Visitor Visa lets you visit Australia for visit or business visitor purpose for up to three, six or 12 months.

This visa has about four streams which are:

• Tourist stream: This visa is for individuals who want to travel to Australia for holidays or recreational activities.

• Business Visitor stream: This is for people who want to travel to Australia for business purpose in order to attend a meeting, conference or exhibition. 

• Sponsored family stream: This visa stream is for people who want visit family members and are sponsored by their relative.

• Approved Destination Status stream: This visa stream is for people from the people’s republic of china who are travelling in an organized tour group.

Eligibility Criteria for the Applicants:

• You must have good health and character, you need to submit relevant evidence for this. If you’re above 75 years of age, you need to have private health insurance and a fitness to travel certificate from a doctor.
• You should have a genuine purpose of visit as a business or tourist visitor and must be able to justify the same in the visa interview.
• You must have sufficient funds to support yourself and your family members who are accompanying you in Australia.
• You should not have any outstanding debts to Australian government and have arranged to pay the same if any.
• You must ensure that you comply with all conditions imposed on your visa.

Benefits of applying for Visitor Visa – Subclass 600:

The benefit of the visa depends on the stream of visa or the purpose of visit business or tourist, but generally this visa allows you to enjoy the following benefits:

• Enjoy a holiday or visit family and friends in Australia
• Study in Australia for up to three months
• Engage in business activities while in Australia, provided you:
  • don’t work for or provide services to a business or organization in Australia
  • don’t sell goods or services to the public
• You can travel to and from Australia as many times as you want while your visa is valid, but the time you spend in Australia cannot be beyond your visa expiry date.

Checklist of documents for Visitor Visa for Tourist Visitors – Subclass 600:

Visa application requirements differ from country to country. If you are outside Australia, you need to visit your nearest Visa Facilitation Service office to understand how the tourist visa application can be lodged and what the associated documents are.

Below are the different types of documents required to be submitted for Tourist Visitor Visa – Subclass 600:

Completed and Filled Application Form:

To apply for Tourist visa, you need to complete an application form available on the official website of Australian Immigration authority and pay the required visa application charges.

Children below 18 years of age require submitting below details:

If you are under 18 years of age and are travelling with your parents, you don’t need to provide any additional documents. If one or both the parents are not accompanying,  you need to provide some additional documents:

• A statutory declaration giving the permission or consent of your parents or legal guardian
• Form 1229 consent form to grant an Australian visa to a child under 18 years of age
• If you are under 18 years of age and are going to stay with someone other than your parents you need to submit form 1257 undertaking declaration. Evidence of enrollment at school, college or university.

Passport Copies:

 You need to submit certified copies of your current passports or travel documents of all people included in your application.

Name Change Document:

If you have changed your name or name of any applicant has changed, please provide evidence to support name change.

You also need to submit one recent photograph (sized 45 mm * 35 mm) of each person included in the application.

Relationship Status Information:

• Certified copies of marriage certificates or relationship registrations for you and any other person included in your application is compulsory even if your partner may not be going to Australia with you.
• If you are widowed, divorced, or are permanently separated, submit a certified copy of the death certificate or, divorce documents.

Character Information:

Police verification of you and all the other people in your application is compulsory to prove that the applicants have clean criminal records.  If anyone included in the application has served in the armed forces of any country; you need to submit certified copies of their military service record or discharge papers.

Documents to show that you are a genuine visitor:

• Evidence of sufficient funds, such as personal bank statements, pay slips, audited accounts, taxation records or credit limit.
• If you are visiting relatives or friends, a letter of invitation from your relative or friend in Australia.
• Tourist visa need to submit their itinerary of stay in Australia.
• Other information to show that you have an incentive and authority to return to your home country such as:
  • a letter from your employer stating your intention to return to your job
  • evidence of enrollment at a school, college or university in your home country
  • evidence of immediate family members in your home country
  • evidence of your visa or residence status in your home country

Financial Documents

• Copies of bank statements over a period of time showing a consistent savings history.
• Copies of documents which show any other funds or assets held.
• Taxation documents for the last 3 years
• If your friend or relative in Australia is paying for your visit, then you need to submit statutory declaration stating the  support of your relative or friends. You need to provide evidence such as bank statements, tax documents so that you can show that your friend has financial capacity to support you.

Employment Details:

• If you are employed you can submit letter from employer stating your position and salary, length of employment, confirming your leave of absence along with the name and contact details of the person providing the letter.
• If you are self employed, business registration document is required.
• If you are a student, you can submit enrollment such as letter from your educational institute.

Processing time for Visitor Visa – Subclass 600:

According to Australian Immigration Department website, the average processing time for applications filed under Visitor Visa – Subclass 600 is around 1-2 months. But, every case file is unique and requires a fair amount of time for its evaluation. You can track your application online on the department website to know the application status.

Obligations for Visitor Visa Australia – Subclass 600:

When you are travelling to Australia on a visit visa for tourist or business purpose, there are certain restrictions you need to abide by such as:

• You must abide by the visa validity and conditions while in Australia. If you don’t abide by these conditions, your visa may be cancelled.
• You must not work while in Australia.
• You must not study for more than three months while in Australia.
• Your visa may be granted with a ‘No Further stay’ condition.
• The holder must depart within the validity of visitor visa.