‘Lost ₹1 lakh because of transit visa’: Woman shares how Australia rejection derailed New Zealand trip

An Indian woman has shared how she and her husband lost nearly ₹1 lakh after her husband’s Australian transit visa was rejected twice, despite their New Zealand vacation plans being finalised and air tickets already booked. The woman said that her husband’s visa application was rejected twice, citing the same reasons. (Unsplash/Representational image) In an Instagram video, the woman, Bhavika, said that they had secured their New Zealand visas within ten days and then booked round-trip tickets that included a layover in Australia. Since their transit time exceeded 8 hours, they were required to apply for Australian transit visas as well. However, the self-employed woman said that while she was granted the visa, her husband, who is employed with a reputed bank in Dubai, was denied one. “Same flights, same documents, but different destinies,” she said. Bhavika said that she had only submitted a brief self-employment declaration, whereas her husband had provided payslips, bank statements and other supporting papers. However, despite this, her husband’s visa application got rejected. The woman said that they reapplied with more documents, “than required,” asserting that he had no intention of illegally migrating to Australia. However, the application was again rejected with the same reasons cited earlier. “They didn’t even bother to actually look at the second application. All they did was copy-paste,” the woman said. She shared that because their tickets were non-cancellable and non-refundable, they lost close to ₹1 lakh. She concluded that a transit visa is still a visa, and that an extended layover can sometimes prove costlier than the flight itself. (Also Read: Woman who once vowed never to leave India now urging others to move abroad: ‘Basics are breaking’) Social media reactionsReacting to the post, one user advised avoiding Australian layovers altogether. “Always travel through Singapore while coming to NZ. As a resident of NZ had the same trouble,” the user wrote. “Welcome to AU transit visa reality.. You should never travel via AU.. Hands down, Singapore is the best for transit,” commented another. “If your Australian transit visa gets rejected—especially if your visa is approved but your partner’s is rejected—you don’t need to apply again. Simply send them an email with all the necessary details, and they will approve it. This happened to me as well. We emailed them, and it was approved afterward. Apparently, transit visas are approved or rejected officers based in India, so sending a detailed email usually resolves the issue,” wrote a third user.