Australia Holiday Visa

Worked for the whole year and are now heading Down Under to relax? Get an Australia holiday visa before you leave. It allows you to travel around the country for tourism or leisure or to get together with your family and friends.

So you want to visit some of our tourist attractions and are not an Australian or New Zealand citizen?

You need a visa.

Depending on the country you are coming from you can get an electronic one or a standard one.

With the electronic one there is no label on your passport.

The standard one involves some paperwork with the application.

You can find all the information related to travel visas on the department of immigration website: http://www.immi.gov.au/visitors/tourist/

Here is a quick summary to get you started. Tourist or holiday visas come in several forms such as:

ETA visitor (subclass 976). Get some tips about it here, on this page.

eVisitor (subclass 651) is for European residents, who can apply online. Read more about it on Australian travel visa page;

tourist (subclass 676) - see more about it in the Australia tourist visa section;

sponsored family visitor (subclass 679) - more in the Australian visitor visa page.

Australia Holiday Visa, ETA Visitor - 976

This visa for Australia allows you to visit the country for up to 3 months, for leisure purposes or if you want to do some informal studies.

The entry visa is stored electronically - there is no stamp in your passport. Airlines, travel consultants and authorities access the information on their computers.

Make sure the passport you show to border authorities is the same you used when you filled your application.

ETA is quick and easy to apply for, but you have to be overseas. You cannot submit a request for this visa in Australia.

To stay on the safe side, it is good to apply for the ETA at least 2 weeks before starting your trip. You can go online or use a travel consultant.

Not everyone is eligible to apply. You need to hold a passport from one of the countries stated here.

What You Can Do on an ETA Visitor

You can holiday around for up to 3 months;
You can bring your family but each of them needs their own ETA permit, even children mentioned on your passport;
Generally it is valid 12 months and can offer you multiple entries into the country.

What You Cannot Do

You cannot extend your ETA visa in Australia, but you can apply for a different one, if you are already in the country;
You cannot work;
You cannot get involved in any study or training that is longer than 3 months.

Good holidaying!