Down Under Visa’s valuable resource

 

Twice yesterday I had clients contacting me telling me about some difficulties their lady was having.

 

 

A common occurrence we find at Down Under Visa is that the lady applicants for Australian visas are too shy to contact us. So when they’re not sure about something, they instead email the Australian sponsor. Being good men (as all Australian men are…..we all know that!) they try their best to help. And when they can’t, they email me or they email Jeremy about it. And sometimes this can go back and forth, and yes sometimes this can lead to frustration.

Police Clearances for Australian Visa Applications

You go to see Down Under Visa to organise a visa application, and they ask you for a police clearance from every country where you lived in for 12 months or more. It shows if they have a criminal record.

Why do you need this, and can you avoid it?

Where’s my visa sticker? About Australian visa grants.

Up until a few years ago, an Australian visa meant getting a sticker in the passport. The passport was sent into the Australian Embassy in Manila, and back it came with “the visa” as people thought.

What is a visa?

A sticker? Stamp? Letter? No. None of these.

 

 

 

Is this something new? No, not at all. The demise of stickers s only a few years old, however those weren’t actually visas either.

Why is it hard to get a visa to Australia?

It can come as quite a shock to Australians when they first apply for an Australian Tourist Visa or Australian Partner Visa for their Filipina girlfriend (or fiancée or wife) when they realise it’s not just a formality. It’s so easy for Aussies to go to most countries. Most don’t require visas at all, and those that do? Usually just a few questions, and you get a sticker in the passport. Easy stuff. Philippines? You arrive and you can stay for 30 days. If you want to get the visa extended, it’s easy.

Change in lodgement details for Australian visa applications

Just informing clients of a few changes with the lodgement of visa applications in Manila.

You all probably read my post the other day about changes pending this week. We will now be lodging applications at the Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC) in Makati. Note that AVAC are a “service partner” for the Australian Embassy. Years ago the Australian Embassy in Manila would have a line of applicants going around the block. Things have changed considerably since then, as they don’t deal directly with applicants these days. You can’t call in and ask questions, and you can’t lodge your application there. They use intermediaries to handle the receipt of applications, and the new provider is AVAC.

And note that this is ALL that they do. They don’t advise about visa applications, and they don’t process them either. This is a drop-off center only.