I am currently pet sitting in Australia, and it’s a wonderful experience.
I wanted to open this chat to inform other hosts about my Immigration Experience coming into the country.
I am German Citizen and obviously had my visa. Upon arrival in Darwin Airport I was questioned by Immigration quite intensely (first time ever this happened on my travels).
I had to answer where I’d stay, what I’d do, if I had a return ticket etc.
Before I departed I asked my host to provide her full legal name, her full address and her phone number, which she gladly provided and which satisfied the Immigration Officer. The answer that I was house sitting was also well accepted. He asked about my return ticket but didn’t physically check.
So my feedback - If you have a sit planned in Australia, prepare all your information.
That’s great you are enjoying sitting in Australia @Romina_Flummi and got on well at the Immigration check. Keep in mind you entered the country in Darwin which is not an airport used very much by international travellers, especially pet sitters. You are right to forewarn others to be prepared with all they need but I would still be hesitant of mentioning house/pet sitting when entering one of our major airports. Not only are you coming for this reason but you are also coming to enjoy our beautiful country as a visitor/tourist.
You told them that you were pet-sitting and that got accepted? Good for you, but I strongly would not recommend that. Staying with friends (sure, they are new friends with 4 legs) would be a safer answer.
I actually did mention this as well, because it’s true. They did want to know exactly where I stayed and who I stayed with and the contact information. I entered Australia through Brisbane to visit a friend and they asked the same but I was never questioned this much before. The Immigration officer asked very targeted questions about where I met the lady, how long I knew her and why I was staying with her. I did not expect this kind of questioning and just told the truth. He was questioning to see if I was Couch surfing and I said, that I look after her pets and house for free accommodation for to be able to visit Lichfield, Kakadu and the other National Parks. He was happy with the answers. He was happy that I had a plan to travel on (I have 2 sits in New Zealand lined up). I think I rather tell the truth then getting caught making up stories.
But my recommendation is to be prepared for these questions and be confident and polite and honest in answering them.
You’re so very welcome. I was quite anxious. I did enter Australia many times before but this was a different experience. I am unsure why they picked me out of the crowd but this was my experience. But it was fine. I did say honestly what I came to do and they were happy with it.
Our very first international sit was in Australia. I’m going back eight years. We were honest and said we were house/pet sitting for a couple and had no problem whatsoever. It was one of our best sits ever - absolutely loved it there. The sit was in Ballina for two weeks and we managed to combine it with two weeks of our own personal travel to Cairns, Brisbane and Sydney. Would love to go back to Australia!
Uk passport holders who have an ETA can use the egates (at least at Sydney and Brisbane in my experience) so no questions at all. Personally I still wouldn’t mention house sitting to an immigration officer.
Yeah, I had the same experience. I think they are quite used to people coming for alternative travelling due to the huge backpack culture , whilst I believe in the US that would not be acceptable. I am here for 2.5 months pet sitting. It’s beautiful. I really wonder about Canads. They also offer work and travel, so I am unsure. My next destination is New Zealand and I hope I will have no problems there either. I have never been so I assume it’s fine there. I just have huge respect for the US. I do not dare to attempt pet sitting there as much as I’d love to
We have travelled worldwide, tourists, pet sitting, passing through. And never had any problems entering (or leaving ) any country. We are retired, have over 30 immigration stamps in our passports and look old. We definitely do not look like a threat to security of the country we are entering. Therefore, no extensive questioning, no secondary security checks.
My theory may be proved or disproved by the initial poster answering a few questions
How old are you?
Do you travel with hand luggage only?
Have you travelled extensively using the passport you now carry?
Yes, it’s definitely discriminatory passing through immigration. Us oldies get off very lightly.
@ElsieDownie, seems an entirely reasonable theory. When we’ve heard of border issues in news then it has often involved youthful or working age people. Whether fair or not, retirees likely present a lower immigration risk.
I am a Digital Nomad and travelling a lot since I started Pet Sitting. So I change my destination every 2-3 months. I am unsure if that was maybe the concern?
Elsie, I’m quite new and just starting out with THS but I definitely meet your “age” conversation lol. My question to you is how to secure an international sit? It seems so many people apply, I’ve been bumped for local sitters a few times already. Any tips?
I guess it depends on the destination you’re looking at. I usually target places that have lots of sits like Australia and Canada, where there is more hosts than sitters. I also found it useful to have eviews, so do a few local sits before going international. I’ve been fulltime pet sitting since over a year now and once you have a cetain amount of good reviews it gets easier.
For me, the thing that helped us secure over seas sits was already having a travel plan in place. We were turned down for several when I said we would be willing to travel. After I booked to arrive on a certain date, I could apply stating “your dates work perfectly for us because…”. Once we had one sit, I could just keep building until our time was filled up.
I did my first international sit this year and am still buzzing from it! What an experience! Yes, my sits and references definitely helped. In the video call, they asked me if I knew how much tickets cost (I did!) and I committed to send them my paid ticket and itinerary info within a couple of days. Ultimately I think it’s a lot of trust and instincts! Good luck from one Diana to another!
