Visas and migration

The following pages will provide you with information regarding citizenship and visa options for visitors, workers, students or migrants. With the exception of Australian and New Zealand citizens, all people travelling to Australia require a visa prior to arrival.

Um die folgende Seite in deutscher Sprache zu lesen, gehen Sie bitte zu "Visa und Einwanderung" auf der deutschen Unterseite . Bitte haben Sie Verständnis dafür, dass weniger frequentierte Unterseiten nicht immer übersetzt sind.

What's New

 

11 February 2020: Austria and Portugal Work and Holiday programs are nearing completion for 2019-20

Due to significant interest in Australia's Work and Holiday visa arrangements with Portugal and Austria, these programs are nearing completion for the 2019-20 program year! If you are a national of Portugal or Austria and would like to lodge a Work and Holiday visa application, you may wish to do so as soon as possible. No further applications can be lodged once the cap for this program year has been reached, until the new program starts on 1 July 2020.

Applications must be lodged online via ImmiAccount. Please see https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462 for further information.

Information about whether there are places available for each country in the Work and Holiday program is available at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/whm-program/status-of-country-caps

 

21 November 2019: Please help the Australian Government improve its new Digital Assistant online chat for Visa and citizenship enquiries

We are currently trialling a new Digital Assistant online chat that will make it easier and faster to find answers to Australian visa and citizenship questions.

The Digital Assistant trial will be available on the Australian Government’s Immigration and Citizenship website pages (https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au) for approximately three months. You can open the Australian Visa and Citizenship Digital Assistant by clicking on the ‘Digital Assistant’ orange tab located at the bottom right hand side of the screen on our Immigration and Citizenship webpages.

We are asking for your help to improve the Digital Assistant by using it as much as possible throughout the trial for your Australian visa and citizenship questions, and sending any feedback you have on the Digital Assistant. Feedback can be provided by clicking on the blue feedback tab at the bottom of the screen.

For more information on our trial Digital Assistant go to www.homeaffairs.gov.au

 

UPDATE: Additional Work and Holiday places for Poland – 1 October 2019

The Work and Holiday visa arrangement with Poland now allows even more young people to explore, work and study in Australia.

As of 1 October 2019, the number of places available to Polish nationals has increased to 1500.

Nationals of Poland can still lodge a Work and Holiday visa application as part of the 2019-20 program. All applications must be lodged online via ImmiAccount at https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login. Paper applications will not be accepted and all applications are processed in the order in which they are received.

Please see https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462 for further information.

 

Beware of Visa Scams

To avoid being scammed, you can check the Register of Migration Agents on the OMARA website, to receive the protections of an OMARA registered Migration Agent.

There are Australian registered migration agents working all around the world in countries such as India, the United Kingdom, China and New Zealand, just to name a few. These agents are subject to the same Code of Conduct, professional development and regulations as registered migration agents based in Australia. More information about Australia’s efforts to ensure the integrity of the migration advice profession is available at: www.mara.gov.au

 

Locations for providing biometrics

There is no Biometrics Collection Centre in Germany. If you are in Europe and have received a requirement to provide biometrics, the nearest Biometrics Collection Centre may be in France or Greece. Further information is available at  https://www.vfsglobal.com/australia/france/ and https://www.vfsglobal.com/australia/greece/

 

1 July 2019: Work and Holiday - Status of Country Caps

Information about whether there are places available for each country in the Work and Holiday program is available at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/what-we-do/whm-program/status-of-country-caps

Note that owing to technical constraints there may be some delay in reflecting status changes.

 

1 July 2019: Austrian, Portuguese and Spanish applicants for a Work and Holiday visa no longer require a letter of Government support

From 1 July 2019, a letter of Government support will no longer be required for Austrian, Portuguese and Spanish applicants for a subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa for Australia. It is important to note that all other visa requirements remain unchanged, including the requirements for adequate funds, education and Functional English.

For a list of acceptable evidence to demonstrate that you have at least Functional English, please refer to the Department’s website at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462#Eligibility, then scroll down to "Have this level of English language". 

 

1 July 2019: New Work and Holiday arrangement between Australia and Greece commences

A new Work and Holiday arrangement with Greece comes into effect on 1 July 2019, allowing more young people to explore, work and study in Australia. Young adults from Greece can apply for a subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa from 1 July.

• Applications must be lodged online via ImmiAccount. Information about the subclass 462 Work and Holiday visa, and how to apply, can be found at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462
• All applications must include a Letter of Support from the Greek Government as well as evidence of meeting the English language, education, and financial requirements.
• The Visa Application Charge must be paid at the time of lodgement.
• The Australia-Greece Work and Holiday program has 500 places per program year (1 July to 30 June). Once 500 visas have been granted to Greek citizens, you will not be able to lodge an application until 1 July the following year.
• Important information, including updates on when programs are complete, is available on the Australian Embassy Berlin website at http://germany.embassy.gov.au/beln/Visas_and_Migration.html

 

UPDATE: Additional Work and Holiday places for Spain and Israel - 28 December 2018

The Work and Holiday visa arrangements with Spain and Israel now allows even more young people to explore, work and study in Australia.

As of 28 December 2018, the number of places available to Spanish nationals has increased to 3,400. The number of places available to Israeli nationals has increased to 2,500.

Nationals of Israel and Spain can therefore now lodge a Work and Holiday visa application as part of the 2018-19 program. All applications must be lodged online via ImmiAccount at https://online.immi.gov.au/lusc/login. Paper applications will not be accepted. However, any paper applications lodged before 17 November 2018 will continue to be processed. All applications are processed in the order in which they are received.

Please see https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462 for further information.

 

Mandatory online lodgement of visa applications - as of 17 November 2018

The Department of Home Affairs moved to mandatory online lodgement for Work and Holiday visa applications on 17 November 2018. This makes it faster and easier for you to lodge a Work and Holiday visa application for Australia.

The change means that from 17 November 2018 all nationals of Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, San Marino, and Slovenia, as well as Spain and the Slovak Republic, must lodge their Work and Holiday application online. This can be done through the Department of Home Affairs’ website at www.homeaffairs.gov.au using ImmiAccount. As of 17 November 2018, paper applications are no longer accepted. 

It is important to note that all visa requirements remain unchanged, including the requirement of Functional English. For a list of acceptable evidence to demonstrate that you have at least functional English, please refer to the Department’s website at https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/visas/getting-a-visa/visa-listing/work-holiday-462/first-work-holiday-462#Eligibility, then scroll down to "Have this level of English language".  Please ensure that you include evidence of your English language ability when you lodge your application.

For further information, please see https://www.homeaffairs.gov.au/trav/visa-1/462-#tab-content-1.

 

Information for Swiss citizens: Memorandum of Understanding on Trainees between Australia and Switzerland (Stagiaires Abkommen) 

 

 

 Citizenship

Other useful links for travellers