Visitor Visa Options For Australia During COVID-19

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Australia currently has one of the strictest border policies in the World due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. This has kept Australians safe but it has also kept many families apart. Click here to read more about the travel exemption requirements. So what are the visitor visa options for those who are eligible for an exemption to enter Australia?

Subclass 601 Electronic Travel Authority (ETA)

An ETA is normally available to passport holders from 33 different countries, however due to the COVID-19 Pandemic it’s currently not possible to apply for an ETA online.

The Department of Home Affairs are currently trialing the AustralianETA app (available through the Apple App Store and Google Play), which allows passport hodlers from the following countries to apply for an ETA:

Brunei – Darussalam
Canada
Hong Kong (SAR PRC)
Japan
Malaysia
Singapore
Korea, Rep of (South)
United States

ETA processing times are very quick, so this is the best option for anyone holding a passport from any of the above countries.

At this stage we have no idication as to when the ETA will become available to apply for online again, we also don’t know if more countries will be added to the AustralianETA app.

Subclass 651 eVisitor Visa

An eVisitor Visa is available to passport holders from any of the following countries:

Austria
Belgium
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Monaco
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Republic of San Marino
Slovak Republic
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
United Kingdom – British Citizen
Vatican City

Applications can be made online and the current processing time is between 4 days and 4 months.

Subclass 600 Visitor Visa

The subclass 600 Visitor Visa is available to passport holders from any country and can be applied for online. The biggest challenge with this visa is meeting the genuine temporary entry requirement where the applicant needs to convince a case officer that they intend returning to their country of origin. Evidence of long term employment, assets and family in country of origin are helpful in meeting the genuine temporary entry requirement.

Subscribe to our blog for updates regarding Australia’s border restrictions.

About the author

Nick Hansen

Nick has been a Registered Migration Agent since 2016 when he founded Hansen Migration. Since then he has helped many migrants obtain permanent residency in Australia and Australian citizenship.

About the author

Robyn Vogels

Robyn Vogels founded Personnel Relocations in 2008 to support people moving to Australia. Her personal experience from across the world defined her understanding of the intense process of relocation, especially when moving with families and children. She strongly believes that relocations are life-affirming transitions and ought to be handled with care.

Download Your Free Family Visa Handbook

Looking for more details on the different visas and the requirements? We’ve put together this handy guide to help answer your questions. Just click below to download a copy today.

If you’ve still got questions after reading it, don’t stress – we can help. Book a free consultation with one of our Registered Migration Agents today.

My name is Geraldine (Gonzales) Darling. I am from the Philippines and now living in Melbourne, Victoria Australia. I am very grateful to have known Hansen Migration and partnered with them in getting our Partner Visa. Prior to Hansen Migration, the biggest pain-point was the daunting amount of information that we needed to research for our unique situation. Me and my partner Adam Darling (now my husband) had been in long distance relationship for some periods. Then COVID happened and then I got stuck in the Philippines and was pregnant of our first son. Hansen Migration went over and above, giving us valued support. Because our situation got tangled with COVID and lockdowns, they helped us get an exemption letter and submitted it to immigration for my entry to Australia. Fast forward, and now here I am in Australia, living with my husband and with our 2 sons in our humble home we built. I am forever grateful for Hansen Migration who has helped our family reach this milestone in our life.

Geraldine and Adam Darling

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Free Consultations Terms and Conditions

Thank you for booking a free consultation with Hansen Migration. We offer one free consultation per applicant. A free consultation is not available to you if you have already lodged a visa application, and the consultation will be cancelled. If you do not show up to your free consultation you can book another consultation for a fee of $165, as the time allocated to your free consultation will have already been utilised.

You can change the time of your free consultation more than 24 hours in advance of the scheduled consultation time at no extra cost. If you change the time of your consultation within 24 hours of the scheduled time a fee of $165 will apply, as we will not have had the opportunity to offer the free consultation time to someone else.

If you have already lodged a visa application or would like to book a follow up consultation after your free consultation, a fee of $165 will apply for a 30-minute consultation or $330 for a 60-minute consultation. An advice agreement will also need to be signed prior to any subsequent consultations.

Download Your Free Family Visa Handbook

Looking for more details on the different visas and the requirements? We’ve put together this handy guide to help answer your questions. Just click below to download a copy today.

If you’ve still got questions after reading it, don’t stress – we can help. Book a free consultation with one of our Registered Migration Agents today.

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Published On: 15 July 2021