8 Steps How to Extend Visitor Tourist Visa in Australia 2023

The eight essential steps on how to extend your Australian visitor visa 2023

By Indah Melindasari
Founder of ONE derland Consulting & Registered Migration Agent

Millions of people come to Australia on a Visitor Visa and most of them decided to extend the visitor visa after their first visit since many of them fall harder for Australia than they expect.

In addition, one of the most common situations is when someone is visiting a family member, which could be a grandparent seeing their first grandchild, a girlfriend coming to see her boyfriend, or parents visiting their kids, thus the stay period of 3 months is not enough for them.

If you’re one of them, find the 8 simple steps below on how to extend your Visitor Visa in 2023.

The steps you need to take to extend your Australian visitor visa (subclass 600)

If you think that you will stay in Australia past the expiry date of your visitor visa, I recommend that you take action to extend your visitor visa as soon as possible. As a guideline, you should be ready to apply for your visa extension no later than three weeks before your current tourist visa expires. But, first, you need to check your visa type to determine if you are eligible for an extension.

Below is a list of the steps that you will need to take to extend your visitor visa in Australia:

1. Decide how long you want to stay in Australia.
2. See how long you have left on your current tourist visa.
3. Look at the suitable visa options for you.
4. Choose the visa that best suits your situation.
5. Check if your current tourist visa has a ‘no further stay’ condition.
6. Gather your supporting documentation.
7. Apply for your new visa and have your health checked.
8. Wait for your new visa to be approved.

Step One: Decide how long you want to stay in Australia

Count carefully on this. Consider the reason to extend your stay, is it for a further holiday with your family or is it because of a situation that is out of your control?

The available extension period is between 3 months to 12 months. The successful extension application will rely on the reason and the requested extension period. If you’re not sure, give us a call and discuss it with our professional team!

Step Two: See how long you have left on your current tourist visa

I always suggest my clients to extend their stay while their Visitor Visa still has more than 6 weeks before expires. If your Visitor Visa is expiring less than 6 weeks, it’s best to start the preparation now.

There will be many additional documents required for an extension, so make sure your activity period of your Visitor Visa allows you to prepare an extension in peace.

Step Three: Look at the suitable visa options for you

This is strongly recommended if you face changes in your circumstances. For example, after visiting your partner, you find it more comfortable to live with your partner rather than being in a long-distance relationship, then extending your stay with a Visitor Visa is not the best option.

Also, check your previous Visitor Visa conditions. If there’s a condition which allows you to stay in Australia only for 12 months in 18 months period, then extending your Visitor Visa is also not a good option.

Step Four: Choose the visa that best suits your situation

You might have more than 1 visa option to extend your stay. It depends on your intention and reason to extend your stay.

Extending your stay by applying for another Visitor Visa can be the simplest and cheapest option, but there is a high risk behind it. If you fail to convince the Department that your intention is genuinely to explore Australia as a tourist, your extension will be refused, and it will affect your ability to apply for all visas in the future.

Step Five: Check if your current visitor visa has a ‘no further stay’ condition

This is very important because this will decide whether you can extend your stay or not. If your current visa has 8503 – No Further Stay condition imposed, there is a very low chance that you can extend your stay.

Unless you submit a waiver first. It only applies if you have compelling and compassionate reasons to waive the condition. Read here to see how to waive the 8503 condition.

Step Six: Gather your supporting documentation

Depending on what visa you decided to apply for, the required documents will be different too. Suppose you decide to apply for a new Visitor Visa, you must submit all documents that you submitted before, including evidence of financial capabilities, ties to your home country, etc., with some updated documents as evidence of your reason to extend your stay.

‘Why do I need to provide the same documents again?’ you might be thinking. Well, it’s because the Department of Home Affairs considers a visa extension to be a new visa application.

Read More: Visitor Visa 600 Australia Complete Requirement List

Step Seven: Apply for your new Australian visa and have your health check

Once all documents are gathered, you can submit your application through the Immi Account portal. Note that you must submit the new application at least six weeks before your current Visitor Visa expires.

You may also do the health check either before or after the Department requests you to do so. Pay attention to the deadline to avoid a refusal.

Step Eight: Wait for your new visa to be approved

The processing time is varying depending on each applicant’s circumstances. You will get a Bridging Visa A that allows you to stay in Australia legally until you receive the decision for your new visa application.

Need advice about extend your visitor visa 600?

Here at ONE derland Consulting, my team can advise you on the best visa option to stay legally in Australia. All advice is given according to your current circumstances and your intention to extend your stay in Australia.

We promise you a professional and transparent service, so nothing will be held back, including the assessment result that you might be not eligible to extend your stay to avoid you submitting a wrong visa application which may lead to a refusal.

There is a 100% Money Back Guarantee if you’re not satisfied with our consultation service.

Ready to take that first step to extend your visitor visa?

Our visa specialists at ONEderland Consulting will assist and give you complete suggestions in extending your stay in Australia. We have a 98% success rate and are one of Australia’s most highly recommended migration agents. Read our 4.9* score customer reviews.

We are complex visa specialists. As registered Australian migration agents with the Migration Agents Registration Authority (MARA), we are regulated in our professional practice and bound by the profession’s Code of Conduct issued by the Migration Agents Registration Authority.

Take the first step and get in touch with us. Our team members are professional, honest and speak various languages such as Mandarin/Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Arabic, Japanese, and Thai. Contact us through email at [email protected] or via phone on 1300 827 159. Alternatively, you may book your consultation online, and it is backed by our 100% Money Back Guarantee Program.