Visitor visas
Visitor Visas Australia
Three ways to visit Australia: the free eVisitor for eligible European passports, the ETA for several other nationalities, and the Subclass 600 for everyone else — including the longer-validity grants that let parents of Australians visit for extended periods. Every one of them turns on the same question: is the Department satisfied you are a genuine visitor?
Keshab Chapagain · MARN 1576536 · Registered since 2015 Not sure which applies?
Describe your situation and get told which pathway is realistic — free, no obligation.
Get a free assessmentThe visitor pathways
Visiting family — the long-stay question
If the real goal is more than a visit
Visitor refusals usually have no appeal. Most offshore visitor visa refusals carry no merits review right — the application has to be right the first time, and every refusal becomes part of the permanent record weighed against future applications of any kind. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed by any registered migration agent (s 15, Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021). WIDEN's role is migration advice — stream selection, genuine-visitor risk, and applications where the visit genuinely matters.
Which pathway fits?
- Eligible European passport, short visit — the eVisitor 651, free and online.
- Everyone else, or stays beyond 3 months — the Subclass 600, in the stream that matches the visit.
- Parents visiting for extended periods — longer-validity 600 grants, or the 870 for continuous multi-year stays.
- Previous refusal anywhere, or doubts about the genuine-visitor picture — treat the next application as the one that has to land; the record compounds.
A visit that has to go right?
Tell us who is visiting, from where, for how long, and any refusal history — a registered migration agent will tell you the right pathway and the genuine-visitor risks honestly. Free, no obligation.
Frequently asked questions
Which visitor visa do I actually need?
It depends on the passport and the visit. Eligible European passport holders use the free eVisitor (651); several other nationalities use the Electronic Travel Authority; everyone else — and anyone wanting stays beyond 3 months or with a complicated history — applies for the Subclass 600. When in doubt, the 600 is the pathway that takes a considered application rather than an automated decision.
How long can a visitor stay in Australia?
The 651 and ETA allow stays up to 3 months per visit. The Subclass 600 allows 3, 6 or 12 months per visit as granted, and parents of Australians can receive longer-validity multiple-entry grants — in some cases up to 5 years of validity — with conditions capping total time onshore within a rolling period.
Why do visitor visas get refused?
Almost always on the genuine visitor criterion — the officer is not satisfied the applicant will comply and depart. Weak home-country ties, thin funds, previous refusals or overstays, and visit stories that read like settlement plans are the recurring patterns. Most offshore visitor refusals have no merits review, so the fix is a materially stronger fresh application, not a re-run.
Can a visitor visa lead to staying in Australia?
Not by design — visitor visas are temporary and some carry condition 8503 blocking further onshore applications. Genuine plans sometimes change (a relationship, an opportunity), and onshore applications can be possible where conditions allow — but building a migration plan on arriving as a visitor invites refusals at both ends. If the real goal is study, work, partner or parent migration, start with that pathway instead.
General information only. Eligibility, stay settings and conditions change — verify current requirements at immi.homeaffairs.gov.au before relying on this page.
This page does not constitute migration advice (s 23, Migration (Migration Agents Code of Conduct) Regulations 2021). Migration advice is provided by Keshab Chapagain (MARN 1576536) only after a paid initial consultation under section 43 of the Code, with a written service agreement issued before further work commences (section 42). The OMARA Consumer Guide is provided to all clients before the consultation begins. Outcomes cannot be guaranteed by any registered migration agent (s 15). PI insurance held under the Migration Agents Regulations 2026. Complaints via our Complaints Policy or directly to OMARA.