VISA FOR AUSTRALIA FROM UK – AUSTRALIAN VISA FOR UK CITIZENS
(Travel and leisure)

•Government of Australia provides with various visa options for people across the globe who wants to explore this beautiful tourist destination. One can plan a visit for more than 12 months provided you have sufficient funds to stay or small term visits through the appropriate visa. Below is the list of different types of visas for UK citizens to travel for leisure purposes to Australia:

• a.) Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)
• b.)eVisitor (subclass 651)
• c.)Transit visa (subclass 771)
• d.)Visitor (subclass 600)
• e.)Work and Holiday visa (subclass 462)
• f.)Working Holiday visa (subclass 417)

•Planning a trip to Australia, or visiting your friends and relatives over there or any short-term business trip in Australia? Need not to worry if you are a British citizen. You need not to stand in Embassy or immigration office queues and wait for some thorough interview. Rather it’s a hassle-free process of getting an Australian visa for UK citizens. Here we enlist the two most popular modes of obtaining an electronic travel visa for UK citizens.

1.Department of Immigration and Border Protection, Australia: eVisitor (subclass 651)

It provides you with the eVisitor visa which is valid for a period of one year with any number of visits to Australia for a maximum period of 90 days at a time. eVisitor visa for Australia from UK is free of cost and needs to be applied from outside Australia. This visa is electronically linked to your passport. The immigration department takes a maximum of 2 days to grant eVisitor visa in most of the cases. The visa becomes active on the date of its issue. eVisitor visa holds certain conditions for UK citizens travelling to Australia. Please have a look:

• a.)You are not allowed to work in Australia but you can certainly be on a business visit or participate in seminars and trade fairs provided you are not paid by the organizers.
• b.)You are allowed to study and undergo trainings but not for more than 3 months.
• c.)You should not be suffering from tuberculosis at the time of your visit.
• d.)You should not be a convict of a crime for which the sentence, whether served or not, is for a duration of 12 months or more.

2.A travel agent, an airline or a special service provider: ETA or Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601)

ETA is another form of electronic travel visa for British citizens, which is electronically linked to their passports. ETA, just like eVisitor visa is valid for a period of one year with any number of visits for a maximum period of 3 months every time, provided you apply from outside Australia. ETA can be applied online for free but with an online service charge of AUD20. It takes less than a day to process ETA if one meets all the requisite conditions. To complete the online ETA application, you are required to have your passport which is to be linked to online ETA application, along with your e-mail address and credit or debit card. Also have a look at some of the restrictions imposed for ETA visa holders:

• • a.)You are not allowed to work in Australia but you can certainly be on a business visit or participate in seminars and trade fairs provided you are not paid by the organizers.
  • b.)You are allowed to study and undergo trainings but not for more than 3 months.
  • c.)You should not be suffering from tuberculosis at the time of your visit.
  • d.)You should not be a convict of a crime for which the sentence, whether served or not, is for a duration of 12 months or more.
  • e.)Passport must be valid for a period of 6 months from the date of entry into Australia.

Both the above electronic visa forms are similar in features and their validity. The only difference is the mode of obtaining them. While eVisitor is issued by the government authority, ETAs are provided by private agencies.

•If you like to explore Australia for a longer period, you should go for Visitor visa (subclass 600). There are different stream options under this visa category for different travelers depending on their purpose of visit. The tourist stream visa and sponsored family stream visa allows you to stay for a minimum 3 months period or to a maximum period of 12 months in a single stay. The process of obtaining this visa type takes a few days, ranging from 16 days to 51 days.