An Australia eVisitor is a legal authorization given to foreigners from eligible countries to travel to Australia for a holiday or to take up business trips that do not exceed 90 days at a time.
International travelers are required to apply for this visa from outside Australia before their journey. They can apply online through the official website of Australian immigration. Read on to know more about the Australia eVisitor visa.
Keep in mind the ETA for Australia is the easiest of visas to get, but its only eligible to certain nationalities.
What is the Australia eVisitor?
This is an Australian visa granted for citizens of select nations for visiting the country temporarily. The stay is limited to three months per visit.
The visa will be digitally linked to the passport and hence officials at the port of entry will not stamp or label the passport.
What Is It Used For?
Foreigners can enter the country as a tourist on an Australia eVisitor visa. They can explore various tourist destinations that the country is known for and take up training programs or a course of study for three months.
This is restricted to courses in sectors other than the healthcare industry.
To attend training in this industry, the applicants need to undergo extensive medical evaluation in hospitals approved by the Australian foreign affairs ministry and apply for an Australia visitor visa (subclass 600).
Also, if the main purpose of their visit is to study, they should opt for a student visa.
To enter Australia on a cruise, visitors need a visa and an Australia eVisitor grants the authorization required for entering through a seaport.
Travelers are advised to check with the tour operation whether the cruise is a round trip with multiple stops along the coast of Australia.
In such cases, the time spent on the cruise will also be considered as part of the legal stay period in the country. The total duration of such a round-trip cruise must not exceed 90 days.
Foreign businesspersons can visit the country for short-term using the eVisitor to Australia. They can attend meetings, business conferences and negotiations when they come on this visa. However, they cannot engage in activities that will earn them money. They cannot trade their products and services with Australians.
If they want to fund their trip by working in Australia, they can apply for a temporary working visa.
Who is Eligible for an Australia eVisitor?
International travelers who hold a legal passport issued by the following nations can get this temporary visa:
- 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
Note that foreigners who have non-citizen passports, identity certificates or any other authorized travel documents from the above nations cannot apply for the Australian eVisitor.
The same goes for travelers with a British Overseas Citizen passport and similar travel documents issued by the UK government.
What is Needed to Get This Visa?
To receive this visa, foreigners from entitled nations have to fulfill certain conditions.
Australian ETA VS eVisitor
Australia has two types of visa waiver for a few eligible foreign countries for short-term stay up to 90 days. The Australian electronic travel authority allows citizens of select nations to apply for a visa using the official mobile application. In most cases the visa will be delivered in a few hours.
The Australian eVisitor allows travelers from eligible countries to apply for a visa online using an ImmiAccount. This facility is mainly granted to nations in Europe.
The major difference between the two visa types is the countries that are eligible and processing fee.
Health Requirements
Applicants and their family members need to undergo health examinations in medical facilities approved by the Australian government.
The test results will be verified by a medical officer of the commonwealth and if they have any condition that threatens Australia’s public healthcare system, they may be denied their Australian visa.
Tourists are encouraged to have medical insurance before planning their trip as they will be solely liable for bearing the expenses of health emergencies during the stay.
Character Requirements
Foreigners with criminal convictions cannot visit the country with an Australia eVisitor visa.
They have to apply for an Australia visitor visa subclass 600. Such applicants have to submit police verification certificates from all the countries that they have been to.
Visitors arriving on an eVisitor visa will be refused entry at the airports or seaports in Australia if they are criminally inadmissible.
An Australian eVisitor visa is issued exclusively for short-term visits for tourism and commerce. Applicants should be genuine visitors and should leave Australia when the permitted visiting time comes to an end.
They are also required to comply with all the visa conditions.
They should also bear their travel, medical and accommodation expenses while in Australia as they are not allowed to work.
How to Apply?
Foreigners can apply for an Australian eVisitor online. They have to create an ImmiAccount in the official website of Australian immigration and fill out the online application form.
Be sincere while submitting identity and other information. If they provide wrong details or upload bogus documents, they will be denied a visa and will be banned from applying for an Australian visa for up to 10 years.
In most cases, the Australian immigration authorities inform the applicants the status of their application via the registered email address within 12 hours of the application. They can also check the status in their ImmiAccount.
Based on the type of visa or the country of their nationality, the applicants may be asked to give their biometric details.
For this, they have to physically visit the Australian biometrics collection center at the visa application center in their respective countries.
Once the visa is approved, the applicants will get an email with information about their visa like its number, the date from which it is valid and the conditions attached to it.
If the application is refused, the same will also be informed via their email.
In some cases, the applicants will be allowed to apply for a review of the decision. However, the final call will be made by the officials of Australian consulates.
Validity of An Australian eVisitor
The Australian government issues this visa for a period of 12 months. This is a temporary visa with multiple entries. Visa holders can visit the country many times and remain in the country for a maximum of three months at a time.
The visa cannot be extended and if its validity ends, travelers need to apply for a new visa from outside Australia. The validity of an eVisitor starts on the day it is issued.
The processing time for the visa is one day. However, in some cases it can go up to six days.
