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Frequently Asked Questions

The most frequently asked questions about Visas for Australia

General questions about Australia visas

Do I need a visa for Australia?

YES,If you arrive on Australian territory by plane or by ship you need an Visas to Australia. For short stays it is possible to apply for an ETA Australia or an eVisitor Visa. The difference is in the citizenship of the traveler . The Australia visa is also mandatory for children.

What are the differences between ETA visa and eVisitor visa?

Both are tourists visas. The Australia ETA visa is for citizens with passports of certain countries including Japan, US, South Korea, Hong Kong, Canada, Malaysia. The eVisitor is dedicated to all citizens with a passport issued by a country of the European community and UK e Switzerland. The conditions of Australian visas are similar.

What can I do with an ETA business or eVisitor business?
  • You can take part in meetings, conferences, trade shows and seminars
  • You can visit business partners (including potential ones), negotiate and enter into agreements
  • You can engage in activities that are part of an official state visit
  • You cannot provide or sell services or goods to consumers in Australia
  • You cannot provide services to an Australian company or be hired
  • You cannot receive compensation for your activities from a company, organization or consumer in Australia
Transit in Australia, do I need a Visa?

NO, you do not need an Australian Visa if you respect the following rules:

  • Do not leave the Australian airport in the stopover time between flights
  • Stay at the airport for up to 8 hours
  • You already have the ticket and travel documents for the next flight
  • The airline directly transfers your checked baggage to the final destination
I am an American citizen. Which visa for Australia should I apply?

American citizens must apply for the Australian ETA visa. The same goes for citizens of Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, Singapore. You can apply for the ETA Visa on the apply-for-an-eta page.

I’m British citizen and I want to visit Australia as a tourist. Which Australian visa should I apply for?

If you want to travel to the Australian territory for vacation, it is obligatory to request an eVisitor Visa. This visa is dedicated to all citizens of the European community. The list of countries eligible for this visa is on the homepage Australia-ETA.com.

I am a European citizen and I am going to Australia for a short vacation. Which visa should I apply for?

If you are European you can take advantage of the eVisitor visa. This type of visa for Australia is the cheapest and also the easiest and fastest to apply for. Check if you meet all the requirements for this visa and submit your application online.

I travel to Australia with my son of a few months. Do I have to apply for a visa to Australia for him too?

YES. Eta visa applications for Australia and eVisitor must be submitted for every traveling member of the family even if he is a newborn.

Is the passport linked to my tourist visa?

YES. the Australia tourist visa can only be used in conjunction with the passport used for the application. The visa grant number (ETA or eVisitor) is associated with the passport number. Your passport must have a residual validity of at least six months before entering Australia. If the passport expires before the visa expires, then the visa also expires.

I lost the passport used to apply for the visa to Australia, what should I do?

In this case you need to apply for a new visa. In fact, visas for Australia are electronically linked to the passport number used. If the passport is lost or stolen, the visa attached to it is no longer valid. If you try to leave with your new passport but with your old visa, you will not be allowed to start your journey.

I am embarking on a cruise to Australia. Does it affect the length of stay in the country?

If the departure and arrival of the cruise are at Australian ports, then in this case the time spent on the ship is subtracted from the days of stay provided for by your visa.

Example: if you arrive in Australia on July 1st and embark on a cruise from August 1st to September 1st, upon your return to Australia, you can stay in Australia until October 1st.

Can I volunteer in Australia with an eVisitor visa? And with ETA?

YES. Volunteering is allowed with both visas, but only if the following rules are respected:

  • The main reason for the trip is for tourism and volunteering is a secondary consequence of the trip itself
  • You will not be able to receive compensation for the activity performed. You will only receive room and board.
  • Volunteering is only admitted to non-profit organizations
  • Your volunteer work is beneficial to the Australian community
  • You cannot volunteer if your job would be done by a paid Australian citizen
I will take an English course while on vacation in Australia. Is an Australian tourist visa enough?

With the tourist visa for Australia (ETA or eVisitor) you can study English, attending a course for a maximum of three months. With these tourist visas to Australia you have the option of multiple entries, with a maximum stay of three months for each trip.

Would I like to stay in Australia for more than three consecutive months?

In this case it is not possible to apply for an ETA visa or an eVisitor visa. You cannot use the services of Australia-ETA.com. You will need to apply for another type of visa such as Working Holiday.

I want to work in Australia, can I apply for an eVisitor Australia visa or an ETA Visa?

With ETA Visa and eVisiotr it is absolutely forbidden to work. If you want to work, you need to apply for a Working Holiday visa

What do I have to declare to Australian customs?

You can find this information by reading the article "Australian Customs - Goods to declare"

Can I take medication on my trip to Australia?

You can find this information by reading the article "Drugs that you can tran by travel"

Duration and validity of Australian ETA and eVsisitor visas

What validity has my Australian Visa?

Australian ETA and evisitor visas are valid for 12 months from the date of granting or until your passport expires , whichever is earlier. During this time you can get in Australia whenever you want and stay in Australia for a maximum of three months on each visit. Even if you arrive in Australia on the last day of your visa validity, you can stay in Australia for for 90 days.

My visa to Australia is about to expire. Can I renew it?

You can renew your visa for Australia ETA only if you are outside of Australia, you have complied with the conditions imposed by the ETA and you have not become the protagonist of illegal actions during your stay.

My tourist visa is about to expire and I am still in Australia. Can I request renewal?

In this case you cannot renew the Australia ETA and eVisitor visas. In this case you should apply for another type of ordinary visa.

NB. if the visa also expires the day after arriving in the country, you can still stay for 3 months.

Can I extend the validity of my visa?

No, it is not possible to extend the validity of your visa.

If you are not yet in Australia you can apply for a new visa which will overwrite the old one. With the new visa you will be able to travel to Australia again an unlimited number of times for holidays or business during a twelve month period.

If you are already in Australia you can apply for another type of visa, so it is not necessary to leave the country. This cannot be done via Australia-ETA.com

Apply online for Australian Visas : ETA and eVisitor

How can I apply for a visa online?

You can apply for Australia visas (ETA and eVisitor) easily online. First of all you have to fill in the digital application form. Compiling usually takes no more than five minutes.
Verify very carefully that all data has been entered correctly and completely. After verifying that the details are correct, you can pay the cost of the visa. Payment can be made securely with Visa, Mastercard, Nexi, American Express or PayPal. Once the payment has been made, the request will be processed immediately. As soon as the application has been approved, the visa can be downloaded and you can leave for Australia.

Is it necessary to book the trip before applying for a visa?

No, the Australian Immigration Department recommends that you first apply for your visa and book your trip only after you have been granted.

We recommend that you apply for a visa a few weeks before departure. There may be delays in processing the request (for example due to a random check by the Australian government authorities).

Your visa must have been granted before you check in at the airport. Airlines check if each passenger is in possession of a visa before departure. If you do not have one, you will not be allowed to leave.
Upon arrival in Australia it is not necessary to have already booked a ticket for the return flight.

What is the visa granting time?

In 75% of cases the required visas are granted within 24 / 48h. However, about one in thirty applications is subjected to a more in-depth random check by the Department of Immigration. In this case, the concession times may vary between 5 and 10 days.

The Department evaluates visa applications one by one. In rare cases, the Immigration Department will ask you to submit additional documents after submitting the request. This can happen, for example, if you have a second nationality from a country with which the Australian government does not have good relations, or as a result of a criminal past (even suspected). Keep in mind that in such a situation, processing your request may take longer.

The Australian government recommends applying for a visa before booking travel. The visa can be applied for up to one year before your arrival in Australia. You cannot check in until your visa has been granted.

What data and documents do I need to apply for ETA or Evisitor?

Only your passport is required for the visa application. Make sure that this passport has a residual validity of at least six months upon arrival in Australia. To apply for a tourist visa or a business visa for Australia you do not need airline tickets, hotel reservations, invitation letters or travel programs.

If you have already been to Australia in the past, you will be asked to enter the Visa Grant Number or the Visa Label Number of the visa you used for your last trip to Australia. If it is not possible for you to retrieve them, you can leave the fields blank.

Can I include my whole family in a single tourist visa application?

No. All family members must have a separate authorization that is ETA or eVisitor. Even if your children are traveling with your passport, they will need an individual visa.

If I apply for Australia visa for the whole family, will requests be approved at the same time?

It is possible that not all requests are approved at the same time. Every request is handled separately from the other, and although they belong to the same family, it can happen that some requests are granted immediately while others after some days.

How much does Australia visa cost?

The cost of the ETA visa and the eVisitor is € 39.00 per person. The cost of the visa consists of the service costs for checking errors, processing the request and language support and all necessary fees. The cost of the Australia visa can be paid easily and securely with Visa, Mastercard, Nexi, American Express, Postepay or PayPal. No transaction costs will be charged.

How to answer the eligibility questions ?

In the last part of the Australian visa application form, some eligibility questions are asked. These questions are designed to verify that you meet some of the most important Australian visa requirements. You can only apply for an Australia visa if you can answer all questions with "No".

Why do I have to indicate that I have a criminal conviction?

If you have been convicted of crimes whose prison term is 12 months or more, you cannot apply for an ETA-eVisitor. In this case, one of the most important requirements is missing.

In order to travel to Australia you need to apply for another type of Visitor Visa subclass 600.

We advise you not to lie when answering questions. Criminal databases are linked together. A check by the authorities is always around the corner.

What kind of courses is it possible to attend in Australia during the 3 months of stay?

You can take training of any kind except for medical training

After submitting the visa application

How will I get my Australia visa?

Once your visa application for Australia has been approved, you will receive an e-mail with the subject "ETA-eVisitor Document". In the email will be elecante the rules to be respected and will have attached a PDF copy (with header VISA GRANT NOTICE).

I cannot print my Australian Visa received via e-mail, what should I do?

You do not have to show the hard copy of the ETA visa or the eVisitor visa. Please note that the visa Australia is electronically linked to the passport number with which the request is submitted. If you have a confirmed visa, the attendants at the departure check-in will see the granting of visa to Australia on their terminals. It is enough to be able to show it on the screen of your laptop, tablet or smartphone.

I haven't received my visa yet

Immediately after making the payment for the visa, you will receive an e-mail. This email indicates that your request and related payment have been received. The approved document will be sent at a later time. You have to consider the processing and granting times of the application (24 / 48h in most cases).

Haven't received an email yet?

Please check your "Spam", "Bulk Mail" or "Junk email" folder . If you find our email there, select the confirmation message and click "This is Not Spam". This will help you future messages (for example ETA documents) to get through. If you do not find any e-mail associated with the request here, you can send us an e-mail to request information.

I applied for a tourist eVisitor visa but did I receive a business visa?

If you have received a business visa while traveling for tourism purposes, you should be aware that no distinction is made between eVisitor business and tourism visas. EVisitor visas always carry the wording “8115 - Business visitor activity”, so even if you have applied for a visa for a holiday. Each eVisitor visa allows you to do some business in Australia. The choice of type must be made when filling out the form.

The passport number indicated on the visa has an extra figure. What should I do?

It often happens that the system automatically adds an extra digit immediately after the passport number on the visa for Australia. This number is present in the passport. Check the information page (the plastic page) of your passport. At the bottom there are two lines, the so-called machine-readable zone. These lines also contain your passport number. Immediately after the passport number there is the same figure that was added.

If the amount is the same, don't worry: it does not affect the validity of your visa.

If the added character is not indicated in the machine-readable area of your passport, you have made a mistake when filling out the Australian visa application form. This error makes your visa invalid, even if it says it is valid on the visa. You can correct this error by applying for a completely new visa.

I made a mistake in filling out the form. Can I correct it?

No. It is not possible to correct the data entered once the application has been submitted to the authorities. You need to apply for a new Australian visa if:

  • You have entered your passport details incorrectly (Name, surname, date of birth, passport number, date of issue and expiry)
  • You will travel with a different passport than the one used for the visa application
  • You forgot to enter your middle name registered in your passport or your second nationality.
  • You can no longer answer "NO" to all eligibility questions after entering "YES"

Important: any corrections can only be made if the application has not yet been processed. Promptly notify us of any errors.

I applied for a Tourist Visa but selected Business by mistake. What should I do?

Nothing. In this case, no changes need to be made. ETA and eVisitor visas can be used indifferently for tourism or business.

The visa application was rejected. What should I do?

When the visa is refused, you will be informed of the reasons.

You cannot apply for the tourist visa again, because there is a high probability that the request will still be refused. However, you can try to apply for another type of Visitor visa (600) or contact the nearest Australian embassy or consulate. Australia-ETA.com cannot assist you in doing this.

If your request is rejected, you will receive a refund of the amount spent. Australia-ETA.com cannot be held responsible for any damage caused by a delayed visa or a denied application. To find out more, read the general conditions.

Can I cancel my visa application?

NO. If your request has already been processed by the Immigration Department, it is no longer possible to cancel it.

Once the eVisitor and ETA visas have been granted, they cannot be canceled or revoked. If the eVisitor visa has overwritten another type of visa, it cannot be canceled. In this case, you will have to apply for the other visa again.


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