Australia - Immigration

Australia Immigration Procedures for Yachts

All nationalities, with the sole exception of New Zealanders, must obtain a visa in advance or be registered as an eVisitor.

New Zealand passport holders can apply for a visa upon arrival in the country.

See the Department of Home Affairs website for information on the various types of visitor visas available.

Electronic Travel Authority:

The Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) is a useful type of visa for cruisers as it allows multiple visits (of no more than 3 months each visit) for a 12 month period. You MUST be outside Australia when applying. It takes only one day to obtain. See Electronic Travel Authority information on the Department of Home Affairs website.

Note:  Immigration Department officials confirmed to Noonsite that there is no minimum amount of time that you must be out of the country after each three month visit.  The only requirement is that you must leave Australia and then re-enter to re-set the visa for the next three month period.

Other Visa Information:

Other types of visa permit stays of up to 12 months if the financial, health and character requirements are met.  See Tourist Stream (apply outside Australia ) information on the Department of Home Affairs website.

There are Australian diplomatic missions in American Samoa, Fiji, Indonesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, and Western Samoa, where visas can be obtained. New Zealand citizens must now obtain a visa in advance before entry to Thursday Island as the Torres Strait area has been declared an excised migration zone.

Yachts traveling to or from Cocos Keeling and Christmas Islands and the mainland of Australia are deemed to have not left Australia if their trip is within 30 days of departure from the mainland Australia or these islands. Persons on board these yachts must ensure that their visa covers the entire period of their stay including travel time between the mainland of Australia and these islands.

Persons traveling to Norfolk Island are immigration cleared both on arrival and departure on the mainland Australia and Norfolk Island. Therefore, they must have a multiple entry visa for return to mainland Australia. Customs and Quarantine clearances are required on departure from and arrival to mainland Australia.

A multiple entry visa must be obtained by those wishing to stop also at one of Australia's territories (Cocos Keeling or Christmas Island).

If planning to stay longer than three months, it is advisable to apply for the necessary visa prior to arrival as the application requirements can be more difficult once in Australia.  See the Department of Home Affairs website for more information.

This Noonsite report contains information affecting visitors remaining longer than three months in Australia.

Last updated:  August 2025