CharlieLou Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Hi there, I just wondered if anybody out there can clear a few things up for me? I am planning on going to Aus May/June 2013 on a WHV. I have around £1200 saved so far and have been looking at flights and there are some good deals at the moment & would like to book soon. Thing is, I have been advised not to book my flight until I have been accepted for my visa. Am I right to say that at the time of applying my visa I need to provide proof of funds to travel Australia? Or do you just need to have a copy of a bank statement at the time of travelling just in case immigration request proof of funds? I'm hoping it's the latter so I can apply for my visa, book my flights and save like crazy until next year! Thanks in advance! Charlie xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nicolac34 Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 You don't need to show funds when you apply for the visa. You're supposed to be able to provide evidence when you are at the airport (when you land in Oz) but no-one I've spoken to (including me) has ever been asked - not to say you wouldn't be though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickachu Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 I wasn't asked at the airport, I had bank printouts just incase, but no-one asked at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted December 12, 2012 Author Share Posted December 12, 2012 Ah I cannot tell you how excited I am to hear this!! Think I will get my visa applied for ASAP and get my flights booked as soon as (well IF) it is approved! Thanks xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenKav Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Same as above. Definitely don't have to show proof when applying for a visa, I applied about a month ago & accepted 6 days later. Maybe they will ask for proof at border control so I'm going to take proof just in case. I have just booked a flight for February, I searched everywhere for the best deal but people warned me against booking with the cheapest airline (china southern) so I paid an extra £90 and booked with Singapore airlines which apparently is a really good airline. Hope all goes well for you Den Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
london chap Posted December 12, 2012 Share Posted December 12, 2012 Wow soo exciting . have you made plans on where your going/doing ect ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Same as above. Definitely don't have to show proof when applying for a visa, I applied about a month ago & accepted 6 days later. Maybe they will ask for proof at border control so I'm going to take proof just in case. I have just booked a flight for February, I searched everywhere for the best deal but people warned me against booking with the cheapest airline (china southern) so I paid an extra £90 and booked with Singapore airlines which apparently is a really good airline. Hope all goes well for you Den Ah it came through pretty quickly then! I've not really looked around with flights. I'm more than likely going with Emirates as they give 30kg weight allowance (I don't travel light) and my best friend who is from Perth will be going home at the same time I go so we will travel together! I'm lucky enough to be able to stay with her family and use their home as a base to keep whatever stuff I won't be travelling all around Oz with! Thanks for your well wishes! xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted December 13, 2012 Author Share Posted December 13, 2012 Wow soo exciting . have you made plans on where your going/doing ect ? Firstly I'll be going to Perth to stay with my best friend and her family. They're going on their holidays to Bali in June so I may join them! I've got some really good friends who live in Surfers Paradise so will be going to stay with them at some point! I want to do some farm work to be able to apply for my second year visa so need to fit that in as soon as I can. I have a long list of all the places I want to see but no plans as of yet on when and how long for etc! Are you out there at the moment or planning on going? xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenKav Posted December 13, 2012 Share Posted December 13, 2012 Ah it came through pretty quickly then! I've not really looked around with flights. I'm more than likely going with Emirates as they give 30kg weight allowance (I don't travel light) and my best friend who is from Perth will be going home at the same time I go so we will travel together! I'm lucky enough to be able to stay with her family and use their home as a base to keep whatever stuff I won't be travelling all around Oz with! Thanks for your well wishes! xx Yea I'm starting to regret not booking with emirates, 30kg would come in handy. I'm just going to pack everything I think I will need & hope they are quite leanient with extra weight. That's good, at least you have a familiar face while you are there & somewhere good to stay, will she be travelling with you? Hostels sound like a good place to meet people to travel with so I'm hoping to meet some people to tag along with in my hostel. Are you going to work whilst there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted December 17, 2012 Author Share Posted December 17, 2012 Maybe enquire to see if you can pay extra weight allowance now rather than at the airport, it's usually cheaper if you pre-book. My friend has been away from Oz for 2 & 1/2 years so she may just want to get settled back into home life, although I know if she has the money she would like to visit some places with me as she hasn't seen much of Australia. I'm looking forward to being able to stay with my friends & experiencing their lifestyle and also being able to travel and stay in hostels meeting like minded travellers. Yeh I will be working, farm work to be able to apply for my 2nd year visa and then I would like to try get a job with a possibility of being sponsored although I don't know how likely that will be as I don't have any qualifications on the preferred skill list. xx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PabloEscobar Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Your going to love Surfers Paradise! It really is incredible, I was there a few weeks ago and couldn't get over the length of the beach - even from the top of the Q1 (like 230m high) I couldnt see the start or the end of the beach! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkleGirlSparkle Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 I don't know if you managed to get your flights booked yet or not, but if you can get a deal with Virgin or BA, both offer additional baggage of up to 10 pieces per person on top of your free one. The first additional bag is £35 and then £72 for any after that. I came over with Virgin and had a couple of extra bags, and also brought my bike, which was carried free of charge (only had to purchase the cycle bag for £6.99 to put it in!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cloclostravels Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 If you are under 26 check out STA Travel I've always found them the cheapest to fly long distance with! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Your going to love Surfers Paradise! It really is incredible, I was there a few weeks ago and couldn't get over the length of the beach - even from the top of the Q1 (like 230m high) I couldnt see the start or the end of the beach! I'm really looking forward to staying with my friends in Surfers Paradise! I have a feeling I will want to spend alot of time there but it all depends on money and work! My friend who lives there is originally from Perth and she LOVES Surfers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 I don't know if you managed to get your flights booked yet or not, but if you can get a deal with Virgin or BA, both offer additional baggage of up to 10 pieces per person on top of your free one. The first additional bag is £35 and then £72 for any after that. I came over with Virgin and had a couple of extra bags, and also brought my bike, which was carried free of charge (only had to purchase the cycle bag for £6.99 to put it in!) I haven't booked yet - waiting for my bonus to come through! So thank you, I will be sure to check Virgin & BA out before booking! I know I should attempt to to travel light but it's not going to happen! My friend who is returning home when I come to Aus will be shipping some of her belongings so I might send over some shoes & bags with her....they're the worse for taking up space & weight allowance! Are you over in Aus on a WHV or sponsorship? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharlieLou Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 If you are under 26 check out STA Travel I've always found them the cheapest to fly long distance with! I'm 27 going on 28 unfortunately but thank you for the recommendations....always welcome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DenKav Posted January 9, 2013 Share Posted January 9, 2013 Heya Charlie. I don't know whether you are aware of it already or are interested but there is a really good Facebook group called Australia backpackers 2013 it is great for advice & chatting with people doing the same thing. It's defo worth a look if you haven't checked it out already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparkleGirlSparkle Posted January 10, 2013 Share Posted January 10, 2013 I haven't booked yet - waiting for my bonus to come through! So thank you, I will be sure to check Virgin & BA out before booking! I know I should attempt to to travel light but it's not going to happen! My friend who is returning home when I come to Aus will be shipping some of her belongings so I might send over some shoes & bags with her....they're the worse for taking up space & weight allowance! Are you over in Aus on a WHV or sponsorship? It's definitely worth considering. I know the flights themselves are expensive, but when you add on additional luggage, which is generally charged per kilo on the other airlines, that soon adds up and you end up gaining, especially if taking a lot. Mum, sister and I all cheated a bit with our flights. We generally only ever fly to Orlando, and because it's such a popular route, we've never been able to use our miles on those flights, so we all had years of flying miles points just racking up and never been able to use them - until now. We all got miles only flights, so all paid about £300 in taxes, but that was it! Cheapest flight to Sydney ever! I'm out here on a working holiday, and just like you, I intended to travel light, but for an entire year, with the possibility of having to have things for work, travel and play, it just isn't always possible - I didn't want to waste my money buying more clothes, etc out here, so just took the initial plane hit and paid for extra luggage! When are you planning on coming? Will you be traveling alone? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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