Tourist Visas for Australia
ETA and eVisitor
Do you need an ETA or eVisitor visa?
Whether it’s for business or for tourism, entering Australia requires you to have the correct visa.
Are you looking for information while planning your next vacation?
Have you read about the ETA and eVisitor visas for Australia and are you having trouble telling the difference?
Here you can find the answers to all of your questions regarding how long your visa for Australia remains valid, for how many trips, what it allows you to do, what you should check to see if you’re eligible to request one, and what you should do if anything changes right before your trip.
Difference between two Tourist Visas to Australia: ETA and eVisitor
One of these two visas is required to enter Australia, whether on vacation or on a business trip. Fortunately, eVisitor and ETA are very similar: they are both electronic authorizations linked to your passport number, and they share the same conditions for tourism or business visits.
When submitting your visa application online, you will have to choose the correct one according to the citizenship shown on your passport.
To obtain both the Australia ETA and eVisitor visas you must be a resident outside Australia.
The Australian visa application procedure takes place exclusively online.
Which E-visa Australia should I request?
If you are going to Australia for tourism or business (according to certain conditions which we will denote later on), the right choice of the type of visa for Australia depends on your country of citizenship and can fall back on two specific types:
eVisitor Australia (subclass 651)
The Australia eVisitor visa is an electronic visa (e-visa) which authorizes the applicant to travel to Australia. The visa is not paper but is associated with the passport number. Upon departure for Australia, the check-in staff will check for the presence of the approved visa. In the absence of a valid Australia Visa, travel will not be allowed. it will therefore be necessary to submit the request well in advance of departure.
They must apply for an eVisitor visa for Australia
If your passport was issued by one of the following states you will need the Australia eVisitor visa
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Andorra
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Austria
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Belgium
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Bulgaria
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Cyprus
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Czech Republic
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Denmark
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Estonia
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Finland
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France
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Germany
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Greece
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Lithuania
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Hungary
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Iceland
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Ireland
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Italy
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Latvia
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Liechtenstein
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Luxembourg
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Malta
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Monaco
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Holland
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Norway
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Poland
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Portugal
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Romania
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San Marino
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Slovakia
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Slovenia
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Spain
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Sweden
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Switzerland
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United kingdom*
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Vatican City
(*) NOTE: Travellers only holding a passport as British National Overseas, British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Overseas Citizen, British Protected Person or British Subject are not eligible for an eVisitor Visa.
ETA Australia (Subclass 601)
The ETA Australia Visa is an electronic visa that authorizes travel to the Australian continent. It is not a physical document, but its presence is associated with the passport number used for the application. Only after obtaining the approval of the ETA visa will the applicant be allowed to board the plane or ship. The acronym of ETA is Electronic Travel Authority. It was born for short-term holidays or business trips.
Who needs an
ETA Australia Visa?
If on the other hand you are a citizen of one of these Countries then you need to request an ETA Australia Visa
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Brunei – Darussalam
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Canada
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Hong Kong
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Japan
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Malaysia
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Singapore
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Republic of South Korea
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United States of America
Requirements to apply online for ETA Australia Visa or eVisitor Visa
Obtaining your online ETA or eVisitor Visa to enter Australia is subject to a series of restrictions and requirements, both for business visitors and tourists.
They are briefly summarized here:
- When applying online for your visa, both ETA and eVisitor, you must be physically outside Australian Territory;
- You must be a citizen of the specific set of Countries listed above to be eligible for eVisitor or ETA Australia Visas;
- You must not be suffering from tuberculosis when you arrive to Australia;
- You must never have been previously convicted with a prison sentence lasting over 12 months.
- You may not undertake any paid work, of any kind, in Australia while holding an ETA or eVisitor Visa. In certain cases, voluntary and unpaid work may be allowed, but only if an Australian citizen cannot be normally employed in such role, and in any case this may not be the primary reason for your visit to Australia.
What can you do with the Tourist Visas for Australia?
Your ETA or eVisitor Australia Tourist Visa is valid for one year, starting from date of issue. It is a multiple-entry visa, which means that you may leave and re-enter the Country several times during this period: however, no single stay may last longer than three months, and at least a few days must pass between separate stays. This makes it the ideal visa for a vacation in Australia, even a prolonged one – or for a job search, if you’re planning to move to Australia at a later time.
During your stays in Australia, this Visa allows you to
- Visit every part of the territory for tourism purposes
- Visit friends or relatives living in Australia
- Attend study courses in Australia, as long as they do not last longer than three months
- Search for work in Australia, such as attending information sessions or interviews, so as to experience the way of life and customs of Australia while evaluating a future relocation to the Country.
What can you do with the Visa ETA Australia Business or eVisitor Business?
Visas for Australia ETA business and eVisitor Business offers you everything the tourist visa does, plus a few more features:
- You may survey the territory looking for business partners and carry out business-related activities – provided that they do not involve work on business premises or sales of any kind. Please remember that this is not a work visa.
- You may attend conferences and seminars, as long as they are unpaid
- You may sign international commercial contracts
- You may carry out business on behalf of governmental bodies
Business travel does not mean work. If you need to open a short-term business, you need to apply for a Temporary Work-Short Stay Activity-Subclass 400 visa on the government website.
Duration and validity of the Tourist Visas for Australia
- Both the Australia ETA visa and the eVisitor visa are valid for 12 months from the date of grant. But if the passport used for the application expires before 12 months, then the Australia visa will expire when the passport expires.
- Both tourist visas for Australia allow an unlimited number of entries on Australian territory. The duration of each stay in Australia cannot exceed 3 months (90 days) for each entry.
- Only the arrival date must fall within the validity period of the Australia Visa. It is possible to enter Australia even if the visa expires on the day of arrival and stay on Australian territory for 90 days.
- To apply for an Australia e-Visa, your passport must be valid for at least six months. ETA Australia and the eVisitor visa are electronically linked to the passport number.
- To apply for an ETA or eVisitor, you must be outside the Australian borders
- Both Australia tourist visas are mandatory and must be authorized prior to departure.
It is not possible to extend the duration or apply for the same type of Australia tourist visa if you are already in the country.
How apply to Australian Visa online
Before completing the Australia visa application form, make sure you meet all the requirements. Keep all necessary documents on hand. The ETA visa and the eVisitor visa are necessary and mandatory. The Australian ETA visa application must be submitted well in advance of the departure date (at least 2 weeks before). Travelers can fill out their ETA or eVisitor application and receive authorization even in the absence of a travel program or specific itinerary (information relating to the itinerary or information relating to hotels or indicative locations are not mandatory).
Complete e-Visa application
- Choice of the type of Australian visa to apply for: Tourist or Business
- Identity of the traveler
- Passport data
- Residential address (must be outside Australia)
- E-mail address (valid and correct), telephone contacts
- Eligibility questions answered
Checking the data entered
After filling in all the required fields, and clicking on the Proceed button, carefully check that all the data entered are correct and there are no errors. Pay for taxes and processing fees. You will be redirected to the payment portal of the company providing the payment service.
Get your Australia Visa online
Wait for the outcome of the request via email. In most cases, the granting of the ETA visa or the eVisitor visa arrives after a few minutes or hours, in other cases after a few days (up to 7 working days). You will receive an email with the subject ETA-Document, in which the conditions of the Australia visa will be indicated and in attachment you will find the hard copy with the heading "VISA GRANT NOTICE".
Refusal of ETA or eVisitor visa application
If your Australia tourist visa application is refused, you will receive an attached email file containing the reason for the refusal. In this case it is necessary to contact the embassy or consulate. If the visa application for Australia is denied already in the electronic submission phase, it will not be possible to submit a new application.
It should be remembered that airlines are electronically connected to government databases. You will not be allowed to board the aircraft if the application is rejected or pending.
Traveling with children to Australia
All children (under 18 and infants) must apply for an Tourist Visa for Australia (ETA or eVisitor) before the travel.
If your passport information changes after obtaining an Australia ETA or Evisitor visa, due to loss or renewal, you need to submit a new Australia e-Visa application. It is also important to remember that ETA and Evisitor visas are electronically linked to the passport number.
Travel Resources and Tourist Information
Australian Customs Goods to declare
Customs and Passenger Card
Medicines allowed when traveling to Australia
Why to choose our services
Assistance and Help to fill in the form.
Verification and control of information required.
Correction of your file in case of inaccuracy of the data provided.
Support and assistance 24/24h and 7/7d for e-mail.
Notification of the progress of your file and sending your ETA-eVisiotr by email in PDF format.
Storage service of your ETA for 1 year.
Recovery of your ETA in case of loss.
Full refund if your travel autorization is refused.
No registration required
The information provided in completing the visa form is subject to strict privacy requirements and controls. Access to information and personal data are covered by the regulations of the privacy law and will be used only for the ETA visa application. The same will be kept until the duration of the concession and then canceled.