ETA FAQ

ETA VISA FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

You can use the links provided on this site to obtain general information about mst other Australian Visa topics.

Our on-line assistance is, however, is currently limited to most Internet visa issues.... On the left side menu you will see » arrows like this one ». Here you may find further information about the most common entry visas to Australia.

DIMIA is the Australian Governments Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs (DIMIA) is the government department in Australia responsible for managing the entry of people to Australia, the successful settlement of migrants and refugees enabling them to participate equitably in society, and promotion of the benefits of citizenship and cultural diversity.

Part of this responsibility is processing and deciding applications for visas and ETAs for travel to Australia.

All you need to make an application for an ETA through this site is your valid passport and your credit card (American Express, Mastercard or Visa).

No. You do not need to arrange your flight to Australia before applying for an ETA.

If you have applied for an ETA through this site, you can check via this site to find out the current status of your ETA. You will need to provide some data from your passport and the Reference Number displayed by this site when the application was processed.

If you did not apply for your ETA through this site or did not make a note of the Reference Number, you will not be able to make an enquiry through this site. You will need to contact your travel agent or airline office and they can make the enquiry for you.

Airlines have access to the ETA database through their reservation systems. They will make an enquiry to determine your visa status when you check in for your flight.

If you do not hold a valid country passport which may be used to apply for an ETA through this site then you will need to obtain a regular visa at your nearest Australian Embassy. A full list of Australian visa offices can be found by clicking on the link on this site.

This site operates under the principles outlined in the Privacy Statement. Only the data required to process your application will be collected. It will only be used for that purpose by this site. Limited audit information will be stored on this site. The full data on your application and ETA status will only be permanently stored on secure servers operated for the Australian Government.

Please see the Privacy Statement for further details.

Payments by credit card are processed through the SecurEpayment Internet payment gateway operated by eSec Limited, a leader in the provision of on-line payment services. SecurEpayment provides a secure method for authorising credit card transactions over the Internet and has been specifically evaluated and approved by the providers of the credit cards you can use on this site.

Your credit card details are encrypted the moment they are transmitted by you and are encrypted as they are transmitted through to the banking network. If your browser does not support the level of encryption required by this site, you will not be able to apply for an ETA.

We will hold your credit card details only for the duration of the transaction. Once payment has been authorised and the application for an ETA has been finalised, your credit card number is deleted from the site.

We are authorised to accept payment by American Express, Mastercard and Visa.

If you apply for an ETA and the system determines that you already have a current visa or ETA with a longer period of stay than the ETA you are applying for, or the current visa or ETA has work rights or residency rights, the application will not be processed. There will be no charge for this application.

In a small percentage of cases, this site may not be able to evaluate and approve an application. In these cases, you should finalise your application through the nearest Australian visa office. The locations and ETA contact procedures of these offices can be found by clicking on the Australian Embassy visa office link.

If your application is not approved, you will not be charged.

Once an application has been submitted and processed, and the credit card payment has been processed, you cannot cancel the transaction and the payment cannot be refunded. It is important that you are very careful when you type in your personal details.

You will have an opportunity to review all the details you have provided on your screen and can change the details at any time until you confirm all details as correct.

If you have made an error, it is important that you correct it before proceeding. Once you have confirmed the details, your credit card will be debited. If you find out later that you have made a mistake, you can either make a new application (and incur another service charge) or contact your nearest Australian visa office.

To ensure the security and privacy of your information, this site uses a secure protocol (HTTPS) for all transmissions of personal data between your browser and the site. This means that your browser must be able to support HTTPS.

The site will attempt to establish a secure session using 128 bit encryption. If the browser does not support this level of encryption, then the session will not be established and you will not be able to submit an application for an ETA.

Specifically, the site will work with the following browsers:

• Firefox 1.0.0 or later
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
• Netscape Navigator 6.0 or later

If you cannot connect to the 'Apply' or 'Check' components of this system from a site behind a firewall, the firewall may be preventing the establishment of a secure connection. Please speak to your webmaster or Internet Service Provider.

If your browser does not support the secure protocol (HTTPS), you should update your browser. The most recent versions of commonly used browsers can be downloaded free of charge from the web sites of the suppliers.

The Minimum service charge for short-term visitors (business and tourist) using this site is currently $16.00 (Australian dollars) however prices may change without notice. This price is for persons applying personally and does not cover any application fees which involve our staff processing your ETA for you.

No. To apply for a Long Validity Business ETA, please see your nearest Australian Embassy.

Unfortunately, ETAs for Taiwan passport holders are not available on the Internet at this stage. Taiwanese passport holders are only able to apply for an ETA through their travel agent or the offices of Australian Visa Services (AVS) located in Taipei, Kaohsiung or Taichung.

Unfortunately, ETAs for holders of Hong Kong British National (Overseas) (GBN) passports are not available on the Internet at this stage. You will be able to apply for an ETA through the nearest Australian visa office. Your travel agent or airline office may also be able to arrange an ETA for you.

Note, however, that holders of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports are eligible to apply through this site.

The ETA will allow you to stay in Australia for a maximum of three months on each visit. more info

You will need to apply for a visa which allows for a longer stay from your nearest Australian visa office.

Or, Plan B is that you may be able to travel to a neighbouring country at the end of the 3 month period, like New Zealand, and then return to Australia using the same ETA Visa so long as (a) your passport is current (b) it is within 12 months since you purchased the ETA visa online. see #22

VISITOR ETAs have a multiple entry facility. You can enter Australia as many times as necessary within the validity of the ETA. Provided you have a valid visa for New Zealand (or are exempt), you can travel to New Zealand from Australia and then return as long as your ETA remains valid.

BUSINESS (Short Validity) ETAs have a multiple entry facility. You can enter Australia for business reasons as many times as necessary within the validity of the ETA. Provided you have a valid visa for New Zealand (or are exempt), you can travel to New Zealand from Australia and then return as long as your ETA remains valid.

23. What conditions apply to my ETA ?

The conditions applying to ETAs are:

• Your passport must be valid
• You hold an ETA-eligible passport.
• You must be outside Australia to apply for an ETA.
• Your visit to Australia is for:
  • Tourism,
  • Visiting relatives,
  • Business meetings, or
  • A convention or conference.
• You will not work in Australia.
• You will not stay in Australia for more than three months.
• You are in good health (including free from tuberculosis).
• You have no criminal convictions.
• You use the ETA within twelve months, or before the expiry date of your current passport (whichever comes first).

See the full list of Australian ETA Eligibility Conditions here.

You should note that you must not overstay your visit to Australia, that is, you must depart Australia before your authorised stay period expires. If you do not, Australian law requires that you be detained and/or removed from Australia. Overstaying may also affect your ability to acquire another Australian visa, including an ETA, in the future.

Where exceptional circumstances arise while you are in Australia, on an ETA, that require you to stay longer than three months, you must obtain another visa from an Australian visa office in Australia before the end of the three month visit period.

Failure to do so may leave you an as an illegal alien in Australia, so please fix this before your ETA expires.

24. I'm not planning to travel to Australia for 3 months - should I apply for an ETA now?

The answer depends on your personal circumstances and preferences. Your ETA is valid for travel to Australia for 12 months from the date it is granted or less if your passport is valid for less than 12 months.

You can apply for an ETA at any time and, provided you arrive in Australia within the ETA validity period and you have the same passport you used to apply for the ETA, you may apply for the ETA in advance.

However, you should be aware that you will need to apply for a new ETA if your passport expires and you are issued with a new passport.

You can apply for your ETA before purchasing airline tickets. Make sure you let the airline office or travel agent know that you already have an ETA when booking your tickets.

If you have already purchased tickets and you have not arranged an ETA visa, you can apply for an ETA via this web site, at any time before departure.

25. What is Error 503?

Error 503 is generated by the Credit Card payment gateway when their systems are not functioning correctly. You are not debited the $16.00 service charge and your ETA cannot be granted at this time.

Please try again in a few minutes.

The error is outside the Internet ETA System. This site will not be aware of the error as the error message is sent directly from the Credit Card payment gateway to you.

26. I am in a country that does not have access to ETAs. I have an ETA-eligible passport. Can I use the Internet to arrange an ETA?

From the Australian perspective there is no problem. Click here to buy your ETA online.

Provided you meet the eligibility criteria, you can apply from anywhere in the world that has Internet access. You should, however, check with local authorities to ensure that they do not require a label visa or official stamp in the passport to prove that you have authority to enter Australia.

Each child will need an ETA. You need to enter the passport details exactly as for the parent, replacing the name, date of birth, sex and country of birth with the children's details as they appear in the passport. See more info here on the Family ETA's page.

No. You can only apply for an ETA when you are outside Australia.