Can I bring my domestic helper to Australia to travel?

[wnyw]

Hi,

Any advice whether it will be difficult for me to bring along my Filipino domestic helper to Australia for holiday with us? Will I get any difficulty at embassy to apply for her visa?

[Nath21]

Yes you can but its limted to 4 weeks and they have to come under a vistiors visa rather than a work visa. They need to go through the normal security checks. If they say they are working they will not be allowed. They must be accompanying a family on a genuine holiday to Australia for the purpose of tourism or visiting family or friends.

So its a little tricky. If they answer any questions wrongly at border entry they will be refused. Such as do you intend to work whilst in Australia, Are you getting paid to travel with the family to Australia. what are your duties whislt in Australia. Will you be staying with your employer whilst in Australia. Its very easy for someone to say thw wrong thing.

Australia does NOT grant visas to people who intend to work as domestic helpers in Australia. However, a domestic helper can apply to travel to Australia to accompany their employer on a holiday. In such cases, generally a visitor visa for a stay of up to one month only will be granted, provided the domestic helper is travelling with their employer who is resident in Singapore.

A maximum of 2 visitor visas will be granted to domestic helpers in the same household in any 12 month period.

Advice for Domestic Helpers
The Australian Government's Visitor policy is to issue visas with a minimum of inconvenience to persons who intend a genuine short visit to Australia.

The principle governing the entry of visitors is that they should:

genuinely intend only to visit Australia;
not work;
not engage in studies or training for more than three months;
have, or have access to, sufficient funds for personal support during the period of the visit such that they have no cause to access Australia's social welfare system; and
leave Australia when (or before) their visa ceases to be in effect.
Therefore, when you apply for a visa, we must consider:

Your current employment;
Whether you intend to travel to Australia with your employer;
The period of time you propose to stay in Australia;
The period of time your employer is proposing to stay in Australia.
It is inappropriate, in the context of Australia's Visitor policy, to grant a visa to a domestic helper if their principal activity in Australia will be the carrying out of their usual duties as domestic helper. Where a domestic helper is accompanying a family on a genuine holiday to Australia for the purpose of tourism or visiting family or friends, we will expect to see a full itinerary supporting the visit. We will only grant a visa for the period of the proposed visit as supported by the itinerary. If insufficient information is provided to support an application, the application is likely to be refused.

[wnyw]

i knw the first step is to get the visa application approved at the embassy. So are you saying that my helper would be interviewed in the embassy before getting the visa approved?

If she's going to reply that she's going to join us for a holiday with us in Australia is this suffice enough for the immigration officer?

Would she still be questioned at the immigration in Australian airport?

[Nath21]

Is she going to work or for genuine holiday?

[wnyw]

we intend to go there for few days holiday as a family and thought it will be nice to bring our helper there to visit OZ as well since she's been good helper.