Last updated 30 September 2024

Visitor visas are available to people seeking to visit Australia for a short period for holidays, tourism, recreation, business activities or to see family and friends. Visitor visas do not allow work in Australia.

Common criteria for visitor visas

All visitor visas share the criterion that the applicant genuinely intends to stay temporarily in Australia for the purpose for which the visa is granted. This is often referred to as the ‘genuine visitor’ requirement. The Department of Home Affairs (Home Affairs) considers several issues that relate to whether the applicant is at risk of overstaying when assessing if this criterion is met.

Visitor visas are refused where applicants clearly do not intend bona fide (i.e. in good faith) visits in accordance with their type of visa. Often a special condition is put on a visitor visa (i.e. condition 8503—no further stay). This condition (which is mandatory for sponsored visitor visas) means it is very difficult but not impossible to apply for, and be granted, permanent residence after entry for a temporary stay.

Possession of a visitor visa generally ensures that immigration clearance is granted on arrival. However, a significant number of people per year are turned around at Australian airports because they are not considered to be genuine visitors.

Where a person wishes to visit a close relative in Australia but is having difficulty satisfying the genuine visitor requirements, it is often better to apply for a sponsored family stream or tourist stream. This is more likely to be granted given that the Australian relative/sponsor usually pays a bond to ensure that the visa holder leaves the country.

Extending a visit

Once a visa is granted and a person enters Australia, they may want to apply for extensions of stay. Where the applicant meets the criteria for a further visitor visa, this may be possible. It is important to make note of where the applicant needs to be at the time of the application for extension, whether that be inside or outside of Australia. Of the visas for visitors described here, only the tourist stream and the medical treatment visa allow for applications for extensions to be made while the applicant remains in Australia. These aforementioned visas require exceptional circumstances for an extension of 12 months or more to be granted.

It is not possible to apply for a further visitor visa in Australia if the former visitor visa had a ‘no further stay’ (8503 or similar) condition attached, unless that condition is waived (s 41(2) Migration Act 1958 (Cth)). This condition can only be waived if events of a compassionate and compelling nature that are beyond the control of the visa holder have occurred since the former visa was granted, and these circumstances necessitate a further stay in Australia. A waiver request should be lodged on a Form 1447.

Subclasses of visitor visas

There are four subclasses of visitor visas:

  • eVisitor (subclass 651)
  • visitor visa (subclass 600)
  • electronic travel authority (visitor) (subclass 601)
  • medical treatment visa (subclass 602).

eVisitor

An eVisitor (subclass 651) is an electronically stored 12-month authority for visits to Australia for tourism or business purposes for up to three months on each arrival. You can also study or train for up to three months. The eVisitor is available to passport holders from the United Kingdom (British citizens), European Union and a number of other European countries. An eVisitor is linked to the passport number an applicant has given in an application, so a visa holder must use the same passport to travel to Australia as what they have used to apply for the eVisitor. If a visa holder gets a new passport, the details of the new passport must be given to Home Affairs. An eVisitor comes into effect as soon as it is granted. If an applicant is holding any other visa to Australia, an eVisitor replaces this visa.

To be eligible to obtain an eVisitor, an applicant must:

  • be outside Australia
  • hold an eVisitor-eligible passport (see Home Affairs website)
  • meet character requirements.

The application can be made at the Home Affairs website and an ImmiAccount must be created to lodge and application.

Visitor visa

A Visitor Visa (subclass 600) is a temporary visa allowing a stay in Australia of up to three, six or twelve months. This visa has five streams:

  • tourist stream
  • sponsored family stream
  • business visitor stream
  • approved destination status stream
  • frequent traveller stream.

An application for a visitor visa can be lodged online. An application can be made from outside Australia if the applicant holds no substantive Australian visa, or from inside Australia if the person holds a substantive visa that does not have a ‘no further stay’ condition (8503) attached.

An application for a visitor visa must be accompanied by the required documents. A document checklist is available from the Home Affairs website. The Home Affairs website also includes information about the application forms that need to be filled out for the different streams of the visitor visa.

Tourist stream

A person can apply for this visa if they are intending to visit an Australian citizen or permanent resident who is their parent, spouse, de facto partner, child or sibling, or to travel to Australia for recreational purposes. An application can be made onshore or offshore, but the applicant must be in the same place at the time of making the application and at the time a decision is made on the application.

Sponsored family stream

A person can apply for this visa if their intention is to visit relatives in Australia. To apply for this visa, a person must be sponsored by a family member who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident over the age of 18 years, who has been settled in Australia for a reasonable period (usually two years). A person can also be sponsored by a member of an Australian parliament, a local government mayor or an authorised person representing an Australian government, or Australian state or territory government department or agency. A sponsor cannot sponsor more than one person at the same time, unless the people being sponsored are members of the same family unit. A sponsor must guarantee that the person being sponsored will leave Australia before their visa expires. At times, a sponsor might be asked to provide a security bond, which will usually be between $5000 and $15 000 per person as a guarantee of a timely exit on the part of the person being sponsored. If the visa holder overstays, the sponsor will be barred from sponsoring another visitor in the same visa class for five years. The person being sponsored must be outside Australia when applying for this visa and must wait for a decision by Home Affairs before entering Australia.

This visa is often the most suitable type of visitor visa for people who come from refugee-producing countries or those whose relatives in Australia have been granted protection visas. The extra sponsorship and bond requirements may allow them to be granted a sponsored family visitor visa, where they would struggle to satisfy Home Affairs that they are a genuine visitor for the purpose of a tourist stream visitor visa.

Business visitor stream

This stream is for business people who would like to travel to Australia for a short business visit to undertake negotiations or participate in a conference. The business person must establish their business background and that they have a good business reason for travel to Australia. They cannot work for an Australian organisation or sell goods or services to the public. A person must be outside Australia when they apply for this visa and when the visa is decided. A sponsor is not required.

Approved destination status stream

This stream is for people from the People’s Republic of China who are travelling in an organised tour group. The applicant must be a citizen of China and must be in China when they apply for this visa and when the visa is decided. An application must be made through an agent registered under the Approved Destination Status Scheme as part of a group tour following an approved itinerary. A sponsor is not required. This visa has a mandatory ‘no further stay’ condition (8503) attached.

Frequent traveller stream

This visa is for people wanting to travel to Australia as a tourist or to engage in business visitor activities. This visa allows travel and entry to Australia on multiple occasions until a date specified by the Minister for Immigration, Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs (which must not be more than 10 years after the date of grant of the visa) and to remain in Australia, after each entry, for three months. A person applying for this visa must not intend to engage in activities that will have adverse consequences for employment or training opportunities, or conditions of employment for Australian citizens or permanent residents. An application can be made onshore or offshore, but the person applying must be in the same place at the time of making the application and at the time a decision is made on the application.

Electronic travel authority

An Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (subclass 601) allows citizens of certain countries to apply for a visa using the Australian ETA app. An ETA allows for a stay of up to three months, or three months on each arrival if the ETA allows multiple re-entries to Australia over a 12-month period.

An ETA is linked electronically to the applicant’s passport. To be eligible to apply for an ETA, one must:

  • be outside Australia at the time of making the application and decision
  • hold a citizen passport of an ETA-eligible country.

Medical treatment visa

While not strictly a visitor visa, a person can apply for a medical treatment visa (subclass 602) if they have a medical condition and want to travel to Australia for a medical consultation or medical treatment. A person can also consider applying for this visa if they want to donate an organ. This visa may also be granted to those who want to support the person who is having medical treatment in Australia.

A person can apply for a medical treatment visa onshore as well as offshore. This visa is generally granted for three to twelve months. A document checklist on the Home Affairs website outlines the evidence required to be provided with an application for this visa.