for others from the same account.
The documentation required is quite elaborate. Here is the list of documents that I provided for the visa.
- Notarised copy of the first and last page of the passport. There is no need to send the original passport to the embassy.
- Notarised copy of the pages of the passport that contains visas or the immigration stamps.
- Photo (45 X 35 mm) with a white background.
- Your signature behind the photo. Since the photo is digital, take a piece of paper as big as the digital photo, sign, and then scan!!
- Flight tickets and hotel reservations.
- 6 months bank statement and 3 years of income tax returns.
- NOC from the company with the payslip.
- Itinerary.
The copy of the passport is a cumbersome process. First, you need to get the printout of the passport pages, get the seal and signature from the Notary and then scan it to get the digital copy. In my case, this was a big effort, as I had to do it for four of us. The number of notarised passport pages was huge!!
Each application had to be filed separately, though we were travelling together as a family. But, as I said before, the same account can be used. To ensure that all applications are processed together, there is a provision to create a “Group id” while applying. Very helpful for people travelling together.
The application asks for a lot of details. Have patience and answer correctly to the best of your knowledge. The application can be saved and updated at any stage. It takes about 2 hours to fill one application and upload the documents, provided you have all necessary documents ready and available. It cannot be done in a hurry. I filled application for all 4 of us and submitted it together at the end. I could make payment in one go for all the applications.
Once the application is submitted, the only option is to wait. The website mentioned that it would take anywhere between 18 to 29 days to process the application. It can be further delayed if they come back for clarification. So, it is very important to get it right on the information given and documents uploaded. In my case, we got the visa after 23 days. It is better to apply at least 1.5 months before the travel to avoid any tensions at the end. One of my friend’s parents got their visa a few hours before the flight!! Imagine the tension they would have had just before their travel.
It is a paper visa valid for one year with multiple entries. The Visa fee is 140 AUD. If you go via VFS, then you need to pay VFS fees also.
Shrinidhi Hande
Useful post…
aravindgj
Thank you.
SHIV
WHAT ABOUT FINGERPRINTS , BIOMETRICS
aravindgj
It was not required. But note that it was in 2019.