Overview - Australia Visitor Visas

There are several different types of visas available for people who wish to visit Australia temporarily.

All travellers, except New Zealand citizens, must obtain a visa or travel authority before travelling to Australia .

Visas to Australia usually allow multiple travel to Australia and will entitle the holder to stay for up to three months (short stay) and six months (long stay).

Citizens of some countries can get an "electronic travel authoriy" (ETA) instead of being issued with a visa in their passport.

You may not be given a label when your visa is granted. This is nothing to worry about, as immigration and customs officers can check your visa details electronically against your passport number.

A Holiday in Australia

To qualify for a Visitor visa you must intend a genuine short-term visit to Australia . You should not apply for a visitor visa if you intended to work or remain permanently in Australia .

To be granted an ETA (Visitor), or a Sponsored Family Visitor visa to travel to Australia , applicants must be outside Australia at the time of making the application, and at the time the visa is granted.

Tourist visa applications lodged offshore can only be granted while the applicant is still offshore. Tourist visa applications lodged in Australia can only be granted while the applicant is in Australia .

Uk residents are eligible to apply for ETA visas through the Department of Immigration's website. www.immi.gov.au .

Studying in Australia

All visitor visas are granted subject to the condition that the holder doesn't study more than three months. To enrol in a course of more than three months you must apply for an Australian Student Visa.

According to departmental policy, a visitor may study in a course including recreational, English language, business or computer training. Units that are part of a degree, diploma, and trade certificate or other award can also be undertaken provided they are less than three months long.

It may be possible to send children to primary school or high school for periods of less than three months provided enrolment is not seen as inconsistent with a genuine visit.

Business in Australia

Business visas are provided for visitors to undertake business - for example, attend a conference or training session, business negotiations, an exploratory business visit, establishing a business. They do not cover taking paid employment in other fields in Australia . Such work requires a different visa.

There are a number of options for applying for a visitor business visa

APEC Travel Card

The APEC Business Travel Card gives accredited business people pre-cleared entry to participating APEC economies. Card holders enjoy:

•  pre-cleared short-term entry to participating economies (no need to individually apply for    visas or entry permits each time you travel).
•  multiple entry to pre-cleared economies (cards are valid for three years), and
•  faster immigration processing on arrival via access to fast-track entry and exit through    special 'APEC' lanes at major airports. For information on the APEC Business Travel Card    arrangements at international airports.

There are presently seventeen APEC economies currently participating in the ABTC scheme:

•  Australia
•  Brunei Darussalam
•  Chile
•  Chinese Taipei
•  Hong Kong ( China )
•  Indonesia
•  Japan
•  Republic of Korea
•  New Zealand
•  Papua New Guinea *
•  People's Republic of China
•  The Philippines
•  Malaysia
•  Peru
•  Singapore
•  Thailand
•  Vietnam *

* These economies have joined the ABTC Scheme, but are yet to commence issuing cards to their passport holders, or granting pre-cleared entry to foreign card applicants.

They are expected to commence operations by early 2006.

Short business visits
The Business (Short Stay) visa (subclass 456) allows genuine business people to make a visit to Australia of up to three months to conduct business. Examples of appropriate activities include a conference, negotiation or an exploratory business visit, but do not include acting or music performance or commercial film making.

A single-entry or multiple-entry visa may be issued.

In many countries, you can obtain a Business (Short Stay) visa at the same time you purchase an airline ticket. Ask for a Business Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) for Australia .

Medical Treatment in Australia

Medical Treatment visas are for visitors wishing to go to Australia for medical treatment. This visa is also the appropriate visa for people wishing to accompany a person undergoing medical treatment in Australia , to provide emotional and other support, and for people intending to donate an organ for transplant in Australia .

There are two medical treatment visas;a short stay visa,for a stay of up to three months; and a long stay visa for a stay of more than three months.

There are conditions to be met before a visa can be issued, including that you have enough funds to support yourself and any accompanying persons during your visit .

Australian Working Holiday Visa

The Australian Working Holiday visa allows young people between 18 and 30 to holiday in Australia and to supplement their travel funds through short periods of employment.

To be eligible for a working holiday visa, the an applicant must hold a valid passport from one of the following countries:

United Kingdom, Canada, the Netherlands, Japan, Republic of Ireland, Republic of Korea, Malta, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China, Finland, the Republic of Cyprus, France, and Italy, Belgium, Estonia and Taiwan.

The visa allows a stay of up to 12 months from the date of first entry to Australia , regardless of whether or not you spend the whole time in Australia .

You are allowed to do any kind of work of a temporary or casual nature, and you can work with each employer for up to three months.

NEW The Australian government has recently stated that Working Holiday Makers who have worked as a seasonal worker in regional Australia for a minimum of three months while on their first Working Holiday visa, will be eligible to apply for a second Working Holiday visa. Applicants need to demonstrate that they continue to meet the requirements for a Working Holiday visa. These include:

•  being aged between 18 and 30
•  having no dependents; and
•  being a citizen of a country named    in the working holiday maker    reciprocal arrangements

Seasonal work is defined as: picking fruit, nuts and other crops, pruning and trimming vines and trees, general maintenance crop work and other work associated with packing or processing the harvest.

Regional Australia includes anywhere in Australia except Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the NSW Central Coast, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Perth, Melbourne or the ACT.

To apply for an Australian Working Holiday Visa go to www.immi.gov.au

Australia has recognised that Event organisors are constantly looking for new and interesting locations to hold their confernences. A visitors visa can be obtained for such an event, vaild for up to three months.

Information on how best to deal with visa issues is now quickly and easily available through the International Event Coordinator Network (IECN), part of Australia 's Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA).

The IECN is a designated group of experienced immigration employees who provide advice and support on visa issues to event organisers, as well as acting as a conduit of information between event organisers and the Australian visa offices overseas who will then process visa applications for intending participants.