Australia Tourist visa – 10 Useful Things to Know

No. 1: What are the most common reasons for the Department to refuse a 600 tourist visa application?

The most common reason for the Department to refuse a tourist visa application would be the ‘genuine temporary visitor’ requirement, where the Department needs to be satisfied that the visa applicant will only stay in Australia on a temporary basis, and he or she will leave Australia before their visa expires..

No. 2: How do I increase my chances of getting my 600 tourist visa application approved?

You can increase your chances of tourist visa approval by providing the Department with information and documents that would demonstrate that you have strong incentives to leave Australia before your visa expires, and that you will comply with all your visa conditions.

You can explain to the Department why you are a ‘genuine temporary visitor’ in either the invitation letter from your family or friend, or you can prepare your own letter to explain this. Relevant information and documents to demonstrate that you are a ‘genuine temporary visitor’ may include:.

Stable and long-term work
If you have family obligations in your home country such as dependent partner, children and/or other family members
If you are responsible for the care day-to-day for any family members, the nature of the care that you provide, and who will be providing this care while you are in Australia
Explaining your financial circumstances, why you are able to cover your cost of living in your home country, and why you can’t live in Australia indefinitely due to lack of regular income
Explaining any regular income in your home country such as from employment, business and/or government benefits, and/or asset ownership in your home country such as property, business, car, retirement savings like Australian superannuation etc.
If you (or any dependent child/children) are currently completing studies in your home country
Any prior international travel which would demonstrate understanding and compliance with visa and visa conditions
Any long-term community ties such as participating in your community Church group

Where possible, you should provide documents to demonstrate the information provided in your statement, and your incentives to later leave Australia. Relevant documents may include:.

Letter from your work confirming the leave granted for your holiday
Bank statements, payslips and/or tax records to demonstrate your employment
Business documents such as business registration, bank statements, payslips, tax records, photos of your business etc.
Documents demonstrating asset ownership in your home country such as property, business, car, retirement savings like Australian superannuation etc.
ID documents for your dependent family such as birth certificates for your children and marriage certificate
Pages from your passport with prior visas and international travel

No. 3: Is the Department strict with 600 tourist visas at the moment?

We are finding that the Department is being rather strict with 600 tourist visas at the moment (August 2024). Refusal rates seems to be higher than 2023 when the Department and government were more ‘migration friendly’.

We are seeing high refusal rates for applications which are affected by risk factors such as the following:.

The visa applicant is from a country where the Department has concerns about the visa applicant wanting to return to their home country
The visa applicant does not have any long term obligations in their home country such as dependent children and/or partner, mortgage, on-going studies, business etc.
The visa applicant’s main incentive to return to their home country is returning to their work
The visa applicant is in their ‘working age range’

No. 4: I have lodged my 600 tourist visa application. How long is it going to take to process?

The Department’s current (August 2024) processing times are approximately 2-6 weeks.

Please note that the above information is only providing estimated processing time information based on our recent experience, and actual processing times will vary for each individual application. Generally speaking, more complicated applications which may have issues satisfying the relevant legal requirements may take the Department longer to assess and decide.

No. 5: What happens if the Department refuses my 600 tourist visa application?

If you lodged your 600 tourist visa application when you were in Australia, then you can appeal your refusal to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal. If you appeal your refusal, then you can remain in Australia on your Bridging visa while you wait for AAT processing.

If you lodged your 600 tourist visa application when you were outside of Australia, then you would need to have a parent, spouse or de facto partner, child, brother or sister who is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident, and have your Australian relative appeal the refusal on your behalf.

You should consider the following when deciding whether you will appeal to the AAT:.

The AAT lodgement fee is $3,496. You will receive a 50% refund if you are successful with your appeal.
The wait time for an AAT hearing is around 1 year at the moment. This means that the visa applicant may not be able to visit for their intended purpose and they would need to explain the purpose of their future visit if the visitor visa is granted.
The AAT Member will consider your documents and information that you provide during your hearing, and decide if the visa applicant satisfies the 600 visa requirements. This is very different to the Department’s assessment process, where you are unlikely to speak with your case officer, and your case officer is unlikely to ask you for further documents/information before refusing your application. The AAT Member’s assessment of your application will be much more thorough, and you will be given an opportunity to speak with the AAT Member and address his/her questions any concerns.

No. 6: Can I lodge a new tourist visa application after a tourist visa refusal?

You can consider re-lodging a new visitor visa application as well. The cost of lodging a new visitor visa application would be a lot lower compared to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal’s appeal fee.

However, the Department’s outcome would likely be the same if the application is the same or similar to the earlier refused application. If you re-lodge the visitor visa application, then generally speaking, you should provide documents and information which were not provided in the earlier refused application. These new documents should address the Department’s refusal decision and concerns, such as by providing documents to demonstrate the visa applicant’s ties with their home country and support letter explaining their incentives to return home.

Family sponsored stream visa would always have a no further stay condition placed on the visa
Family sponsored stream visa requires a Form 1149 completed by the Australian relative sponsor
The visa applicant’s chances of approval may be slightly higher with the Family sponsored stream, although this is unlikely to make a significant difference for high risk applicants

No. 8: Can I get a tourist visa for my parents and how long can they stay in Australia?

We find that the Department is generally quite lenient with tourist visa applications for parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents. For example, the Department approved a tourist visa for a lady from the Middle East who has an Australian citizen daughter living in Australia, but refused the tourist visa for her adult son. The parent of the Australian citizen was considered to be low enough risk for the Department to approve her visa, but her adult son who lives with her was considered too high risk.

In terms of how long your parents can stay, we find that the Department will generally grant visas that allow for 6 or 12 months stay from date of arrival.

No. 9: Can I pay a security bond to help get my visa approved?

The Department can in theory ask for a security bond before the visa is approved, and release these funds after the visa applicant leaves Australia during their visa period.

However, we find that the Department never asks for security bonds so this isn’t really an option.

No. 10: Can I apply for a different visa if the Department refuses my tourist visa?

You can apply for a different visa if you are eligible. For example, parents of Australian citizens or permanent residents may be able to apply for the 3 or 5 year 870 visa, although the government lodgement fee for this visa is very high.

Unfortunately, there isn’t an alternative tourist visa as the 600 visa would be Australia’s temporary visa for ‘tourism / visitor’ purposes (this is assuming that you do not hold an eligible passport for the ETA and eVisitor visas).

Peng

Over 15 years of specialised visa and migration law experience. We have a long history of high approval rates with complex applications and Tribunal appeals.

We can generally guarantee approval for most types of applications. We will refund you our professional fees if your application is refused. Terms & conditions apply.

We are with you all the way, and we will help you prepare the best application possible.

Qualifications

Registered Migration Agent (MARN: 1172863)

Bachelor of Laws (Hons) – University of Sydney

Bachelor of Economics – University of Sydney

Australia Tourist visa – 10 Useful Things to Know

Peng

Qualifications

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