There are several tourist visas to Australia, the most appropriate of which will depend on your passport citizenship, and personal circumstances.
They are the:
- Visitor (subclass 600) (Visitor) visa;
- eVisitor (subclass 651) (eVisitor) visa; or
- Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) (ETA).
The relevant questions for you as the applicant are:
- Which of these visas am I eligible for?
- Is this visa suitable for the purpose of my trip?
- Do I have other circumstances to consider?
While these visas are primarily for tourism purposes, they can also be used for “business visitor” activity. We have a separate article about Business Visitor activity here.
The below article addresses these different visas and help to guide applicants.
What’s the difference between the three tourist visas?
The Visitor (Subclass 600) visa is the Australian tourist visa, being a temporary visa permitting the holder to travel to Australia as a tourist, to see family and friends, or to undertake “business visitor activity”.
Ordinarily, the “standard” Visitor visa is valid for 12 months from the date of grant to enable the holder to travel to Australia, and stay for up to 3 months per entry. If it is granted with a multi-entry facility, this would allow the person to enter Australia multiple times during the visa validity. For first time applicants from certain “high risk” countries, they may get a shorter duration of stay with single entry. There is some flexibility between the duration of the visa, stay period, and entry facilities – though must be specifically requested (and is entirely discretionary on the Department). You can read more about applying for a Visitor (Subclass 600) visa here.
Citizens of certain countries have access to “streamlined” versions of this visa, being the eVisitor and ETA.
All ETAs and eVisitor visas are valid for 12 months from the date of grant to enable the holder to travel to Australia, and stay for up to 3 months per entry. They will be granted with multi-entry facilities, allowing the person to enter Australia multiple times during the 12 month validity period. There is no flexibility to this.
So, who is eligible for which visa?
The eligibility for the ETA/eVisitor visas depend on the country of your passport. The below table provides a general summary:
ETA (Subclass 601)(Usually processed < 1 day| Apply through app)
|
eVisitor (Subclass 651)(Usually processed < 1 day |Apply through Immi Account) |
Visitor (Subclass 600)(Usually processed within 1-2 months | Apply through Immi Account) |
| Andora
Austria Belgium Brunei – Darussalam Canada Denmark Finland France Germany Greece Hong Kong (SAR PRC) Iceland Ireland Italy Japan Liechtenstein Luxembourg Malaysia Malta Monaco Norway Portugal Republic of San Marino Singapore South Korea Spain Sweden Switzerland Taiwan The Netherlands United Kingdom – British Citizen United Kingdom – British National (Overseas) United States Vatican City |
Andorra
Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Monaco The Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Republic of San Marino Slovak Republic Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland United Kingdom – British Citizen Vatican City |
All other nationalities |
Is this visa suitable for my trip?
Generally speaking, if your entitled to an ETA/eVisitor visa, you would apply for those as they are more “streamlined” versions of the Visitor visa.
However, noting that the ETA/eVisitors have no flexibility in that they will be granted for 12 months, with 3 month stay per entry, and multi-entry facilities, there may be circumstances where it’s more appropriate for you to apply for a Visitor (Subclass 600) visa instead.
Some examples of situations where this may be applicable include if you are:
- a frequent business traveller – and would rather have a Visitor visa valid for 3 years duration (to avoid having to apply for an eVisitor/ETA every year);
- the parent of an Australian citizen – and would rather stay in Australia for 12 months straight (instead of the standard 3 months) to help your children with a newborn.
Other circumstances?
If you hold an ETA/eVisitor-eligible passport and have any character issues (such as a criminal conviction in any country), it is often recommended that you apply for a Visitor (Subclass 600) visa instead.
This allows the Department to assess the relevant matter appropriately and make a determination as to whether you satisfy the “character test” to be granted the visa.
It is also worth noting that despite being from an ETA/eVisitor visa eligible country, upon submitting the relevant application, the Department may request further information/documents from you to evidence that you are in fact a “genuine temporary entrant” for the purposes of the visa. This has become increasingly common for example for applicants from Malaysia.
Next Steps
If the above doesn’t answer your queries, feel free to contact us by email at [email protected] or phone +61 3 9016 0484 to obtain further guidance.
