eVisitor For Australia
Electronic visa for European citizens subclass 651
The Visa eVisitor for Australia is an electronic authorization (introduced in 2008) which gives permission to travel to the Australian continent.
The evisitor has been designed for short-term stays (3 months) and is aimed at citizens who travel to Australia for tourism or business.
The introduction of this electronic visa has simplified the process of entering Australia, eliminating the need to go in person to the Australian embassies or consulates.
The eVisitor request procedure is mandatory and takes place only online in a few minutes. It will be necessary to meet certain requirements in order to obtain this entry visa for short stays.
eVisitor For Australia - Short Guide
Australia visa eVisitor (subclass 651) is aimed at travelers in possession of a passport issued by one of the following european countries:
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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
Duration of Stay in Australia and eVisitor Visa Validity
The visa eVisitor for Australia is valid for 1 year from the date of grant. It allows a consecutive stay of 3 months (90 days) on Australian territory.
With the eVisitor for Australia you have the chance to enter on the territory several times during its validity and stay in Australia for Up to 3 months at a time.
The period of validity of the visa is linked to the expiry date of the passport. If the passport expires before 12 months, the visa also expires.
NB. If you embark on a cruise, departing and arriving from an Australian port, time spent on a cruise counts as time spent in Australia
The two types of eVisitor visas for Australia
eVisitor has two variants, tourist and Business.
Let's see in detail the difference:
Visa eVisitor Tourist
With the tourist visa for Australia eVisitor, you can:
- Visit the country as a tourist
- Visit friends and relatives, who are residents of Australia
- Follow courses of study with a maximum duration of 3 months
Visa eVisitor Business
With eVisitor visa for Australia business you can:
- Initiate market surveys with local businesses for future partnerships, to sign or negotiate contracts of employment
- To undertake research on the spot for a possible transfer in Australia, including the search of a job and a home.
- Participate in seminars, conferences and trade shows, provided that you do not receive a monetary reward.
With the eVisitor Australia visa (for tourism or business) is possible to carry out the activity of voluntary work, if:
- The main purpose of visiting Australia is tourism and voluntary work is a consequence of this visit.
- For unpaid voluntary service: it is expected only reimbursement of expenses that may include meals, accommodation, transport.
- Voluntary work cannot be undertaken by a regular paid Australian resident (that is, if the work paid to a local resident is removed).
IMPORTANT : It is absolutely forbidden to work with the eVisitor tourist visa for Australia (and the Business visa). Paid work in Austrailia is not allowed with the eVisitor visa, although the holder can do some unpaid volunteer work. The eVisitor allows the traveler to study or receive professional training, but only if studies are not the main reason for the visit.
Features and requirements of the Australia eVisitor visa
Let's now analyze the procedures for requesting the eVisitor permit and the conditions to be respected to obtain it.
You can qualify for a eVisitor Australia (tourist or business) if:
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Travel to Australia is for tourism or general business purposes. The stay must not exceed 3 months
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At the time of the eVisitor Visa request, you are physically located outside the Australian territory.
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You are in possession of a suitable passport for the visa application eVisitor.
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You are not sick with active tuberculosis when you arrive on Australian territory.
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You have not been convicted in any country for criminal offences, for which the term of imprisonment is 12 months or more. If you have had a criminal conviction, the appropriate visa to apply is a Visitor Visa (Subclass 600).
Passport and eVisitor
eVisitor for Australia is electronically linked to the passport you used for the request. You must use the same passport to travel. If the passport used for the eVisitor request changes due to a loss or because you're forced to renew it before departure, you must apply for a new visa. If you're in Australian territory and receive a new passport, issued by the consulate or embassy of your country, you will not need to apply for a new eVisitor Visa.
Duplicate visa application
If you have a tourist Visa to Australia and apply for another (for example, because the first one is about to expire, or because you made a mistake in filling out the eVisitor application), when the second request is approved, delete automatically the previous visa and replace it.
Postpone Visa deadline
It is not possible to extend the duration of the eVisitor Visa.
If you are already in Australian territory and you need to stay in Australia for more than three months, you should know that the eVisitor visa (subclass 651) cannot be extended, and you need to apply for another tourist visa to Australia called Visitor Visa (subclass 600) which can also be requested if you are in Australian territory.
Holder of other types of Australia Visa
If you have another type of visa for Australia, before submitting an eVisitor Visa application, we advise you to contact us or contact the nearest immigration office, because the new eVisitors request will replace the previous visa. In this case, the eVisitor visa would have less favorable conditions than the previous one.
Everyone must have the eVisitor
Every person traveling in Australia needs a visa for Australia . If you travel with your family, each member must apply for the eVisitor visa prior to departure.
A visa must also be requested for under 18s and infants.
How to apply for an Visa eVisitor for Australia
The eVisitor for Australia visa can only be requested online. All you need to do is fill out a simple application form.
Before applying, make sure you have a suitable passport available for your visa application.
An email address to receive the hard copy of the eVisitor and any communications.
A valid credit card to pay the fare.
Steps for requesting the eVisitor
Now we list the various steps to submit the Visa eVisitor request
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The online request must be made by filling out the appropriate eVisitor Australia request form
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You must complete a single eVisitor visa for each family member, including children, or for each person in the group you travel with
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Once the process is complete, you will receive an email with the details of the request.
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Wait !! The reply will be sent by e-mail, so make sure you have written the address correctly. 75% of requests are processed within a few hours, while the remaining part is approved in a maximum of 3 working days. For a limited number of requests, the final decision may come after many days, especially if additional information is required by the authorities (statements, company documents, bank statements, photos and so on). In the latter case, our staff will inform you promptly.
If the evisitor visa is approved, you will receive a letter in the email box with subject " ETA-evisitor Document". The mail will indicate all the features of the visa and will have attached a PDF copy of the approved document (with header VISA GRANT NOTICE). This copy shall contain:
- The concession number of your evisitor
- The validity date for your evisitor
- The conditions to be met
It is possible that the visa for Australia evisitor is denied. In this case you will receive an email with the reasons for the refusal. The only option left to obtain permission to travel is to go to the nearest Australian consulate or embassy.
Important: Although most evisitor requests are approved within a few hours of submission, to avoid problems due to delays in granting a visa it is always good to request the document at least 72 hours before departure.