Truth be told, Australia was never part of my list of places that I wanted to visit. The visa requirement really daunted me. I honestly thought that I’d scour South East Asia first before travelling to countries where visas are required for Philippine passport holders. But thanks to an incredibly generous friend who agreed to put us up for a few days, I was able to experience the beautiful city that is Sydney.

Thanks to the seat sales that Cebu Pacific offers, my friend was able to get us roundtrip seats for only 7,500pesos each. I know, right? Sure, it was a red eye flight and there was virtually no leg room to speak of, but 7,500 frakkin’ pesos. You can’t beat that (well, actually somebody did; we met somebody on the same flight as ours who got his roundtrip tickets for a little over 5000php).

After the flights have been booked (on a whim), the next things to sort were our visas. I will forever be grateful for the Internet – gone are the days when you have to take time off from work to queue and submit your visa application personally (although the option is still available, if you choose to do it the old way).

Here are the steps that I took:

1. Know which visa category I was applying for and what the requirements were. In my case, since I was visiting a friend, it was just the straightforward Visitor (subclass 600) visa category I applied for. Check out the details of the different visa categories here.
2. It probably wasn’t necessary, but I downloaded and completed the list indicated in their check list and included it in the list of files I uploaded for my application.
3. I opened up an Immi account.
4. I paid for my visa application fee using my Mastercard credit card. I forget how much I got charged exactly, but it was less than 5000php on the bill.
5. I scanned all of my supporting documents, converted them into pdf files and uploaded them to my Immi account. I had to break up the files by category since the site only allows a maximum of 2MB per file uploaded.
6. I waited and tried to forget about my application. I don’t know how long they usually take to process online applications, but it’s a safe bet that it takes at least a full month from the date of payment. I paid for my application June 10^th and I got the email with my grant July 10^th. My friend’s application took longer though, like eight weeks, I think. So definitely give ample time between your visa application and your travel date. I applied a full five months before because I’m OC like that.

It’s very lucky that the Australian government allows Philippine passport holders to apply online – here’s the list of countries that they allow to apply online for the Visitor visa.

The entry clearance officers probably don’t read cover letters but because I needed to explain where certain funds came from, I decided to create one. It did help me calm my nerves, at least, since it helped sort out the documents I uploaded. Besides, I figured that it was better to submit everything (including the kitchen sink, if needed) than to get refused for missing documents.

Here’s the copy of what I sent to them (edited to remove personal information):

Dear Honorable Consul,

I would like to apply for a Visitor Visa to spend approximately one week, from 12 November to 19 November 2015, in Australia to visit my friend M—-, who has been residing in New South Wales for a few years now. I have known M—- since our freshman year in high school and he has kindly agreed to let me, along with my travel companions and fellow high school batch mates (C— and F—), stay in his flat during our stay. Should our visa applications be granted, M—- plans to take a week off work and tour around Sydney with us to show us the sights – both the Opera House and Bondi beach came up during the vague planning stages.

I understand that I have applied extremely early but I am hoping for your kind consideration to future date the effectivity of the visa validity to cover my intended date of travel. I am employed with the — as an — for the — department and our peak season is about to begin. I decided to apply now for fear of not having enough time to process my application later in the year. I am allowed 20 vacation days per year (5 of which have been used for 2015), and should my visa application be granted, 6 days will be used for this trip.

I was part of the — scholarship program, where I received —. My parents decided to keep the sum in a time deposit account with — for future use. I have mistakenly placed in my application form that the fund was in a joint bank account but I had been recently informed that the account is only under my father’s name. I have attached a consent letter from my father who is allowing me to access part of this amount for my travels. I have also attached copies of bank certificates of my two savings accounts, which will be the main sources of my travel fund for this trip.

I would also like to clarify that my employment with the — commenced from — October 20–. I was hired as a temporary staff for the — where I worked for eight months, until I was hired to work as an — in the — on — June 20–.

I have attached the following documents to support my visa application:

• An accomplished Form 1419
• Proof of Identification – A scanned copy of my Birth Certificate, Driver’s License, PRC License as a — and a passport sized photograph
• Scanned Bio pages of my current and old passport, along with the stamped pages of my regional travels in Asia
• Proof of Employment – Employment Certificate
• Proof of Funds – Payslips, copy of my latest Credit Card Statement, Bank Certificates and consent letter from my father
• Additional supporting documents – — Insurance Policy slip, Official Receipt and Registration of Kia Picanto
• Plane ticket booking reservation via Cebu Pacific from Manila to Sydney
• Invitation letter from M— and screenshots of our Chat log on the day we bought the plane tickets

I trust that you will find that everything is in order. For questions or clarifications, please feel free to contact me anytime.

 

Sincerely,

Girlie Repuyan

Home: (63) +02 —

Mobile: (63) —

Email: Girlie.Repuyan@gmail.com

 

The visa grant arrived as a PDF attachment and included the terms of my leave of entry – stuff like I can’t arrive after January 10, 2016 and that I can only stay in Australia for a maximum of three months upon arrival.

I hope this helps! Good luck to all future applicants there.