Frequently Asked Questions

This page was designed to answer frequently asked questions about Australian visas with applications processed in Vietnam.

Trang này cũng đăng tải thông tin bằng tiếng Việt. 

Visit the home page of the Visa Office Vietnam.

1. Do I need a visa?

You will  need a visa to travel to Australia, if you are not an Australian citizen. General information about visas is available on the Department of Home Affairs website. If you do not know which visa to apply for, you can explore your Visa options.

We also provide some additional information in the Visa and Citizenship Information section on our Visa Office website.

If you are applying for a Visitor visa, any family members need to lodge their own (separate) visa applications.

If you are transiting through Australia and hold a Vietnamese passport, you will need a Transit visa.

There are some exemptions for transit under 8 hours for certain passport holders. Please refer to Travellers eligible to transit without a visa (TWOV) (homeaffairs.gov.au).

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2.  What are the requirements/documents I need?

We publish checklists for visa subclasses that we manage in our Visa Offices in Vietnam, which can be found in the Visa and Citizenship Information section on our main webpage. Information on the requirements for other visas is also provided on the Department of Home Affairs website on the information pages for each subclass.

Specific checklists are also available through ImmiAccount when you lodge a visa application online.

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3.  When should I apply?

If you are applying to visit, your application should be lodged several weeks before your intended travel date (and preferably earlier before peak holiday periods).

Visa Offices do not have a guaranteed timeframe for processing visas. Instead, the Department of Home Affairs publishes an indication for how long visas take to finalise as a global average, on our website for  Global visa and citizenship processing times.

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4.  How much does a visa cost?

Information is published on the Home Affairs website on Fees and Charges.

If you are applying as a representative of a foreign government (evidence will be required) for a short business trip on a Visitor visa (Business Visitor stream), then there is no visa application charge. You will need to advise us of this when you apply online.

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5.  Do I need: Biometrics / where can I do this?

Biometrics (facial photograph and fingerprint scans) will be collected from all visa applicants (of all nationalities) who reside in Vietnam at the time of making an application for an Australian visa. Government officials or representatives travelling on official business are exempt from providing their biometrics. A parent or guardian must be present for collection of personal identifiers from person under 16 years of age, and children under 5 years will provide a photograph only.

After you lodge your application online, you can make an appointment at an Australian Biometrics Collection Centre to provide your biometrics in Hanoi, Danang or Ho Chi Minh City. Appointments must be made at the Australian Biometrics Collection Centre online.

Detailed information on Biometrics is available on the Home Affairs website.

Note: If you do not currently live in Vietnam (for example, you are studying or working outside of Vietnam), please indicate this in the application form. If you put Vietnam as your “usual country of residence” or your “current location country”, then you will receive a request to provide your biometrics. Please visit our Office Locations website that manages visa applications from that country, for more information.

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6.  Do I need: Health examination / where can I do this?

You will be contacted if you are required to have a chest x-ray and / or medical examination

Generally, Vietnamese applicants who are applying for a stay of less than six months do not need to undertake a health examination unless special significance situations apply to you. General information about the health requirement.

If you have been requested to complete health examinations, refer to those details for how to complete a health examination. To contact a clinic, please visit our information on Clinic Locations for the most up to date information:

• Select Vietnam from the menu at the bottom of the page.
• In the Panel physician menu, click on the Details link
• Contact one of the clinics to make an appointment.

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7.  Do I need: Police certificate / where can I get this?

Some visa applicants will be requested to obtain Police certificates. The type of Police certificates required, and how to action them, will be included in the request for information that will be sent to the applicant after they apply.

General information about the character requirement and Police certificates.

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8.  Do I need: Original documents / Certified copies / English translations?

Once the online application is complete and all supporting documents have been attached, please do not send hard copies of documents unless we specifically ask you to.

If any of your supporting documentation is not in English, please include a translation in English, as well as a copy of the original document. Each translated document must include (in English) the translator’s:

• full name, address and telephone number; and

• qualifications and experience in the language they are translating.

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9.  How do I prepare a successful visa application?

We have provided some tips below to assist you if you are preparing to lodge a visa application. While these are not ‘guarantees’ of a successful visa application, they do help us at the Visa Office get a more complete picture of your circumstances.

Apply for the right visa. Ensure you read the information available on the main Home Affairs website about which visa to apply for.

Know the criteria. All applicants are required to meet the legal requirements of the visa subclass they are applying for, in order to be granted a visa. Know the criteria by reviewing the information on the Visa List of the Home Affairs website. If you do not meet the criteria, then your application will be refused.

Know what evidence you need to submit. The Visa Office publishes checklists (see the Visa Information section on our main Visas and Migration page) to assist you with the type of evidence required for your application.

Support your claims with sufficient evidence. We encourage all applicants to support their claims by providing sufficient evidence. What is “sufficient” will vary from application to application depending on someone’s circumstances. In general though, information from a variety of ‘official’ sources will be given more weight. For example, an employment reference letter can be supported by providing bank statements showing regular entries of salary/income, a social insurance payment booklet, and receipts of tax payments. Similarly, if you are making claims for compassionate circumstances or claims of being in a relationship, then provide sufficient evidence of those circumstances.

Finally, provide genuine documents and be honest. Submitting fraudulent documents, making false declarations, and providing misleading information has serious consequences. Every week we refuse many such applications, which will also exclude these applicants from being granted a visa for a further period of three (3) or 10 years. Be honest, check the answers you are providing, and submit genuine supporting documents with your application. 

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1.  How do I apply for a visa in Vietnam?

You must lodge your application online through an ImmiAccount. After you lodge an application, you will receive an acknowledgement of your application and a request to provide your biometrics unless exempt (see the Biometrics FAQ above).

If you want someone to help you lodge your application online, you can contact the Australian Biometrics Collection Centre (managed by VFS Global) about the services they provide, or view their website. Migration agents may also be able to assist you with this process. To find a Registered Migration Agent, please refer to the website of the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

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2.  How can I apply (or pay) as part of a group?

Information is available regarding Frequently Asked Questions for Lodging in a Group.

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3.  I have a technical problem with ImmiAccount. What can I do?

We are unable to assist with technical questions. Applicants who have a technical question or problem with ImmiAccount should review the information on our website for common issues and error messages to troubleshoot in ImmiAccount.

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1.  How do I check the status of my application?

Due to the volume of applications we manage, we are not able to provide individual updates on the status or progress of applications. We are not able to respond to individual requests which are within the global visa and citizenship processing times where the applications have been lodged close to the intended departure date. All applicants are responsible for when they lodge their applications, and applicants are reminded to lodge their applications early.

If you lodged online, you can see if your application has been finalised on your ImmiAccount.

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2.  Can my application be processed quicker (urgent travel)?

We remind applicants that they are responsible for when they lodge their applications, and that they should lodge their application early.

Nevertheless, we appreciate that there are genuine emergencies which require a person to travel urgently. If your application is urgent due to compassionate reasons (for example, a close family member in Australia has recently become very sick), complete the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form online, and upload any supporting information (such an official medical or death certificate). We will review information submitted from the Enquiry Form every working day.

We do not consider urgent requests to travel to attend business meetings or where you flight is departing soon, as genuine emergencies. While we try to process all applications as quickly as we can, we cannot be held responsible if you have pre-booked your travel and your application is not lodged early enough to allow the processing of your application. Some applications will also require us to undertake further assessments, which may take more time. We are therefore not able to respond to requests to process applications within the global visa and citizenship processing times.

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3.  I attended my biometrics / health examination appointment – do I need to advise you?

No.

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4.  Have you received my documents?

Due to the large volume of correspondence received, we are unable to acknowledge the receipt of documents.

• If you have applied online, upload your documents through ImmiAccount. This is the correct process and you can review your application status on ImmiAccount. Do not send the same documents to us electronically or by post as this will cause delays in processing your online application.
• If you received correspondence via email asking you to upload documents and submit a response from the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form, you will receive a reference number form when you submit the information. This is your confirmation.

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5.  I lodged an application online but I did not receive a request to provide personal identifiers (biometrics)?

When you lodge your application online, you will be sent a request to provide personal identifiers (biometrics) via email. If you have not received the email, please check your junk folder and add the homeaffairs.gov.au domain to your list of trusted and safe senders.

Alternatively, you can view a copy of any correspondence we send you in your ImmiAccount. 

To check messages:

1. log in to ImmiAccount
2. select your application
3. select 'View Details'
4. select ‘Messages’
5. select the correspondence link.

If there is no record of a Request to provide personal identifiers in your ImmiAccount, please contact us via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form.

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6.  I attended my biometrics appointment but it is still showing as ‘required’ in ImmiAccount?

ImmiAccount will not show that your biometrics have been collected. You do not need to take any further action on this.

There is no need to advise us once you have attended your biometrics appointment.

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7.  Can I have more time to provide the information you requested?

If you receive a request from the Department to provide your biometrics, provide more evidence, or undertake additional assessments, you must do this in the timeframe requested, or your application may be refused. Extensions are not generally provided and will only be granted in certain circumstances.

As Police certificates can take more time to obtain, if you have been requested to provide Police certificate(s), you should provide evidence to us that you have applied for these within the requested period and are waiting for the certificate(s) to arrive.

If a health examination is required and the outcome is deferred pending further medical assessments, you will also be provided more time to undertake these assessments.

Otherwise, if you require more time, please submit a request to us via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form. Please ensure your request contains supporting documentation (for example, medical certificates). You request will not be considered if you do not provide sufficient information to demonstrate that your request is reasonable.

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8.  How do I change my details / answers in my application?

You can update your details and information via your ImmiAccount. You can complete one of these forms and upload this form through your ImmiAccount.

• Form 956 Appointment of a registered migration agent, legal practitioner or exempt person
• Form 956A Appointment or withdrawal of an authorised recipient (includes migration agent).
• Form 929 Change of address and passport details (includes email).
• Form 1022 Notification of changes in circumstances.
• Form 1023 Notification of incorrect answer(s)

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9.  How do I withdraw my visa application?

You can withdraw your application by completing an online withdrawal form via ImmiAccount or  completing Form 1446 and submit this form through your ImmiAccount.

If you have dependent family members on your visa application, you should specify whether these people are withdrawing their applications as well – please advise names and birth dates of all applicants. Any dependants who are over 18 years must notify us individually.              

Applicants who withdraw:

• are not eligible for a refund of the visa application charge simply because the application has been withdrawn.
• cannot ask for withdrawals to be reversed (withdrawals are final)
• have no access to the application being reviewed by the Department or the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

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10.  How do I withdraw my support / invitation for a Visitor visa applicant?

If you wish to withdraw support for a Visitor visa applicant, contact us via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form. Your request will be forwarded to the appropriate area for consideration. Once you have submitted this you will receive a reference number, however we will not respond to you regarding the withdrawal request. We cannot discuss the progress or outcome of the application.

You may also wish to refer any information to Border Watch.

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11.  How do I withdraw my sponsorship for a Partner visa applicant?

If you wish to withdraw sponsorship for a Partner visa applicant, contact us via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form. Once you have submitted this you will receive a reference number, and your sponsorship withdrawal will be recorded in our systems - we will not respond to you regarding the withdrawal request. Please note:

• If we have already granted a permanent or temporary Partner visa, you cannot withdraw as the sponsor of that visa.
• Australian privacy laws prevent us from providing you with further information in relation to your former partner’s visa application.
• Withdrawal of support for the Partner visa applicant does not lead to the automatic refusal of that person’s visa application. If the applicant is in Australia, a withdrawal does not lead to the applicant’s automatic removal from Australia, as under migration legislation the applicant may have other grounds for remaining in Australia. Following withdrawal of sponsorship, the applicant is notified of the withdrawal and invited to provide us with information supporting any claim to remain in Australia (notwithstanding the withdrawal). As a former sponsor, you will not be advised of the outcome of the Partner visa application.

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12.  I have lodged a Partner visa - can I travel to Australia?

If you wish to visit Australia while your partner visa is being processed, you can apply for a Visitor visa.  You will need to meet all the criteria, including demonstrating you have incentive(s) to leave Australia at the end of your intended stay. The Visitor visa is designed only to allow temporary travel to Australia for tourism purposes or to visit family and friends. It cannot be used for long-term stays or residence, and you should continue to spend time outside of Australia.

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1.  Some of the people in my (family / group) have been granted a visa, but others have not - why?

This is a common situation with the volume applications that we manage every day. Some applications will take longer than others to process, even if applicants are in the same family or group. This does not mean that you should be concerned, or that the application has been lost.

As each application has an individual assessment, each person may have a different immigration history and require different system checks. We try to process all applications as quickly as we can, and we thank you for your patience.  

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2.  My visa application was refused. What can I do now?

If your visa application has been refused, no further action on that application can be taken by the Department, the Embassy or the Consulate General. Except in very limited legal circumstances, the Department cannot change the decision.

The reasons for refusal are outlined in the decision letter. This letter will also contain information on whether merits review is available (according to legal criteria). Applications for review can be made at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal if you have a legal avenue of appeal. While we understand that a refusal decision may be disappointing, we will not respond to complaints or requests to reassess all or part of a visa application. It is not possible for you or a family member to attend the Embassy or the Consulate General to discuss the decision as we do not offer a face-to-face consultation service.

Any person may choose to lodge a new application again if they wish, however, unless there is new information or the applicant’s circumstances have changed, any decision may be the same again. Any person should consider before deciding to reapply.

Feedback, complaints and compliments are managed by the Global Feedback Unit.

Refunds are provided according to legal criteria in limited circumstances.

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3.  My visa application was refused – why wasn’t I contacted before the decision was made?

Before they apply, all applicants are encouraged to include sufficient information when submitting a visa application. In addition to information on the main Home Affairs website, the Visa Office publishes checklists (see the Visa Information section on our main Visas and Migration page) to assist applicants to provide complete information which supports their application.

Given the volume of applications we manage, we are unable to contact every applicant to discuss the circumstances of their application. In addition, under migration legislation, we are not obliged to issue a formal request for more information before refusing a visa application.

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4. Do I need a visa label?

No. The Australian Government does not provide or require you to have visa labels.

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5.  Can I get a copy of my visa grant notification? 

If you authorised the Department to contact you via email, the notification would have been sent to the authorised email address. You can also view any notifications that we have sent to you in your ImmiAccount.

You are also able to retrieve your visa details using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) service.

If you have been granted a partner visa and still cannot find a  copy of the visa grant notification, you can ask for another copy of the grant notification to be sent to you via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form (homeaffairs.gov.au).

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6.  How can I check my visa details and conditions / what do they mean?

Any visa grant decisions are emailed to you (if you provided an email address for us to communicate with you) which will contain your visa details. Otherwise, visit the free and secure online VEVO service (Visa Entitlement Verification Online) to check your visa details.

The Conditions page of the Home Affairs website will list the visa conditions which commonly apply to that visa subclass – you may need to select the stream that is relevant to your visa type, for example, “Visitor (subclass 600) – Tourist (Outside Australia)”.

If you have already been granted a visa, the:

·         Must not arrive after date refers to the last date you may enter (or re-enter) into Australia.

·         Length of stay refers to the maximum allowable stay period you may stay upon each arrival. If there is a specific date in this field, the visa only allows you to stay up until that date. Otherwise you may stay until the period allowed in this field from when you last arrived (even if this this beyond the ‘must not arrive after’ date).

·         Travel field will specify if single or multiple entries are allowed.

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7.  Can I change the visa details or extend a visa?

Visa decisions are made based on the information provided with your application and information held on departmental systems.  Once a decision has been made on the application, this will not be changed unless there has been a legal error in not taking information provided in the original visa application into account, which would have led to a different decision had it been considered. If you believe this is the case, please contact us using the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form.

Visa conditions placed on a visa at the time of grant are legally binding and cannot be changed. Should an applicant’s circumstances change, that person may decide to lodge a new visa application. If you wish to 'extend’ your visa, you will need to make a new visa application.

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8. How do I request a refund?

Refunds can only be paid in limited circumstances prescribed by the legislation. Please visit the Department of Home Affairs website to get more information on circumstances when a Visa Application Charge will be refunded, and how to request a refund.

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9.  My visa was cancelled – where can I find more information?

Visa holders outside Australia may be subject to cancellation without notice under section 128 of the Migration Act 1958. If a person’s visa is cancelled, they will no longer have a valid visa to travel to Australia and may be restricted from being granted another visa.

If your visa has been cancelled, notification of the decision, including the reasons for cancelling your visa, will have been sent to your last known address to the Department of Home Affairs (via email, if you have consented for the Department to communicate with you via email). There is no right of merits review by a tribunal for this decision because the decision was made while you were outside the Australian migration zone. However, you may ask, in writing, for the cancellation of the visa to be revoked. Please refer to the cancellation notification letter for instructions and further information on the request for revocation process. The Department will not review the cancellation decision without a formal request for revocation. It is not possible for you or a family member to attend the Embassy to discuss the cancellation of the visa. Once the Department has made a decision about whether or not to revoke a visa cancellation decision, it cannot review the decision a second time. 

More information is available on cancellations

More information is available on re-entry bans (exclusion periods).

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1.  I have a new passport / address. How do I advise you / when can I travel?

If you have pending visa application:

• If you lodged online, update your information through your ImmiAccount on the 'Update us' tab.
• If you lodged a paper application, submit a Form 929 to us via the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form.

Otherwise:

• If you previously lodged an application online, update your information through your ImmiAccount on the 'Update us' tab. Do not submit any changes to our office as your request will not be actioned.
• If you previously lodged only paper application(s), submit a Form 929 to [email protected]. Do not submit any changes to our Visa Office as your request will not be actioned.

You should take the required action as stated above immediately whenever your passport details change to update your information – do not leave this until just before you travel. Once the updates have been actioned, the changes usually take 24-48 hours to be reflected in VEVO - this will not affect your travel. If you experience difficulties checking into your flight, you will need to liaise with your airline at that time.    

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2.  APEC cards – where can I find more information?

If you hold an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) card valid for travel to Australia, you are able to enter and leave Australia without lodging a separate visa application. You should still travel with your passport. For further information, refer to the APEC website or the Home Affairs website.

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3.  Can I claim a superannuation refund / cancel my visa?

View information on accessing your superannuation from work completed on a temporary visa.

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4. What working rights would I have in Australia?

People who hold a visa (or are considering whether to apply for a visa) should check the visa conditions which may limit the work they are able to do. Check the Conditions page of the Home Affairs website.

More information is also available on workplace rights in Australia, which is also overseen by the Fair Work Ombudsman.

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5.  How do I contact you?

If you have an enquiry, chances are that you find the answer in these FAQ’s, the Department of Home Affairs website, or the home page for our Visa Offices.

You can also call the Home Affairs Global Service Centre Centre numner on +61 2 6196 0196, open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm (local time).

Otherwise you can complete the Australian Immigration Enquiry Form online. If your query is addressed in our FAQs, we will not provide a response.

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6. Do I need 6 months left on my passport?

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