If THS were a contortionist in the Olympic it would win gold the way they are trying to twist this outcome and their legal exposure with this.
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Unlikely @Marion. You need to consult Australia Home Affairs about this immigration question. Explore visa options
[quote=“toreishi, post:12, topic:72970”]
THS is promoting illegal activity
[/quote]
Yep!
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There are a lot of companies involved in tourism that take money from you in order to facilitate your trip. Doesn’t mean you trip isn’t tourism.
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“There are a lot of companies involved in tourism that take money from you in order to facilitate your trip. Doesn’t mean you trip isn’t tourism.”
Except it’s been established that petsitting isn’t tourism, according to the immigration laws of most countries.
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THS supposedly promotes illegal activity and most international pet sitters knowingly and willingly break the law.
So what?
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Yes but the reason it is work and not tourism has nothing to do with money changing hands. Which is why THS taking payment for facilitating is of no consequence.
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^This. Anything else is just more fee bashing and is without merit.
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The point was the irony. They charge us for the platform they built to facilitate doing the “illegal thing,” then tell us not to do illegal things…while also telling us how to conduct ourselves while doing the illegal thing they facilitate.
It’s like a fence telling you not to take things that don’t belong to you, then mentioning they could really do with some silver candlesticks if you’re going to be passing the silversmith anytime soon.
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This sentence can’t be more ridiculous. The nature of my trip is not defined by anyone’s T&Cs. It’s has to do with what I intend to do during the whole duration of my trip, which most likely won’t be exclusively petsitting and the way a country’s regulations clasify those activities.
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We were asked the very same questions @MerryPuppins crossing the border into Canada. As a US citizen, we felt the questions were very detailed and thorough. Apparently my answers were sufficient, and we were allowed to enter. We also found the questions when returning back to the US, to be equally detailed. I have a brother who lives in Canada, who we often visit, so I’ve since streamlined my answer now to include a visit to family. We do have Florida tags on the car, so they are blown away that we drive that far. We always respond that we are retirees, and have all the time in the world to drive all over North America.
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I can. I was there and I was waved through. No questions asked.
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As UK nationals we have always been able to use the egates in Australia - no questions asked. In any case housesitting has only ever been a very small part of our itinerary, not the main purpose, so I’m happy to say I’m a tourist.
Immigration are generally only interested in an address for the first night so if you book a hotel for the first couple of nights you can give the hotel address - no problem.
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This isn’t new, it’s just written more clearly now. Border officers have always expected proof of onward travel, funds, and where you’re staying, especially for house sits. New sitters should read this carefully and travel prepared so they don’t get caught off guard at the airport.
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We just learned the hard way. Before flying to New Zealand I called the NZ immigration office and (innocently) told him we were house sitting and what kind of visa we should get. He told me to apply for the NZeTA and if we had more house sitting opportunities after we arrived then we could apply for a visitors visa (which costs $450.00). We did exactly that and had secured more house sitting opportunities that surpass our 90 days. I applied for the visitor visa, never received a response for 60 days and after many, many days contacting them I was denied. I had to tell 2 homeowners that we could not make the commitment.
Lesson learned! As per others advice NEVER mention the house sitting words!!!
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Not understanding why you can’t reapply for a visitor’s visa which from what I read takes only a couple of weeks, and simply not mention pet sitting. So what you messed up and said you were pet sitting, this time around you are just doing touristy stuff, not seeing why it would be denied just because it was the first time around.
@EZLIVING wow I’m impressed you could set up that many sits, not much available in NZ last time I looked.
You have to monitor your searches multiple times a day because of the famous “5 applicants turning to be reviewed” issue. You need to have a premade template in apply right away or you will miss. Thankfully the homeowners that I had to decline already had 3-4 applicants within a day.
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Huh thanks for the heads up. I have just been checking randomly so clearly they are coming and going before I know about it. Might have to get a bit more committed if I really want to go.
@Cathie Cathiehave a look at the NZ-specific sites. A lot more sits. Starts with Kiwi..H..
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