Working Holiday & Tourist Visas

There are a few visa types that you can use to come to Australia to visit family or friends or just do some sightseeing. In certain circumstances you can mix that with a temporary work (see below).

Working Holiday (417) / Work & Holiday (462) Visas

These visa allows you to have an extended holiday while having a short-term work in Australia during visa’s validity. You need to be a citizen of one of the countries with which Australia has signed Working Holiday agreements. For 417 visa these are: England, France, Italy, Japan, China, Germany, Canada, The Netherlands, Ireland, Korea, Malta, Denmark, Sweden, Hong Kong, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Cyprus and Taiwan.

For 462 visa the eligible countries are: Argentina, Bangladesh, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, USA, Uruguay.

With these visas you are allowed to:

  • enter Australia within 12 months of grant
  • stay up to 12 months (462) or 24 months (417)
  • leave and re-enter Australia any number of times within visa’s validity
  • work in Australia for up to six months with each employer
  • study for up to four months
  • extend the visa once (in case of 462 visa certain conditions apply).

Tourist Visas (eVisitor, Visitor, ETA)

Tourist Visa will allow you to temporarily visit Australia for a holiday, recreational purposes, or to visit family and friends. It may also allow you to visit Australia for other non-work short-term purposes such as study for less than three months.

Depending on the passport you hold and intention of your visit you may be eligible to apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), eVisitor or Tourist Visa.

To be eligible for a Tourist Visa you must:

  • Have a genuine intention to visit Australia as a tourist for a holiday, recreational purposes, or to visit family and friends
  • Meet certain health criteria. In some instances you may be requested to provide evidence that you have taken out health insurance for the duration of your visit to Australia or have sufficient funds to pay for emergency medical treatment whilst in Australia, in order to satisfy the financial requirements for this visa
  • Meet certain character and public interest criteria
  • Have access to adequate funds to cover all your reasonable costs for the duration of your visit to Australia including health insurance
  • Have no outstanding debts to the Commonwealth of Australia