Subclass 600 — Visitor visa

Who the Visitor visa (subclass 600) is generally for

In general terms, the subclass 600 is a temporary visa for people who want to come to Australia for a short stay — typically for tourism, to visit family or friends, or to take part in business visitor activities such as meetings, conferences or negotiations. It is organised into several streams (for example tourist, sponsored family, business visitor and frequent traveller), and the stream a person applies under shapes the evidence expected and the conditions attached. Across the streams, the visa is built around a few common ideas. An applicant is generally expected to be a genuine visitor who intends to stay temporarily and leave Australia at the end of the authorised period. Decision-makers typically look at matters such as ties to a home country, the purpose and plan of the trip, and access to enough funds to support the stay. Visitor visas usually do not permit paid work in Australia, and study is normally only allowed for a limited period if at all. Health and character requirements generally apply, and some streams involve a sponsor or invitation. Permitted length of stay and any conditions are decided case by case. This is general information only — not immigration assistance or legal advice. Streams, conditions and current requirements change, so always check the official Home Affairs page for the subclass 600, and a registered migration practitioner can advise on which stream and what evidence suit your particular circumstances.

Common questions about the Visitor visa (subclass 600)

Health and character checks for the Visitor visa (subclass 600)

Applicants for Australian visas are generally expected to meet a health requirement and a character requirement, and the Visitor visa is no exception. For temporary visas, whether health examinations are needed depends on factors such as the visa applied for, how long a person plans to stay, what they plan to do in Australia, the country they apply from, and any significant medical conditions, so not every visitor is asked to have them. Additional examinations can be required where someone has spent time in a place with particular public health concerns. When health examinations are required, applicants outside Australia are generally examined by an approved panel physician or clinic. After an examination, the panel physician records the results and makes a recommendation, but does not decide whether the health requirement is met; the clinic submits the results to the Department for assessment, and cases that need closer review are referred to a Medical Officer of the Commonwealth. Applicants are normally advised if and when examinations are needed. For character, everyone applying for a visa must consider whether they meet the character requirements, which are set out in section 501 of the Migration Act 1958. As part of an application, a person must declare any criminal conduct and answer all questions truthfully, and may be asked to provide a police (penal clearance) certificate for countries they have lived in for a lengthy period in recent years. The Department can request further material in some cases, such as a statement of character or a personal particulars form. This is general information only and not immigration assistance or legal advice. The exact checks that apply depend on individual circumstances and can change, so the official Home Affairs pages should be checked, and a registered migration practitioner can advise on a specific situation.

Health insurance and condition 8501

Most people visiting Australia do not have access to Medicare, the public health system, which means they are generally responsible for the cost of any hospital, medical or related care they receive while in the country. Because those costs can be significant, the Department strongly recommends that visitors arrange their own private health insurance for their stay, whether or not it is a formal condition of their visa. Some Visitor visa grants carry condition 8501, which requires the holder to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance for the whole time they are in Australia. This condition is imposed only on Visitor visas granted in certain streams or circumstances, and where evidence of cover is required it is generally expected for each additional applicant included in the same application. A product commonly used to meet this kind of requirement is Overseas Visitors Health Cover (OVHC), a form of insurance designed for visitors who cannot use Medicare. Levels of cover vary between policies, and points such as exclusions, waiting periods, limited cover for pharmaceuticals, and the treatment of pre-existing conditions differ from one product to another, so cover is worth reviewing carefully. The Department also publishes a guide to the minimum level of cover it suggests. A number of countries have reciprocal health care agreements with Australia that give their residents some access to publicly funded care, but this access is limited — for example, it generally does not cover treatment as a private patient in hospital — and does not amount to full cover. Where a visa carries a health-insurance condition, the holder needs the type and level of cover specified for that visa. This is general information only, not advice about any particular policy.

Government fees for the Visitor visa (subclass 600)

The main government cost is the Visa Application Charge set by the Department of Home Affairs. This is separate from, and additional to, any service or platform fee charged by an independent provider for help with an application; the two should not be confused. For the Visitor visa, the base Visa Application Charge generally differs depending on where a person applies from. Applying from outside Australia usually attracts a lower base charge than applying while already in Australia. Additional applicants included in the same application, and in some situations a subsequent temporary application charge for a further temporary visa applied for onshore, can affect the total payable. In certain cases a second instalment of the charge may also apply, and any amount due is paid to the Department through its own online system as part of lodging or finalising the application. Government charges are reviewed from time to time and are commonly adjusted at the start of the financial year, so published amounts can change. The Department's own visa pricing pages and pricing estimator give the current figure for a given set of circumstances and are the authoritative source for the exact cost.

Stay length, validity and processing times

The Visitor visa is a temporary visa, and in the tourist context it is usually discussed in terms of stays of 3, 6 or up to 12 months. The actual period granted is decided case by case on each application and can be shorter than the period requested. Once a decision is made, the grant letter sets out the exact stay period and any conditions and is the authoritative record for the holder. Processing times vary. The Department publishes an indicative processing-times guide based on how long recently decided applications have taken; it is a guide only and does not guarantee that a particular application will be decided within that timeframe. How long a decision takes can depend on factors such as whether the application is complete when lodged and how long any health and character checks take. Where health examinations are involved, the results of a health assessment are generally valid for 12 months from the time the examinations were completed, and if a person is asked to sign a health undertaking that is generally valid for 6 months. Timing an application around these validity periods can matter where there is a delay in processing. This is general information only and not immigration assistance or legal advice. Stay periods, current processing times and validity rules change, so the official Home Affairs pages should be checked for the latest position.

Visa conditions that generally apply

The Department can attach conditions to a Visitor visa (subclass 600), and the exact set is printed on the visa grant notice and can be checked through the Department's online conditions checker and VEVO. The conditions below are the ones most commonly associated with this visa; not every condition is placed on every visa. Condition 8101 (no work) generally applies, meaning the holder must not work in Australia. For the Business Visitor stream, condition 8115 instead allows only business visitor activities such as attending conferences or negotiating contracts, and still does not permit working for, or providing services to, an Australian organisation. Condition 8201 generally limits any study or training to no more than three months. Condition 8503 (no further stay) may be imposed. Where it applies, the holder generally cannot apply for most other visas while remaining in Australia, so they must leave before the visa ceases unless a waiver is granted in limited circumstances. Condition 8531 generally requires the holder not to remain in Australia after the visa ends. Condition 8558 addresses long-term or repeated visiting: broadly, a holder must not stay in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18-month period, so the visa is not used to live in Australia by rolling over visitor visas. A health-insurance condition (condition 8501, requiring the holder to maintain adequate arrangements for health insurance while in Australia) may also be attached at the decision-maker's discretion. Because conditions vary by stream and by individual circumstances, the grant notice is the only reliable record of which conditions apply. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Eligibility and the visa streams in detail

The subclass 600 is a temporary visa for tourism, business visitor activities, or visiting family, generally for stays of 3, 6 or 12 months. It is delivered through several streams: the Tourist stream (which can be lodged inside or outside Australia), the Business Visitor stream, the Sponsored Family stream, the Approved Destination Status stream, and the Frequent Traveller stream. Applicants are generally directed to the stream that matches their purpose and circumstances. The Tourist stream is for holiday, recreation, cruising, or visiting family and friends, and short courses of study or training of up to three months are generally permitted. The Business Visitor stream is for short business activities such as making enquiries, negotiating or reviewing contracts, or attending a conference, trade fair or seminar; it does not allow working for or selling services to an Australian business, and applicants generally cannot be paid by event organisers. The Sponsored Family stream requires formal sponsorship by an eligible Australian relative or an Australian Government official who is an Australian citizen or permanent resident, and the sponsor generally lodges a sponsorship (Form 1149). A security bond may be required, and this stream is generally used for applicants assessed as higher risk. The Approved Destination Status stream applies to organised tour groups from approved countries, and the Frequent Traveller stream is aimed at eligible nationals seeking longer-validity travel. Across the streams, decision-makers generally look at whether the applicant is a genuine visitor who intends to stay temporarily and leave when required, whether they have or can access adequate funds to support themselves without working or drawing on welfare, and whether they meet health and character requirements. There is no points test, no skills assessment and no occupation list for this visa, and English language is not a formal criterion. Applicants may be asked to undergo a health examination, and in some cases a chest x-ray. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Family members and what the visa allows after grant

Members of the family unit can generally be included in the one application as additional applicants, and an additional applicant charge generally applies for each of them. Each person included must generally meet the relevant requirements in their own right, and in the Sponsored Family stream the sponsorship generally needs to cover the family members being sponsored. After grant, the visa generally allows the holder to travel to and stay in Australia for the period specified on the grant notice for tourism, business visitor activities or visiting family, and short study or training of up to three months is generally permitted. Whether the visa allows a single entry or multiple entries, and the length of the stay and travel validity, is decided case by case and is stated on the grant notice; for some tourism or business visitor cases a longer travel validity may be granted, with the length of each individual stay still limited. The visa generally does not permit work in Australia. Holders are generally expected to be self-supporting, and visitor visa holders are generally not eligible for Medicare unless Australia has a reciprocal health care agreement with their country, so private health or travel insurance is commonly recommended. Reciprocal arrangements generally do not cover pre-existing conditions, pre-arranged treatment or elective procedures. This is a temporary visa and does not itself lead to permanent residence. Visitor visas generally cannot be extended; a holder wishing to stay longer would generally need to apply for a further visa before the current one ends, and this is not possible where a no-further-stay condition applies. Holders must comply with all conditions on the grant notice and depart before the visa ceases. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Common refusal reasons and merits review

According to departmental material, a frequent reason visitor visa applications are refused is that the decision-maker is not satisfied the applicant is a genuine visitor who intends only a temporary stay. Relevant factors generally include ties to the home country, the stated purpose of the visit, immigration history, and whether the applicant appears likely to comply with visa conditions and leave when required. Other common factual grounds include not satisfying the requirement to have, or have access to, adequate funds to support the intended stay without working; not meeting health or character requirements; and, for the Sponsored Family stream, issues with the sponsorship or a required security bond. Applications can also be refused where information provided is found to be incorrect or incomplete. If a decision is unfavourable, merits review at the Administrative Review Tribunal may be available, but only for certain decisions. The decision letter states whether the decision is reviewable and who may apply; generally, review rights for visitor visa refusals are more likely where the application was made in Australia or where there is an eligible sponsor in Australia. Strict time limits apply, and the deadline is stated in the decision letter, so it should be read carefully. An application fee generally applies to lodge a review, and a partial reduction may be available in limited circumstances such as financial hardship; if the fee is not paid by the deadline the review generally does not proceed. If review succeeds, the Tribunal may send the matter back to the Department to be reconsidered. This paragraph describes the general process only and is not a prediction about any particular case. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.

Costs: government charges and other expenses

The government Visa Application Charge (VAC) is set by the Department and is separate from any service or platform fee. The VAC is made up of a base application charge for the main applicant, plus an additional applicant charge for each other person included in the application, and it can also include a subsequent temporary application charge and, for some visas, a second instalment. The base charge depends on where and how the application is lodged and is periodically indexed (generally each 1 July), so the Department's current pricing table and pricing estimator are the authoritative source for exact amounts and should be checked before applying. Applying for a further temporary visa while already in Australia can attract a separate subsequent temporary application charge on top of the base charge. The additional applicant charge is payable for each additional person in a combined application, with different amounts generally applying for applicants aged 18 and over and those under 18, and in some cases it can be nil. The VAC is payable in up to two instalments, with the first instalment due when the application is made and any second instalment due before grant; where a second instalment applies it is generally not payable if the application is refused or withdrawn beforehand. The Department generally does not refund the VAC even if the application is refused or withdrawn, and the cost is based on the date the Department receives the application, so a price increase before receipt can change the amount payable. A surcharge may also apply when paying by credit card or PayPal. Beyond the VAC, applicants may face other departmental or third-party costs such as health examinations or a chest x-ray, and police or character checks where required; this visa does not involve a skills assessment. Any fee charged by an independent service for assistance is separate from, and additional to, the government VAC. This is general information only and is not immigration assistance or legal advice.