Types of Australian Visas

The Australian immigration system offers hundreds of different types of visas, both permanent and temporary. To know where to start it is a good idea to consider where you might fit in – there may even be more than one to consider.

Some Australian visa streams are:

Family Migration – for people who have particular family links to someone in, or coming to Australia.

Partner Migration – for people who are married to, intending to marry, or in a de facto relationship with an Australian permanent resident or citizen.

General Skilled Migration – this an area of migration law that is currently undergoing some major changes but generally relates to people with certain skills and training seeking to come to Australia to work in fields where there are areas of shortage.

Student Migration – this is for people who are eligible to study at an Australian institution and are able to meet the obligations in order to do this.

Humanitarian – this is for people from certain countries who are able to show particular reasons why it is not safe for them to remain in or return to their country.

Visitor visas – these are for people who may want to visit family, plan a holiday, or even seek medical treatment in Australia.

These are very general descriptions and do not cover the wide range of visa types available. With each visa type there are very specific requirements for you to meet in order for you to be eligible to apply.