Australian Visas, Immigration and Refugees

Tourists

Overview

For people to visit Australia for a holiday, sightseeing, social or recreational reasons, to visit relatives, friends or for other short-term non-work purposes.

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Visa Options

There are a number of visas available for people to visit Australia as a tourist.
 
For people visiting Australia for holidays, tourism, recreation or to see family and friends. If you are an Australian Citizen or have obtained Australian Citizenship by descent, you are not able to apply for, or be granted an Australian visa.

ETA (Visitor) (Subclass 976)

An electronically stored authority for short-term visits to Australia of up to 3 months. Available to passport holders from a number of countries and regions, who are outside Australia.

eVisitors (Subclass 651)

An electronically stored authority for visits to Australia for tourism or business purposes for up to three months. Available to passport holders from the European Union and a number of other European countries, who are outside Australia.

Tourist visa (Subclass 676)

A temporary visa allowing a stay in Australia of up to three or six or 12 months. Applicants can apply from both outside and in Australia. Some tourists are eligible to lodge an online application for an e676 Tourist visa.

Sponsored Family Visitor visa (Subclass 679)

For people seeking to visit family in Australia for a stay period of up to 12 months. Formal sponsorship by an Australian citizen or permanent resident is required.
ents about the tourist and visitor visas.
  

Extending Your Stay

To remain longer in Australia than your original visa allows, you are required to obtain another visa. If you want to remain in Australia for tourism or recreational purposes or to visit family or friends, you may apply for a Tourist visa.
Generally, as a holder of a Visitor visa or Working Holiday visa you can only extend your stay in Australia so that the total duration of your stay is 12 months or less, unless there are exceptional circumstances. If you hold a Visitor or Working Holiday visa which allows you to stay in Australia for 12 months, you should contact your nearest Australian visa office before applying for a Tourist visa.
You should also note that a further visa, if granted, will cease any visa or ETA currently held and the entitlements attached to that visa or ETA.
If you are refused a further visa, you must leave Australia before the expiry of your original visa. Click here for more information

Australian Student Visa : Who is this visa for?

About this Visa

International students studying in Australia on a student visa may require a guardian if they are under 18 years of age. There may also be exceptional circumstances where a student over 18 years of age may need a guardian for religious or cultural reasons.

The Student Guardian visa is for foreign nationals applying to stay in Australia as the guardian of a student who is studying in Australia.

You will need to read this information if you are:

• applying for your first student guardian visa to Australia
• already in Australia on a student guardian visa and want a subsequent visa.

In most circumstances, if you have a child under six, you will not be eligible for the grant of a Student Guardian visa.

In very limited circumstances, where you have a child under 6 who holds a passport of a country that is subject to Assessment Level 1 or 2 under the Schools Sector (subclass 571) student visa and you present compelling and compassionate circumstances as to why you should be granted a Student Guardian visa and you meet all other requirements, you may be eligible for a Student Guardian visa. further more click here

What does the visa let me do?

If you are granted this visa, you can:

• live in Australia for the same length of time as the student for whom you are guardian, or until the student turns 18 years of age
• bring dependent children with you to Australia, but only if they are under six years of age and meet specific eligibility requirements
• study in Australia for up to three months. If you lodged your application on or after 24 March 2012, you have unlimited part-time study rights for English Language Intensive Courses for Overseas Students (ELICOS) study only, (this means that you may study any ELICOS courses less than 20 hours per week for the duration of your visa).

For more information please visit : Future Concern

Student Visa Processing Times

The table below details the processing time service standards for visas for studying in Australia.
Note: We aim to process applications within these service standards, however, actual processing times may vary depending on a range of factors.

Visa application	Lodged in Australia		Lodged outside Australia
Assessment Level	Level 1 or 2	Level 3 or 4	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3 or 4
Students (subclass 570, 571, 572, 573, 574, 575, 576, 580) Note: Student Guardian visa processing times are based on the Assessment Level of the nominating student.	14 days	1 month	14 days	21 days	3 months
Students: permission to work	7 days	7 days	n/a

Assessment Levels: Student visa Assessment Levels are determined by the passport you hold and the visa subclass you are applying for.

Streamlined visa processing

Streamlined visa processing commenced on 24 March 2012. Processing time information is currently being developed and will be available shortly.

For more Information please visit Future Concern

Skilled Migration Visa Processing Times

Skilled Migration

The department also publishes information listing the lodgement dates of applications that have been or will soon be allocated to case officers.

Processing priority groups and order of processing

Priority processing arrangements apply to skilled migration applications. They determine the order in which the department considers applications. Applications accorded a higher priority under the arrangements will be processed ahead of lower priority applications, regardless of when the application is lodged.

The following table details processing priorities for skilled migration applications.
Note: The highest priority is listed first. SkillSelect applications (187, 186, 190 and 489) will be the highest priority in each group.

Priority Group Number	Application Type
1	Applications under the Regional Sponsored Migration Scheme (RSMS).
2	Applications under the Employer Nomination Scheme (ENS).
3	Nominated by a state or territory government agency for an occupation specified on that agency’s State Migration Plan (SMP). Order of processing will be: applications lodged from 1 July 2012 through SkillSelect (subclass 190 and 489 applications) applications in this priority for other General Skilled Migration (GSM) subclasses (subclass 176, 475, 487 and 886 applications).
4	Applications with nominated occupations on the Skilled Occupation List Schedule 1. Order of processing will be: applications lodged from 1 July 2012 through SkillSelect (subclass 189 and 489 applications) applications within this priority for other GSM subclasses (subclass 175, 176, 475, 487, 885 and 886 applications).
5	All other applications, which include the following Note: These subclasses are not listed in order of processing: applications for a State or Territory Sponsored visa (subclass 176, 475, 487 and 886 applications) where a state or territory approved nomination has either not been provided or has not been accepted by the department applications for a Skilled Independent visa (subclass 175 and 885 applications) where the nominated occupation is not on the SOL applications for a family sponsored skilled migration visa (subclass 176, 475, 487, 496 and 886 applications) where the nominated occupation is not on the SOL.

Processing times – skilled migration applications affected by processing priorities

The below table describes the processing times for skilled migration visa subclasses.

Priority Group Number	Visa Subclass	Processing Time
1	RSMS (subclass 119, 857) Skilled Regional	Low risk – 5 months High risk – 8 months
	SkillSelect (subclass 187)	6 months
2	ENS (subclass 121, 856)	Low risk – 5 months High risk – 8 months
	SkillSelect (subclass 186)	6 months
3	SMP (subclass 176, 475, 487, 886)	12 months
	SkillSelect SMP (subclass 190 and 489)	6 months
4	Nominated Occupation on the SOL – Schedule 1 (subclass 175, 495, 496, 861, 862, 863, 880, 881, 882, 883, 885 and 176, 475, 487 if not SMP)	18 months
	SkillSelect Independent and Family Sponsored (subclass 189 and 489)	12 months
5	All visas listed in priority 3 and 4 that are not SMP or Nominated Occupation on the SOL – Schedule 1	Assessment will commence when all cases in priority groups 1-4 are finalised

Processing times – skilled migration applications exempt from processing priorities

The following visa subclasses are exempt from priority processing. These subclasses are processed in the order in which they are received.

Visa Subclass	Processing Time
476	7 months
485	12 months
489 Subsequent entrant/ Renewal	6 months
887	6 months
120, 855	Low risk – 5 months High risk – 8 months

Definition – low/high risk

The terms 'Low risk' and 'High risk' show whether passport holders are eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA). Low risk applies to nationals from countries which issue ETA eligible passports. A list of these can be found on the department's website. High risk countries are those which are not ETA eligible. 

More information on worker category visas is available.

More information visit Future Concern .

Planning to apply for an Australian visa online?

The Australian visa application is a precise and meticulous process that entails time, patience and understanding. It can also bring out confusion, time-wasting, frustration and can be costly for applicants especially those who are not confident to tackle the complexities of the visa application process.

Now, the Australian immigration policies, regulations and guidelines in all its technicalities are basically very strict and specific, causing visa applicants who are unaware of all of the conditions to easily lodge an invalid application.

Consultant for Australia

Along with it continuing to become more extremely complex and continually changing, becoming much stricter, making migrating to Australia a much more complicated and complex process, it has now become increasingly more difficult for applicants to prepare and lodge an informed Australia visa application.

Therefore, there is now a need for applicants to be well-versed in these complexities of the Australian immigration laws and Australian visa requirements if you want to have a high chance of getting a successful visa approval.

Fortunately, if you do not feel confident in lodging a visa application, or if you do not have the time, resources or expertise to prepare and lodge a visa application by yourself, or if your case is complex, the Department of Immigration and Citizenship (DIAC) does allow and recommend you to engage a registered migration agent to assist with your visa application and help you in your dealings with the department.

A registered migration agent is regulated by a governing authority called who ensures that only suitable persons are registered as migration agents, and these registered agents maintain appropriate knowledge to enable them to provide accurate immigration advice to their clients.

In applying for a visa, you potentially have only one chance at success as well as at disappointment, time wasting, and the expensive costs of the visa application. It is imperative for you to really ensure that you firstly apply for the right visa, and secondly, use the most appropriate approach, guaranteeing you with a high chance of a successful visa grant. This can be done by engaging the services of a reputable registered migration agent.

Such reputable registered migration agents have a good knowledge of migration laws, its complexities and the criteria applicable to presenting a valid and accurate immigration application. They also know how to best compile, prepare and present your case to the department of immigration; thus, ensuring the best approach was used in gaining a successful visa grant.

Future Concern can also give you advice on the most appropriate visa for you, ensuring that you apply for the most appropriate visa, as visa applicants are not always aware of the most suitable visa for their circumstances because of the numerous visa subclasses and the ever-changing immigration laws.

They will also ensure that you have stated the correct information on the many application forms as well have presented the correct supporting evidence and submit a substantial submission with your application, making sure that every single aspect of the applicable law, regulations and procedures in relation to your case and the supporting evidence you supplied are addressed and accounted for as incomplete or inaccurate visa applications will lead to time delays and may possibly require re-application which is especially critical given that the government will not refund application fees.

With these situations in mind, if you’re planning to engage the services of a registered Future Concern, National Visas, Australia’s top leading world-class online Australian immigration expert, does have a team of Australia’s most experienced registered migration agents.

With their high level of experience and specific knowledge of the all the complexities of the immigration process, National Visas registered migration agents can well represent you through the entire potentially challenging, stressful and lengthy Australian immigration process, easily tailoring your visa applications to suit your individual visa requirements and situation and reducing your exposure to such confusing and stressful elements of the visa application process, making your visa application easier and hassle-free.

For more information click here