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Australia ETA
The Australia ETA — formally the Electronic Travel Authority, subclass 601 — is the digital travel authorization issued by the Australian Department of Home Affairs. It is the equivalent of the eVisitor (subclass 651) but for citizens of non-European visa-waiver countries: the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and the United Arab Emirates. Once approved, the ETA is electronically linked to your passport for 12 months, with multiple entries and a stay duration of up to 3 months (90 days) per visit.
The ETA is not a visa — it is a pre-clearance system, similar to the US ESTA, the Canadian eTA, the New Zealand NZeTA, or the UK ETA. Australia uses it to verify identity, screen for criminal or immigration history, and confirm that the traveller is genuinely a visitor before they board the flight. There is no embassy visit, no original passport submission, no in-person interview. Applications are filed entirely through the official 'Australian ETA' mobile app or through approved travel agents and online services like Evisa Rocket — which adds form pre-validation, document checks, photo compliance, and 24/7 support so you don't have to fight the app's well-known UX issues.
Total cost in 2026 is $49 USD per traveller: AUD 20 (~USD 14) government fee plus our $35 service fee. The government fee is unchanged since 2019. The ETA can be used for tourism (holidays, sightseeing, family visits), business visitor activities (meetings, conferences, contract negotiations), and short-term study (language schools or non-credit courses up to 3 months). It cannot be used for paid work, long-term study leading to a qualification, or medical treatment.
This guide walks you through every step you need to know: who is eligible for the ETA versus the eVisitor, the documents required, the application process, fees in 2026, processing times, common rejection causes, what to expect at Sydney or Melbourne immigration on arrival, and the differences between the ETA, the eVisitor, and the broader Visitor Visa subclass 600 for nationalities that don't qualify for either.
Key facts and fees
| Type | Number of entries | Validity | Max Stay | Processing time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia ETA — Tourist & Business Visitor | MULTIPLE ENTRY | 12 months from issue, multiple entries | Up to 3 months (90 days) per visit | Usually within 12 hours |
| Type | Government Fee | Service Fee | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia ETA — Tourist & Business Visitor | $14 | $35 | $49 |
evisarocket.com is a private assistance service, independent of any government: it is not the official government website. Our fees include the government fee and our service fee.
Available Australia ETA Types
Eligible Countries for Australia ETA
Citizens from these countries are eligible to apply for the Australia ETA to Australia
| Nationality | Status |
|---|---|
| Brunei | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Canada | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Hong Kong | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Japan | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Malaysia | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Republic of Korea | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Singapore | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| South Korea | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| Taiwan | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| UAE | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| United Arab Emirates | Eligible for this eVisa online |
| United States | Eligible for this eVisa online |
Australia ETA vs eVisitor: Which One Do I Need?
- ETA (subclass 601): for non-European passport holders — USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei, UAE. AUD 20 government fee. Apply via the Australian ETA mobile app or approved agent (you cannot apply on the immi.gov.au website). Total $49 USD via Evisa Rocket.
- eVisitor (subclass 651): for European passport holders only — all 27 EU member states, the UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, Vatican, San Marino. Free — Australia charges no government fee. Apply on the immi.gov.au website. Total $29 USD via Evisa Rocket (service fee only).
- Visitor Visa (subclass 600): for everyone else — the rest of the world. AUD 195 government fee, longer processing, paper-style application. Required for nationalities not on the ETA or eVisitor list (e.g., Indian, Chinese, Indonesian, South African, most South American passport holders).
- All three subclasses grant the same travel rights once approved: tourism, family visits, business meetings, short-term study under 3 months, cruise stopovers.
Who Is Eligible for the Australia ETA?
Australia ETA Requirements: What You Need Before Applying
- Passport: must be valid for the entire duration of your intended stay in Australia (Australia is more lenient than NZ on the 6-month rule, but most carriers still require it).
- Passport bio page scan: clear PDF or JPG, max 2 MB. The full data page must be readable, including the machine-readable zone at the bottom.
- Recent passport-style photo: white background, full face, neutral expression, no glasses, no head covering except for religious reasons, taken within the last 6 months.
- Personal details: full name (exactly as on passport's MRZ), date and city of birth, gender, nationality, country of residence, profession, and current residential address.
- Travel details: arrival date in Australia, port of entry (Sydney SYD, Melbourne MEL, Brisbane BNE, Perth PER, etc.), departure date, accommodation address for at least the first stay.
- Confirmed return or onward flight ticket: PDF e-ticket showing departure within 90 days.
- Background declarations: criminal convictions, prior deportations from any country, prior visa refusals (Australia or elsewhere), and a tuberculosis health declaration.
- Valid email address: where the ETA approval will be sent (it's a digital authorization — no sticker, no stamp).
- Credit/debit card: for online payment — Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or PayPal.
How to Apply for the Australia ETA — Step by Step
- Click 'Apply Now' on this page. Our system runs a quick eligibility check (passport country must be one of the 10 ETA-eligible nationalities) before letting you start.
- Fill in personal and passport details: full name (exactly as on your passport's machine-readable zone), date and city of birth, nationality, profession. Spelling errors are the #1 cause of ETA rejections — match your passport's MRZ character-for-character.
- Upload your documents: passport bio page scan and a recent compliant photo. Our system pre-validates file size, format, and photo dimensions before submission to the Department of Home Affairs.
- Specify trip details: arrival date, port of entry, departure date, accommodation address.
- Answer the background declarations: criminal record, deportations, refusals, tuberculosis. A 'Yes' answer doesn't automatically disqualify you — but it triggers a manual review that can extend processing to 5-15 working days.
- Pay the fee: secure online payment by credit / debit card or PayPal. The fee includes the AUD 20 government charge and our $35 service fee — total $49 USD per traveller.
- Wait for the decision: standard processing is usually instant or within 12 hours. You receive email updates at every stage. Slow cases (background hits) can take 5–15 working days.
- The ETA is digital — no sticker, no stamp, no physical document. It's electronically linked to your passport. We recommend printing the approval PDF as a backup; airlines often check it at the boarding gate.
Australia ETA Fees in 2026
- Australian government ETA charge: AUD 20 — about USD 14 at 2026 exchange rates
- Evisa Rocket service fee: USD 35
- Total: $49 USD per traveller
- Children, infants, seniors: same fee as adults — there is no age discount
- Validity: 12 months from issue, multiple entries, 90 days per stay (cumulative across all visits during the 12-month window must remain reasonable — Australia watches for 'visa-running' patterns)
- Compare to alternatives: the Visitor Visa subclass 600 for non-eligible nationalities costs AUD 195 (~USD 130) and takes weeks. The eVisitor for European nationals is free.
What You Can and Cannot Do on an Australia ETA
- Tourism: holidays, sightseeing, sports events, attending concerts, road-tripping, beach time.
- Visiting family or friends: visiting Australian relatives, attending weddings, funerals, family reunions.
- Business visitor activities: attending meetings, conferences, trade fairs, contract negotiations, sourcing visits, short-term consultancy that does not amount to taking up Australian employment.
- Short-term study: language courses, non-credit courses, summer schools — strictly under 3 months total.
- Cruise stopovers: most cruise itineraries to Australia are covered by the standard ETA, no separate visa needed.
- Volunteer work: short-term, unpaid, with a registered charity — declare it on the application.
- Paid employment by an Australian company. For paid work, you need a Work Visa (subclass 482, 408, or Working Holiday).
- Hands-on freelance work paid in AUD by an Australian client. Remote work for a non-Australian employer while in Australia falls in a grey area — most travellers are tolerated, but technically the ETA only covers leisure / business-visitor activities.
- Long-term study leading to a qualification. For courses longer than 3 months, you need a Student Visa (subclass 500).
- Medical treatment as a primary reason for visit. Medical treatment requires a Medical Treatment Visa (subclass 602).
- Unpaid practical training / internships longer than a few weeks — these need the Training Visa (subclass 407).
- Performing or competing for compensation. Touring artists, athletes, lecturers paid honoraria need a different visa class.
Common Rejection Causes (and How to Avoid Them)
- Wrong passport country — applying with a passport from a country not on the ETA list. The system rejects automatically; switch to the eVisitor (if European) or the Visitor Visa subclass 600.
- Spelling errors between your application and your passport — even a single missing accent or hyphen triggers a system flag. Always copy from the MRZ at the bottom of the bio page, not the printed name.
- Photo not compliant — wrong background, glasses, low resolution, head off-centre. Our system pre-validates photos against Australian standards.
- Undeclared criminal record — Australia shares data with Five Eyes (US, UK, NZ, Canada). A hidden conviction will be discovered, leading to refusal and potentially a 3-year bar from applying again.
- Prior Australian deportation, removal or overstay — even years ago. This requires a Visitor Visa subclass 600 with explanation, not the ETA.
- Insufficient funds declaration — answering 'No' to the funds question typically triggers a referral. AUD 5,000 equivalent is the safe threshold to declare 'Yes'.
- Tuberculosis or serious communicable disease declaration — referrals to the Department of Home Affairs medical panel can extend processing to 4-6 weeks.
- Multiple recent ETA applications — applying for a new ETA when you have a valid one in place can trigger fraud flags. Wait for the existing one to expire or use it instead.
Arriving in Australia: What to Expect at Immigration
Top Destinations for Your Australia Stay
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on your passport. The ETA (subclass 601) is for citizens of 10 non-European countries: USA, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Brunei and UAE. The eVisitor (subclass 651) is for European passport holders only — all 27 EU member states, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Monaco, Vatican, San Marino. Both products grant the same 12-month validity, multiple entries and 90-day stays. The eVisitor is free; the ETA costs AUD 20.
Standard processing is usually instant or within 12 hours — most travellers receive approval within minutes of submission. Slow cases — applications with a 'Yes' on a background declaration (criminal record, prior deportation, refusal, tuberculosis) — go to manual review and can take 5 to 15 working days. We recommend applying at least 7 days before departure to absorb any unexpected delay.
Up to 3 months (90 days) per visit. The ETA is valid for 12 months from issue and grants multiple entries — you can leave and re-enter as many times as you like, with each visit capped at 90 days. Australia does watch for 'visa-running' patterns: travellers who spend more time in Australia than out of it on consecutive ETAs often get questioned at the border. For longer stays, apply for a Visitor Visa subclass 600 (up to 12 months continuously) instead.
The total is $49 USD per traveller, broken down as: Australian government ETA charge AUD 20 (~USD 14, unchanged since 2019) + Evisa Rocket service fee USD 35. Children, infants and seniors pay the same fee as adults. There is no age discount on the ETA.
Australia decided in 2015 to keep the eVisitor free for European nationals (a goodwill gesture honouring the original 1996 reciprocity arrangement) but to charge the AUD 20 fee on the ETA for non-European passports. The two products are otherwise functionally identical — same validity, same stay duration, same activities permitted.
Yes. Every traveller of any age, including newborns, must have their own ETA linked to their own passport. The fee is the same as for adults. Children and infants are NOT covered by their parents' ETA — each one is a separate application.
If denied, the AUD 20 government fee is non-refundable. Evisa Rocket refunds our service fee on request for first-time denials caused by issues we should have caught. You can re-apply once the underlying issue is fixed (clearer photo, corrected name spelling). For genuine eligibility issues — prior Australian deportation, undisclosed criminal record, prior overstay — you'll need to apply for a Visitor Visa subclass 600 instead, which involves a longer process and additional documentation including biometrics.
Neither. The ETA is a fully digital authorization electronically linked to your passport number. There is no sticker, no stamp, and no physical document is issued. Immigration officers see your ETA status when they scan your passport at the border or at SmartGate. We recommend printing the approval email PDF as a backup — airlines often request it at the check-in counter or boarding gate.
No. The ETA strictly authorises tourism, family visits, business visitor activities (meetings, conferences, contract negotiations, sourcing trips, short-term consultancy that doesn't take up Australian employment), and short-term study (less than 3 months — language schools and non-credit courses). It does NOT allow paid employment by an Australian employer, hands-on freelance work paid in AUD, journalism for hire, or performing for compensation. For paid work, you need a Work Visa (subclass 482, 408, or Working Holiday subclass 417/462).
No — working holidays use a different visa class entirely: the Working Holiday Maker visa (subclass 417 or 462). The ETA does not permit any paid employment. Citizens of around 35 countries are eligible for the Working Holiday programme (12-month visa, up to 6 months with one employer, can be extended via specified work). The Working Holiday is independent from the ETA and is the right product if you intend to work casually while travelling.
No — and this catches a lot of applicants off-guard. The Australian government does not let you apply for the subclass 601 ETA directly on immi.gov.au. The only official channels are (1) the Australian ETA mobile app (available on iOS and Android, but with well-documented UX issues including frequent rejections of valid passport scans), or (2) approved travel agents and online services like Evisa Rocket. The eVisitor (subclass 651), by contrast, is applied for on immi.gov.au directly.
No — the ETA is not extendable on the ground. If you want to stay longer than 90 days continuously, you have two options: (1) apply for a Visitor Visa subclass 600 from inside Australia before your ETA stay expires — this allows up to 12 months continuously; or (2) leave the country and re-enter on the same ETA for another 90 days. Note that the Department of Home Affairs watches for 'visa-running' patterns; if it looks like de facto residence, you'll be questioned at the border on subsequent entries.
No mandatory vaccinations except Yellow Fever if you arrive from or have transited through (more than 12 hours) an endemic country in Africa or South America. Australia is a low-risk destination — no malaria (except remote far-north Queensland in some seasons), no rabies, no dengue (except occasional outbreaks in tropical Queensland). Routine vaccinations (MMR, tetanus, etc.) should be up to date as a baseline.
Functionally similar — both are pre-clearance digital authorizations for short visits by visa-waiver nationals. Differences: the Australian ETA is valid 12 months and grants 90-day stays per entry (the ESTA is valid 24 months and grants 90-day stays per entry). The ETA covers 10 nationalities; the ESTA covers around 41. The ETA costs AUD 20 (~USD 14); the ESTA costs USD 21. Both are digital, both are linked to the passport, neither is a sticker or stamp.