Australia visa guideIndian business travellers to Australia use the Business Visitor stream of the Visitor visa (subclass 600). It covers general business enquiries, negotiating or reviewing contracts, official government visits, and conferences, trade fairs or seminars, for a stay of up to 3 months. It is not a work visa: no work for an Australian business, no payment from an Australian source, no selling to the public.
You lodge online through ImmiAccount from outside Australia, pay the AUD 250 base charge, and receive an electronic grant with no passport label. Home Affairs may decide without asking for more, so the invitation and employer letter must be in the file from the start.
Do Indians need a visa for a business trip to Australia, and which one?
Yes. Australia has no separate short-term "business visa" for Indian passport holders: a business trip uses the Business Visitor stream of the Visitor visa (subclass 600). It allows a stay of up to 3 months for short, genuine business activity such as:
- general business enquiries and exploratory meetings
- negotiating or reviewing contracts
- official government visits
- attending a conference, trade fair or seminar
The stream is a visitor visa, not a work visa. You cannot work for an Australian business, be paid by an Australian source, or sell goods or services to the public. Frequent travellers from APEC economies use the APEC Business Travel Card, but India is not an APEC economy, so that card is not an option for Indian passports.
Like the tourist version, the business visitor visa is granted electronically through ImmiAccount. Nothing is stamped or stuck in your passport; the grant is linked to it and checked when you board.
Australian business visitor visa: key facts
- Visa
- Subclass 600, Business Visitor stream
- Stay
- Up to 3 months
- ChargePer applicant, paid online
- AUD 250 base
- LodgementFrom outside Australia
- Online, ImmiAccount
- Paid by an Australian source?Short paid specialist work is subclass 400
- Not allowed
- APEC travel card
- Not available to Indians
Department of Home Affairs and Australian High Commission New Delhi, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
Nowhere in person. Since 30 September 2021, every applicant outside Australia applying for any subclass 600 stream must lodge online through ImmiAccount, so a manufacturer in Ludhiana or an exporter in Jalandhar applies from their own office. You must be outside Australia when you lodge and when the decision is made.
There is no visa centre stage for most Indian applicants. The High Commission says its biometrics programme in this region currently covers Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, and that VFS's assisted service is available only in those countries. If Home Affairs needs biometrics, a medical or a police certificate from you, it will send a specific request.
Two warnings from the High Commission are worth knowing before an Australian "partner" offers to arrange things for you. It does not collect applications or call applicants in for interviews, so an invitation to attend is most likely a scam. And employer-sponsored work visas are lodged online and are not processed in New Delhi.
Which documents depend on your situation?
Home Affairs looks for evidence that the trip is business, not work: the invitation or event, your role, who pays, and whether the activity fits your professional background. The general subclass 600 rules still apply, so you must be a genuine visitor with enough money for the stay.
Employee of an Indian company
- What to upload
- An assignment letter from your employer giving your role, the reason for the trip, the dates and who funds travel, accommodation and daily costs
Owner or director of a firm
- What to upload
- Company incorporation or partnership papers, GST registration, ITRs and business bank statements, plus correspondence with the Australian party
Conference or seminar delegate
- What to upload
- Registration confirmation and the event programme; a speaker's invitation if you are presenting
Trade fair exhibitor or visitor
- What to upload
- Exhibitor or visitor registration and a note on what you will promote; no direct sales to the public
Visiting a client or supplier
- What to upload
- An invitation from the Australian company explaining the meetings and their purpose
Government official
- What to upload
- Official nomination or letter explaining the government visit
Upload English translations of anything not in English. Form 1415, the business visitor form, is used only where the Department asks for it or authorises a paper application; most applicants complete everything in ImmiAccount.
Do not confuse business with sponsorship. If a relative in Australia formally sponsors a family visit, that is the Sponsored Family stream, with its own Form 1149, not this one, and an ordinary invitation from a business contact does not make your application sponsored.
How much is the Australia business visa fee for Indians?
The Business Visitor stream has a base charge of AUD 250 per applicant, paid online in ImmiAccount when you lodge. Each traveller, including colleagues on the same trip, applies and pays separately. Medical, police or biometric costs arise only if the Department asks for them, and there is no VFS service charge in the process for India. The charge is not refunded if the visa is refused. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Home Affairs publishes a processing-time guide based on recently decided applications rather than a fixed promise, and the guide is not specific to any one file. A business file with a clear invitation and complete evidence avoids the most common delay: a request for more documents.
- Lodge once the event is confirmed. Conference registration, the meeting schedule and the employer letter should all exist before you submit.
- Assume no follow-up question. Home Affairs may decide a visitor application without asking for more information, so a missing invitation is a refusal risk, not a delay.
- Book after the grant. The High Commission recommends not finalising travel arrangements until you hold a valid visa.
Why do Australia business visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The business stream carries the same core criteria as every subclass 600: health, character, enough money for the stay, and being a genuine visitor. On business files the question becomes whether the activity is genuinely a short business visit.
The activity is really work
Installing systems for a client, working at an Australian office or running a project day to day is work, not a business visit. Describe meetings, negotiations or the event, and make clear your job and salary stay in India.
Selling to the public
Promoting products and negotiating contracts are business visitor activities. Selling goods or services directly to the public is not. Exhibitors should say what they will display and who they will meet, and leave retail sales to an Australian partner.
No evidence for the business days
Home Affairs looks for invitations and meeting or conference evidence that explain why you are there. A trip with no named company, no agenda and no event registration reads as a cover for something else.
A business the officer cannot verify
An owner who uploads no registration, no tax returns and no business account gives the officer nothing to weigh against the genuine-visitor test. Show the firm exists, trades and needs you back.
Payment from the Australian side
Being paid by an Australian source is not allowed on this stream. If the host covers flights or hotel, say so; if they are paying you a fee for work, you need a different visa.
The refusal letter explains the reasons and any review right. A refusal outside Australia is not automatically reviewable by the applicant, so a corrected fresh application is often the realistic route. For reapplying after a refusal in general, see our guide to visa reapplication after refusal.
Tips for a stronger file
- Employer letter on letterhead. Role, years of service, the purpose of the visit, the companies involved, dates, who pays, and that you return to the same position.
- An invitation that answers questions. The Australian company should state the meetings, dates, contact person and what the visit is meant to achieve.
- Match the length to the agenda. A three-day conference with a three-month stay invites doubt; ask for the days the business needs plus reasonable travel.
- Professional fit. A purchase manager visiting suppliers, or an engineer attending a technical conference, is easy to believe. Add a short CV if your role is not obvious.
- Funds and payer. Company sponsorship letters should be backed by company statements; personal trips need personal statements.
- Track it yourself. Use your own ImmiAccount and check the grant on VEVO before you fly.
Can you do paid or hands-on work on a business visitor visa?
No. The Business Visitor stream is for meetings, negotiations, conferences and similar short activity, with no payment from an Australian source and no work for an Australian business. Short-term specialist work has its own visa, the Short Stay Specialist (subclass 400), and longer employment needs an employer-sponsored work visa, which the High Commission notes is lodged online and not processed in New Delhi. Read our business visitor visa guide for how the line between business and work is drawn across countries.
Can your family come along on a business trip?
Not on your application. Each family member, including children listed on a parent's passport, needs a separate application, and a spouse or child travelling for leisure applies in the Tourist stream, not the Business Visitor stream. Lodge the applications together, with the same dates and accommodation details, so the officer sees one consistent family trip. The Australia visitor visa guide covers the Tourist stream, and the Australia country page lists every route.
Official sources
- Visas and Citizenship, Australian High Commission New Delhi
- Mandatory online lodgement for Visitor visa (subclass 600), Australian High Commission New Delhi
- Australian visas: how to apply, Australian High Commission New Delhi
- Biometrics, Australian High Commission New Delhi
- Visa and migration scams, Australian High Commission New Delhi
