Australia is a great place to visit and live. The country is home to popular tourist attraction like the Sydney Opera House and the Blue Mountains National Park.

The country also produces high quality products that have been imported to Nigeria.

Additionally, Australia is a centre of world class tertiary institutions; as a result, many Nigerians have sought higher education and training in the country.

Generally, these opportunities explain why many Nigerians often ask what the process of securing a visa to Australia entails.

In this post, you’ll learn the process and how much the Australian visa fee cost.

But first, you ought to know the visa categories in order to apply correctly. These categories include: business visa, family visa and the tourist visa

There is a visa processing option which makes it easy to apply no matter where you are in the world. It is called the Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) visa which comes with an AUD20 service charge.

Generally, this application process is determined by your location. If you are currently in Australia you can apply for the tourist stream of the visitor visa online provided you have a valid visa that does not have condition 8503 imposed.

On the other hand, if you are outside Australia only certain passport holders can apply for this visa online. If you hold a passport from the People’s Republic of China and you are applying from China you might be able to apply for the Visitor Visa (subclass 600) Frequent Traveller stream visa.

All visa applications from Nigeria are processed through the Australian High Commission in Pretoria, South Africa.

Requirements for Australian Visa (for Nigerians)

The requirements include:

• Original, signed Nigeria passport with at least 6 months of remaining validity
• Passport-type photograph
• Photocopies of the passport and ID card
• Proof of status
• Itinerary
• Medical check report
• Bank Statement
• Employment Letter
• Hotel Reservations

Also, you’ll need to provide your biometrics (fingerprints and a digital photograph) unless you have been exempted. You can find more information on the biometrics requirement on the Department of Immigration and Border Protection (DIBP).

You can book an appointment with the TLC contact centre Australian Visa Application Centre.

Their office is located at Etiebets Place, 21 Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way in Ikeja, Lagos.

After your application, you’re expected to wait for a response from the visa office. Usually, the processing time is dependent on the type of visa you applied for.

The tourist visa takes 20 to 33 days while the business visa takes 9 to 20 days. If you’re a frequent traveller, your visa processing can take between 5 to 18 days. But if you’re applying for a sponsored family visa, this can take between 50 and 70 days.

You don’t need to apply for a visa if you’re an Australian or New Zealand citizens.

Cost of Australian Visa in Nigeria

Below is an overall summary of the visa fee depending on the category:

Student visa

• Base application charge: AUD560
• Additional applicant charge (18 and over): AUD420
• Additional applicant charge under 18: AUD140
• Subsequent temporary application charge: AUD700

If you belong to any of these categories as a student, you don’t have to pay the base application charge if you’re a secondary exchange student or a student applying for a course approved under a student’s training scheme approved by the Commonwealth to study in Australia.

Temporary visa

If you’re applying for a temporary work visa, the visa charges include

• Base Application Charge: AUD280
• Additional Applicant charge 18 and over: AUD280
• Additional applicant charge 18 and under: AUD70

Usually, with the payment for the visa application fee comes with a surcharge rate which depends on your online payment portal.

• Visa and MasterCard – 0.98%
• American Express and JCB – 1.4%
• Diners Club International – 1.99%
• ChinaUnion Pay – 1.90%
• PayPal – 1.00%

Also, this rate is applicable to debit visa cards and master cards when making payments online.

You should note that your visa fee could change from time to time. In fact, the cost of your visa is sometimes dependent on the date your application was received.

If there is a price increase between the date you lodged your application and the date your application was received, you may have to pay the new application charge.

There are some situations where you may not have to pay any visa application fee. For instance, if you belong to any of these categories, you don’t have to pay for your visa application:

1. a person who applies in the course of acting as a representative for a foreign government; or
2. a person specified by the Minister in a legislative instrument.
3. if you are working in the entertainment industry in an event or events for an organisation who is:

• a registered charity with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
• a foreign government agency, Embassy or Consulate
• a State and Territory Government or Commonwealth Government agency

a government funded event or organisation that is specified by the Minister in a legislative instrumentGenerally, the basic application charge ranges from AUD140 to AUD1020 depending on the type of visa you’re applying for.

If you’re a Nigerian living outside Nigeria and you want to visit Australia for tourist or business purpose, you can use the electronic travel authority which is available online 24 hours a day seven days a week.

Basically, an ETA allows the holder to travel to Australia as many times as required within the validity period which is 12 months from the date of issue. The maximum length of each visit is three months (90 days).

After you lodge your visa application, you can enquire about the progress of your visa application by contacting the Visa and Immigration Section at the Australian High Commission in Pretoria via email at immigration.pretoria@immi.gov.au. You should expect a response within 48 hours.

So that’s it. The process of applying for an Australian visa can be tideous but we have made it seamless with the information provided in this post.