All travellers visiting Australia - except citizens of New Zealand - require a visa in advance of travel. Visas come in the following varieties:
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), an electronic tourism or business visa available through an online application process to citizens of Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and USA. These are valid for visits of up to 3 months and allow multiple entries for a year. Australian employment is not allowed. ETAs are available online for A$20 and may be available through your travel agent. European passport holders who are eligible to apply for an ETA through a travel agent, airline or specialist service provider should apply for an eVisitor if applying online. The ETA is also available for the passport holders of a further 26 countries when the ETA is sought through a travel agent, airline, specialist service provider or an Australian visa office outside Australia. If buying your tickets through a travel agent the fee for applying online is often waived.
There are three types of ETAs . ETA (visitor) subclass 976, ETA (business entrant - short validity) subclass 977, and ETA (business entrant - long validity) subclass 956.
eVisitor, for citizens of the EU, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland and a few European microstates. These visas are free, but otherwise effectively identical to the ETA.
Electronic Tourist Visa (e676), for passport holders of 53 countries, including; Bahrain, Chile, Croatia, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Applications are made online and cost A$110.
Non-electronic visas, the only option if you do not hold an ETA/eVistor/e676-eligible passport, also required if you are staying for a longer period of time or wish to seek Australian employment. These will require a written application and processing by an Australian embassy, high commission or consulate. Contact the Department of Immigration for more information. Many visas are no longer issued with physical stickers placed in the passport, instead being electronic visas linked to your passport.
However, if you are merely transiting through Australia, remain airside for a maximum of 8 hours, have a confirmed onward booking, have the correct entry documentation for the onward destination and are a citizen of New Zealand, the European Union, Andorra, Argentina, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Iceland, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, Nauru, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, South Africa, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, Tuvalu, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (regardless of nationality status), United States, Vanuatu or Vatican City, you do not need to apply for any visa. All other passengers who transit through Australia must apply for a Transit Visa (subclass 771) prior to travel.
For tourists, immigration problems can occur if they have a criminal record, carry any documents not normally brought-in by genuine tourists (e.g. a resume), cannot demonstrate pre-arranged travel plans (e.g. hotel), or sufficient funds to support their desired length of stay. If you are staying with a friend or family member bring an invitation or their contact details and make sure you let them know that they are expecting you on your date of arrival.
New Zealand citizens may travel to and work in Australia for any length of time without a pre-arranged visa, as the visa is issued upon arrival, subject to character tests (see next section). Non-citizen permanent residents of New Zealand are not eligible for visa-free entry.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Australia
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Australia - updated Apr 2024
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Australia Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
