A visa or travel authority is permission or authority granted by Australia for foreign nationals to travel to Australia. All travelers, except New Zealand citizens, must obtain a visa or travel authority before traveling to Australia.
Visas will be issued to travelers upon their application form approval as an electronic record on the department's computer systems and/or as a label or a stamp in your passport.

You may not be given a label when your visa is granted. This is nothing to worry about, as immigration and customs officers can check your visa details electronically against your passport number.

All temporary visas are issued with conditions. Some conditions restrict employment or relate to studies. All conditions listed in the application form for visa must be observed or there is a real risk that the issued visa may be cancelled and that you will be required to leave Australia.

If you plan to come to Australia, you are encouraged to research topics such as living costs in Australia, employment conditions (if applicable to your visa category) and medical insurance.

There can be visa-related costs associated with your travel. These must be paid when you submit your application form or apply for a travel authority. Please note that whatever the outcome of your application, this charge is non-refundable. Some visa categories will also require a medical examination, a character clearance, and/or a certified translation of some documents.

You can apply to visit Australia for tourism or other recreational activities such as a holiday, sightseeing, social or recreational reasons, to visit relatives or friends or other short-term non-work purposes. You are also able to undertake short term study providing this study does not exceed 3 months.

Depending on your intended activities in Australia, your country of citizenship, and the length of time you intend staying in Australia you can apply for an Electronic Travel Authority (Visitor) or a Tourist visa or a Sponsored Family Visitor visa. Generally, persons seeking to engage in paid employment but not considering moving to Australia for permanent residence should apply for the Temporary Business Entry (Long Stay) visa or other appropriate class of visa.

If you are applying for your visa overseas, you should apply for the full period you intend to visit Australia. You should not assume that any changes to your stay period can be made after your arrival in Australia. A further stay visa in Australia can not be guaranteed.

While some individuals may need to meet health requirements for a stay of less than 3 months, in general only those applying for a stay of more than 3 months will require health assessment.

Visitors to Australia must be willing and able to abide by the visa validity and conditions while in Australia. If you do not abide by the visa validity and conditions, your visa may be cancelled or you may be subject to other penalties.
If you have any questions or concerns about your visa validity and conditions, you should contact the office that approved your application form and granted the visa before traveling to Australia.