Visitor/Tourist Visa
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Visitor/Tourist Visa
The purpose of the visitor visa (SC600) is to allow people to travel to Australia for tourism or business purposes, or to visit family, on a temporary basis. The minimum requirements for the Tourist stream of this visa are set out below:
TOURIST STREAM
For people travelling to Australia for a holiday or to visit family or friends.
As the visa applicant, you must:
- Genuinely intend to visit Australia for a holiday, to see family and/or friends, or for other purposes that are not related to business/work or medical treatment
- Have access to sufficient funds to cover your costs whilst you are in Australia
BUSINESS VISITOR STREAM
For people travelling to Australia for short-term business purposes, such as a conference, negotiation or meeting.
As the visa applicant, you must:
- Genuinely intend to visit Australia for an eligible business activity e.g. attending a conference or seminar, participating in a negotiation or exploring a business opportunity
- Have personal attributes and a business background that are relevant to your business activities in Australia
- Have access to sufficient funds to cover your costs whilst you are in Australia
SPONSORED FAMILY STREAM
Applicant Requirements
As the visa applicant, you must:- Be sponsored by an eligible relative in Australia (see below)
- Genuinely intend to visit family in Australia
- Have access to sufficient funds to cover your costs whilst you are in Australia
- Meet the relevant health and character criteria (this could include a requirement to obtain health insurance for the period of your stay in Australia)
Sponsor Requirements
The person sponsoring your visit to Australia must:- Be an Australian citizen or permanent resident
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have been settled in Australia for a reasonable length of time (usually at least 2 years)
- Be a close family member i.e. a spouse/de facto partner, or a parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew (or any of the ‘step’ or adopted equivalents of those relations)
- NOT be the sponsor of another visitor whose visa is still valid (unless that person is a member of your family, and you have the same reason for travelling to Australia), and NOT have within the last 5 years sponsored a visitor who breached his/her visa conditions.
Note :
In certain cases, an application for this visa MAY instead be sponsored by a Member of Parliament, or an authorised person representing a government department or instrumentality, or a local government mayor.PERMISSIBLE ACTIVITIES ON VISITOR VISAS
In Visitor visa you can travel or visit family or friends in Australia or enjoy holidays in Australia.
As it is a visitor’s visa / Tourist visa there are no work rights in this visa.
SECURITY BOND
IF REQUIRED, your sponsor must also pay a security bond (usually between A$5000 and A$15,000). This will be refunded to your sponsor provided you comply with your visa conditions and leave Australia before your visa expires.Features of the Visitor visa (subclass 600)
This visa lets you visit Australia:
- To visit or for business visitor purposes
- For up to three, six or 12 months.
The base application charge for this visa ranges from AUD190 (offshore) to AUD475 (onshore).
If you hold a certain passport, you might be able to apply for a free or cheaper visa.
The eVisitor (subclass 651) visa is free. You must be a passport holder of a certain country.
The Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) visa has an AUD20 service charge. You must be a passport holder of a certain country.
Requirements
You might be able to get this visa if you are travelling to Australia:- As a visitor
- For business visitor activities
- To visit family
- On a tour with a registered travel agent from the People’s Republic of China.
If you are in Australia you can apply for the Tourist stream of the Visitor visa online provided you currently have a valid visa that does not have condition 8503 imposed.
If you are outside Australia only certain passport holders can apply for this visa online.
If you cannot apply online, you can lodge a paper application.
What this visa lets you do
- You might be allowed to enter only once. If so, you will need to apply for a new visa if you want to return to Australia again after you leave.
- You might be able to travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while your visa is valid, but the total time you spend in Australia cannot be more than the period of stay that you have been granted.
Visa conditions
No further stay condition (includes 8503, 8534 and 8535)
If you hold a visa with condition 8503, 8534 or 8535 and have not been able to depart Australia as planned, you can request to waive this condition if your visa will expire in less than 4 weeks.
Condition 8531 (must not remain in Australia beyond the period of stay permitted by the visa)
If you hold a visa with condition 8531 and have not been able to depart Australia as planned, you should apply for a further visa before your current visa expires. If you apply for a new visa you may be eligible to be granted a bridging visa that will keep you lawful in Australia until a decision is made on your visa application.
Condition 8558 (must not stay in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18 month period)
If you hold a visa with condition 8558 and have not been able to depart Australia as planned, you should apply for a further visa before your current visa expires. If you apply for a new visa you may be eligible to be granted a bridging visa that will keep you lawful in Australia until a decision is made on your visa application.
INVITATION LETTER FOR TOURIST VISA
If you intend to invite someone for a visit to Australia, you may write a letter explaining your and the applicant(s) situation. Your letter must include the following information about the person being invited (applicant):
- Complete name.
- Date of birth.
- The applicant’s address and telephone number.
- Your relationship to the applicant being invited (friend, sister, brother, parent, niece, uncle, etc).
- The purpose of the trip (vacation, business visitor, seminar, event).
- How long the visa applicant you are inviting intends to stay in Australia (number of days, weeks).
- Details on accommodation and living expenses (if they will be staying with you or at a hotel, etc).
- The date the person/applicant you are inviting intends to leave Australia.
To find out whether you qualify for a visitor visa, get in touch with our Visitor visa Expert by booking appointment.