Frequently Asked Questions
This set of Frequently Asked Questions is intended to answer common queries about immigration and travel to Australia. If your query is not answered by the information below, please look at our website, www.homeaffairs.gov.au for comprehensive information, or contact the Europe Service Centre to speak with an information officer.
It is possible to enter Australia on a one way ticket. Nevertheless, please note that you may be asked to clarify and may need to satisfy the Australian Immigration authorities on arrival that you do not intend to stay beyond the period which your visa allows and that you have sufficient funds to purchase a return ticket. Proof of funds can be demonstrated in the form of the most recent bank statement or any other proof demonstrating available funds.
If you hold a European passport, you may be eligible to apply online for an ETA or an eVisitor visa. Further information on these can be found at: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/601-- and http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/651--
If you wish to visit Australia for tourist purposes, including visiting family, you are currently residing in Denmark and you hold an alien passport, you may wish to consider lodging a paper-based Visitor visa (Subclass 600) application to our Berlin Office. Please find all the relevant information to apply for this visa through the following link: Visitor visa (Subclass 600): http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1/600--
For other visitor visa options, please see: www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1
If you wish to work in Australia you will need to apply for and meet the requirements for a visa with work rights.
There are a number of different temporary and permanent visa options that will allow you to work in Australia. Unless you are eligible to apply for a visa under the “Working Holiday scheme”, the working visas will require you to demonstrate you have skills that are of need to Australia and listed on an occupation list. To demonstrate this you will need to either be sponsored by an Australian employer or meet a points test, which awards points to the skills and attributes considered to be of need in Australia.
To help you identify a visa that suits your personal circumstances you may like to use our website and ‘Find a visa’ search tool. Please see: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa-1
Applications and documents submitted online can be confirmed and tracked from your ImmiAccount, available here: http://www.border.gov.au/immiaccount
If you wish to confirm receipt of applications or documents submitted by registered mail or courier, you should check with the provider to confirm delivery. If you have provided documents by email to the Department, then an automated message should confirm it has been received. Note that applications are not able to be submitted by email.
The Department does not provide additional confirmation of receipt of documents or enquiries.
Once you have submitted your online application, you can attach documents through ImmiAccount until the application has been finalised.
Please check the relevant document checklist for the subclass you are applying for to see which documents to attach to your application. These should be scanned colour copies.
For more detail about how to upload files to ImmiAccount, please click here.
There are limits on the number of files which can be uploaded for each application. However, you may incorporate multiple documents in each file to minimise the total number of files you upload. Please note that files must not exceed 5MB in size.
If you are experiencing technical issues with ImmiAccount, please first check the Frequently Asked Questions and Quick Reference Guides available on the Department’s website: www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi
If you still require technical support for account related issues only, send a description of your issue and screenshots using the ImmiAccount technical support form at http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Immi/immiaccount-technical-support-form Any general enquires will not be responded to through this service.
If you are experiencing technical problems in relation to lodging a citizenship application, send an email to the following mailbox with a description of your issue and screenshots: www.border.gov.au/forms/citz-elodgement-help. Any general enquires sent to this mailbox will not be answered.
ImmiAccount allows you to update contact details and passport information. This is the quickest and most effective way of ensuring your details are correct in Departmental systems. Below are easy, step-by-step instructions on how to do this.
How to update passport details
How to update address details
How to update email address
If you cannot make the changes on ImmiAccount, please click here.
You should not book flights or make travel commitments until you have a visa to travel to Australia. The Department will not be liable for any financial loss incurred by clients whose visa application was finalised later than expected or unsuccessful.
All travellers who are not Australian citizens need to obtain a valid visa or authority to enter Australia. This must be obtained before travelling to Australia. Special provisions apply to most New Zealand citizens, and to people eligible to transit Australia without a visa.
You may travel to Australia on a temporary visa while you are waiting for your permanent visa to be finalised. However, as with all visas, you must meet the criteria for that visa and ensure that your entry and stay in Australia comply with the relevant conditions of that visa. Further information on other visas to Australia can be found on our website: www.border.gov.au
Please note that if your travel to Australia results in you spending an accumulative period of 12 months or more in Australia in the last 10 years, you will need to provide an Australian Federal Police (AFP) check in order for your permanent visa to be granted. For further information, please see the following website: http://www.afp.gov.au/what-we-do/police-checks/national-police-checks.aspx
There is no requirement to have a return ticket when you arrive in Australia. However officers at the border need to be satisfied that visitors, working holiday maker and temporary residents are intending to and have the means to depart Australia before their visa expires. While not a mandatory requirement, you may wish to carry a copy of your bank statement to demonstrate you have sufficient funds to purchase an airline ticket to depart Australia.
Once you have submitted your online visa application, you can attach documents through ImmiAccount until the application has been finalised.
Please check the relevant document checklist for the subclass you are applying for to see which documents to attach to your application. These should be scanned colour copies.
Police clearances must be originals if sent by mail or a scanned colour copy if uploaded to ImmiAccount or sent by email. All other documents, such as identity documents, birth certificates, marriage certificates and death certificates and other supporting documents for your visa application can be copies. Please do not provide original documents unless specifically asked to do so by the Department.
Original documents in languages other than English must be accompanied by an English translation. The English translations must be appropriately endorsed translations. In Australia, translators must be accredited by the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. Their accreditation details must be recorded on the translation.
Translations provided by non-accredited translators outside Australia should be endorsed by the translator with their full name, address, telephone number, and details of their qualifications and experience in the language being translated.
Visa Entitlement Verification Online, also known as VEVO, is a secure and free web-based service available anywhere, whether inside or outside Australia, any time. VEVO allows you to check your visa details online and provides information about your visa conditions and entitlements.
It details:
• the visa class and subclass
• the visa grant and expiry dates
• the visa grant number
• must enter Australia before date
• the names of any dependants listed on the visa
• the number of entries allowed
• the period of stay
• all conditions applicable to your visa in plain English.
If you have been granted a visa go to http://www.border.gov.au/vevo and select ‘Check your own visa details with VEVO’. When you have read and accepted the terms and conditions, a login screen will be displayed.
Step 1
Enter one of the following:
• The transaction reference number (TRN – which was issued to you if you applied for your visa online)
• Visa grant number (which you can find on your visa grant notification)
• Visa evidence number (which you can find on your existing visa label)
Step 2
To finish logging in, you must provide all of the following in the second part of the login process:
• Date of birth
• The passport number you used in your visa application
• Country of passport
With your permission, employers, labour hire companies, roads and traffic authorities, education institutions, banks and organisations can check your visa entitlements online. Other government agencies, for example Medicare and Centrelink, can also check your visa entitlements. Organisations do not need to sight a visa label; they can check your visa status and entitlements online.
Using VEVO is a secure and effective method to confirm the current entitlements of your visa.
For more information, please visit: http://www.border.gov.au/vevo
You can check the progress of your application through ImmiAccount, available on this link: http://www.border.gov.au/immiaccount.
If processing of your application is within advertised services standards (see: How long will it take to process my application?) then the Department will not provide you with further information on its progress.
If processing of your application is outside of these advertised services standards and you have provided all necessary information in order to make a decision on your application, then you should contact the ESC as below.
If your query is not answered by the information above, you can visit the department’s website for detailed information on visa and citizenship products, available here: www.border.gov.au.
Alternatively, you can contact the Europe Service Centre either by phone or submitting a web enquiry form. Details on our operating hours, languages offered and how to contact us is available here: Europe Service Centre.
If you are travelling to another country via Australia, you may be required to obtain a Transit visa. The Transit visa (subclass 771) lets you transit through Australia for no longer than 72 hours. Certain passport holders may be eligible to transit through Australia without a visa (TWOV). For a list of eligible passports for a TWOV, please see: http://www.border.gov.au/Lega/Lega/Form/Immi-FAQs/do-i-need-a-visa-to-transit-through-australia
However, if your cruise is considered a ‘round trip cruise’, you will be treated as if you have not left Australia during the cruise. This means that the time you spend on the cruise will be counted as part of the time your visa allows you to stay in Australia on any given visit. In that case, you may need to apply for a visitor visa to cover the whole duration of your stay. Please liaise with your travel agent to check the type of cruise you intend to undertake.
For information about bringing medicine into and taking medicine out of Australia, please see: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Ente/Brin/Can-I-bring-it-back/Can-I-Bring-It-Back-Medicine
Please bear in mind that if you have health concerns, you may need to declare this when you apply for you visa. For information about the Health Requirement for Australian visas, please see: Health Requirement factsheet: http://www.border.gov.au/Trav/Visa/Heal
Applicants who are under 18 years of age who are applying for a visa and travelling with only one parent / legal guardian or without either of their parents/guardians must provide evidence that both their parents / legal guardians consent to their travel to Australia.
This consent is required to ensure that approval (grant) of a visa to a child who is under the age of 18 is not in contravention of Australia’s international obligations in relation to the prevention of child abduction.
If a child under the age of 18 has been approved (granted) an ETA or eVisitor visa it is assumed that consent to travel has been given by both parents. If the child will be travelling without one or both of their parents /legal guardians they should carry consent documents.
In addition to a valid passport, these documents can include:
- a completed parental consent form (Form 1229) signed by both parents / legal guardians OR a statutory declaration giving permission for the following child/children to visit/migrate to Australia from the non-migrating parent or any other non-migrating person who has the legal right to determine where the following child/children can live. The statutory declaration must also make it clear that the person witnessing the statement (i.e. solicitor, Justice of the Peace, Notary Public or Magistrate) has seen some form of photo identification of the person making the statement. The document must either be on the business letterhead paper of the witness, or provide their full contact details.
- Form 1229 - Consent to grant an Australian visa to a child under the age of 18 years is available from the department's website at: http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/1229.pdf
- A copy of the child's birth certificate The birth certificate must state the names of both birth parents. If your Birth Certificate is not in English, you should provide an English language translation which has been certified by a Public Notary or by an appropriate person who would normally be authorised to witness the signing of legal documents under the law of your country.
The Department recommends all clients to travel to Australia on a full validity passport. Nevertheless, if you hold an emergency passport and need to travel urgently to Australia, you may still be able to do it on an emergency passport.
Emergency passport holders are eligible to apply for the relevant Visitor visa option (e.g., Danish, Norwegian and Icelandic passport holders may be eligible to apply for eVisitor visas), as long as their passport allows them to travel to Australia (no travel limitations imposed on the passport) and the validity of the referred document covers their stay in Australia.
In case of permanent residents or longer stays in Australia, the client intending to travel imminently on an emergency passport may need to demonstrate/declare the intention and possibility to obtain a full validity passport as soon as entering Australia.
If you have changed your passport details, you will need to update the Department with your new details prior to travelling. Unless your passport was lost or stolen, please proceed to update your passport details through your ImmiAccount, in section “Update Us”.
If you are unable to use ImmiAccount, please note:
- If your visa was processed in Europe, please send your request to [email protected] for distribution to the appropriate area
- If your visa was processed in Australia, please send your request to the onshore Helpdesk/processing team where your last visa was processed
To lodge a complete request and avoid delays, please provide:
- a completed and signed copy of Form 929, available at: http://www.border.gov.au/Forms/Documents/929.pdf
- a coloured copy of your new passport bio-data page - a coloured copy of your old passport (if available)
- a coloured copy of any change of name or change of citizenship documents (if applicable)
- if the previous passport has been lost or stolen, please provide a description of the circumstances and a police report, if obtained
- if a short validity passport has been obtained instead of a full validity passport, an explanation as to why.
- intended travel date
Please note that you may not be notified of the update of your passport details. Please check VEVO/ImmiAccount to confirm the update. Once our systems are updated, your visa will be electronically linked to your new passport details and you will be able to travel to Australia.