How to get a tourist visa for Australia

Posted by Mark Rechard on October 12th, 2019

We have been publishing offers for Melbourne and Sydney for around AR $ 14,500 for a while now. Not to mention the mistake of United who sold tickets for AR $ 3,497 (Roundtrip final) leaving from Santiago de Chile and then canceled in an official statement (Clarification: For those who want to stay informed about the situation we recommend joining this Facebook group :  Deceived by UNITED (Flight Santiago to Sydney - Australia ) where they are making claims and debates in this regard.In this post we tell you how to get the tourist visa for Australia since all those Argentines who want to go on vacation to that country must process the tourist visa.

How to get a tourist visa for Australia

Prior clarification: There are different types of visa that you can apply for, including tourist visas, work visas (such as Working Holiday) and vacations at the nearest Australian embassy or consulate. In this case we will focus on the Australia Tourist Visa, that is, the one they need only if they are going to vacation to the country.

The visa for which they must apply is what they call  Visitor 600. Currently, people with passports from Argentina, Chile, Italy, Spain and many other countries that are outside Australia can apply ONLINE to this visa very easily. Unlike visas from the United States or Canada that at some point in the process must send the passport to the respective embassies in this case they do NOT need to send their passport anywhere. They are not going to stamp anything, or put any stamp in your passport, but they will simply  send a notification with approval to your mailbox. It is very important that they keep it both to enter and leave Australia.

To take into account: Those Argentines who have Italian or Spanish citizenship should apply for  eVisitor 651 which is free and is also only for them to go on vacation to Australia, and not to work. They can also study for a period of less than 3 months. This visa allows several visits to Australia for business or tourism, each stay is up to three months at a time for a period of 12 months and cannot be extended. We repeat if they want to work they should apply for a Working Holiday visa.

Those who want to do the process personally can do so at the Australian embassy, ​​located in Villanueva 1400, CABA. Applications that are delivered to the office must be deposited in the visa inbox from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday. Do not submit the original documents as the documentation is not returned.

But let's go back to the Visitor 600 visa online (we recommend it since the procedures are more agile in this way).

Some recommendations prior to taking into account to obtain the tourist visa for Australia:

• We recommend that before submitting the application they have a passport with at least 6 months validity.

• When you apply online have your  credit card at hand. It does not have to be its own but it is enabled for international payments.

• Depending on what credit card they have, they may have a surcharge.

• It is NOT necessary to have the tickets already purchased, that is, they can apply for the visa and then take out the tickets. (If your visa is not approved, your money is not returned).

• Have your passport and ID, ready to scan.

• You can request it up to one year before you want to enter.

• Once they enter Australia, at that time the time they authorized them begins to run, that is, if they were authorized 3 months, the day they arrive in Australia begins to run that time.

• The cost will be about 140 Australian dollars, to change something like AR $ 2000.

• It is important that applicants enter their first and last name as it appears and as it is written in their passport. If the wrong first and / or last name is entered and a visa is granted, they may have trouble boarding the flight. It is also important that they include information on other names or surnames by which they are known today. For example, the maiden name or any variation in the way they write their names.

• It is illegal to work with this visa.

• Those applicants who declare a health problem must provide specific but brief information on the visa form regarding their state of health and any required treatment or medication. We remind you that you will not be covered by the Australian health system and that medical assistance in this country is very expensive, so it is recommended to take out travel insurance 

To start with the online application, you must access the  main page of the e600 Visitor Visa , and click on “Start an application” and then on “Star an application” again, the one to the right of the box.

Then you have to create an account in the embassy system and enter with it to fill out the form. They will ask for your personal information, passport number and expiration date, and routine questions such as the date they plan to travel, and return, the reasons for the trip, etc. Don't worry it's very easy. We know that in some cases you can request some documents such as salary receipts, proof of financial solvency, but not always. The documentation to be submitted may vary according to your personal circumstances, such as: work certificate issued by the employer on company letterhead, detailing work history, monthly salary, authorized license period and detailing whether they are vacations or leave with / without enjoy salary and if the company will return to the return of the trip, salary receipts from the last 3 months, Certificate of ongoing and analytical studies for students or bank account statements and credit card summaries. 

The tourist visa can be requested for three different times: 3, 6 or 12 months. What happens is that the final decision depends on the embassy, ​​they decide to grant them the time they deem necessary.

Once they apply they will have a TRN (Transaction Reference Number) and a password with which they will be able to see the status of their tourist visa application (e600)

As for the delay time, officially at the embassy they say it takes a week or even a month but as we were told by several people they were approved faster than thought, on the same day and even in 20 minutes.

Remember that for this visa you do not need to have a sticker attached to your passport to travel to Australia. Immigration staff will have all your data. However, it is recommended - and for those who give them more security - to keep a copy of the notification of granting your visa for your personal records (They can keep it stored on their cell phones and so we do the planet a favor by not printing so much paper.