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Frequently Asked Questions - For People Giving Support to Someone Applying for a Tourist Visa
I am giving support to someone who is applying for a tourist visa. Can I find out about their visa application?
Australian privacy requirements prevent this office from discussing specific details of a visa application with anyone other than the visa applicant, unless specifically authorised (in writing) by the applicant. This includes any person providing support to the application. These restrictions apply to all Australian government organisations, not only the Australian Embassy.
If the visa applicant wants to authorise you or any other person to be able to discuss their application with this office, or for you to receive correspondence about the application, they must authorise this in writing. They can do this by using Form 956. This form is available on our website (http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/956.pdf) and from the Australian Visa Application Centre (AVAC) at Level 34, Thai-CC Building, South Sathorn Road, Bangkok. This must be signed by both the visa applicant and the person to be authorised.
If the visa applicant has not given this specific written authorisation, we are not permitted to discuss details of the application with you.
Can I provide a “guarantee” or undertaking that the visa applicant will abide by their visa conditions?
For a Tourist visa (subclass 676), there is no provision for a formal ‘sponsor’. There is also no provision in the migration regulations for an enforceable undertaking or ‘guarantee’. Therefore, while offers of support (including statutory declarations) from Australian friends or relatives are taken into account, for a Tourist visa it is the circumstances of the applicant themselves, above all, which must be considered.
For more details on what evidence the applicant themselves should provide, please refer to the Embassy’s website (http://www.thailand.embassy.gov.au/bkok/Visas_and_Migration.html).
Can I lodge a financial bond so that the visa applicant can be granted a visa?
A Tourist visa (subclass 676) does not allow for a security bond. This is not possible under the Tourist visa legislation.
If you are an Australian relative of the visa applicant, you may be able to sponsor them for a Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679). This is a different type of visa from the Tourist visa (subclass 676).
(Note: “Relative” means a parent, child, adopted child, spouse, brother, sister, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle niece, nephew, or 'step' equivalent of any of these.)
For a Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679, a bond may in some cases be requested.
For more information on the Sponsored Family Visitor visa, please see: Sponsored Family Visitors.
I am supporting someone who applied for a Tourist visa. Why were they asked to provide information about our relationship, when it is a Tourist visa, not a Spouse visa?
If an applicant is unable to show that they have sufficient funds and ongoing employment to demonstrate an incentive to return to Thailand, they may in some cases still be able to be granted a visa, if they can show that they are in a genuine and ongoing relationship with an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
In this situation, information may be requested about the nature and duration of the relationship. This is necessary and relevant, in order to be able to determine whether there is sufficient commitment to ensure the applicant will abide by their visa conditions and whether the support from the Australian party is likely to continue for the duration of the proposed visit.
I provided evidence of my own funds to support the person applying for the visa, but the visa was refused. Does this mean that the Australian Embassy does not believe I have enough money?
It must be emphasised that for a Tourist visa, it is the visa applicant’s own situation which is most important. Where the person does not meet the visitor visa requirements on their own merits, and/or there is little or no evidence of the claimed relationship with an Australian party, this would generally not be sufficient for a visitor visa to be granted.
This does not mean that the supporter’s funds are considered insufficient. It simply means that the applicant’s own circumstances are such that they do not meet the legislative requirements for a tourist visa.
I provided a letter of support for the person applying for the visa, but the visa was refused. Why was my offer of support not enough?
Again, for a Tourist (subclass 676) visa, it is above all the visa applicant’s own situation which must be assessed. Even if an Australian citizen or permanent resident is offering support, it may not be sufficient to outweigh an applicant's own circumstances, if these indicate little incentive to abide by their visa conditions and to depart Australia at the end of their authorised stay.
This does not mean in any way that the offer of support was considered not genuine, but merely indicates that the applicant does not meet the requirements for the grant of a tourist visa.
The visa application for a person I was offering support was refused. What can they do?
The visa applicant should read carefully the letter notifying them of the previous decision. This letter would explain if any review options are available. If review is available, details on how to apply for that review would have been included.
See: Review of Visa Decisions
What if a person has been refused a Tourist visa and wants to apply again? What should they do?
A person who has been refused a visa outside Australia is entitled to apply again if they wish.
We are not able to guarantee what the outcome of any future visa application may be. Any new application will be considered on its merits and against the legislative and policy requirements applicable at that time. However, applicants should ensure they refer carefully to the previous decision letter. They should ensure that they understand the issues raised in the letter informing them of the previous decision.
If they wish to apply again, they should try to provide more detailed or new information to try to address these issues, or to show that their circumstances have changed since the previous decision.