Australia visa guideThe Australian tourist visa for Indians is the Visitor visa (subclass 600), Tourist stream, applied for from outside Australia. It covers holidays, cruises and visits to family and friends, allows study or training for up to 3 months but no work, and the stay granted is usually 3 months, sometimes up to 12.
You apply online through ImmiAccount and pay from AUD 250 per person. Most Indian applicants never visit a visa centre, and no label goes in the passport. The decision rests on the genuine-visitor test, and Home Affairs may decide without asking for more documents, so the file must be complete when you submit it.
Do Indians need a visa for Australia, and which one?
Yes. For a holiday, a cruise or a visit to family and friends, Indian passport holders apply for the Visitor visa (subclass 600) in the Tourist stream, lodged from outside Australia. The eVisitor (subclass 651), the free online visa many other nationalities use, is not open to Indian passports. The Australian High Commission even warns of scams selling eVisitor grants to people who are not eligible: such a visa cannot be used, and you are stopped at the airport.
The subclass 600 is applied for and granted online. Home Affairs does not put a label in your passport; the grant is linked to it electronically and airlines check it when you board. The High Commission says plainly that the Australian Government does not issue visa labels any more, so anyone offering a "visa sticker" is selling a fake.
What the visa allows, in Home Affairs' terms: tourism, a cruise or visiting family and friends, study or training for up to 3 months, and no work. Home Affairs generally grants a stay of 3 months and may grant up to 12 months in some circumstances, with single or multiple entry.
Australia visitor visa at a glance
- VisaApplied for from outside Australia
- Visitor visa subclass 600, Tourist stream
- FeeEach family member applies separately
- From AUD 250 per applicant
- How you applyNo VFS visit for most Indian applicants
- Online, ImmiAccount
- Usual stayUp to 12 months in some cases
- 3 months
- Visa labelElectronic grant, checked through VEVO
- None
- WorkStudy or training up to 3 months is
- Not allowed
Department of Home Affairs and Australian High Commission New Delhi, checked 14 Oct 2026
Where do applicants from Punjab apply?
From home, online. Since 30 September 2021, every applicant outside Australia applying for any stream of the subclass 600 must lodge through ImmiAccount; paper applications are not valid unless the Department has given written permission in exceptional cases. There is no state-wise jurisdiction to work out and no appointment to book: an applicant in Ludhiana files exactly as one in Delhi does.
Three things surprise Punjab applicants used to UK, US or Schengen visas:
- No VFS step for most people. The High Commission says VFS's Online Visa Assist service is offered only at centres in Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal, and its biometrics programme in this region currently covers those three countries, not India.
- No interview at the High Commission. The High Commission says it does not collect visa applications or call applicants in for interviews or checks; a request to attend is most likely a scam.
- No passport submission. Visas are electronic and verified when you check in and when you arrive, so your passport never leaves your hands.
What can happen is a request. Home Affairs may ask for a health examination, a police certificate or biometrics in an individual case; follow the instructions in that request. You must be outside Australia both when you apply and when the decision is made, and each family member, including children listed on a parent's passport, needs a separate application.
Which documents depend on your situation?
Home Affairs' checklist starts from the same core for everyone: your passport, a genuine temporary purpose and itinerary, the ability to meet costs, and ties that support your return. What proves those changes with your life in India.
Salaried
- What to add
- Employer's letter with your role, salary, length of service and approved leave; payslips; salary account statements; ITRs
Business owner or self-employed
- What to add
- Business registration or GST certificate, ITRs, business and personal bank statements
Retired parent visiting children
- What to add
- Pension or savings statements; your son's or daughter's invitation, their status in Australia and, if they pay, their financial evidence
Student
- What to add
- Proof of enrolment and a letter approving your absence
Someone else pays
- What to add
- An invitation and the payer's financial evidence, with your relationship to them
Child under 18
- What to add
- Birth certificate or guardianship papers; consent of a non-travelling parent on Form 1229 or a prescribed declaration, with that parent's identity; Form 1257 if the child will stay with a non-relative
Two further rules matter. Documents not in English need an English translation; for translations made outside Australia, the translator's identity, contact details and qualifications should be stated. And police or medical evidence is needed only when the Department asks for it; it is not a blanket requirement for every tourist.
A sponsored visit is different. If your relative in Australia formally sponsors you, that is the Sponsored Family stream, and the sponsor may be asked to lodge a bond. An ordinary invitation letter from a friend does not make an application sponsored.
How much is the Australia visa fee for Indians?
The Tourist stream costs from AUD250.00 for each applicant, paid online in ImmiAccount when you apply, and every family member pays because each needs a separate application. Home Affairs lists other possible costs, such as health checks, police certificates and biometrics, which arise only if requested. There is no VFS charge in the process for India, because VFS does not handle Australian visitor visas here. The charge is not refunded if the visa is refused; use the Department's Visa Pricing Estimator for the exact total, including any card surcharge. Our filing fee is shown at the top of this page.
How long does it take, and when should you apply?
Home Affairs does not publish one fixed figure. Its processing-time guide shows how long recently decided applications took, and the Department stresses that it is a guide only and not specific to your application. A file that needs a health examination, a police certificate or extra checks takes longer.
The High Commission's advice is simple: apply well in advance of your travel date, and do not finalise travel arrangements until you hold a valid visa. In practice:
- File complete. Home Affairs may decide your application without asking for more information, so a missing document is likely to be decided against you, not queried.
- Plan around the decision, not the booking. Keep tickets refundable until the grant arrives.
- Mind the first-entry date. The grant letter can set a date by which you must first arrive. The High Commission says you can still travel after that date if the visa itself is valid, but the visa can be cancelled before arrival or at the border, so check VEVO first.
Why do Australia visas get refused for Indian applicants?
The criteria are short. You must meet the health requirement and the character requirement, have repaid any debt to the Australian Government, have or have access to enough money to support yourself, and be a genuine visitor. Most Indian refusals fall on the last two.
The officer doubts you are a genuine visitor
The officer weighs your reasons to come home (job, business, family, property), your travel history and whether your stated purpose fits your evidence. A long stay with many relatives in Australia and little to return to in India is the classic pattern. Show the life you are coming back to.
Money you cannot show you can use
The test is that you have, or have access to, enough money for the stay. A sponsor's balance without proof that it is available to you, or a sudden deposit, weakens the file. Show months of normal income and, if family pays, their statements and a signed letter.
A gap the officer never asks about
Home Affairs may decide without requesting more information. The document you meant to send later never gets read. Upload everything relevant, with translations, before you submit.
Health or character concerns
If the Department asks for a medical examination or a police certificate, the visa cannot be granted until it is done. Arrange it quickly through the process in the request, and declare any past health or criminal matter honestly on the form.
Fraud, fake offers and fake labels
The High Commission warns that visas obtained on fraudulent claims are subject to cancellation, and that fake visa labels and fake job offers circulate in India. Never use documents you cannot stand behind, and check any grant on VEVO.
A refusal letter gives the reasons and says whether a review is possible, who can apply for it and by when. A refusal outside Australia is not automatically reviewable by the applicant, so read the letter the day it arrives. Our guide to an Australia visitor visa 600 refused from India explains how to rebuild the file.
Tips for a stronger file
- Bank statements. Several months, from the account your salary or business income lands in. Explain any large credit with a document.
- A purpose letter. One page: why you are going, the dates, where you will stay, who pays, and what brings you back.
- Itinerary that matches. The dates in the form, the leave letter, the invitation and any bookings should agree.
- Host papers. For a family visit, your host's invitation, proof of their Australian status and their address.
- Travel history. Upload old passport pages with visas you used and returned on time.
- Health insurance. Home Affairs recommends adequate cover for the visit, and it can be made a condition of the visa.
- Use only ImmiAccount. Track the application in your own ImmiAccount and check any grant on VEVO, never on a website someone sends you.
Can parents of Australian citizens or PRs stay longer?
Sometimes. If you are the parent or step-parent of an Australian citizen or permanent resident and meet all the criteria, Home Affairs may grant a visitor visa valid for more than 12 months, decided case by case. Even then, you cannot stay in Australia for more than 12 months in total in any 18-month period. For longer stays, the separate Sponsored Parent (Temporary) visa, subclass 870, is the route to look at.
What should you check once the visa is granted?
Read the grant letter line by line. It gives the grant number, the visa's start date, the stay allowed on each entry, the number of entries and the conditions. Two conditions trip people up:
- No further stay (condition 8503). Tourist-stream visas can carry it. It stops you applying for most other visas while you are in Australia, and Home Affairs waives it only in limited circumstances.
- No extension. You cannot extend a visitor visa; the High Commission's FAQ says you would need to apply for a new one.
Use VEVO, Home Affairs' visa verification service, to check your visa details and conditions before you fly, and update your passport details online if you get a new passport. For other Australian routes, see the Australia country page, and for business travel the Australia business visa guide.
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
- Frequently asked questions, Australian High Commission New Delhi
- Visa and migration scams, Australian High Commission New Delhi
