invisibleink

Thanks for this - really hand to know! Did they ask to see proof of funds? Seems like 50/50 to me from what I've read so far.

Turns out the person I spoke to really was useless as he should be able to apply for a eVisitor visa online (which is what I originally assumed he'd need to do). There's two types of eVisitor visas with slightly different restrictions as well as an ETA. We really need to stream-line our visa-system. This is completely ridiculous.

Hi guys! I'm hoping someone has been in a similar situation recently and is able to give some accurate advice. I've called immigration, and frankly, they're useless. So I'm Australian and my partner is Dutch. He was on a WHV when we met (and no, he can't apply for 2nd year WHV as he's now 33). He's currently in NZ doing a paragliding course - but leaving the country was far more of a hassle than expected. The plan so far, is he'll be flying back to Melbourne in a week and half (flight is booked) to see friends visiting from Holland (we're going to a festival they're performing at) then we'll both by flying to NZ to travel together for a week (again booked - my leave didn't match up with his required exit date from Oz - hence, two lots of NZ flights). He'll then be staying with me for a month to a month and a half to sort my partner visa for Holland, ship stuff, sell car etc. He's also planning on visiting Darwin to see friends and travel a little more as he's been working all of last year. We have his return flight to Holland booked for the beginning of June. So within 3 months rule... However, it appears that getting a tourist visa might not be smooth sailing despite the fact that we have ALL onwards travel booked and clearly legitimate reasons for his returning for 2 months. So my questions for you lovely people are - 1) Have you re-entered on a tourist visa recently after a WHV, and if so, what info did you supply? 2) Did you apply for the ETA online outside of Oz? (Immigration tried to tell me he had to apply in person at the consulate in Auckland as he's Dutch. NOT what the visa requirements say though). And some info for you guys in case you were un-aware! - NZ immigration no longer count return flights to Oz as proof you're leaving the country. Airlines will now refuse to allow you to board the plane as they risk a $5000 fine. The only way to avoid this situation is to have an onwards flight booked from NZ to a country without visa restrictions, eg, Fiji. (We had to do this 30 mins before his flight to NZ. Ugh) All and any help is greatly appreciated. I've never felt more frustrated at my government for making things so hard for people to visit Australia. Especially when they're doing the right thing by immigration rules and restrictions!