Visa stickers from London

**Adelaide_bound** · 21-01-2012, 11:57 AM

Just wondering if anyone went in person to get their visa stickers in their passports - do you need an appointment at Australia House, or just rock up? We are planning on getting ours done when we are down in London anyway and at a loose end in a couple of weeks, but it just struck me if we just rock up and need an appointment it will be a wasted journey to AH etc.

Cheers

**Ging** · 21-01-2012, 12:26 PM

Hi, we did ours in person and I did phone before hand, they only open for a couple of hours (9-11am), entrance is down the left hand side and only one person is allowed though main door at a time, once inside all very straight forward, having them in passport worked well at the airport getting our 40kg allowences

**Adelaide_bound** · 21-01-2012, 12:40 PM

So did you actually book, or can you just turn up? We don't know exactly what day we will be able to go you see, we are there for a couple of days...

**Ging** · 21-01-2012, 01:09 PM

Yes I booked

**vikkiann** · 21-01-2012, 02:52 PM

We just turned up. Get there early though. x

**Adelaide_bound** · 21-01-2012, 04:05 PM

Cheers guys :)

**AlisonCarlton** · 21-01-2012, 04:26 PM

Our visa came through last September and the lady told us that it had been done electronically and when we check in at the airport the visa would show up on the passport. Starting to worry after seeing people talking about getting stickers in their passports. Can anyone help?

**Adelaide_bound** · 21-01-2012, 04:39 PM

You don't *need* to have the sticker put in your passport but we are for the following reasons:

1) - (Most importantly) We want to have a shiny thing inside our passports

(I had a visa for NZ, and it was lovely imho having the massive sticker inside my passport to look back on etc.)
2) Apparently its good to have the actual one as a back up for places instead of showing your grant letter, like for medicare, when renting a house, getting driver's license etc.

As far as I'm aware the only thing I've heard of they you *need* the sticker in your passport, and not just your grant letter, has been in NSW upon exchanging a driver's license, but its not been extensive research really, as we always knew we wanted to get the sticker in our passports (plus we are going to be in London anyway).

It does show up on the screen when you get to the airport - they have to ensure you have the right to enter Australia, or they get charged for sending you back if you don't, so if you didn't have any kind of visa, they wouldn't let you check in (ie if you didn't even have a tourist e visa sorted out), its all electronic and joined up nowadays, so don't panic, you'll be on there and allowed on the plane and into Oz :)

**AlisonCarlton** · 22-01-2012, 05:56 PM

Thanks for that!! I also like the idea of having a 'shiny' thing in my passport and as we live on the outskirts of London it would be quite easy to go up to Australia House.

**aliogilvie** · 24-01-2012, 12:28 PM

Originally Posted by AlisonCarlton

Thanks for that!! I also like the idea of having a 'shiny' thing in my passport and as we live on the outskirts of London it would be quite easy to go up to Australia House.

Me too, fingers crossed we will get our visa soon and I think we will indeed make the trip to Australia House at some point to get the physical evidence, I want it in my passport for nostalgia.