Subclass 600 vs 601 vs 651: Which Australian Visitor Visa Applies to Your Passport?

Australia has three visitor visas, and you almost never get to choose between all three. Your passport decides for you. That single fact removes most of the confusion people arrive with.

Here’s the short version. The eVisitor (subclass 651) is for 36 listed European passports. There’s no charge to lodge it.

The Electronic Travel Authority (subclass 601) covers 34 listed passports. That list includes the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and South Korea.

The Visitor visa (subclass 600) is the one everybody else uses. It’s also the only one of the three you can lodge while you’re already in Australia.

Where it gets interesting is the overlap. Twenty-four passports appear on both the subclass 601 and subclass 651 lists. If yours is one of them, you have a real choice to make, and most comparison pages never mention it.

This walks you through it in three steps: find your passport, choose between the two electronic options if you qualify for both, and understand the subclass 600 if you don’t. If you’re weighing up a longer family visit, our visitor visa page covers the stream options in more detail. A MARA-registered agent (MARN 2518738) can also talk through your situation before you lodge anything.

Step 1: Find your passport on one of two lists

Before you compare fees or stay periods, check which list your passport sits on. Everything else follows from that.

These 10 passports get the ETA (subclass 601) but not the eVisitor

• United States of America
• Canada
• Japan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• South Korea
• Brunei
• Hong Kong (SAR of China)
• Taiwan, excluding official or diplomatic passports
• United Kingdom British National (Overseas)

These 12 passports get the eVisitor (subclass 651) but not the ETA

• Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic
• Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania
• Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia

These 24 passports appear on both lists

• Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France
• Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein
• Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Norway, Portugal, Republic of San Marino
• Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands, Vatican City
• United Kingdom British Citizen

If your passport isn’t named above, you’re on the subclass 600. That covers India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Nepal, China, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and most of the world.

One detail catches British families out. A British Citizen passport works for either the 601 or the 651. A British National (Overseas) passport works only for the 601, because the eVisitor rules exclude it, along with British Overseas Citizen, British Dependent Territories Citizen, British Protected Person and British Subject passports. Two people in the same household can end up on different visas.

So if you’re in that group of 24, which one should you actually apply for?

Step 2: If you qualify for both, choose based on cost and passport expiry

Take the eVisitor unless you have a reason not to. There is no charge to lodge it, while the ETA carries an AUD 20 service charge for the app.

The two visas are otherwise close to identical, which is why the choice feels harder than it is. Both let you stay up to 3 months at a time. Both are multiple entry, so you can leave and come back as often as you like while the visa is valid. Both must be applied for while you’re outside Australia. Neither lets you work for an Australian employer.

There is one difference worth knowing, and it’s about validity rather than money:

• eVisitor 651 is valid for travel for 12 months from the date it’s granted. Flat and predictable.
• ETA 601 is valid for 12 months or for the period your passport is valid, whichever is shorter.

That second rule matters if your passport is running down. Renew the passport first, then apply, or you’ll get a visa that expires early. The other practical difference is the channel. The ETA runs through the Australian ETA app on your phone. The eVisitor is lodged through ImmiAccount in a browser.

And if neither list includes your passport?

Step 3: If neither list applies, you’re on the subclass 600

The Visitor visa (subclass 600) costs from AUD 250 for the Tourist stream lodged from outside Australia, as at September 2026. Check the current figure on the Home Affairs subclass 600 page before you lodge, because charges are indexed each year.

It’s a bigger application, and it behaves differently from the two electronic visas:

• Longer stays. It can be granted for 3, 6 or 12 months, rather than being capped at 3 months per entry.
• Streams. Tourist, Business Visitor, Sponsored Family, and Approved Destination Status. The stream you pick changes the evidence you file.
• You can apply onshore. The 601 and 651 both require you to be outside Australia. The 600 doesn’t, though the charge is higher for an onshore Tourist stream application.
• It’s assessed, not just checked. An ETA decision often comes back immediately. A 600 goes to a case officer who weighs up whether you’re a genuine visitor.

That last point is the one families underestimate. The subclass 600 isn’t a form you complete. It’s a case you make, about your ties at home and your reason for the trip.

Our guide to the 3-year multiple entry visitor visa covers what a longer-validity grant asks of you, and visitor visas for parents deals with the situation most of our clients are actually in.

What all three visas have in common

These rules apply across the board, and mixing them up is where trouble starts.

• None of them is a work visa. You can’t work for an Australian employer on any of the three. Home Affairs can cancel the visa and refuse you entry.
• Business visitor activities are allowed. Meetings, negotiations and conferences are fine. Selling goods or services directly to the public is not.
• The clock starts at the border. Your 3-month stay period runs from the day you enter, not the day the visa is granted.
• Health and character requirements apply to all three.
• No Medicare. Travel or health cover is on you, unless a reciprocal healthcare agreement covers your country.

Where these applications go wrong

The electronic visas fail on small, fixable things. The subclass 600 fails on substance.

• Applying from inside Australia for a 601 or 651. Both require you to be offshore. People try this when a current visa is about to end.
• Assuming 3 months per entry means 3 months in total. It resets on each entry. But re-entering again and again to stretch a short-stay visa into something closer to living here draws attention at the border.
• Thin financial evidence on a 600. A retired parent with no salary isn’t disqualified. The application still has to show how the trip is funded and why they’ll go home.
• Condition 8503. If it’s attached to a subclass 600, you can’t apply for most other visas while you’re in Australia. Check the grant letter.
• Treating a template invitation letter as enough. Case officers read hundreds of near-identical letters.

If a refusal would affect something you can’t move a birth, a wedding, a graduation it’s worth having the application looked over before it’s lodged rather than after. A MARA-registered agent (MARN 2619480) can confirm which subclass fits and what your evidence is missing. Speak with our team.

Conclusion

Start with your passport. If it’s on the eVisitor list, the subclass 651 is almost always the right call: 12 months of validity, 3 months per visit, nothing to lodge. If it’s on the ETA list only, the subclass 601 does the same job for AUD 20 through the app.

If it’s on neither list, the subclass 600 is your route. It needs a real case, not a completed form.

If you’re not sure which one applies to you, or a previous application didn’t go your way, talk to a MARA-registered agent before you lodge again. Book a consultation with The Migration MARN 2518738 and MARN 2619480.

Frequently asked questions