visa policy of australia

If you are wondering, you need to go to Australia and what is it that you require? Then the answer is that you need an Australia visa before you travel to Australia. This visa can be obtained through any methods which are possibly available to you. However to get this visa you will have to follow some of the set rules which have been claimed by the government of Australia which can be known through the visa policy of Australia. This visa policy which was set under the migration act 1958 and the migration regulations administered by the department of home affairs will clearly explain all about the Australia visa and how a foreigner wishing to go to Australia can get the visa by following all of the rules easily. There are also some conditions that will be mentioned throughout the Australia visa policy which will also have to be met in order to get the visa issued for yourself. This visa policies will be covered by Tourist visa online and will help you get an idea about how to apply Australia visa and if you are eligible or not. 

This visa which a foreigner applies to go to Australia also gives a lot of different opportunities that a person can make use of such as studying on a visa, working on a visa, and much more. Since about 1994 it was made sure that the visa will be taken by every other foreigner who is not a citizen of Australia and this was made a rule by the government. Australia also did not make any provisions for the foreigner to get an Australia visa on arrival nor did they provide visa-free entry for any of the nationals around the world. However, this was only until the year 2015. However, according to the Australian rules which came under the migration regulation 1994, it was seen that some of the people were allowed to enter Australia and were claimed to hold a visa even though they did not undergo any process. The following people were included in the list:

• Those holders of passports belonging to the EU member states, plus four of the EFTA member states, the United Kingdom and four of the European microstates and apart from this the countries who are eligible for the electronic travel authority which is 34 in number and those that belonged to the jurisdictional entities were able to get into Australia without having to undergo the process of visa application.
• The citizens of New Zealand who could avail of the trans-Tasman Travel Arrangement and belonged to the special category visa.
• Certain other visitors who were linked to the foreign militaries and governments are also eligible for entry under the special purpose visa. 

All of the other citizens who do not come under any of these categories will have to take a visa through an online method. 

The Australia visas are now provided by the government of Australia as a label onto the foreigners’ passport and a record of the visa issued is also saved to the database securely and can only be viewed by some of the people who have the authorization through Visa Entitlement Verification Online which is a digital verification service that has been provided by the department of home affairs. 

History of visas in Australia:

Australia has its own history when it comes to visas and its changes which has taken place over numerous years. Australia is known to be one of the most advanced countries when it comes to replacing the ink-based stamps of visas with the sticker visas which were more secure and could last for longer. This change took place in the 1970s. 

Electronic visa to the foreigners: 

Electronic visas have far and wide developed and this matter is no different from Australia. This electronic visa service provided by the Australian government gives out two document options such as the eVisitor and the Electronic Travel Authority also known as the ETA which are the authorizations that are given to the foreigners before they enter the country. These electronic visas can be easily applied through just an application form and the documents. The processing time needed will also take a matter of minutes which makes this process, even more, easier than it seems. This, however, can be done for those applications of visas where the validity will go for no more than three months and if the visas are for a period longer than this then the visa processing will be done by the case officers personally. These processed visas are saved to the immigration database which means that you need not carry a paper visa or even a sticker need not be attached to your passport and the visa will directly be scanned. The receipt obtained will act as the visa in case you need hard proof. This can be shown at the border to cross-check the visa registration. 

Australia eVisitor:

An eVisitor was first issued in the year 2008 on October 27th and this was the first step in replacing the already existent e visa system. This was developed for the nationals of Australia and European union while still following all the visa requirements. It was on the 23rd of March 2013 when the business and the tourist visas were merged into one single application. This eVisitor was available for all of the people who belonged to the 27 countries under the European Union with the additional 9 European countries. This eVisitor is given free of charge.

The following passport holders are eligible for an eVisitor:

Apart from these those who hold a British passport and are a citizen can also avail of this service. 

ETA Electronic Travel Authority:

This service was first used on the 11th of September in the year 1996. This document was valid for the passport holders who belonged to Singapore and the US who traveled on Qantas and Singapore airlines. The online application for this document took place in June 2001. The current authorization was replaced in the year 2013 on 23rd of March which allowed the single authorization for both the business and tourist purposes. 

The following countries are the ones whose nationals can get this document through an online method:

The citizens who belong to Taiwan who have a passport that has its validity intact and has the national ID number can also get the ETA but will have to apply for this through a verified travel agent only. Apart from the above-given countries, the following can also apply for an ETA document:

All of these countries can also apply for an ETA document but the only condition will be that they can apply only through an authorized travel agent or an airline or an Australian visa service office which is located in the foreign countries.

Conditions while holding an eVisitor document or an ETA document:

• The document allows a particular foreigner to visit the country for an unlimited time which restricts the people to enter Australia up to 3 months per visit within a 12 month period for tourism or business purposes. 
• The traveler who will travel to Australia at the time of entry must be free of any criminal sentences which have a total of 12 months or more whether it has already been served or not. 
• This traveler must also not have tuberculosis conditions while entering the country. 

Online visitor visa for foreigners:

It was from about November 2012 that the visa was not required in label forms, however, it could be asked for through putting in a request but will only be provided by paying a particular sum. This was also stopped in September 2015 when the records were shifted to the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) 

Visa exemptions imposed on foreigners:

The following visa exemptions have been successfully applied to the countries and the types of visa exemptions can be given as follows:

Special purpose visas:

This visa exemption is operated by the law to some of the people who belong to foreign countries. This visa exemption applies to those who do not need to undergo the immigration or even the clearance arrangements. The people who come under this condition can be given as follows:

• Members of the Royal family
• Members of the Royal party
• Guests of government
• SOFA forces members
• Civilian component members
•  Asia-pacific forces members
• Commonwealth forces members
• Foreign armed forces dependents
• Foreign naval forces members
• Airline positioning crew members
• Airline crew members
• Eligible transit passengers
• Persons visiting Macquarie Island
• Eligible children born in Australia
• Indonesian traditional fishermen visiting the territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands.

Transiting without a visa:

There are some people who do not need a transit visa but they will need to follow the following conditions:

Travel to the final destination form Australia within 8 hours of entry

Travels through an airline

Has a confirmed onward booking to the destination

Will remain in the transit lounge at the airport

Contains all of the necessary documents.

The countries that are eligible to get this transit visa exemption can be given as follows:

Apart from these all of the people who hold an eVisitor eligible passports and ETA eligible passports can also get this transit visa exemption. The nationals who hold an ordinary Taiwan passport along with the people holding the British passport can get this service availed to them as well. 

The people who hold a diplomatic passport can also have a transit visa-free travel except for those belonging to the following countries:

Other conditions to be followed while transiting through Australia:

A transit visa will be required for the Gold Coast airport and for Cairns airport and the Sydney airport if the foreigner will be staying overnight. 

While transiting through Adelaide will only be valid provided that the passenger will depart on the same airline as the one they have arrived on.

While those wanting to leave the lounge will also have to hold a valid Australian visa to be able to enter the country. 

Torres strait:

People from the thirteen villages that belong to Papua New Guinea can enter the protected area which is the Torres strait without a passport under the treaty made between Australia and Papua New Guinea. The thirteen villages can be given as follows:

SmartGate availability for foreigner:

This SmartGate is an automated service that some of the authorized countries can avail of. This process was introduced by the Australian border force and New Zealand Customs service. This service is available for holders of an ePassport who are aged 16 years and above. 

The following countries can avail of this service:

Travelers with an APEC business travel card:

The people who are holders of the following passports and contain an AUS code written on the back of the passport can get visa-free travel to Australia on business trips for 90 days. This visa-free travel is valid for the following countries:

This concludes the visa policy of Australia from which you might have now come to understand about the visa policies and the rules stated under them.