How to prepare Electronic Australian Visitor Visa – Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visa (subclass 601)
Do you want to visit Australia? Before that you need to prepare an electronic Australian Visitor Visa.
There are so many things you could come and see here. Maybe you have some business activities to attend to while visiting Australia? Do you have family here you wish to come see?
All of these require a type of tourist visa to enter Australia. Would you like some help preparing for your visitor visa application? Why don’t we go over all the different streams and subclasses for the visitor visa?
Here is the electronic Australian visitor visa :
Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) visa (subclass 601)
How do you prepare to apply for this tourist visa? I will go over everything this visa entails and what you need to do for the application.
Factors
This visa will let you visit Australia:
- for a visit or for business visitor purposes
- as many times as you wish, visa lasting for a year
- can stay for up to three months for each visit to Australia
If you are able to apply online, there will be a service charge of AUD $20.
Requirements
You may be able to receive an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), if you are:
- Currently outside of Australia
- Are the holder of a passport for a certain country
The average processing time for this visitor visa is less than one day.
Unfortunately, only certain passport holders will be able to apply for this visa online. You may need to use a good travel agent to apply for this visa, as they will have experience doing so. The best explanation for an ETA would be an electronically stored authority for travel to Australia. In order to be granted this visa, you must be outside Australia when you apply and when the Electronic Travel Authority is decided.
What an Electronic Travel Authority would let you do.
If the ETA is granted, it lets you enter Australia for up to three months at a time, as a tourist or for business visitor purposes. You will also be permitted to study in Australia for no more than 3 months in some circumstances.
Business visitor purposes would include:
- You could make general business or employment enquiries
- You could investigate, negotiate, sign or review a business contract
- You could carry out activities as part of an official government-to-government visit
- You could participate in conferences, trade fairs or seminars, but you cannot be paid by the organisers for your participation.
If you are planning a longer stay in Australia, another type of visa may be more suitable, such as a Visitor visa or Tourist Visa Australia (subclass 600).
Please note, prior to applying Visitor Visa
Do you hold another visa? Were you granted an ETA? This could affect your other current visa.
Do you currently hold an ETA?
The below ETA’s have been replaced with the Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601):
- Electronic Travel Authority (Visitor) (subclass 976)
- Electronic Travel Authority (Business Entrant—Short Validity) (subclass 977)
- Electronic Travel Authority (Business Entrant—Long Validity) (subclass 956)
If you are a holder of one of the above ETA’s, it will continue to be valid until the date stated on the visa when it was granted to you. Were you granted a new ETA?
If so, the first ETA will then expire and the current ETA will be valid promptly when it is granted.
Do you currently hold a type of Working Holiday Maker visas? Then the below will apply to you:
Working Holiday (subclass 417) and Work and Holiday (subclass 462) visas, which are typically called Working Holiday Maker visas, can only be used one time.
If you are given an ETA while you hold a Working Holiday Maker visa, you will be able to hold both visas. When you come into Australia, you will automatically enter on your Working Holiday Maker visa and you can not apply for another Working Holiday Maker visa, as you will no longer be eligible.
To stop the accidental use of your Working Holiday Maker visa, you should:
- Ask us to cancel your Working Holiday Maker visa (you can then apply for another one at a late date)
- Once you know by confirming with Immigration that your Working Holiday Maker visa has been cancelled, you could then apply for an ETA.
- If you currently hold any type of visa, then are granted an ETA, your first visa could be affected.
Current holders of other visas
There are some exceptions:
- If you currently hold a Special Purpose visa or a Maritime Crew visa when you are given an ETA, you will come to Australia on the new ETA, but your other visa will still be valid.
- Those are most definitely not all the different types of visas you could be holding, but what about the other substantive visas after being granted an ETA? What will happen? Please see the below information:
- If your other visa is still valid when you next come to Australia, you will enter on that visa, not the on the new ETA
- If you come and stay in Australia on the other visa for longer than three months, your ETA will have expired. This visa will expire, three months from the date that you entered Australia.
Your passport
Did your passport expire? Is it about to expire? You will need to obtain the new passport before applying for an ETA. Your ETA is connected to the passport number you put in your application and you must use the same passport in order to travel to Australia.
Eligible passports for electronic Australian visitor visa.
In order to be eligible for an ETA, you must hold a passport issued by one of the countries or regions listed below. Are you the holder of a non-citizen passport or other travel document, such as a Certificate of Identity?
Unfortunately, you are not eligible to apply for an ETA.
Passports that are eligible are issued by the below countries:
- Andorra
- Austria
- Belgium
- Brunei
- Canada
- Denmark
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hong Kong (SAR of China)
- Iceland
- Ireland
- Italy
- Japan
- Liechtenstein
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Monaco
- Norway
- Portugal
- Republic of San Marino
- Singapore
- South Korea
- Spain
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan*
- The Netherlands
- United Kingdom (British Citizen)
- United Kingdom (British National from Overseas)
- United States
- Vatican City
Please note: that to be eligible you must not purport to be or hold an official or diplomatic passport.
Health insurance policies
You must cover for all your health costs while you are in Australia. You will NOT be covered by Australia’s national health scheme (Medicare), unless your home country has a reciprocal health care agreement currently with Australia. I would most definitely recommend that you take out health insurance each and every time you travel to Australia.
Character requirements
Have you had any criminal convictions in any country? Please apply for a Visitor visa (subclass 600), rather than an ETA. If you arrive with an ETA having had criminal convictions, you could be refused entry into Australia.
Do you have any debts to the Australian Government?
You cannot have any outstanding debts to the Australian Government but you would have to arrange to repay the outstanding debts to the Australian Government before you may be granted this visa.
Do you need to include family in your application?
Then, each of your family members travelling with you to Australia will need to have a separate ETA. This will include any children under the age of 18, who are included on your passport.
You must be outside Australia when you apply and when your ETA is decided.
I recommend applying for your ETA at least two weeks prior to your travel. You wouldn’t receive a stamp or label in your passport. You will get a confirmation for your personal records.
Want to make it easier? Well, you can by applying online, if you hold a passport from any of the countries below (at Electronic Travel Authority):
- Brunei
- Canada
- Hong Kong (SAR of China)
- Japan
- Malaysia
- Singapore
- South Korea
- United States
After you lodge your application, you will receive a Transaction Reference Number (TRN). Keep this TRN number so you can follow the progress of your application.
You must have your passport, a valid email address and a useable credit card to pay for the service charge when you lodge your visa application to Immigration.
Not a citizen of one of the above countries? That’s okay, if you currently hold an eligible passport but are not listed to lodge your application online, you can apply in person:
- At your nearest Immigration office outside of Australia
- or with a travel agent, an airline or a specialist service provider
Are you a European passport holder? You will also have the option of applying online for an eVisitor visa (subclass 651), instead of an ETA.
After you apply for an ETA
In a lot of cases, you will be informed of your result of immediately. Some applications may need extra processing times. If your ETA is approved, you will get confirmation for your records.
Wait for a decision
Please do not make travel arrangements to Australia until you are sure that you have been granted an ETA by Immigration.
How long does your Electronic Travel Authority last?
Your ETA is good for 12 months. You can come and stay in Australia for as long as three months at a time. If you want to stay in Australia for longer periods of time, you can apply for another visa, such as a Visitor visa (subclass 600). Remember, if your passport expires before your ETA, you will have to reapply for the ETA.
ONE derland Consulting has extensive experience dealing with different type of visas and complex cases, to find further information on your options and eligibility for an electronic Australian visitor visa to Australia please contact our office on (+61) 089477-5831 or email: [email protected]