Visitor visa 600 or ETA: who needs which, and stay limits

Which applies: ETA, eVisitor or Visitor visa 600?

An Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) can only be granted to an applicant who holds an ETA-eligible passport. In the instrument in force since 2022-02-20, passports from 33 countries or jurisdictions qualify, including South Korea, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada, the UK (British Citizen or British National (Overseas)) and the USA.

An eVisitor (subclass 651) is open to eVisitor eligible passports: 36 mainly European countries or jurisdictions under the instrument in force since 2023-09-19. For the UK only British Citizen passports count.

A person with a criminal conviction in any country is told to apply for a subclass 600 visa instead of an ETA or an eVisitor, and may be refused entry if they arrive on an eVisitor with a conviction.

ETA: how long, how much and what limits apply?

An ETA lets the holder enter Australia any number of times while it is valid, which is the shorter of 12 months from the grant date and the life of the passport. After each entry the holder may stay 3 months. It cannot be extended, and staying on after it ceases makes the person an unlawful non-citizen.

As of 2026-10-12 there is no visa application charge for an ETA; the only cost is an application service fee of AUD 20 for using the Australian ETA app.

The ETA is tied electronically to the passport used to apply; if that passport expires or is replaced, the ETA ceases and a new ETA must be applied for. Family members cannot be added: everyone, including anyone listed on a passport, needs a separate application.

Visitor visa 600: streams, purpose and stay

The Visitor visa (subclass 600) has 5 streams: Tourist, Sponsored Family, Business Visitor, Approved Destination Status and Frequent Traveller. Every applicant must genuinely intend to stay only temporarily and must have, or have access to, adequate means of supporting themselves during the stay.

The Tourist stream covers a visit to a parent, spouse, de facto partner, child or sibling who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, or any other purpose not related to business or medical treatment. It usually gives a 3-month stay, though up to 12 months may be granted in some circumstances, decided case by case.

Condition 8558, which may be imposed on Tourist stream visas, bars the holder from staying in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18-month period.

Can a visitor work or study?

Home Affairs says the ETA is not a work visa: business visitor activities are allowed but paid work for an Australian employer is not, and working on an ETA can lead to cancellation and refused entry. The Tourist stream of the Visitor visa normally carries condition 8101, which prohibits working.

A business visitor activity means making a general business or employment enquiry, dealing with a business contract, an official government-to-government visit, or attending a conference, trade fair or seminar without being paid by the organiser. Work for or services to an Australia-based organisation, and selling directly to the public, are not included.

An ETA or eVisitor holder can study or train for up to 3 months in total, as can a Tourist stream visitor. Home Affairs says anyone who wants to train at a childcare centre, study medicine, dentistry, nursing or paramedicine, or enter health care or hospital settings should apply for a subclass 600 visa and complete the relevant health checks.

What does the Visitor visa 600 cost?

As of 2026-10-02 the Visitor visa base application charge outside the Frequent Traveller stream is AUD 250 for an applicant outside Australia and AUD 630 for an applicant applying from inside Australia, unless a nil-charge exemption applies. That is for applicants without a Pacific-regional passport; for Pacific-regional passport holders the amounts are AUD 205 and AUD 515.

A Visitor 600 applicant who is outside Australia when applying must still be outside Australia when the visa is granted. An eVisitor costs nothing: its visa application charge is nil.

Who does not need a visa before travelling?

New Zealand citizens with a valid New Zealand passport do not need to apply for a visa before travelling. They apply for the Special Category visa (subclass 444) when they enter Australia and are granted it if they meet the criteria. The visa ceases when the holder leaves Australia, so a new application is made at each entry.

APEC Business Travel Card holders may not need a visa: a card with AUS on its back allows short business or tourism visits while the card is valid, and an ABTC is valid for 5 years from issue.

A person who holds an ETA-eligible passport but is also an Australian citizen cannot apply for an ETA, because citizens have an automatic right of entry and need no visa.