I bought my 5J ticket on 28-Oct-2014 during the Peek-a-BOOK Piso Sale for 7,060 php base fare RT. Now, how will I get the visa?
- Created an account at http://www.border.gov.au/immiaccount
- Applied for Visitor Visa (600), filled-up the form and submitted the following documents:
Upon submission and attachment of documents, make sure to have a lot of patience because this will be start of the waiting game.
*Previously visa can be granted 1-2 weeks, but reading the trend in Pinoyexchange it was changed to 32 days/a month of waiting.
Timeline:
- 11-Apr-2015 - Application has been submitted
- 11-Apr-2015 - Fee has been paid online
- 13-Apr-2015 - You can only attach supporting documents after the payment has been acknowledged.
- 13-May-2015 - Grant Letter has been received
- 06-Jun-2015 - Just in time for flight schedule
Together with the Visa Grant, there is a note:
Important Information for nationals from the Philippines
There are guidelines on departure formalities for all international bound Philippine nationals.
For tourists travelling abroad you will need to provide the following:
- valid passport
- valid visa and
- a return ticket.
I have printed the visa grant and prepare it upon heading to the Immigration Officer, and they did not bother to ask about it. (I'm expecting them to ask, since on my previous flight to China, Korea Japan - I know that they checked it).
Upon my arrival in Sydney, they did not ask on it as well. So I raise the same concern on Pex, and they say that only foreign country will check it. At this case, since it is electronic visa, they have checked it from their unit/pc and did not asked for the printed one.
While you are waiting for the results of your visa application, why not prepare for the next steps. Are you curious how effective the security process and how tedious it is to pass by the Immigration Office in Sydney (or other Australian borders), watch now.
While you are waiting for the results of your visa application, why not prepare for the next steps. Are you curious how effective the security process and how tedious it is to pass by the Immigration Office in Sydney (or other Australian borders), watch now.