This visa stream lets people who are sponsored, usually by a family member, come to Australia to visit their family members.
With this visa you can
- visit family or friends
- be here as a tourist, for a cruise or for any purpose except business or medical treatment
- You can study or train for up to 3 months in total on this visa. But if your main reason for travelling to Australia is study, a student visa might be more appropriate.
You can’t work.
Cruise
You will need a visa if you enter Australia during a cruise.
If your cruise is a round trip cruise, the time you spend on the cruise counts as time spent in Australia – that is, we do not consider you have left Australia. A round trip cruise will not reset your stay period on your visa.
Ask your cruise operator or travel agent if we consider your cruise to be a round trip cruise.
How long you can stay
This is a temporary visa.
We determine the length of your visa on a case by case basis. Things we might consider when determining your stay period include:
- how long you want to stay
- why you want to stay in Australia
You might not be granted the length of stay you want.
Generally we grant this visa with only one entry permitted. This means that after you leave Australia you need to apply for another visa before you can return.
Cost
The visa costs from AUD145 for each applicant.
You might also have to pay other costs for health checks, police certificates and biometrics.
Processing times
- 75% of applications in 35 days
- 90% of applications in 45 days
Your application might take longer to process if:
- you do not fill it in correctly
- you do not include all the documents we need or we need more information from you
- it takes us time to verify your information
Eligibility
- You must meet our health requirement.
- You must meet our character requirement.
- Have enough money: You must have, or have access to, enough money to support yourself while you are in Australia.
- Be a genuine visitor: You must intend to:
- stay only temporarily in Australia
- do only the things the visa allows you to do
- Be a genuine visitor
- Have a health insurance
- You must have a sponsor. Your sponsor can be either:
- a family member in Australia
- an Australian government official
What you can do on your visa
This visa lets you:
- cruise or have a holiday
- visit family or friends
- study or train for up to 3 months
Volunteer work tourism schemes
You can’t work in Australia on a Visitor visa, but you might be able to do volunteer work.