Applying for an ETA
An Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) is an Australian travel visa designed for short term stays for tourism or business visitor activities. An ETA is electronically linked to your passport and is valid for 12 months from the date it is granted. An ETA entitles you to enter or leave Australia as many times as you need during the 12-month validity period or until the expiry date on your passport, whichever is earlier. You can stay in Australia for a maximum of 3 months each visit. You are not permitted to work in Australia and must not study for more than 3 months on an ETA.
Tourist Visa Australia charges the following prices for Electronic Travel Authority (ETA) applications:
- A tourist ETA costs AU$14
- A business ETA costs AU$19
Our standard ETA processing service generally takes 24 hours, although delays may occur if the Department of Home Affairs requests additional information. We also offer a range of express processing options:
| Service | Processing Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | 10 Minutes | $29 AUD |
| Premium | 1 Hour | $19 AUD |
| Priority | 8 Hours | $4 AUD |
| Standard | 24 Hours | No additional fee |
To apply for an ETA, you’ll need to know your arrival date in Australia as well as your passport details.
To be eligible for an ETA you must be:
- From an ETA eligible country
- Be free of tuberculosis
- Not have any criminal convictions for which you have been sentenced for a total combined period of 12 months of more, regardless of whether or not you served the sentences
The 12 month validity period of your ETA starts when it is granted, so if your travel dates occur within the next 12 months, you can start your ETA application now.
Yes, if you are travelling in the near future, we recommend paying for express processing. We offer a range of express ETA processing options:
| Service | Processing Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Urgent | 10 Minutes | $29 AUD |
| Premium | 1 Hour | $19 AUD |
| Priority | 8 Hours | $4 AUD |
| Standard | 24 Hours | No additional fee |
You can apply for your ETA online with Tourist Visa Australia. The application process takes just a few minutes and all you’ll need is your passport.
No. Your ETA allows you to enter Australia multiple times during the 12-month validity period, for up to three months at a time.
An ETA is valid for 12 months from the time it is granted and entitles the holder to visit Australia for as many times as they like during the validity period, for up to 3 months at a time.
If you have had an ETA in the past which has expired, you will need to apply for a new ETA as tourist visas cannot be renewed. It takes just a few minutes to apply online and the ETA processing time takes a maximum of 24 hours.
Do I Need an ETA?
Yes. You need an ETA to enter Australia, regardless of the form of transportation you take.
No. Once you arrive in Australia, you will still need to pass through Australian immigration and customs before you can enter the country and may be detained if you fail to meet the entry requirements.
Under certain conditions, passport holders from some countries do not need an ETA to transit through Australia. However, if you intend to leave the airport for any period of time, you will need to apply for an ETA.
Yes, all adults and minors need their own ETA to enter Australia.
No, children arriving in Australia with one adult do not require any additional documentation aside from their passport with a linked ETA.
If you have an existing ETA and want to check if it is still valid, simply head to our ETA Status Check page.
If you applied with us last time, you just need to log into your account. The details of your previous ETA, including the expiry date, will be listed there.
If you applied for your ETA somewhere else and still have your ETA reference number, you can check your ETA status directly with the Australian Government at www.eta.immi.gov.au
If you applied for your ETA somewhere else, and do not have your ETA reference number, we can request an ETA Status Check based on your passport and personal details for only $5 AUD. As part of this service, we will notify you by email of your current visa status and keep a record for you so that you can check with us again in future for free.
ETA Eligibility and Required Information
No. As long as you meet the eligibility criteria for an ETA, previous visa refusals will not negatively impact your application.
If your travel dates or details change, this should not affect the validity of your ETA once it has been granted. Your ETA’s validity period begins from the time it is granted, so if you end up travelling earlier or later than you originally planned and stated on your ETA application, your ETA will still be valid.
Yes, the ETA costs the same for adults and children.
No! Once your ETA has been granted, you are permitted to travel to and from Australia for the 12-month validity period of the visa, which starts on the date your ETA is granted.
Login to your account and see if your application has been processed yet. If it hasn’t, you still have time to update your details with the correct information before it gets submitted to the Department of Home Affairs.
If your application has already been processed, there is no way to make changes to the ETA. You will need to apply for again and pay the application fee.
If you are not eligible for an ETA due to your nationality, prior criminal convictions, health status, or for any other reason, we recommend going to the Department of Home Affairs website and use their Visa Finder service to find the right visa option for your unique circumstances.
No. ETAs are issued at the discretion of the Australian Department of Home Affairs and they have the right to refuse an ETA application for a range of different reasons. Once your ETA has been granted, it can also be cancelled if you breach the terms of the visa (i.e. by working in Australia on an ETA)
ETA Processing
ETA processing generally takes a maximum 24 hours, although delays sometimes occur. We offer express processing services and can get an ETA result in as little as 10 minutes, however Government delays are still a possibility. We will notify you by email once your ETA results are in.
If you submitted your ETA application with Tourist Visa Australia, then all you have to do is login to your account, and you can view the status of your application.
‘Pending’ means it is still in the queue.
‘Processing’ means it has been submitted to the Department of Home Affairs.
‘Further Information Requested’ means the Department of Home Affairs has requested some additional information from you and will need those details before they can process your application.
If you are having trouble logging into your account, or have any questions, please get in touch with our customer care team. Our office is open 24 hours a day, Monday to Friday.
You must apply for an ETA from outside Australia and you will be detained at the border if you arrive in Australia without an ETA linked to your passport. What’s more, the customs officials in the country you are exiting, or the airline you are flying with may not let you board the plane or leave the country if they see you do not have a valid ETA.
If you are unsure about any of the questions on the ETA application, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our customer support team using this contact form or by calling +65 3138 1316.
ETA applications and can be processed in as quickly as 10 minutes with our express processing service, subject to your paperwork being filled in correctly and no further information is requested.
However, there are a few things that can delay processing times:
- Sometimes, the Department of Home Affairs asks you to provide some additional information. If this is the case, then your application will not be processed until you submit the requested documentation.
- Errors on your application can also delay processing times. As your ETA will be electronically linked to your passport, it is important that all the information submitted in your ETA application is exactly the same as it appears in your passport and your other paperwork. If the details do not match, then it can affect your application, and possibly result in a rejection.
For these reasons, we highly recommend applying for your Tourist Visa early so that you have sufficient time to respond should you encounter any of these unexpected delays.
Tourist Visa Australia doesn’t charge any service fees for processing ETA applications. In fact, the cost of applying for an ETA with us is even cheaper than applying with the Department of Home Affairs!
If you have submitted an ETA application with us but it has not yet been processed, it is possible to request a refund. However if your ETA application has been processed, we will be unable to issue a refund even if you no longer require the service.
Your ETA application fee can only be refunded if your application has not been processed. To begin the refund process please login to your Tourist Visa Australia account and submit a refund request.
