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Visitor Visa (Subclass 600)

Tourist Stream or Sponsored Family Stream: Which Visitor Visa Is Right for You?

The Visitor visa (subclass 600) has several streams. For a family member coming to Australia to visit relatives, two are relevant: the Tourist stream and the Sponsored Family stream. They lead to a similar visa, but the requirements, obligations and risks are quite different. The table below sets out the key differences.

Tourist stream

Sponsored Family stream
Main purpose Tourism, holidays, cruises, and visiting family and friends. Visiting family only. It cannot be used for business activities or medical treatment.
Sponsor required No. A letter of invitation or support from a relative in Australia can be provided, but it has no formal legal status. Yes. A formal sponsorship must be approved before the visa can be granted. The sponsor completes Form 1149, lodged with the visa application.
Who can sponsor Not applicable. A settled Australian citizen or permanent resident aged 18 or over who is a relative — partner, parent, child, sibling, grandparent, grandchild, aunt or uncle, niece or nephew, or step-equivalent.

Fiancés, in-laws, cousins and friends usually cannot sponsor. New Zealand citizens and Special Category (subclass 444) visa holders cannot sponsor.
Where you must be when you apply Either inside or outside Australia (separate streams apply). Outside Australia — both when the application is lodged and when it is decided.
Government application charge AUD 250 if applied for outside Australia; AUD 630 if applied for inside Australia. AUD 250. There is no separate charge to lodge the sponsorship.
Security bond Not applicable. The Department may require the sponsor to pay a security bond, usually between AUD 5,000 and AUD 15,000 per applicant, before a decision is made. It is refunded if the visitor complies with all visa conditions and leaves Australia before the visa expires.
Length of stay Up to 3, 6 or 12 months, depending on your circumstances. Up to 12 months (in limited circumstances), although 3 months is the usual grant.
Visa validity Single or multiple entry. Parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents may be granted longer validity — 18 months, 3 years or 5 years — with multiple entries. Single or short multiple entry, matched to the intended visit. Long-validity 3-year and 5-year visas are not granted in this stream.
Visa conditions

(Common, but not limited to)

 No work (8101); study limited to 3 months (8201). A ‘no further stay’ condition (8503) may be imposed depending on the case. No work (8101); study limited to 3 months (8201); no further stay (8503); must not remain beyond the period granted (8531). *Condition 8503 is applied as a matter of course.
Right to appeal a refusal If applied for outside Australia, there is no right of review. If applied for inside Australia, a refusal can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal. A refusal can be reviewed by the Administrative Review Tribunal, with the sponsor in Australia lodging the review. This is the only visitor stream that carries review rights on an offshore refusal.
Processing time Around 16 days on average; 90% of applications decided within 35 days. Around 43 days on average; 90% of applications decided within 89 days.
Consequences if the visitor overstays Affects the visitor’s own future applications. Any security bond may be forfeited, and the sponsor is barred from sponsoring anyone under this visa class for five years.
Permissible activities on Visitor visas Visitor visa assessment

Length of stay is not the same as visa validity

These two things are often confused. Length of stay is how long you may remain in Australia on each entry. Visa validity is the overall period during which the visa allows you to travel to Australia. Longer-validity visitor visas of 3 or 5 years, allowing repeated visits, are granted only in the Tourist stream and generally only to parents of Australian citizens and permanent residents. They carry condition 8558, which limits the holder to no more than 12 months in Australia in any 18-month period. A Sponsored Family stream visa is granted for a defined visit and will not be issued with 3-year or 5-year validity.

The effect of condition 8503 (no further stay)

This is the most important consequence of choosing the Sponsored Family stream, and it should be understood before the application is lodged. Condition 8503 prevents the visa holder from applying for any further visa while they remain in Australia. It can be waived only where compelling and compassionate circumstances beyond the holder’s control have arisen since the visa was granted. If there is any prospect of an onshore application during the visit, such as a partner visa, this condition will block it and the visitor will need to leave Australia and apply again from overseas.

Which stream is likely to suit you

The Tourist stream is the usual choice and suits most cases: it is faster and cheaper, places no obligations on the family member in Australia, involves no security bond, and keeps open the possibility of a longer-validity visa for parents.

The Sponsored Family stream is worth considering where:

  • a Tourist stream application has already been refused, and the sponsorship, the security bond and the right of appeal materially change the position;
  • the applicant cannot readily demonstrate on their own that they will return home at the end of the visit, and the sponsor’s formal undertakings can support the application; or
  • it is important to preserve a right of appeal if the visa is refused.

 Next steps

We are happy to review your circumstances and advise which stream offers the best prospects of success, and, if sponsorship is the right path, to confirm the sponsor’s eligibility and prepare it before lodgement.

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