Australia, situated far away from other continents, is a mysterious place. For many, the country is a whole different place as most of the things in Australia are unique to the continent only. Most parts of Australia's natural beauty manage to remain untouched, waiting for people to discover. Indeed, many visit Australia for its vast nature. It is home to the world's largest coral reef, the Great barrier reef, which is a large underwater structure composed of the skeletons of colonial marine invertebrates. In this reef, an abundance of marine life amazes everyone who visits. We have not mentioned the picturesque places in this reef yet. You can be hundred percent sure that here you will take the best photos of your lives. Are you not interested yet? How about perfect beaches stretching more than 36000 kilometers? Add to all 365 days long summerlike weather, which is amazing for the people seeking a place for summer vacation. If you think Australia is only great for beaches, weather, ocean, then you are badly mistaken. Australia is rich in culture too. Even though Aboriginal Australians only take up 3% of the population, their culture is heavily rooted in modern Australians lifestyles. Cultural sites of Aboriginal Australians are worth visiting. Amazingly, they have been in these lands for around 50000 years, long before the first settlers from Europe came to Australia. Reasons to visit Australia is a vast topic, and there are great articles you can find on our website in the "Blogs" section. However, for this article, we will look at Australia tourist visa. We will try to elaborate on Australia tourist visa requirements, Australia tourist visa fees, Australia tourist visa processing time, Australia tourist visa application and answer the questions like how much is a tourist visa to Australia? How to get a tourist visa to Australia? To start, we will look at the visa policy of Australia first.
Australia's visa policy
Based on Australia's relations with other countries, its visa policy can change. With respect to Australia's visa policy, we can put countries into different categories. Nationals of some countries are entitled to benefit online processing of visas. They are Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Cyprus, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Vatican City. Australia does not issue visa-free entrance, and only New Zealand nationals can acquire a visa on arrival. Citizens of the rest of the world countries are obliged to get visas traditionally, meaning that they have to attend embassies or consular of Australia. You might be wondering about what types of visas do Australia grants? The answer is dozens. Types are many depending on the purposes of the travels. However, we can sum up all the visas in 5 groups namely Visitor visas, Studying and training visas, Family and partner visas, Working and skilled visas, Medical treatment visas. What we are interested in for today's article is in the group of visitor visas. Anyone who intends to acquire Australia tourist visa should do their research on Australia tourist visa checklist, tourist visa Australia cost, Australia tourist visa processing time, etc.
Australia visitor visas
There are few types of tourist visas for Australia. You can apply for tourist visas online or through the embassies of Australia. However, only eligible people can apply online for tourist visas. The first type that we will talk about is Australia Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601), a temporary visa, given for a maximum of 12 months. One of the main requirements for this visa is that the applicant should be in good health. You can benefit from a multiple-entry tourist visa in Australia and stay in Australia for 3 months for each entry. The main restriction for Electronic Travel Authority is that only citizens of a limited number of countries, namely Brunei, Canada, Hong Kong (SAR of China), Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, United States, are entitled to apply for the visa. What about Australia tourist visa checklist? Required documents are given below:
• Australia tourist visa application form
• Original passport which should remain valid 6 months after leaving Australia. It should bear the signature of the holder. Passport should not be older than 10 years. Passport should have minimum of 1 or 2 free pages.
• Duplicate of the passport's main page
• Health insurance covering the possible expenses during the days spend in Australia
• Additional documents that show the purpose and nature of the travel
Australia tourist visa processing time for the electronic travel authority is around 12-78 hours. Tourist visa Australia cost is around 16 USD.
The second type is Australia eVisitor (subclass 651) which is also designed for temporary travels. Multiple entry tourist visa Australia is given. You can enter the country multiple times and stay in Australia for 3 months for each entry. However, the same restriction remains for eVisitor as only nationals of countries that are eligible for eVisa can apply. Australia tourist visa requirements are given below:
• Australia tourist visa application form
• Original passport which should remain valid 6 months after leaving Australia. It should bear the signature of the holder. Passport should not be older than 10 years. Passport should have minimum 1 or 2 free pages.
• Duplicate of the passport's main page
• Health insurance covering the possible expenses during the days spend in Australia
• Documents proving that the applicant is capable of financing the trip and cover the expenses
• Additional documents that show the purpose and nature of the travel
Visa processing time can vary from 3 to 5 days. One advantage of the visa is that you will not be charged any fee.
Last but not least is the Visitor visa, one of the most applied as it can be granted through consulates of Australia. The main three purposes of choosing this type are Tourist visitor, Business visitor, Sponsored family visa. Multiple entries can be granted, and travelers can remain in Australia 3 months per entry up to 12 months in total. Required documents are given below:
• The application form should be completed under the given requirements. It should be completed in English and bear the signature of the applicant. The date of the application should be indicated as well.
• Original passport which should remain valid 6 months after leaving Australia. It should bear the signature of the holder. Passport should not be older than 10 years. Passport should have a minimum of 2 free pages.
• Photo. Should be JPG or PNG. The size of the photo should be a minimum of 10 KB and a maximum of 1 MB. The height of the should be the same as the with of the photo. A whole face without any obstacles or accessories such as glasses should be seen clearly. The background should be light-colored or preferably white. There should be no shadows neither in the background nor on the face. Photo should not have borders. Facial features should be clear. The nominal size should be 45mm x 35mm.
• The national ID card of the applicant
• If the country of the residency is different from the country of citizenship, then a residency permit is required.
• Photocopies of the main pages of the passport and previous visas (if any)
• Documents that prove the applicant is capable of sustaining himself/herself economically during the stay in Australia. Methods can differ. You can use a bank statement expressing your financial activities, cash, credit card, employment certificate, etc.
• Invitation letter provided by a friend or relative who invites you to the country (if any). In this letter, your relationship with this person should be enclosed. Moreover, your purpose of the visit and how long the trip will be should be indicated. If that person pays for your accommodation, then proof that he or she is capable of handling the task should be presented.
• Flight itinerary. Flight bookings and bookings for accommodation such as hotel reservations with full details of address.
• Plan for the travel
• Proofs that you intend to come back after the short travel such as A letter provided by your employer indicating your purpose to come back to pursue your work, proof showing you have a property in your country, etc.
You might be wondering how much is a tourist visa to Australia? How to get a tourist visa to Australia? The average Australian tourist visa fees are somewhere between 110 USD and 830 USD. It depends on different factors, such as your nationality, etc. To acquire the visa, you can either apply online or at the local embassy of Australia.
