Head to head · Checked 30 October 2026
601 Electronic Travel Authority vs 600 Visitor
If your passport is ETA-eligible and you want up to three months at a time with no convictions to declare, the ETA is faster, cheaper and granted in minutes. The Visitor visa 600 is for everyone else and for every longer or more complicated visit: a stay of up to twelve months, a sponsored family visit, a parent on a longer-validity visa, an applicant with a criminal record, a refused ETA, or an application from inside Australia. The 600 is assessed on documents and the genuine visitor test and takes weeks, and it is the visa that can carry condition 8503.
By Keshab Chapagain, registered migration agent (MARN 1576536) since 2015 · WIDEN, Sydney · Reviewed 30 October 2026
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 - Who
- ETA-eligible passport holders with nothing to declare · Any passport; the fallback for everyone else
- Stay
- Up to 3 months per visit · Up to 3, 6 or 12 months per visit as granted; longer validity for some parents
- Where you apply
- Outside Australia, by app · Outside or inside Australia
- Charge
- $20 service charge · $250 tourist or sponsored family stream from outside Australia; $630 from inside
The migration agent that other migration agents learn from. WIDEN is an OMARA-approved CPD provider — our training is rated ★4.8 by 40+ registered migration agents.
About the CPD →Side by side
| 601 Electronic Travel Authority | 600 Visitor | |
|---|---|---|
| Who | ETA-eligible passport holders with nothing to declare | Any passport; the fallback for everyone else |
| Stay | Up to 3 months per visit | Up to 3, 6 or 12 months per visit as granted; longer validity for some parents |
| Where you apply | Outside Australia, by app | Outside or inside Australia |
| Charge | $20 service charge | $250 tourist or sponsored family stream from outside Australia; $630 from inside |
| Assessment | Automated, minutes | Documents, funds, the genuine visitor test; weeks |
| Convictions | Must be declared and usually mean the 600 instead | Assessed on character with the record provided |
| Extending in Australia | Not possible; a 600 is applied for onshore | A further 600 onshore unless 8503 is imposed |
| Watch out | A refused ETA is a refusal to declare on every later application | Condition 8503 no further stay on some grants |
Charges are the current government application charges (from 1 July 2026, main applicant) — see the fee calculator for your family's total. Checked 30 October 2026.
The honest verdict
If your passport is ETA-eligible and you want up to three months at a time with no convictions to declare, the ETA is faster, cheaper and granted in minutes. The Visitor visa 600 is for everyone else and for every longer or more complicated visit: a stay of up to twelve months, a sponsored family visit, a parent on a longer-validity visa, an applicant with a criminal record, a refused ETA, or an application from inside Australia. The 600 is assessed on documents and the genuine visitor test and takes weeks, and it is the visa that can carry condition 8503.
Which side of that line you fall on depends on facts a table cannot hold — your age, score, occupation's lists, and what evidence you can actually assemble. That is consultation territory, not guesswork territory.
More head-to-heads: 482 vs 494 · 190 vs 491 · 189 vs 190 · 482 vs 186
General information only, not migration advice. Settings shown are the general rules; exemptions and stream variations exist. Migration advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) after a paid consultation under the Migration Agents Code of Conduct.
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Questions we get asked first
601 Electronic Travel Authority or 600 Visitor — which is better?
If your passport is ETA-eligible and you want up to three months at a time with no convictions to declare, the ETA is faster, cheaper and granted in minutes. The Visitor visa 600 is for everyone else and for every longer or more complicated visit: a stay of up to twelve months, a sponsored family visit, a parent on a longer-validity visa, an applicant with a criminal record, a refused ETA, or an application from inside Australia. The 600 is assessed on documents and the genuine visitor test and takes weeks, and it is the visa that can carry condition 8503.
What is the main difference between the 601 Electronic Travel Authority and the 600 Visitor?
Who: 601 Electronic Travel Authority — ETA-eligible passport holders with nothing to declare; 600 Visitor — Any passport; the fallback for everyone else. Stay: 601 Electronic Travel Authority — Up to 3 months per visit; 600 Visitor — Up to 3, 6 or 12 months per visit as granted; longer validity for some parents. Where you apply: 601 Electronic Travel Authority — Outside Australia, by app; 600 Visitor — Outside or inside Australia.
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