An Australian tourist visa (more correctly known as a visitor visa) is for people who wish to visit for a vacation, recreation, social event, to visit some friends, relatives or for different non-work related purposes. All visitors who want to visit Australia must have one of three types of visitor visa.

If you want to stay in Australia longer than the visa permits you, you must apply for another visa.

Types of visitor visa

Type 1 – The Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) (601 visa)

To be eligible for this visa, you must be outside Australia and you must hold a valid passport from any of the countries listed below. Once granted, you can visit Australia as many times as you want for up to 1 year. Each time you visit, you will be able to normally stay in Australia for up to 3 months. If you want to stay for more than 3 months, you must apply for another visitor visa.

ETA eligible passports

ETA eligible passports are issued by the following 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 (Overseas)
United States
Vatican City.

Type 2 – The e-Visitor Visa (651 visa)

The e-Visitor Visa is electronic visa that is linked to your passport and gives you authority to travel to Australia, which can be applied for online. If you have a new passport, and your visa is on the old one, you must contact the department visa office about the new passport before travelling to Australia, as you may have problems on arrival to Australia. For every family member that travels with you, a separate e-Visitor visa is required.

e-Visitor can only be granted outside of Australia, and it can’t be extended to permit a longer stay in Australia.

In order to apply for an e-Visitor visa, you must be holder of a passport from an eligible country.

e-Visitor-eligible passports

e-Visitor-eligible passports are citizen passports issued by the following countries:

Andorra
Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Republic of San Marino
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom – British Citizen
Vatican City.

Type 3 – The Visitor Visa (600 visa)

If you do not hold a passport from one of the countries covered by the 601 or 651 visas, you can still visit Australia on the Visitor Visa (600 Visa). To be eligible, you must satisfy the requirements of the specific visitor stream that applies to your situation. This is determined by the purpose of your visit to Australia and include the Tourist Stream, Business Visitor Stream, Sponsored Family Stream and Approved Destination Status Stream.

This visa will allow you to stay in Australia for up to 3, 6 or 12 months depending on your application. When the visa is granted, you will also be told how many times you can enter Australia and if you can travel in and out of the country during the visa period.