We’ve written many articles about tourist visa applications from Philippines before, but this one is about tourist visas for Filipino relatives who wish to visit. I’ve written about high risk tourist visa applications before, where I’ve covered some of these points, and yes this is the category that these visas fall into. Getting an Australian tourist visa from Philippines for Filipino relatives is high-risk, and it’s hard work to see them turn into visa grants.

Australian tourist visa for Filipino relatives

Many Filipinos at some stage wish to bring their relatives to Australia on tourist visas from Philippines. Some have plans and wishes for them to stay longer, even permanently, which is another story. I hope I’ve done enough BLOG articles here to explain that generic “family visas” do not exist, and that you cannot “petition” your cousin or sister to Australia simply because you have a partner visa. Permanent Residency or “PR” is not something you are entitled to offer to anybody.

But back to tourist visas for Filipino relatives. Yes, it’s natural enough to want to bring a relative from Philippines because you miss each other. And of course you want to give them a treat, and to show them what a great life you’re now leading. Maybe you have babies you want to show off, as well as a new home and a happy life with your Australian man.

And yes, we can and do help with these types of visas. The issue though is that we really hate visa refusals, and we hate seeing clients disappointed. And I will not kid anyone and say that it’s really easy for Down Under Visa to get a tourist visa for your relative from Philippines. It’s not easy for us, and it’s not easy for anybody. Risks? They’re variable, and even in the best case scenario a positive outcome will never be as likely as it will be when we have a romantic Australian Filipina couple who are building a relationship and want the visa to enhance their relationship.

Why do Australian tourist visas from Philippines get refused?

With all tourist visa applications, the Migration Regulations require that the visa applicant has (a) a genuine reason to visit Australia, and (b) a strong enough reason/incentive to return to Philippines at the end of the stay. If they are not convinced of both of these, they will refuse the tourist visa application. And how do you convince them of this? Knowledge and experience!

Why are Australian tourist visa applications from Philippines for Australian Filipina couples generally more successful? Because when they can see a couple are building a relationship together and want her to visit to meet mum and dad, the friends, and to see how he lives with a view to a future marriage and partner visa, then they are far less likely to do the wrong thing! Why would somebody’s fiancée from Philippines want to wreck everything and run off so she can pick fruit illegally in Mildura? Not likely!

See? Genuine reason to visit? TICK! Incentive to return at the end? TICK!

Consider 27 year old sister wanting to visit her sister who just had her visa granted. The sister just finished a stint as an OFW in Dubai when her contract finished. No job. No house. No kids, or maybe 5 year old daughter who lived with grandma in Philippines while she was working in Dubai so child is used to being away from mum. The Department have to make a decision whether the visa applicant is actually going there for a holiday, and whether at the end they’ll be happy to hop back on the plane and to go back to whatever life they came from. Or will they…..most likely with the assistance of the Australian relatives….try to overstay in Australia and breach tourist visa conditions? Are they likely to become an Unlawful Non Citizen (illegal) and become a burden to the taxpayer to locate and remove from Australia? And for how many years could they get away with earning tax-free money in Australia and sending it back to the family in the Philippines?

Australian tourist visa from Philippines for family

Right now you may be saying that this would never happen with Maribel’s sister Marivic. So why can’t we just assure them that she’s a nice young lady and give her our word she’ll be back on the plane home within 3 months? Because Filipinos love their families, and there are many who will do anything at all to help them out. Life turned out very well for them, and they have a great life with you in Australia. Many feel guilty that they can’t share their good fortune with their family members. And some may have parents and aunties pushing them to do something to help out their sister.

The point is that whilst you may well have the best intentions yourselves, not everyone does. And laws and rules are put in place not based on what the good people do, but on what the naughty people do to prevent it happening more often. And trust me, there are plenty of naughty people who break the rules every day. I get emails from clients who I’ve got partner visas for. They ask if I can get a work visa for their relative. And when I tell them that if the relative has no skills or a profession they have no hope, they then ask me about a tourist visa for them. What does that tell you? Well, it tells me that they don’t intend the relative to return.

So how do you get that guaranteed successful tourist visa from Philippines for Filipino relatives? Can Down Under Visa pull the right levers and press the right buttons to make it happen? The answer is that the more stable the visa applicant and the stronger the reason for them to visit, the better the case. 48 year old mum visiting new grandchild is much stronger than 23 year old cousin wanting a holiday since she graduated college. 34 year old sister wanting a 1 month stay to be matron-of-honour at your wedding before returning to her job as an accountant and her husband and 3 kids is a better chance than 26 year old unemployed single brother who wants a 1 year visa to experience the beautiful scenery. Always a risk of refusal, but sometimes more or less so. Rest assured we will tell you honestly.