Australian tourist visa is one of many types of Visa which support people can come over to extraordinary country with the world’s leading air quality.
Almost foreigners are required to have Australian Visa before entering to Australia. So that, owning Australian Visa is not easy, due to strict requirements on documents, procedures and the Australian immigration law is quite complicated.
Go Experience would like to share the detailed and useful how to get Australian Visa to help you increase the visa pass rate.
1. What is Australian Tourist Visa (Subclass 600)? Does traveler need a visa?
Australian Tourist Visa (Subclass 600 or Tourist Visa) is a short-term Visa for foreigners wishing to visit Australia to travel and visit relatives. Depending on the specific case, the deadline of the Tourist Visa may be validity for 3 months, 12 months, 3 years or 5 years with one time entry or multiple entry.
Tourist Visa is an electronic Visa, which is granted in the form of PDF file. Tourist Visa consists of 3 pages, clearly stating information about the granted decision, Visa details, the conditions of Visa type as well as the necessary notes to enter Australia.
Because Vietnam is not on the list of countries exempted from Australian Visa, so you are required to apply for a Visa before travel to Australia.
2. Which Tourist Visa type can be self-apply?
Tourist Visa types has many areas, each has different benefits and obligations. Therefore, the first thing when applying for Tourist Visa is to determine the exact type of Visa you want to apply for.
| Visa type | Benefits |
| Tourist stream Visa | This allows you to travel to Australia to travel, visit relatives or other short-term purposes. With this visa, you do not need any sponsor, but you cannot work, do business and treatment in Australia. |
| Business visitor stream Visa | This only helps foreign entrepreneurs come to Australia to go on business, participate in meetings, contracts… During the validity period of this Visa, the applicant can stay up to 3 months then must leave Australia and can come back if Visa is not expired. |
| Sponsored family stream Visa | This is for those who are sponsored by relatives in Australia. As such, you will be able to come to Australia and stay up to 5 years for each time. |
3. How long does Tourist Visa validity and stay?
There are so many people wonder how long does Tourist Visa last. Specifically, you can refer to as follows:
- Short-term Tourist Visa: Applicant is allowed to stay up to 3 months/ time
- 1 year Tourist Visa: Applicant is allowed to stay up to 3 months/ time with multiple entry.
- 3 years Tourist Visa: Applicant is allowed to stay from 3-12 months or depending on the decision of the immigration but not staying more than 18 months in total.
Depending on which type you choose, the validity will vary. Normally, if you are a young person and apply this Visa for a first time, immigration can only give you a Tourist Visa with a term of 1 month.
The total of time is calculated from the date of the applicant arrives and leaves Australia. However, it must be under the expiry date.
The validity is clearly stated in the Tourist Visa result. Therefore, when you receive the result, you should carefully check the granted term, the date of the Visa starts to be able to arrange your schedule accordingly.
4. Who will be granted of Tourist Visa?
Tourist Visa is usually granted to:
- Foreigners are residing outside Australia
- Come to Australia with purposes: travel or take a short -term course of less than 3 months
- Meet health requirements
- Having good dignity, without any criminal records
- Never violated the Immigration Law of any country (including Australia)
5. What are the conditions for applying for a Tourist Visa?
You need to meet the conditions:
- Prove the purpose of the trip clearly, suitable for the type of visa
- Prove that you have financial capability during the trip to Australia and return to your country
- Prove that you have a stable job with good income
- Proof of commitment in your country, such as family, properties, work…
- Prove that you will leave Australia after the trip ends such as round-trip flight tickets, committed to return…
- Ensuring the best rights for children (under 18 years of age) including: Having the guardian of parents when children travel, nurturing/guardians (if any)…
- Convincing the immigration officer that you will leave Australia after the end of the trip.
6. Where to apply for Tourist Visa?
According to the latest regulations, all Tourist Visa applications must be submitted online from September 30, 2021. You need to apply early before the planning date.
Applying online applications for Australian entry visa is not easy for the first time because there are many pages which are all in English.
After completing the online application, you will receive a letter requesting to collect biometrics data (usually immediately after completing the application, in some cases, after about 3-4 days).
At that time, you will need to schedule an appointment and go to the Australian VFS Global Visa Centre to get biometrics at the following Vietnamese addresses:
- AustraliaVFS Hanoi
- Room G04, Level G, Hang Hai Tower, 1 Dao Duy Anh, Phuong Mai Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi, Vietnam
- Working date: Monday to Friday
- Working time: 08:30 to 15:00
- AustraliaVFS Danang
- Level 6, ACB Tower, 218 Bach Dang Street, Phuoc Ninh Ward, Hai Chau District, Danang City, Vietnam
- Working date: Monday to Friday
- Working time: 08:30 to 12:30
- AustraliaVFS Ho Chi Minh
- Level 5, Resco Tower, 94 – 96 Nguyen Du, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
- Working date: Monday to Friday
- Working time: 08:30 to 15:00
7. The cost of this Visa?
The Tourist Visa application fee is a matter of many people interested. The Australian Immigration Department has just announced the new fee:
| Types | Fees |
| Visa application | 150 AUD |
| Biometrics | 27.5 AUD |
Some notes on the Visa application fee:
- Visa fee must be paid right after you apply for Tourist Visa online. Therefore, before applying, you must make sure you have a credit card with full amount of this Visa fee.
- Service fee at Australia VFS Global Visa Centre can pay in cash, credit cards or debit cards when you come to get biometrics data.
- this Visa fee will not be refunded.
Besides, you may need to pay other fees for health checks, background examination or other checks and notaries if required.
8. How long does Tourist Visa approve?
If you intend to apply for Tourist Visa but do not know how long does Tourist Visa take? The Australian Ministry of Immigration has just updated according to the average time of processing Tourist Visa applications in Vietnam as you see in the below table:
| The number of applications | Tourist stream Visa | Sponsored family stream Visa | Business visitor stream Visa |
| 75% Visa applications approve | 26 days | 45 days | 09 days |
| 90% Visa applications approve | 37 days | 50 days | 25 days |
In case, you use agency, your approval time will be faster because consultant will advise you on which documents and paper works need to be prepared. So that to avoid the possibility of requesting more documents in due.
9. Australian Tourist Visa application
Before applying, you need to know some important notes as follows:
- If you apply online, you can provide colored scanned versions from original documents without notarization.
- If you apply by papers you need to provide a notarized copies (6 months old or less) all documents are not the original version.
- All documents are not in English, you must be attached to the notarized translation of English.
The application needs to be complete and highly accurate. If you provide false information or dishonesty, your application may be excluded immediately.
Personal profile
- Australian Visa application form 600 (Form 1419).
- Notice of the authorized person to submit/receive documents (Form 956A)
- Original passport is valid for at least 6 months from the date of planning to leave Australia
- Old passport (if any)
- 02 passport size photos:
- Image size 4x6cm,
- Photos taken full face, clears
- White background, dark costumes,
- The photo is taken within 6 months from the date of submission,
- Do not wear accessories such as eyeglasses, earrings.
- Applicant declarator information form
- Birth certificate
- National identity card
- Household registration book (all pages with information, if any)
- Marriage certificate (if married)
- Divorce decision (if divorced)
- Military certificate or demobilization (if you have served in the army)
Proof of financial – property records
- Savings bank books value from 5,000 AUD or more, valid before submission of Visa application as long as possible; or confirmation of the balance of bank accounts with the same balance;
- Red books, car registration papers, or shares (if any);
Working status
- For employees:
- Leave letter for travel
- Labor contract
- Decision of job position (if any)
- Payroll (if you receive a salary in cash) or bank statement receives a salary (if you receive a salary through bank transfer) in the last 3 months
- For business owners:
- Business registration license
- Tax receipts or tax returns for the last 3 months (official stamp of the company)
- Business bank statements or personal bank statements in the last 3 months
- For freelance (freelancer):
- Evidence of the current job: image of store/factory, contract or purchase/sale invoice, magazine/electronic newspaper, …
- Personal bank statements in the last 3 months
- For students – students:
- Confirmation of students
- Leave letter for travel
- National identity card or a parent/ guardian form (if under 18 years old and without parents, guardians accompanying)
- The commitment to agree to allow children to travel by parents with local authorities
Application for children under 18 years old (not accompany with parents)
- The commitment to agree to allow children to travel to Australia signed by parents not accompanied by local authorities
- National identity card of parents whom not accompany with their children
Proof of travel plan to apply for a visa
- Travel itinerary. This itinerary should be prepared as specific as possible.
- Travel insurance. Based on Go Experience, you should not ignore this type of document because it is a testament to your intention to travel.
Important note about Australian Tourist Visa applications 600
- Depending on the specific case, the Visa officer may request an additional applicant to enhance the approval process
- Regarding the proof of finance: there are some cases where the applicant has a large sum of finance but cannot prove where the money comes from, causing the Visa officer to suspect so that they will refuse you. Therefore, you need to convince them though evidence of the origin of this amount
- If you miss some basic documents or incorrect information, the Visa officer can refuse entire your Visa application
- All Visa applications will be scanned to upload into Australian online system
10. Procedures for applying Australian Tourist Visa
The procedure for applying Australian Tourist Visa – Visa 600 is followed 4 steps:
Step 1: Prepare application
Prepare your application according to your travel purpose based on the above guide. Colored scan all documents and save into separate files to apply online
Step 2: Apply online
Download the entire forms as required, note the maximum of 60 attached files. You can submit more documents as proposed by the Australian Ministry of Home Affairs.
Step 3: Schedule an appointment for biometrics
Scheduling appointment for biometrics is a mandatory requirement. You need to come in person to the Australian Visa Receiving Center (VFS Global) to collect biometrics and pay fees.
Step 4: Monitor and receive results
After completing the collected of biometric, you can check your status through Immi Account from email you have registered.
11. Reasons why Australian visas are refused and how to fix them
Nowadays, the procedure to apply for an Australian Tourist Visa has become much simpler. However, there are many applications still refused.
Here are the common reasons why you might not get your Australian Tourist Visa:
- Bad travel history: Not only for Australia but you will also have similar difficulties when applying for a Visa in developed countries in the world if you have never traveled abroad. Try to go to a few countries and then go to Australia. If you have ever traveled to countries like Canada, USA and so on. The chances of getting an Australian Tourist Visa will be much higher.
- The documents in the application are incomplete and do not meet the standards required by the immigration.
So what should you do when your Visa application is refused?
First of all, let’s see what the reason is why you failed your Australian Tourist Visa, usually the reasons will be answered by the immigration officer in an email.
Determine if these problems you can solve. If you apply for the second time, make sure that your status must be significantly improved otherwise you will get the same results as the first time.
12. Some tips when applying for an Australian Tourist Visa
12.1. Apply an Visa application for adults
- Please prepare all necessary documents and arrange them in the most scientific way to impress the immigration officer.
- Provide your own experiences and travel history to help shorten the time to review documents and the higher your chances of getting a Visa to Australia.
- Book an appointment online and regularly monitor the immigration response. If you see that there is any request from them, you should quickly complete it.
12.2. Apply an Visa application for students
Vietnamese students often face many difficulties when applying for a subclass 600 Australian visa. Partly because they do not have much experience in paperwork and procedures to apply for an Australian Visa. The other part is that they do not know how to present the evidence to satisfy the request.
In addition, students – young people, unstable jobs and unable to prove a clear purpose of the trip are often classified by Australia as at risk of overstaying under the Tourist Visa. This is a situation that Australia always tries to control when issuing an Australian Tourist Visa. Therefore, students should look for and reputable agency which has long experiences in the field for good advice and exactly what documents need to submit to increase the change of getting Visa.
12.3. Apply an Visa application for children
- With an Australian Tourist Visa, you cannot get accompany even relatives (including children) with your Visa. If you want to bring your children to Australia, you must apply for a separate Australian Tourist Visa for them.
- To avoid the case that you pass but your children fail, you should know the procedure to apply for an Australian Tourist Visa for children. In addition, according to Australian regulations, if children under the age of 18 want to come to Australia with a Tourist Visa, they must be accompanied by someone over 18 years old.
- To avoid being refused, the children also need to meet the criteria that immigration sets for applicants as mentioned above. Besides, if the children come to Australia on a sponsored family Visa, the sponsor must also meet Australian immigration requirements.
13. Questions related to Australian Tourist Visa – subclass 600
How long can an Australian Tourist Visa stay?
Normally, the duration of Australian Tourist Visa granted to foreigners is from 1 week up to 3 years and the maximum stay period is not more than 3 months each time, counting from the date of issuance of the Visa.
Is there an interview to apply for an Australian Tourist Visa?
Applying for an Australian Tourist Visa is not required to interview but will be notified for an interview when the application has problems or is unsatisfactory. Therefore, to avoid having to interview with the Australian immigration officer, you need to prepare the completed documents, double check carefully before submitting.
How long does it take to get a Visa after interview?
The average time will be about 3-4 weeks, the maximum is 3 months. The more well-prepared documents and the more accurate information in your application, the faster the review time will be.
To avoid Visa rejection or apply for a new Visa application after being refused, you need to seek the help of a reputable agency.
With the sharing of the above experience, Go Experience believes that applying for an Australian Tourist Visa is no longer too difficult for you and many people. The key point is how the documents and information fill in the application form logically and reasonable before submitting the Visa.
