Last updated 30 September 2024

Non-citizens entering Australia are required to have a visa, which is a permit that can allow either a temporary or permanent stay. Visas are issued by The Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs).

An application for a visa should be made before a person arrives in Australia. A person is unlikely to be granted a visa on arrival. A non-citizen who enters Australia without a visa and who is not immigration cleared, who overstays a visa or who becomes unlawful in some other way, is an unlawful non-citizen (s 14(1) Migration Act 1958 (Cth) (Migration Act)) and must be detained (s 189(1) Migration Act) and removed from Australia (s 198(1) Migration Act).

Temporary, permanent and bridging visas

There are many different temporary and permanent visas under the Migration Regulations 1989 (Cth) (Migration Regulations). Each visa belongs to a class and a subclass.

Temporary visas are issued for a finite period of time, which usually corresponds to the reason it was granted. For example, a student visa granted for the length of time it takes to complete a particular course.

Permanent visas allow a person who is not an Australian citizen to live in Australia indefinitely. They also allow their holder to leave and return to Australia for a period of five years from the date they are granted. If a permanent resident wants to travel overseas after that time, they need to be granted a resident return visa, to allow them to come back. If the five-year period expires while they are out of the country, they may apply for a resident return visa at an Australian consulate or embassy, but this can be a difficult process and is best avoided.

Permanent residents have most of the rights of an Australian citizen, except for the right to vote (there are some exceptions for certain British subjects) and to hold public office. Centrelink payments are generally not available within the first two years of entry (with some exceptions).

Bridging visas are special temporary visas that are granted to allow a person to remain a lawful non-citizen while they wait for another immigration process to complete. For example, if a person on a temporary visa applies for a permanent visa in Australia, a bridging visa will be granted and remain in place until Home Affairs makes a decision on their permanent visa application. Most bridging visas cease when a person leaves Australia.

Visa criteria

For most visas, the criteria that must be satisfied before a visa can be granted are set out in the Migration Act and Migration Regulations. Protection visas are the notable exception to this rule, as their requirements come both directly from the Migration Act and from the Migration Regulations. Schedule 1 of the Migration Regulations sets out criteria that apply to all visas in a particular class of visas, and generally these relate to the requirements for making a valid application.

Schedule 2 of the Migration Regulations sets out the criteria that apply to each subclass of visa. Typically, they are divided into criteria that must be met at the time the application is made, and a separate list of criteria to be met at the time of decision. Many subclasses also include primary criteria to be satisfied by the main visa applicant in a family unit, and secondary criteria to be met by other members of the family unit.

Public interest criteria (sch 4 Migration Regulations) can include requirements that the person applying holds a valid passport or meet specific health, security and character requirements.

Policy providing guidance on how visa criteria should be applied is set out in the Procedure Advice Manual 3. Written directions by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs made under s 499 of the Migration Act also have the force of law and provide further guidance on how the visa criteria are to be interpreted and applied.