Australia visa and entry requirements

Decision flow

Every traveler who is not an Australian or New Zealand citizen needs an approved visa authorization before boarding. The process is fully digital and depends on nationality and purpose of travel.

• eVisitor (subclass 651) - free, for passport holders of 36 European countries including most EU member states. Applications go exclusively through the ImmiAccount online portal run by the Australian Department of Home Affairs.
• Electronic Travel Authority (ETA, subclass 601) - for selected developed markets outside eVisitor: the USA, Canada, Japan, Singapore and others. It can only be filed through the official Australian ETA mobile app, with biometric scanning of the face and passport. A non-refundable 20 AUD service fee applies.
• Visitor visa (subclass 600), Tourist Stream - for everyone else, China, India and Russia among them. It needs a comprehensive financial history, proof of employment and a planned itinerary, is filed online via ImmiAccount, and the base fee for an offshore application is 250 AUD from 1 July 2026 - it was 190 until April and 200 until June, so check the Home Affairs pricing page rather than any figure you read anywhere, including this one.

Entry formalities applicable to everyone

Everyone passes customs and biosecurity control, and in July 2026 that process is mid-change: the orange paper Incoming Passenger Cards (IPC) are being replaced by the digital Australia Travel Declaration (ATD).

• Where the ATD already runs - the pilot with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) and the Australian Border Force (ABF) has been tested on more than 450,000 passengers on selected Qantas flights to Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. From 26 May 2026 it expanded to further flights into Melbourne from San Francisco and Queenstown.
• How it works - complete the declaration in the Qantas app up to 72 hours before departure; the system generates a unique offline QR code, scanned at border control.
• What comes next - Perth and Adelaide from late 2026, with the full national switch to web forms for all airlines and seaports planned for mid-2028.
• Everyone else still fills in the paper IPC card in English during the flight.

Import limits are strict and governed by the Biosecurity Act 2015. Duty-free allowances per adult (18+):

• General goods (gifts, souvenirs, electronics) - up to 900 AUD, or 450 AUD under 18. Family members travelling together may pool them, so two adults and two children share 2,700 AUD.
• Alcohol - at most 2.25 litres of alcoholic beverages, beer, wine or spirits.
• Tobacco - 25 cigarettes (or 25 grams of tobacco products) plus one open packet. Go over and the tax applies to the entire imported quantity, not just the excess.
• Cash - 10,000 AUD or more in any currency must be declared, without exception.
• Biosecurity items - fresh fruit, vegetables, meat products including cured meats and cans, seeds, plants, soil and untreated wooden items are prohibited outright. All food (even packaged sweets or tea), medicines, and outdoor gear such as tents and hiking boots with traces of mud must be declared.

Penalties for undeclared items, from 1 July 2026. One penalty unit is 364 AUD. If a false declaration is followed by an inspection that finds hidden risk goods:

• 2 units (728 AUD) - a general false declaration.
• 6 units (2,184 AUD) or 12 units (4,368 AUD) - deliberately failing to declare medium- to high-risk biological material such as meat or seeds.
• 20 units (7,280 AUD) - actively concealing and smuggling prohibited items. On a tourist visa this also risks immediate visa cancellation at the border, deportation and a 3-to-5-year entry ban.

What matters in practice

Field reports from travelers on r/AustraliaTravel and r/melbourne:

• Do not underestimate trivial food. An unfinished apple, banana or sandwich from the plane counts. Anything organic found by ABF detection dogs or X-rays is treated as a serious offence and fined on the spot. Bin all food in the dedicated bio-bins before passport control, or tick "YES" at the slightest doubt - a truthful declaration of a prohibited item is never fined, the goods are simply destroyed.
• Walk past the first SmartGates. The automatic gates at Sydney and Melbourne congest badly in the morning peak between 6:00 and 9:00, because tired arrivals queue at the first kiosks they see while free terminals stand a few dozen metres further down the corridor.
• Have your medication documented. ABF staff at Melbourne and Sydney are often described as strict to condescending, and travelers declaring antidepressants, insulin or antihistamines report lengthy questioning despite a valid prescription. Keep medicines in their original packaging with an English medical report at the top of your carry-on.