The world’s smallest continent and the largest island has a plethora to sights to discover. Whether you would like to unravel the culture of the country, sit at one of the beaches, or visit some top notch hot spot, the country has it all. With some fantastic islands, and several national parks surrounded all over, the visitors can get a real experience of the wildlife and get to see so many rare things.
Unraveling the beauty of the country will require you a visa. But there are also certain Australia visa exemption countries that you need to know about before traveling, and get to know where your country stands in the list. Read this article till the end to know what all countries get the visa exemption to travel to Australia.
DO I NEED A VISA TO ENTER AUSTRALIA?
The foreign nationals require obtaining a visa before traveling to the country. The country does not follow the visa on arrival policy. This basically means that every person needs to apply for a visa beforehand, either online or offline. The visa also entitles the person from several rights that include right to study or work in the country.
Hence, if you belong to one of the countries that enjoy the visa exemption facility, you will not require a visa to enter the country. All the other people belonging to the other countries need to follow the routine procedure to obtain a visa.
READ ALSO: Australia visa on arrival
ELECTRONIC VISAS
For international travel Australia has made it mandatory for the visitors to obtain a visa. The eVisitor or the Electronic Travel Authority gives authorization to enter the country to a fraction of people holding a certain passport. This facility was introduced in 1996 to help some visitors from not applying for the full visas. They can be applied electronically, or through travel agencies or airlines, or the service providers from the Australian visa offices. The class 600 electronic visas can be applied online by people worldwide.
The eVisitor visas are stored on the database of the Australian immigration and are linked to the passport number. The application process is done over the internet and the receipt that you get acts as a visa. The visa can be printed or even stored on your device.
EVISITOR (Subclass 651)
The eVisitor system was introduced in the year 2008 to replace the old evisa method. The eVisitor allows the visitor to stay for a short period of time in the country. However, this system is only applicable to the citizens of Australia and European union.
The eVisitors allows the visitor to enter and exit the country for multiple times within a time frame of three months in a year. You should also note that, during the time of travel, the visitor should be free from tuberculosis, and also should not be convicted for any crime for which the sentencing should not have exceeded 12 months.
The holders of the following passports are eligible to apply for an eVisitor:
- All the citizens of the European Union.
- Norway
- Andorra
- San Marino
- Iceland
- Switzerland
- Liechtenstein
- United Kingdom
- Monaco
- Vatican City
ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORITY (ETA) (Subclass 601)
The current ETA allows single authorization for both business and tourism purpose. The ETA also allows the holders to enter the country multiple times in a period of three months. The holders of the following passports can apply for the ETA:
- Malaysia
- Brunei
- Canada
- Singapore
- Hong Kong
- South Korea
- Japan
- United States of America
Additionally, the people seeking ETA must be free from tuberculosis and should not have any criminal conviction against their name before Australia international travel.
READ ALSO: Australia visa application form online
AUSTRALIA VISA EXEMPTION INFORMATION
SPECIAL PURPOSE VISA
The special purpose visa is granted by the operation of law to the certain non citizens of the country to whom the standard visa and immigration clearance arrangements may not be applied. It officially exempts certain people to follow the normal immigration procedure to enter the country, and get travel exemption to enter Australia. The people on the list include the following:
- Members of the Royal family
- Members of the Royal party
- The guests of the government
- SOFA forces members
- Asia-pacific forces members
- The members of commonwealth forces
- The dependents of foreign armed forces
- The members of foreign naval forces
- The airline crew and positioning members
- The eligible transit passengers
- People who are visiting Macquarie islands
TRANSIT WITHOUT A VISA
If a traveler has a layover for less than 8 hours in the country, they won’t need to avail a transit visa. They will need to obtain confirmed air tickets to their next flight, and also hold certain documents that are necessary to give them access to the airport lounge.
The holders of the following passports can transit through the country without a visa:
- eVisitor eligible passports
- ETA eligible passports
- Passport holders of the following countries:
|
Argentina |
Fiji |
Kiribati |
Mexico |
UAE |
Palau |
|
Papua New Guinea |
Samoa |
South Africa |
Tonga |
Nauru |
Vanuatu |
|
Chile |
Indonesia |
Marshall Islands |
Micronesia |
Oman |
Philippines |
|
Qatar |
Solomon Islands |
Thailand |
Tuvalu |
Uruguay |
Additionally:
- Citizens of Taiwan holding ordinary passports
- People holding British passports.
- Diplomatic passport holders of all the countries get the exemption to enter Australia except:
|
Afghanistan |
Libya |
Madagascar |
Saudi Arabia |
Tunisia |
|
Algeria |
Lebanon |
Mauritania |
Sierra Leone |
Yemen |
|
Angola |
Kuwait |
Morocco |
Somalia |
Zimbabwe |
|
Bahrain |
Jordan |
North Korea |
Sudan |
ANNPH |
|
Comoros |
Iraq |
Pakistan |
Syria |
|
|
Egypt |
Iran |
Russia |
Taiwan |
READ ALSO: Australia visa information
TORRES STRAIT
The residents of the thirteen coastal villages of the Papua New Guinea are allowed to enter the protected area of Torres Strait for various traditional purposes. This exemption is a treaty between the two countries and was put into action after PNG became independent from Australia. The 13 villages include:
|
Bula |
Tais |
Mabadauan |
Kadawa |
Sui |
|
Mari |
Buji/ber |
Old Mawatta |
Katatai |
|
|
Jarai |
Singabadaru |
Ture Ture |
Parama |
These are all the categories that get travel exemptions to enter Australia.
GENERAL FAQs
Q. What is a Smartgate?
SmartGate is an automated border processing system that was introduced by the Australian border force and New Zealand customs service. It allows the citizens of the eligible countries to enter the country by showing this document at the border.
Q. What are the documents required to obtain an Australian visa?
One can apply for a visa if they have the following documents:
- A valid passport that should now expire within six months from the date of traveling.
- Recent passport size photographs
- Completed application form
- Proof of funds
- Medical examinations
- Letter from your employer, in case of work visa
- School, college, or university admission letter
Q. What is the processing time?
Your Australian visa will get processed in just 48 hours if you opt for express visa service. Generally, it takes 20-25 days.
Hence, when you travel to Australia, make sure that you have read all about Australia visa exemption and got all the details about the same on your country. Also, make sure to read all about the Australia travel restrictions. This way you will be saving a lot of time and effort for yourself.
