Visitor Visas
Coming to Australia for a holiday, to see family, or for short-term business? Which visa you need depends entirely on your passport and the purpose of your trip. Most travellers never need an agent for this — but the ones who do usually have a good reason: a previous refusal, a longer stay, or a family sponsorship involved.
Worth knowing (announced 17 September 2026): the Government has announced its intention to apply the “No Further Stay” condition (Condition 8503) to all future Visitor visa grants. No start date has been announced yet. Nothing changes today, and visas already granted aren’t affected. Once it is in force, it would generally stop someone who enters Australia on a Visitor visa from applying for most other visas — including an onshore Partner visa — while still here, unless a narrow waiver applies. This mostly affects couples already in a genuine relationship, often formed online or from meeting in person earlier, who use time on a Visitor visa to live together in Australia before committing to a partner visa application — rather than people meeting for the first time during the visit. If that describes your situation, it’s worth understanding this ahead of time — see our Partner Visa 820/801 page for what this could mean for that pathway specifically.
Choose your pathway
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)
For eligible passport holders (US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, South Korea and others). Applied via the official Australian ETA app. Up to 3 months per visit, valid 12 months, multiple entries.
eVisitor
For eligible European passport holders (EU countries, the UK, Norway, Switzerland and a few others). Free, applied online. Same 3-month, 12-month-validity structure as the ETA.
Visitor Visa
The main pathway for travellers not eligible for an ETA or eVisitor — including most passport holders from India, China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, and much of the Middle East and Africa. Assessed by a case officer, with five streams: Tourist, Business Visitor, Sponsored Family, Frequent Traveller, and Approved Destination Status. This is where refusals happen, and where our help matters most.
Read the full Subclass 600 guideMedical Treatment Visa
For travel to Australia to receive medical treatment, support someone who is, or explore treatment options. Family can be included. Requires solid medical and financial evidence.
Read the detailsTransit Visa
For passing through Australia to another country, or to join a ship as crew, for no more than 72 hours. Free to apply, and usually processed quickly.
A quick way to tell
- If your passport is eligible for the ETA or eVisitor, and your trip is a straightforward short visit, you generally don’t need a migration agent — the electronic process is designed to be simple.
- If your passport isn’t eligible for either, you’ll need the Subclass 600 — a proper application assessed against the Genuine Temporary Entrant requirement, with real evidence expected.
- If you’re already in Australia on an ETA or eVisitor and need longer, you generally can’t extend it — a further stay usually means a new application (often the Subclass 600 Tourist stream) lodged before your current stay ends, subject to your visa’s conditions. If a family member in Australia is sponsoring a longer visit and you’re applying from overseas, the Sponsored Family stream is the usual fit.
- If you’ve had any visa refused or cancelled before — for any country, not just Australia — it needs to be disclosed and factored into your strategy, regardless of which pathway you’re using.