Visa requirements for entering australia

Visas!

The first step is deciding what type of trip you’re looking to go on, whether that involves working and travelling or just a holiday. Deciding this will give you a rough idea of which visa will best suit your travels, how long you’ll want to visit for and what time of year to go, as this can be crucial to both your route and budget plan.

If you are not already an Australian citizen and carry an overseas passport you will require a valid visa in order to enter the country.

What type of visas are there for australia?

It is important with all visa applications to check the government website for information on whether you’ll be eligible for your preferred visa.

There are various visa options/visa streams available depending on factors such as the country you are arriving from, your length of stay and reason for coming to Australia, whether your trip is for study, work or leisure.

Just a few of the different visa types are listed below.

• Work and holiday visas

• Visitor visas

• Student and training visas

• Work and skilled visas

• Family and Partner visas

Before you depart for your travels ensure to allow enough time for processing of your visa. You are able to get a rough indication of processing times for different visas based off recently approved applications through the Visa Processing Times page on the Australian Government Department of Home Affairs website. Ensure that all required documents and details are provided otherwise this could delay the approval for your visa. It is recommended to start your application a minimum of one month before departure as visa approval can usually take around 4 weeks.

It is vital to check the most up-to-date information of each visa, the requirements, eligibility and the application process on the official Australian Department of Home Affairs website.

Visitor Visas

The tourist visa stream (visitor visa subclass 600) requires you to apply outside of Australia and allows you to visit the country as a tourist for up to 12 months, with the cost of the visa being $190. However, the eVisitor (subclass 651) visa is free and allows you to visit Australia as many times as you like within a 12 month period; you’re able to stay up to 3 months each time you visit.

Student and Training Visas

There are three subclasses of student visas available;

• Student Visa (subclass 500): This visa allows you to stay for up to 5 years whilst participating in an eligible course of study as well as working up to 48 hours a fortnight alongside your study. The student is required to hold Overseas Student Health Cover unless exempt, in addition to this they need to be formally enrolled in a course of study within Australia. This visa can cost from $710AUD.

• Student Guardian Visa (subclass 590): Allows a student’s parent, guardian or relative that is over the age of 21 to hold a temporary visa lasting the length of the student’s stay. Requirements for this particular visa include the student being under the age of 18 unless there are exceptional circumstances and being able to provide support such as accommodation and welfare. The price of this visa starts at $710AUD.

• Training Visa (subclass 407): Is a temporary visa, allowing an overseas induvidual to complete workplace-based training or a professional development training programme in Australia for up to 2 years. In order to be approved for this particular visa you’re required to be sponsored, nominated and invited (unless your sponsor is a Commonwealth Government agency). This visa can cost from $405AUD for the main applicant.

Work and Skilled Visa

In order to fill Australia’s skilled shortages, the work and skilled visas are designed for those seeking permanent migration to Australia. These visas are assessed based on points and are either sponsored by State/Territory, independently or family-sponsored.

Family and Partner visas

The family and partner visa aims to enable the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen, permanent resident or eligible New Zealand citizen to live temporarily in Australia and is the first step towards receiving a permanent partner visa.

What Visa Do I get For working and travelling in Australia?

If you’re looking to travel and work during your time in Australia, you’ll need to apply for a working holiday visa - there are two types of working holiday visas, depending on which country you’re coming from (subclass 417 and subclass 472). If certain requirements are met, the working holiday visas can be extended to a second and third year, but may require specified work, both of which are different depending on the subclass and the country you’re from.

Working holiday visa subclass 417 does not require any educational qualifications, you must be between the ages of 18 - 35 and is only available to individuals from:

• Belgium

• Canada

• Cyprus

• Denmark

• Estonia

• Finland

• France

• Germany

• Hong Kong

• Republic of Ireland

• Italy

• Japan

• Republic of Korea

• Malta

• Netherlands

• Norway

• Sweden

• Taiwan

• United Kingdom

Working holiday visa subclass 462 is only available if you meet the correct educational requirements (completed tertiary education or two years of undergraduate university study), between the ages of 18 - 30 and are from:

• Argentina

• Austria

• Chile

• China

• Ecuador

• People’s Republic of

• Czech Republic

• Hungary

• Indonesia

• Israel

• Luxembourg

• Malaysia

• Peru

• Poland

• Portugal

• San Marino

• Singapore

• Slovak Republic

• Slovenia

• Spain

• Thailand

• Turkey

• USA

• Uruguay

• Vietnam

For the subclass 462 visa it is required to provide a letter of support from your government of origin (unless you’re from the US), proof of the completed education required as well as evidence you have functional english.

In order to be approved for the working holiday visas, you will have to prove that you are able to support yourself whilst travelling and have at least $5000AUD in your account. Whilst this proof of funds is required for your approval, it is also a good insurance for yourself to start off with and act as backup funds to fall back on if needed.

Do i need to complete farm work to extend my visa in australia?

Previously the working holiday visa to enter Australia was only available to people between the ages of 18-30, however as of 1st July 2023, the age bracket has been widened to 18-35 years of age for UK residents on the working holiday visa subclass 417.

In order to extend the working holiday visas to a second and third year, you are required to carry out specified work for a length of time. However, as of 1st July 2024, any UK citizens on the working holiday visa are no longer required to complete farm work for their application of a second and third year.

These agreements were put in place in order to encourage more British citizens to come over to Australia on these working holiday visas post COVID-19.

What counts as my farm work in australia?

For those that hold the working holiday (subclass 417) visa and work and holiday (subclass 462) visa, each valid for one year, you must undertake 3 months or 88 days or specified work during your initial visa year in order to be accepted for an extension to a second year visa.

If you are completing your second year and wish to extend to a third, you are required to have carried out at least 6 months, or 179 days, of specified work during your second year. Whilst farm work is widely recognised as a typical type of required work for visa extension in Australia, it is important to note that there are plenty of other options available. The following industries are recognised as ‘specified’ work and will allow you to apply for a second or third year;

• Tourism and hospitality in Northern or remote Australia

• Plant and animal cultivation in regional Australia

• Fishing and pearling in regional Australia

• Tree farming and felling in Regional Australia

• Mining in regional Australia

• Construction in regional Australia

• Bushfire recovery work in declared bushfire affect areas carried out after 31 July 2019

• Recovery work in natural disaster affected areas carried out after 31 December 2021

• Critical COVID-19 work in the healthcare and medical sectors anywhere in Australia, after 31 January 2020

Both the 88 days and 179 days of work include weekends/equivalent rest days during your employment. In order for your specified work to be approved you must complete the same number of shift as a full-time employee in that particular role. It isn’t essential to stay with just one employer for the duration of your employment, in addition to this, you don’t have to complete it all in one go. Some travellers tend to spread it across the period of their current visa.

There are a number of ways you can spread your shifts, this includes pipework rate agreements (work that is paid based by the piece rather than hourly);

• Working 5 days a week continuously over the span of the 3 or 6 months required

• Working less than 5 days a week over a period longer than the 3 or 6 months required

• Working a number of short periods which add up to the equivalent of 5 days a week spanned over the 3 or 6 months required

Find the most up to date information on the Working Holiday Maker Program page of the Australian Government website.

Before accepting a job, it is important to discuss both wages and living conditions with your employer to make sure you don’t come across any surprises when you start work. You are able to read about worker’s right on the Australian Government Fair Work website.

How do i find specified work to extend my visa in Australia?

There are multiple ways of searching for specified work. Harvest Trail is a popular search engine for farm jobs which provides an interactive map where you can filter through location, crop and seek work based on different seasons. Both Seek and Backpacker Job Board are good platforms for finding jobs however, not all advertisements on these sites are specified work so make sure to double check whether they fall under the required work that will count towards your 88 or 179 days.

How much will i get paid?

Your wage will depend on what job you have, whether you’re working on a pipework rate agreement and on your employer. The national minimum wage is $23.23 AUD per hour. Casual workers who are covered by the national minimum wage also receive a minimum of roughly 25% casual loading added to their wage. This is a scheme that allows casual employees to receive an increased pay rate to account for the absence of certain paid benefits that permanent employees receive, such as annual or personal leave.