Genuine Visitor letter for Visitor visa (subclass 600 - tourist stream) - is it required?
You may be planning to visit Australia and have been advised to obtain an ‘invitation letter’ from an Australian relative, or friend, as part of your Genuine Visitor documents in support of your application for a Visitor visa (subclass 600 - tourist stream).
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A clearly written application, with supporting relevant information, should help the Department of Home Affairs (the government agency responsible for administering visa requests) to be able to process it more efficiently.
However, is an invitation letter actually required?
When applying for this type of Visitor visa, Home Affairs asks applicants to provide what they call Genuine visitor documents that can prove they are visiting Australia as, and only as, a temporary visitor.
Home Affairs indicates that the documentation could include a letter from the applicant's relative or friend in Australia, inviting the applicant to visit. Further, this letter could state:
their relationship to the applicant
the purpose of the applicant's visit and length of stay
if the applicant will be staying with this relative/friend.
Home Affairs also suggests that if the relative or friend will be the one paying for the applicant's stay that they provide proof they have the funds.
While an 'invitation letter’ could be helpful, it is not essential in order for Home Affairs to process the visa request.
This is because what Home Affairs will need is a suite of other information from the applicant that will sufficiently prove their visit will be only temporary.
So if the applicant does not have a relative or friend in Australia that they can rely on to provide such a letter, they can provide other supporting documentation to demonstrate that their visit is only temporary.
Home Affairs has helpfully listed on their website the types of Genuine visitor documents that would assist them to process Visitor visa (subclass 600) applications. Click here or visit Home Affairs at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/.
If you would like letters and documents reviewed visit Proof My Work Australia at proofmywork.com.au.