Subclass 600: Visitor Visa
Tourist Stream

Subclass 600 Visitor visa in the Tourist stream is a short-term visa which allows overseas visitor to visit Australia for the purpose of tourism, social or recreational activities, visiting families/relatives/friends, studying for less than 3 months or other purposes not related to business or medical treatment.

Stay Period

The length of visa validity, or whether the visa granted comes with multiple entries or single entry varies on a case-by-case basis.

For visa with multiple entries, the visa holder can leave and re-enter Australia on multiple occassions throughout the visa validity, and the maximum stay period for each entry will usually be specified.

Applicant who is parent/step-parent, usually retired, of a settled Australian citizen or settled Australian permanent resident might be granted a 18-month, 3-year or 5-year Subclass 600 Visitor visa to visit their children or grandchildren in Australia. Subclass 600 Visitor visa valid for 3 to 5 years validity which allow multiple entries usually comes with Condition 8558 which prevent the visa holder staying in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18-month period.

Apply from...

The applicant may be in or outside Australia, but not in immigration clearance, to apply for the Subclass 600 Visitor visa. However, the applicant must be either:

in Australia to be granted this visa, if the applicant is in Australia at the time of submitting the Subclass 600 Visitor visa application; or
outside Australia to be granted this visa, if the applicant is outside Australia at the time of submitting the Subclass 600 Visitor visa application.

For a parent/step-parent of a settled Australian citizen or settled Australian permanent resident to be granted a 18-month, 3-year or 5-year Subclass 600 Visitor visa, the parent/step-parent must be outside Australia to apply for and to be granted the Subclass 600 Visitor visa.

To apply for this visa in Australia, the applicant must NOT hold or recently held a substantive visa that is or was:

a Subclass 403 Temporary Work (International Relations) visa in the Domestic Worker (Diplomatic or Consular) stream.

To make a valid application for Subclass 600 visa in the Tourist stream and/or be granted this visa, the following sets of general criteria must be met:

Be a genuine temporary visitor

The applicant must demonstrate genuine intends to visit Australia temporarily and this will be assessed based on:

the applicant’s purpose of visit;
the applicant’s previous compliance with visa conditions;
whether the applicant intend to comply with the conditions to which the Subclass 600 visa would be subject;
any other relevant matter.

Has adequate financial support

The applicant must has adequate financial capacity to support himself/herself or have access to adequate financial support throughout the applicant’s intended stay in Australia.

Has paid the security bond if the applicant required to be sponsored

Some applicants who intends to visit their parent, spouse, de facto partner, child or sibling who is an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident might be requested to be sponsored by their Australian relative who is a settled Australian citizen, or a settled Australian permanent resident of at least 18 years old. In this case, security usually in the form of cash deposit or other forms of security requested has to be lodged.

The following persons can apply for this Subclass 600 visa in the Tourist stream:

any person who met the eligibility criteria outlined in "Eligibility Criteria" tab on this page;
the member of family unit of the applicant, e.g.: spouse/de facto partner and children who are still dependent on the applicant or the spouse/de facto partner of applicant, must make a separate visa application.

The following are some of the conditions that might be attached to this visa:

Condition 8101 - No work

While in Australia, the visa holder must not engage in paid work that would take away job opportunity from Australians.

The following activities are not considered work:

unpaid short-term volunteer work;
doing remote online work in conjunction with short-term visit in Australia;
the visa holder is a student at a foreign university and will be undertaking activities such as unpaid internship in Australia that relates to the visa holder's study and will contribute to course credit;
observing how people work in an industry;
providing short-term domestic support or caregiving activities for family in Australia such as helping to take care newborn child of a family member.

If Subclass 600 Visitor visa holder is suffering financial hardship as a result of changes in the visa holder's circumstances after entering Australia, the visa holder might be able to apply for a new Subclass 600 Visitor visa with work rights (without Condition 8101) while in Australia provided all of the following apply:

the visa holder or immediate family member of the visa holder is likely to become a burden to the Commonwealth, a State, a Territory or a public authority in Australia;
cannot leave Australia for reasons beyond the control of the visa holder or immediate family member of the visa holder;
the visa holder has compelling personal reasons to work in Australia.

Condition 8201 - Maximum 3 months study

While in Australia, the visa holder must not engage in any studies or training for more than 3 months.

Condition 8503 - No further stay

While in Australia, the visa holder will not be able to make a valid visa application for any substantive visa other than a protection visa.

Condition 8558 - Must not stay in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18-month period

Visa holder must not stay in Australia for more than 12 months in any 18-month period.

If the visa holder remains in Australia for a continuous period of more than 12 months, their visa will automatically cease.

Visa holder that remains in Australia for a cumulative period of more than 12 months in an 18-month period will result in possible visa cancellation.

If you would like to arrange your visit and holiday in Australia, please contact our office to discuss the best action plan.

Subclass 600 Visitor Visa (Tourist Stream)