How to Get Your Australia Tourist Visa

If there was ever a prize for a country with the most complicated and convoluted visa arrangements, it would surely go to Australia.

Believe me, I know!

As someone looking to apply for residency here, I’ve spent a lot of time trawling the pages of the Australian Immigration website as well as reading a ton of forum and blog articles trying to get my head around the whole process!

So now, while I’m certainly not a pro at this all, I do at least understand that the Australian visa system is never as simple and clear cut as it seems!

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I am not an immigration expert and cannot accept responsibility for any action taken in this relation to the below information or advice.

Please note visa restrictions regularly change, so always check the Australian Immigration website before applying for any visa.

This is certainly true in the case of how to get your Australia tourist visa.

While many people coming to Australia for an extended vacation know about the Working Holiday Visa, you might be surprised to learn that you need to apply for a tourist visa simply to visit Australia even for a few days.

This was recently discovered, the hard way, by a good friend of mine, who came to visit me here in Australia from his home in Nicaragua.

Despite being an intelligent chap, a British citizen and booking his flight directly through a worldwide and renowned airline, no one, at any stage, told him that he needed a visitor visa to enter Australia.

Arriving at the airport in Managua however, he was promptly told that he would not be able to check-in for his flight to Australia because he didn’t have a requisite visa.

3 days and a whole lot of hassle later, he did eventually board a plane destined for Down Under, but please let this be a lesson!

The first thing to know about how to get your Australian tourist visa is that everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from, requires a visitor visa to holiday here.

And this being Australia, there is, of course, more than one sort of visitor visa!

But fear not, my easy guide below is set up to help you learn how to get your Australia tourist visa in the correct and cheapest way possible for your holiday Down Under.

Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (Subclass 601)

• ETAs are available to citizen passport holders from: Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea and United States.
• The ETA is valid for 12 months. It allows you to visit Australia multiple times within this period for up to 3 months at a time.
• The ETA can only be applied for if you wish to visit Australia as a tourist. In some circumstances you may be eligible to study for a short period in Australia if it is granted.
• You must be outside of Australia when you apply for the visa and also when a decision is made. Normally a decision is made within 1 day, but you should apply 2 weeks before your date of travel.
• Applications are made online. You will need a passport, email address and credit card to apply.
• There is a 20 AUD fee for online applications and you will be given a Tracking Reference Number (TRN) so you can follow your application using the Australian Visa Entitlement Verification Website (VEVO).
• You can also apply for an ETA at your nearest immigration office outside Australia or with a travel agent, airline or tour operator.
• When an ETA is granted you will not receive a stamp in your passport, but you will receive a confirmation, normally via email. You should keep a copy of this confirmation and have it with you when you travel to Australia. You must make sure you travel to Australia with the passport on which the ETA is granted.

eVisitor (Subclass 651)

• The eVisitor is essentially the ETA for European Union citizens. It is better because it is free.
• The eVisitor is open to citizen passport holders from 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 and Switzerland.
• The eVisitor visa is valid for 12 months. It allows you to visit Australia multiple times within this period for up to 3 months at a time.
• The eVisitor can only be applied for if you wish to visit Australia as a tourist. In some circumstances you may be eligible to study for a short period in Australia if it is granted.
• You must be outside of Australia when you apply for the visa and also when a decision is made. Normally a decision is made within 2-10 working days, so you should apply 2 weeks before your date of travel.
• Applications are made online, for which there is no fee. You will need a passport, email address and credit card to apply. You will be given a Tracking Reference Number (TRN) so that you can follow your application using the Australian Visa Entitlement Verification Website (VEVO).
• You can also apply for an eVisitor at your nearest immigration office outside Australia or with a travel agent, airline or tour operator.
• When an eVisitor is granted you will not receive a stamp in your passport, but you will receive a confirmation, normally via email. You should keep a copy of this confirmation and have it with you when you travel to Australia. You must make sure you travel to Australia with the passport on which the eVisitor is granted.

Visitor Visa (subclass 600)

• This Visa is a tourist visa that allows you to stay for a period of time greater than 3 months. It is open to a great range of citizen passport holders (see the full list here)than the ETA or eVisitor visas.
• You can apply for a Visitor Visa from outside Australia. You can also apply under the tourist stream of this visa from within Australia, providing your current visa is still valid and does not have a 8503 restriction attached to it.
• The Visitor Visa allows you to stay in Australia for a period of either 3, 6 or 12 months.
• The fee for this visa varies accordingly from 130 AUD – 335 AUD. If you hold a certain passport, you might be able to apply for a free or cheaper visa.

Hopefully this guide on how to get your Australia tourist visa, will help you work out which visa you need to travel to Australia and how to get it.

Don’t worry though if it all seems a bit daunting – they only try to make it hard because it’s so great once you get here!

Don’t let them put you off!