Applying for working holiday visa - offical AUS immi website or is usit better?

SonicStreak

Hi there!

I'm an Irish expat living in South Korea and wish to make the journey over to Oz on the working holiday visa after my contract is up here and wanted to inquire which way to go about it.

Have people had better experience using usit's website or the official AUS immigration webpage?

I've applied to both, however on the Aussie government page after filling in the application it asked for a credit card charge of 420 AUS dollars which I thought was strange. My sister who has lived in Sydney for 5 years said this was outrageous and I wanted to know has anyone else had this?

I just find this preemptive charge a bit aggressive considering I don't know if I'm even able to receive the visa or not. And wasn't expecting it to be that expensive. Have they raised the price in recent years?

I'm still waiting to hear back from usit. Please send me any advice for someone in my position. I'm also planning to go directly from Korea to Oz when the contract is up (start of Nov) but usit said that wouldn't be a problem.

Cheers

jackbhoy

The $420 is what immigration charges, so whether you apply via USIT or immi it will have to be paid.

It has gone up in recent years alright but wouldn't consider it "outrageous" in scheme of things.

I would apply directly to immi as USIT essentially charges you to submit a form. You still have to answer the same questions regardless.

Unless you have exceptional circumstances (e.g. criminal convictions), the visa is virtually guaranteed to be granted, and usually in 24-72 hours from memory.

mighty magpie

why would you not be able to receive the Visa?

My "exceptional" circumstance was that I spent some time in Africa so I needed to get a chest scan (90GBP) to check for TB but once I got my scan with the designated clinic I got my visa granted in 24 hours. Living in Asia, this may also affect you.

I would echo jackbhoy in saying that you should go through immi, very painless process, $420 is similar to what I paid.

Mellor

SonicStreak wrote: »

My sister who has lived in Sydney for 5 years said this was outrageous and I wanted to know has anyone else had this?

If she has lived in Sydney for 5 years then she is hardly familiar with the cost of a WHV.
$420 is the IMMI fee.
Usit will charge you $420 + their own fee.


Why don;t you know if you can receive the visa. The conditions are very basic.
You shouldn't be applying if you haven.t checked that you qualify.

SonicStreak

Ah great to know thanks. I was curious because I never applied for a Aussie visa before and was worried that Korea's mers crisis would hinder my ability to get it since I'd be going straight from there.

Not that mers is serious at the moment (it seems to mostly affect the elderly) but you can't be too careful on how paranoid a country can be in terms of viral outbreaks.

I'll go through the immi and see what comes next.

jus_tin4

Just to pick up on the X-ray, how do you make contact with immu yo inform them that you have made a booking? Just worried about the 28 day limit

mighty magpie

I didn't inform them.

I got the notice of needing an xray after a few days and had Xray done/ Visa approved within 10.

SonicStreak

Wow really? They asked for an xray? Holy hell. Do they ask for a full health check as well I suppose?

Question - if I'm not planning to go till November should i just wait to apply in October?

mighty magpie

No you can apply whenever and they allow you 12 months to use it, then once you enter Australia it is valid for 12 months.

As above, they only asked me for an Xray to check for TB as I spent time in south africa. My girlfriend applied at the same time and got her's granted within 24 hours.

No full health check.