Getting a Visa for Australia

Getting a Visa

visaHow do I get a visa? Which visa is best for me? And how do I calculate my points total? These are some of the questions I am asked on a regular basis. I have rolled all three of these questions into one and, fortunately, they are reasonably easy to answer.

Why?

Well, let’s go through them. Firstly, how do you get a visa? There is only one place you will get your visa from, and that’s the Australian Government, via The Department of Home Affairs, so you need to apply to them.

Of course, you can go through a MARA registered migration agent. If that is something that appeals to you, visit my…

Visa Assessment Service

…page for details of how you can get your own personal help from a MARA registered migration agent. But ultimately, all agents will forward your application on, so your visa can still only be granted by The Department of Home Affairs.

Which visa?

So which visa is best for you? The Department of Home Affairs can answer that for you too, simply by visiting their website and using their Visa Finder. This new version of the Visa Finder replaces the Visa Wizard of old. I used to have a video here explaining how it worked, but the Visa Finder is so simple that no explanation is needed.

Here’s a link to the Visa Finder:

As soon as you have answered the questions presented, you need to ‘Select next to see your visa options‘ and then you will be presented with, and you are probably ahead of me on this, your visa options. Clicking on the header on any of those visa options will take you to a page with further details, including the government fees required to lodge the application.

If the kind of visa you are recommended requires you to calculate your points, please visit my Points Calculator page.

More useful links:

I have a whole series of posts that explain the entire process that we went through to get our visas for Australia. The first instalment is called Moving to Australia – An Idea and the series ends with Moving to Australia – Part Fifteen in which you will find us sitting in our new home in Australia, waiting for the furniture to show up.

You can see a full list of all the topics covered in this series over at How to Move to Australia.

Important: Please read before commenting…
legal_notice

And for those looking for professional assistance…
vas_notice

Visa Assessment Service
{ 873 comments… add one }
  • Emma Moreland May 22, 2019, 7:47 pm |

    HI Bob!
    I am wondering about something – so I recently cam out to oz (October 2018 to Jan 2019) but had to leave for family bereavement reasons so didn’t get to complete my farm work to be eligible for a second working visa. I was wondering – is it possible for me to like ever come back out as it is my dream unfortunately, like will I be able to apply for jobs in hope they sponsor me? I just really need advice on how likely it is for me to get back out there next year as my future i want it to be in oz 🙁

    • BobinOz May 23, 2019, 9:06 pm |

      Somebody once mentioned somewhere here in these comments that if you have to go back home whilst you’re in the middle of a WHV for any reason, that scuppers you from coming back on that same visa type or qualifying for the second year.

      I don’t know if that’s true, I don’t know all the rules, just saying what someone else said.

      As for ever coming back to Australia, maybe you can, but you would need to qualify for another kind of visa and if you look at the two important notices at the bottom of this article, you’ll see that the best way to find out about that is to speak to a MARA registered migration agent.

      Good luck, Bob

Leave a Comment

If your comment doesn’t get answered, find out why…..
FAQs and Comment Policy.