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I am worried about the travel history I need to show to Australia for a visa. I have been severally to Benin Republic, Togo, Uganda, and Rwanda. I planned on going for Christmas say in Egypt or North Macedonia, but for now Egypt or North Macedonia is not anywhere in my passport.

What I want to know is, having visited these African nations, is this good to apply to Australia to show I am a tourist? I am a Nigerian Citizen.

End Anti-Semitic Hate
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Clever Tammy
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    Nigerian citizens have visa-free access to 23 countries, and e-visa/visa on arrival to a further 30. The ones you’ve visited so far fall into these categories so are unlikely to help much. You need a visa for Egypt and N Macedonia, so they might help a bit more, if you can demonstrate that you meet the criteria. Australia is a long way away from Nigeria, applying there as an ordinary tourist without a strong travel history that includes at least one comparable country and compelling ties to home would likely get you a refusal, IMHO – Traveller Aug 28 '22 at 15:27
  • I work as a Technical Lead in a Software company, I have 2 jobs as well (One pays in the United States dollars, so catering for funds as per travel isnt much of a problem). Plus my family stay in Nigeria, I also have an Estate entrusted to me by my father and these documents are readily available and can be provided without question.

    Can this help?

     – Clever Tammy Aug 28 '22 at 15:33
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    Hard to say. Software jobs can often be done remotely, family ties ideally means dependents and owning a property estate doesn’t necessarily need your presence in Nigeria. This question https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/49478/schengen-visa-refused-from-german-embassy is about a Schengen visa but the answer is relevant to visitor visas in general. Why are you applying to visit Australia? It’s a long way to go for a holiday, not the first place that might spring to mind, so you’ll need a credible reason – Traveller Aug 28 '22 at 16:12
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    @Traveller you have spoken well. I think i might reconsider. – Clever Tammy Aug 28 '22 at 18:07
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    Having an itinerary (a plan of things you will see and do), potentially with things already booked and paid for, like hotels, and a booked and paid for return flight, are going to count for way more than a travel history within Africa. Having access to funds is also very important. If you are visiting friends, having them be available to receive a call from customs will also go a long way. – Gregory Currie Aug 29 '22 at 14:03
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    Official advice is to not book flights, hotels, etc. before a visa is granted. – jcm Aug 30 '22 at 12:59
  • At a minimum, make sure any travel plans booked before receiving a visa are fully refundable! – FreeMan Aug 30 '22 at 13:19

3 Answers3

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Travel that is most useful in this context is travel to (much) richer countries than yours (comparable to the target country), which draw people from your country. If you’ve been granted a visa for those countries, visited, and left in time, that is a strong signal that you can be trusted to do the same in the target country.

So for instance if you’ve travelled to France, the UK or the US with no issues, that would be a very positive point.

Still, a pattern of travel even to countries with economic situations close to that of your own country can show that you have the means to travel (at least pay for flights etc.) just for tourism or business. So it’s better than nothing, and it’s a step in the right direction, but by itself it most likely won’t be a game changer. You still need to have a strong application exactly as if you didn’t have that history.

jcaron
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Any travel history is good than no travel history.

That being said, for Australia, that doesn't hold much weight. If you have been in Shengen, US, UK or similar, then it would have been much more convincing to the Australian authorities than these countries.

So, you have to make a strong case. You need to prove these:

  1. Strong ties to your home country. This can mean a stable job, owning of properties, family staying back in Nigeria etc.
  2. Economic Sense. You need to show that you have more than enough in your bank and you legitimately obtained those funds. They are not looking for large funds, but a steady income that covers the purpose.
  3. You intent to come back after the visit. Above two can help the case. You need a clear answer on why you want to visit Australia and all.

Important thing is never lie on the application or provide a false document. Fill the application by yourself truthfully and never involve any agencies. If caught lying, you can say good bye to all future applications and will be extremely difficult to get visa to any country that shares immigration data with Australia.

Anish Sheela
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  • I work as a Technical Lead in a Software company, my family stay in Nigeria, I also have an Estate entrusted to me by my father and these documents are readily available and can be provided without question.

    Can this help?

     – Clever Tammy Aug 28 '22 at 15:33
  • @CleverTammy Yes. This will help very much. See this answer - https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/66104/should-i-submit-bank-statements-when-applying-for-a-uk-visa-what-do-they-say-ab . Although it it for UK visa, general theory still applies. – Anish Sheela Aug 28 '22 at 15:37
  • Thanks for the Response. I am not married, but i have older dependents , how about this too? – Clever Tammy Aug 28 '22 at 15:42
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    I’ll add: don’t trust blindly any “agent” to fill in your application or provide any documents. You are ultimately responsible for your application, and too many agencies (especially in Nigeria, sadly, if we believe the reports we often get here) are just not trustworthy. – jcaron Aug 28 '22 at 15:52
  • @jcaron very true. I do all in my power to avoid those people. – Clever Tammy Aug 28 '22 at 18:07
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    "is good than" - did you mean "is as good as" or "is better than"? – Bergi Aug 29 '22 at 19:24

  • If caught lying, you can say good bye to all future applications. That is incorrect.

     – happybuddha Aug 30 '22 at 05:34
  • @happybuddha Yeah, not impossible. But will be very difficult to overcome the prejudice that you lied on the application. – Anish Sheela Aug 30 '22 at 05:45
  • Interesting that the advice here is in direct opposition to this comment. I suppose, though, that "answers" should carry more weight than "comments". – FreeMan Aug 30 '22 at 13:21
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There are four other reasons why Australian authorities want to know about a person's travel history: terrorism, crime, drug trafficking and disease control (biosecurity).

A person who's travel history includes countries such as: Nigeria (in particular Borno), Chad, Mali, Syria, Iraq, Pakistan or Afghanistan would raise questions as to why has the applicant recently been to those locations.

Regarding disease control Australia is very serious about keeping all "exotic" diseases out of the country. It's one of the reasons it has very strict regulations regarding quarantine requirements for animals entering the country. In May 2022, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease occurred in Indonesia, much to the concern of the Australian authorities and livestock farmers.

In addition to diseases that could affect livestock and its native animals the authorities would like to know if anyone has been in regions where diseases of significance have occurred, such as: Ebola, tuberculosis, mosquito borne diseases such as zika virus, chikungunya, malaria, dengue and Japanese encephalitis, amongst others.

Edit

I just saw this picture,

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Fred
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  • By birth, i am Nigerian. by Location, i do not live in those Areas. What do u think? – Clever Tammy Aug 30 '22 at 20:06
  • @CleverTammy: I think you should be OK. – Fred Aug 31 '22 at 09:32
  • pls u from Australia? – Clever Tammy Aug 31 '22 at 11:13
  • pls explain this. Like they mean i bring things to Australia or? – Clever Tammy Sep 01 '22 at 06:18
  • Arriving in Australia with anything that could pose a bio-security risk is illegal & the consequences can be severe. This includes, but is not limited to: dirty clothes & shoes (items that contain soil), food (particularly home prepared food - some people have tried), plants (living or dead) or plant products, including items made of wood (these might contain timber borers & other insects) such as carved artistic/cultural items, animals or animal products (such as untreated leather, animal skins or ground up parts of animals). If in doubt just declare it & you will be better treated. ... – Fred Sep 01 '22 at 12:51
  • If you do declare anything & it is found to be contraband, the items will be confiscated & you will be told why & you might get a lesser fine if any at all. If you don't say anything & contraband is found, it will be confiscated & you will get a larger fine & if the breach is very serious your visa could be cancelled & you will then be held in custody until you can be deported, ASAP. – Fred Sep 01 '22 at 12:55
  • Bio-security is a serious matter in Australia. Not only are there restrictions on what can be taken into the country, but there are restrictions on what biological matter can be taken from on state to another. To control fruit fly & other pests, any fruit, vegetables, honey or honey products bought in one state cannot be taken into another state by everyday people. Consume it before entering another state or dispose of it. There are bins at every airport for people to leave such items. the airports also have sniffer dogs to detect such items in peoples luggage & carried by people. – Fred Sep 01 '22 at 13:07
  • If traveling by road into Western Australia everyone is stopped at the boarder and their vehicles are searched for bio-security items. Traveling from Western Australia to South Australia a similar thing happens at Ceduna. To control hydatid there are controls on taking dogs to the island state of Tasmania. – Fred Sep 01 '22 at 13:17